thanksgiving table for practically free and recipes

Well It's Thanksgiving time again. Are you tired of the same old look for you dinner table?

Not to worry, with some small adjustments you can look like you hired a designer to come and

do your event. The first issue to address if the size and shape of your table. Let's assume that

your table is too small for the amount of people that you have invited, so you have to do the

dreaded "children's" table. The remedy for this is simple. Whether your table is round, square.

or rectangular, you can purchase an over size sheet of plywood to sit on top of your table to

accomidate the extra people you've invited. I've also used a large unpaneled door, to serve the

same purpose. You will now need a cloth or fabric to cover your new much larger table. As

stated in my other blogs, many options are available to you. A beautiful sheet works wonders.

I've used thin quilts and velvet bedspreads to create other luxorious looks. Don't be too concerned about the size, so long as it overlaps the table top on all sides. I like to gather the

corners and tie a knot or a bow with anything that you choose as a tie. Ribbon, rope, or raffia,

are some suggestions that will work, as well as anthing else you can conceptualize. I like the look

of layering, so I would probably use a placemat on the top of the cloth. When it comes to the

dishes, again you may not have enough that match. To me this is not a problem. If you have

two different kinds, alternate them, at every other place setting. My favorite thing to do is to

go to the thrift store (Salvation Army and the like) and buy as many different, but similar

plates and glasses as available and create your own bohemian look. You can usually buy china

and crystal for about a dollar a piece. The flatware and silver is similarlly priced. They might

also have linen napkins, at equally reasonable prices.

Now you will need some kind of a centerpiece. Pumpkins after Halloween are very inexpenive.

Get three that are reasonably sized for a table. Cut off their tops and save. Then hollow them

out. You can use cookie cutters in shapes like diamonds, swirls, or leaves , or whatever else

you may find. Outline the shapes on the bottom third of the pumpkin and then cut out. Find

something to elevate the pumpkins to three different heights. If you can't find things that are

attractive, like a footed cake plate, cover these alternate items with a cloth napkin or some

similar fabric. Place a votive candle in each of your carved out pumpkins and arrange on your

risers. You may place leaves or branches under the pumpkins for a more embellished look

When your guests arrive, light your votive candles and replace the tops on your pumpkins. If

you want to be really elegant, these pumpkins can be spray painted gold or sliver, after you

have carved them out, you can spray the leaves and branches too.

Lots of things can be used as a napkin rings if you don't have any. Hair scrunchies are great, you

can glue leaves or nuts on to them, to make them more festive.

The placemarker will be your finishing touch. I like to use something that is not a traditional

placecard. One of the prettiest ideas is a glass votive candle holder, with a votive inside that

will be lit when the guests arrive. A permanent marker will write on the outside of these and

your own handwriting makes it very special.

A great easy recipe for mashed potatoes, that makes them really memorable is to add the
following to your recipe

1 cup of parmesean cheese ( any white grated cheese will work)

2 tablespoons of chives or green onions

1 cup of any brand of ranch dressing

mix in extras while the mashed potatoes are still hot, yum!


This one is a great easy dessert

you will need one graham cracker pie crust

one jar of chocolate ice cream topping

1/4 cup of chopped nuts

2 pkgs of instant vanilla pudding

1 cup of canned pumpkin

1 container of cool whipped-like topping

1 cup cold milk

Drizzle the chocolate topping into the pie shell

mix the pudding mix, the milk, the pumpkin, and half of the whipped topping in a bowl
When it sufficiently mixed, spoon into the pie shell.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Remove from frig and top with the remaining whipped topping, drizzle more chocolate
sauce on top and then sprinkle on the nuts

Put back in the frig until dessert time...The best!

mosaic anything for practically free

The art of the mosaic is very simple. It's merely sticking tiles or other pieces of ceramic on to something and then putting something in between the spaces to fill in

and make it permanent. The first thing you have to decide is what you want to

mosaic. You can embellish table tops, flower pots, picture frames, counter tops or

anything else you can imagine. Now you will need the ceramic tiles or what ever else

you choose to use. To get the tiles, I have resorted to many different sources. You can actually go to a tile place and ask them if you can have anything that is broken and that they are going to dispose of. You will be surprised how happy they will be

to satisfy your request. Choose varied colors and patterns if you like or choose just

one kind if you want it to be less busy. Another idea, which may take a little longer

to complete, is to save every dish you've ever broken(tell friends and relatives what

you're doing and ask them to save as well). The next step is so fun, especially if

you have some aggression to resolve. Take the tiles or broken pottery and a large

hammer, cover the pottery with a towel and bang the heck out of it with the hammer.

Now you have created lots of little managable pieces to play with. You will now need

to glue the pieces on to the object you want to enhance. The glue really doesn't

matter, however rubber cement and anything not permanent will not work effectively. The best glues are white glue(school glue- like Elmer's) or a silicone

adhesive, that you can get at a home store. I, for one am not all that fond of creating

a picture with the pieces, though you can if you choose. I prefer the randomness of

just creating as you go. The easiest way to work is to do all the boarder first. Place the material any way you want, making sure not to go beyond the edges of the surface

you are working on. Try to keep an even amount of space between the pieces and

work it like a puzzle, paying attention to where the pieces might fit. When you have

covered the whole surface to your satisfaction, let it dry for about 12 hours. Now

you will need some grout (the stuff that fills in the spaces). You can purchase it at

a hardware store or a home store. You can either buy the premixed or the dry. I

think that the dry one is less expensive, because you'll have to ad the water and mix

it yourself, following the directions on the package. Either way, now you're ready

to grout your piece. You can purchase a grout spreader at the same places that you

bought the grout or you can use a plastic kitchen spatula and have it work just as well. Take a generous amount of the mixture and start at one end dragging the

spreader and the grout across the tiles. You will see it filling in the spaces as you

go along. For this part of the process, more is better, you can remove the excess

when your done. If you don't use enough, it won't turn out right. Once you've

coated the entire piece and it's pretty level, take a large dampened sponge and start

to gently remove the grout that is covering just the tiles. Be careful not to remove

what is in the spaces. You will have to occasionally rinse the sponge as it will be

full of grout. Once your satisfied with the look, and the tiles or ceramic look clean. Let
it dry. That's pretty much the process. You can vary the types of material that
you use and there are an infinate amount of surfaces to be beautified. Get your
hammer and get busy smashing things.

easy chair covers for practically free

At any event you attend, there is always the problem of not enough matching chairs or the
senario of the ugly chair. These problems are easily remedied. What you want to create is
a simple chair cover that is simple to create and inexpensive to make. The first step is to measure the width of the chair, at its widest point. You do not want a cover that is too small. So,
let's assume for argument sake that the chair is 24inches at it's widest point. You will want to
have a cover that's probably about 28inches wide, just to make sure that the whole chair is
covered. Next measure from the floor up, across the seat, up the front and down the back. Let's
say that the lenghth of that measurement is 120inches. So you want to have a cover that is
28inches wide, by 120inches long.
There are many solutions that will work as fabric for these covers. Inexpensive sheets are a
great solution. You can probably get a least four covers out of each king size sheet. Probably the
greatest source is a Walmart, if you have one, because they have a section of $1.00 a yard fabric.
You can't beat that price for new fabric. Another idea that I have used fairly often, is the
thrift store. Not one of the pricey ones that sell antiques. I'm talking about Goodwill, The Salvation Army and similar venues. Most of their sheets are a couple of dollars each, they
are usually cleaned and pressed. So, now you have your fabric, cut the covers to the aproximate
sizes we discussed earlier. If you have access to a sewing machine, you can fold over about 1/4
of an inch and sew. A glue gun also works great for this, however, is the fabric is such that it
doesn't unravel, you really don't have to do anything, except, cut to size. Once you have completed the cutting, drape the fabric over the chair, making sure to center the width and the
length, over the chair. Next, you need to fashion a tie that you will wrap around the chair like a belt to secure
the cover from moving around. Double the width of the chair, like if it's 24inches, cut a tie
that is 48inches long. I personally think that if the tie is a little fatter, (wider) it looks better
and is more secure. So make your ties at least two inches wide. Now it's nothing more than
wrapping the tie around the chair and tying a knot or a bow in the back. If you don't want
to use the same fabric as the cover, ribbon will work, as well as something like spray painted rope from the
hardware store. I've made enough of these covers for entire wedding and reception in a couple
of hours. Try it, your folding chairs will never look better