Thanksgiving Place Cards

Thanksgiving is by far, my favorite holiday. It is chock full of wonderful memories, traditions, and warmth - no shopping and wrapping (well, there can be lots of grocery shopping, but I don't mind a bit!) - just gathering with family and friends to share all kinds of things. I love it! Ever since I can remember, we always made place cards for my family's Thanksgiving table. This year, we are going to my niece's house for the feast. She and her wonderful husband are hosting for the first time in their new home. They have a wonderful story, those two, and I am so happy that we are going to celebrate at their house this year. There will be 21 at the table, and of course, I wanted to make the place cards... this is what came up with.

I took my inspiration from 2 wonderful artists Nancy Riley and Amy Sheffer. I just loved THIS card that Nancy made - I needed to use those adorable pumpkins, so I lifted them directly from her creation to mine. Thanks Nancy! I saw THIS wonderful place card design on Amy's Blog, and I loved the idea of using the library clips. I love the way Amy used the clip to hold the name plate with the backing a bit tilted. That did not work for my cards, but the library clip was a great embellishment for mine. Thanks for the idea Amy!

This year has been quite a challenging one for me and for my family, but the blessings that we have far outweigh the trials. My husband and children are the loves of my life. I have a wonderful family. We have such rich traditions filled with love and beauty shared with my parents and sisters and our extended families. My dear friends, both old and new, are such gifts... they give my life such warmth, color, strength. I love my work, I love my craft... I have met such wonderful people in this SCS and blogging world and I have learned so much in this last year. I wish you a beautiful Thanksgiving filled with love, great smells, tastes, some rest... every good thing. Gotta finish my place cards and head to the feast!