Festive Felt

I know lots of people take the day after Thanksgiving to knock out their holiday gift shopping, but we prefer to stay far, far away from those crowds.  We stayed home making cute felt crafts instead.

My sister-in-law made this amazing DC landmark banner...

My husband's aunt made this darling ombre tree banner...

My mother-in-law made this awesome mod Christmas tree banner...

And I made a bunch of little cute things I saw on Pinterest

Each of mine have easy tutorials on Pinterest already (links below), but I couldn't find a great one for the woven heart without a video on there.  Once I got the hang of it, it was pretty easy, so I thought you guys might want some pictures for when streaming a video is just not an option.

Fold a piece of felt in half, and cut out 2 same size domes (flat edge is the fold, below).  Your 3 cuts for the woven pieces will be deeper than you think they should be.

The end of your first row should look something like this:

Keep repeating, alternating colors until the last row...

Which should go like this:

1.

2.

3.

4.

Flip this upside-down in your mind.  Sorry.

I don't know why this is sideways.  Sorry.

Pocket!

Here are the links to the other tutorials/inspirations!

Twirly Green and Red Cuties: http://www.fabartdiy.com/how-to-diy-3d-felt-ornament-tutorial/

Little Bear (I didn't stuff mine like she did, and just freehanded the felt cuts and the Kiddo drew/assembled the features, but she has a pattern!): http://liagriffith.com/felt-christmas-bear-ornament/

Stacked tree (hers are way cuter than mine - 3 colors of felt look better than just 2!): http://www.thisheartofmineblog.com/2013/11/26/felt-christmas-tree-ornament/

A New Thanksgiving tradition - Pie Playoffs

We are a house divided.  Thanksgiving is my husband's favorite holiday. I think it's lovely, but crushingly boring, as holidays go.

So when we hosted his entire side of the family at our house one year, I was determined to make it extra special.

I came up with the idea of the Pie Playoffs - The Very Sweet 16.  4 divisions, Apple, Squash, Nut, and a Wild Card.

And because I am an obsessive and delusional person, I decided to make all 16 pies myself, as well as every single dish of regular food.  I do not recommend this, though it does cut down on hurt feelings when someone's pie doesn't win, so there was a tiny kernel of logic in my decision to spend 36 hours in the kitchen.

Each guest got assigned an initial judging division, merging as pies made their way through the tournament.

This year, the Mr. is using the pie playoff model for his office Thanksgiving potluck.  If you'd like to add a little competitive spice to your Thanksgiving, here's a bracket you can use as a model!