Thanksgiving

4 Simple Stunning DIY Decorated Pumpkins Tutorials

~ Naomi Pederson

Fall is here and at Showhome furniture we are filling our shelves and store space with amazingly fabulous fall finds!!!  Along with all our fall finds you are sure to find a pumpkin here and there because let’s be honest, pumpkins are delightful the way that they come in all sizes and shapes-just like all the unique things you can find in our store.  There is something so magical about a pumpkin shape no matter how warty it is.

Today I am going to show you a few quick DIY pumpkin craft.

First, find your pumpkins!  The wartier the better!  I found mine at the local dollar store, craft store and thrift store!

Next get a few supplies from the dollar store.  Some jewel stickers, some white glue, the glitter of your choice, some paint, and brushes.

A super simple pumpkin is just to repaint a pumpkin any color you want.  I tried blue for some of my warty ones and really loved it.   To make it more realistic, paint the whole pumpkin and before it dries rub off all the paint except the paint in the cracks.  This really brings out the pumpkins character and can turn a fake cheap looking pumpkin into a classy gorge worthy to grace your home!

Another super simple way to dress up your pumpkin is to use gemstone stickers.  You can use these on orange or white pumpkins.  Black adds a bit of drama to your pumpkin that goes well with all themes.

You can also paint your pumpkin and then cover it in gemstones!!!

 

Glitter is a great way to bring sparkle into your fall decor.   There are a ton of ways to use glitter. You can use a stencil, you can dip the lower half of a pumpkin in glue and then pour glitter over the glue and let dry.  Or you can polka-dot your pumpkin with glitter to bring in some whimsy to your project.

 

5 Tips For Creating A Stunning Thanksgiving Table

~ Naomi Pederson

Thanksgiving is less than a week away and there are few holidays that call for a stunning table setting like Christmas and Thanksgiving do!  With the turning of the weather bringing people indoors, this is the perfect time to create beauty within your home.

At Showhome Furniture, we are constantly looking for ways to be inspired by the gorgeous world in which we live in.  We love the changing of the leaves and frost tipped branches that come as the weather starts to shift its temperature.

This year, we are loving the white pumpkin themes! Turkey’s are very Thanksgiving-ish  but it is also such a holiday specific decorating item that will go ‘out’ faster than pumpkins.

When you decorate with pumpkins you can have them up all fall and even into winter if you want to.  In the coming weeks, we are going to be posting some great DIY table decor, and pumpkin decorating that anyone can do.

Today though, we are going to discuss the perfect way to bring autumn into your home just in time for Thanksgiving.

First, clear everything off your table. Next, pull out what supplies you have.  Pop into Showhome Furniture for some great inspiration and accessories to help your table decorating go better.  As I said, white pumpkins are my current love so I made sure I picked up a bunch to use.  You can buy them at the grocery store or your local craft store.

When making a table centerpiece I like to go long and will often use a runner.  The runner can go all along the table and over each end of the table, or it can be smaller and just run longwise in the middle of the table.  A runner is not needed, but it helps frame the accessories that you place on the table.

After you have chosen to go with a runner or not, I always like to place the big things on the table first.  Kinda like in life, if you do the most important things first, the rest of the day can be filled in with pretty, less important things that makes your whole day go better.  In this tablescape, the bowl of pumpkins is the largest, most central item and then the candles, which are important but not as big would go on second.

After you have placed the most important ‘statement’ items on the table, now is the fun part, you get to add the embellishments!  These embellishments are the thing that really adds wow to your table setting!  In this setting, the greenery is a great way of filling in the blank spaces between the pumpkins

Now set the table with your dishes!  I always like using white dishes because they are so versatile and can really dress up your table nicely.  Sometimes I will use a charge (or placemat) and often I just leave this step out.

An easy, elegant and simple place setting card is a small pumpkin with either your guest name written right on the pumpkin or on a small card and tied to the stem!

5 Tips For Making Thanksgiving Amazing!

~ Naomi Pederson

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and now that I am back in Canada, I have to say that this year is already meaning more to me than ever before.  There is something about spending six months surrounded by people who have so little material wealth, and yet have such depth and gratitude that just humbled my family and I.  We all know there are those who live at a different standard than us, but after sitting on their floors, and hearing their stories, my life has been changed forever.

To make this Thanksgiving, more about the thanks and giving than the food I have put together some quick but meaningful ways to really appreciate this amazing country that we live in.

Decorate your table with items that inspires gratitude and reminds us to be thankful.  Your tablecloth, or a sign on the wall, can remind all who come to dine, the reason why we come to dine-to give thanks.  At Showhome Furniture, we source the most beautiful tables from all around the world because we know that eating together as a family is very important to the success of your family.

Make it easy for people to give thanks.  Put out a pen and a simple sheet of paper with the words “I am thankful for” by each place setting.  Take a moment before bringing out the food to think about what you are thankful for and write it down.  During dinner, it is fun to read out what we are thankful for.

If you have kids, another activity is to draw a huge turkey on some poster board.  Get kids to write out what they are thankful for on feathers and stick them on the turkey.  It is a fun way to visualize all that we have.

I love giving my kids a new gratitude journal on Thanksgiving.  At Showhome Furniture, we know that so many diseases and mental illnesses can actually be helped greatly by the habit of giving thanks.  We try hard to cultivate this into our family culture.

When you go to buy a turkey, think about buying an extra one for someone who you know might need a little bit of love.  If you don’t know anyone who would appreciate a turkey, you can call your local food bank and donate a turkey there-or better yet, sign up as a family to serve at the food bank on Thanksgiving.  One of my favorite memories as a family is when we would go to our local homeless shelter and feed the people there, talk to them and entertain them with my kids singing.  I am sure they were doing us a favor at times watching my silly girls perform and I am very grateful for their attentiveness and the kind way everyone just accepted us for who we were.

At Showhome Furniture, we would be amiss to not end this post of what we are grateful for if we did not mention you, our valued friends.  Without your support, we would not be able to bring in such unique handmade wonderful furniture from all around the world.  Because we love you, we will give whoever mentions this blog post 30% off any regularly priced dining room table!!

What do you guys do to express your gratitude for all that you enjoy??  I would love to hear from you because I am always looking for new ways to bring meaning into this season.