Some of the crafts you find on Pinterest actually reproduce well (and “Happy Thanksgiving”)

Happy Thanksgiving! Especially to you Americans. 🙂

We have had a difficult week with a family funeral on Tuesday but that makes it all the more important to enjoy some of the delightful sights that nature brings. Yesterday was a lushly warm fall day. We’ve gathered red leaves for center pieces and have a giant bag of clementines headed our way today. We typically use whatever produce is available for our decorations since they are naturally beautiful anyway and then they can be eaten. 🙂

This part of California is loaded with fresh produce — the produce is inspiring many of our little projects. Here are a few.

Herb and Cranberry Floating Candles

This is a simple and fun center piece idea that you can find all over Pinterest. It is simple and worth a try.

In our case, each jar has a different herb in the bottom, water (obviously), cranberries, and a small floating candle. The cranberries float making a red color splash at the top. The herbs would like to float too but I tied them in bundles with twine to control the look and to weight them down a bit.

If you used a light-weight green like lemon balm, you might want to use wire for extra weight.

These jars have rosemary, bay leaf, and oregano flowers. Any green would do. Small evergreen leaves from your tree would be great.

(These center pieces ended up lasting about three days and the cranberries were still cook-able. I wouldn’t use them raw at this point.)

Clementines in Martini Glasses

This is hardly a craft project, but I found small clementines at a fruit stand — culls. They are the perfect size for these small martini glasses. Regular clementines would probably work in larger martini glasses. I kept some of the leaves on the fruit for color. Luckily my clementines came stock with leaves.

You could obviously add any green from your yard.

Herb Turkey Sandwich 🙂

Alastair is easy when it comes to crafts. If he is getting one-on-one attention from an adult, it’s an easy “win.” Throw in a cute turkey and he is completely won over. This can be your after-Thanksgiving “turkey sandwich.” 😉