Andy and I are hosting Thanksgiving this year. My parents will be out of town, so it’ll just be us and and some friends whose families live out of state. And you, if you’re nearby. And if you know how to make a spiral-sliced ham.

Now that I managed to weasel my way out of making a turkey – whew! – all that remains is to whip up a few side dishes and whip my house into Thanksgiving-hosting shape.

Step one: Clean. Procrastinate on cleaning by crafting.

Step two: Create “Give Thanks” banner.

If you’re looking for a good way to put off cleaning, here’s a quick little tutorial for making your banner. It was fast and mostly easy, except for a brief interlude of impossibility courtesy of my evil sewing machine.

Materials

• About half a yard of burlap
• Jute twine
• Alphabet stamps (I bought this set on recommendation from a blogger friend. I love it! The price goes up and down a lot, so I’m not sure how much it is at this very moment as you’re reading this post, but it’s a nice little set.)
• Acrylic paint and foam brush (not pictured)

Step One: Cut a buncha triangles out of burlap

I made a template using a piece of cereal box, and cut all my triangles roughly that size. I specialize in imperfection around here, so my triangles “have character.”

Step Two: Stamp ’em

I started out using an ink pad for the stamps, but I couldn’t get the letters to appear dark enough, so I switched methods to painting acrylic paint onto the stamp with a teensy foam brush. Jackpot.

Then, using my jute twine thing as a spacer, I stuck each letter roughly in the center of each triangle, pressed down evenly all around, and carefully lifted the stamp back up.

This photo nicely showcases my imperfect cut lines. Clearly I was aiming for the “shabby chic” look here. #ConvenientExcuse

(I wish I’d realized when I wrote that recent post about Andy’s hands that my next post would have many pictures of my own freakish hands. Perhaps I should have made fun of him a little less?)

(No, probably not.)

Step Three: Sew (or not) the top of the triangles

If I’m being honest, I had written this step of the tutorial in my head before I actually did the step. I was going to tell you to just quickly fold down the top of the triangle, run it through your sewing machine super-speedy-like, and be done with it.

That’s what’s supposed to happen…

…if your particular sewing machine doesn’t delight in your suffering.

ARGH. It took me way too long to do this step. I may have yelled. I may have threatened to cut, throw and/or torch my sewing machine. YOU won’t have this problem, because you’re not trying to sew a teensy, simple line using satan’s sewing machine of doom.

YOU will just fold down the top edge of each triangle and run a little seam right over it, leaving a tiny pocket at the top to thread the jute twine through.

OR

You will use no-sew iron-on hem tape instead. And you will be a winner.

Then just snip off that corner so it looks like a triangle again.

Step Four: Thread it all together

Just slip some jute twine through the pocket you just made and hang that sucka.

* * *

I started out by hanging it over the windows in the dining room, but it’s hard to get a good picture of it there, so I moved it to the kitchen looking into the dining room for a bit. Not sure where it’ll live for Turkey Day.


And that’s how you postpone cleaning for a couple more hours! Clearly this project was a must-do before Thanksgiving, right? How would we enjoy the spiral-sliced ham you’ll be cookin’ up without the reminder to give thanks?

How do YOU justify postponing your chores? Any Thanksgiving crafting goin’ on at your place?

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