Saturday, November 13, 2010

CREATIVE THANKSGIVING PLACE CARDS



Thanksgiving is just around the corner... and here at StoneGable the table will be set EARLY! Each year the table's look and theme is different and my family and friends are so wonderfully appreciative!

This year my table will have a very different look. No bright orange, gourds or cany corn! I am using creamy whites, warm browns and blue transferware!  To ballance the elegent dishes natural and organic elements will be used. Lots of pine cones, acorns and white pumpkins will grace the table.

One other element that is a must at our table this year is PLACE CARDS. I want to separate the boyfriends and girlfriends, the newlyweds and the same age clusters, at least for dinner. It is my goal to sit people who don't have daily contact together... and do this creatively!

I LOVE to have little take-home gifts for each guest at my tables. Last year each guest took home a sparkly blown glass acorn ornament attached to a bag of homemade Cashew Crunch. This year the "place cards" will be little gifts too.



Placecards made from little picture frames with sepia toned (to go with the color scheme) baby pictures of each guest will show them where they will sit. Embellished with gossamer ribbon and touches from nature, they display each person's baby face and name.  The frames can then be taken home and hung on the Christmas tree with an attached ribbon loop. I can just imagine my families faces when they see these! Who doesn't love baby pictures?


The precious, cold, bundled up baby (my Son Christopher) now looks like this...



I think everyone will really enjoy this extra special treat on the Thanksgiving table... and I am sure it will inspire many touching and fun stories!!!!!




StoneGable Thanksgiving Picture Place Cards
small picture frames, can be assorted styles
baby pictures
thin ribbon
faux greens
tiny acorn
star anise
berries on picks
hot glue

Using a scanner/copier, copy baby picture to fit the frame. Insert picture into frame.

Glue ribbon around the sides of the picture frame.


Make a tiny bow and glue it to the top of the frame.

Embellish.


Add a ribbon loop to the back of the frame.

OOOOOOH and AAAAAAAH!



Thanksgiving Countdown


Make place cards for your table if you use them.

If you are having any alcoholic libations, buy them now.

If you are having guest for the extended weekend, make up a menu plan. Incorporate the groceries into your grocery list.




                                  
If you are cooking Thanksgiving dinner and have guest
                                   for the extended weekend, think about doing take-out or going out for 1 meal. 

I am participating in PINK SATURDAY. Do not adjust the color on your screen. This is a "pink attitude" post!
Please join Beverly for this fun day of Pinkness!

I am participating in Seasonal Sunday with my dear friend, The Tablescaper! There are some wonderful ideas to inspire you!

I am participating in Third Countdown To Thanksgiving at Domestically Speaking!

57 comments:

  1. I love the place card idea! Perfect! Carla

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  2. Just so creative and beautiful. Thanks for this wonderful post. Emelia.

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  3. What a FABULOUS idea!!! I just love this! YOu are so creative and execute each thing so beautifully! Can't wait to see the whole table! Mine will be done NOT far in advance(Darn:) because we are hosting a surprise birthday party next Sat. for our new son-in-law! XO, Pinky

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  4. Oohh, I LOVE this idea! You are such a fabulous hostess. Thanks for sharing this inspiration!

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  5. I am picturing in my mind's eye what your guests see and how they feel when you open the door to them on Thanksgiving! Coming to your blog posts is like opening a favorite magazine for a recipe, a decorating tip or just to visit.

    Have a wonderful weekend!

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  6. I can't wait to see your Thanksgiving table, Yvonne. I love your place card idea... especially the way you decorated the frames.

    :)
    ButterYum

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  7. Those are just adorable! What a great idea for placecards and a take home ornament!

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  8. Absolutely beautiful Yvonne! It just amazes me how you create all of these wonderful things. It would take me forever to do the things you do. Best wishes for a wonderful weekend ♥

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  9. I love your placecard idea. I've wanted to do this for years but have never taken the time to put them together. But you've taken it further with the guest's name and the embellishments. I love that the placecard is a gift/ornament.
    Beautiful as alwasy and thank you so much for the inspiration! Maybe this year I will get this done!

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  10. These are adorable! I've done this before but I'm sure mine didn't look nearly as pretty as yours. I want to do it again. It really is a special touch.
    Look in your email because you have a very nice surprise waiting on you!

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  11. It will be a treat for your family & guests to come to your dining table for Thankgsiving! I love the gifts and the placecards; have a lovely weekend~

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  12. Love your place cards - great idea!
    Enjoy your weekend.

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  13. I absolutely love this place card idea! It is so sweet! I love place cards. When I did MaryKay years ago my kids would decorate my pink MaryKay business cards on the flip side and make the sweetest place cards for holiday dinners. Anne

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  14. Hi Yvonne,

    I adore the personal photo place card...beautiful and surely to spark great conversation. A can I just say what a handsome son you have...and how fortunate he and your entire family will be to sit at your gorgeous and bountiful tables anytime

    ~jermaine

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  15. That is a very, very fun idea. Your family will love it and it can be put to great use later. Thanks for sharing.

    Your son is very handsome!
    I'll bet he is/would be thrilled to know that his baby photo is on here...lol.

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  16. Yvonne! I was just thinking of what I'm going to do for place cards this year since I am serving dinner for 20! This is perfect and what a great conversation piece PLUS possibly a little gift to take home! I'm going to start working on it today! Thanks so much, your blog inspires me daily!
    Rainey

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  17. They turned out great Yvonne, I know you'll have such a good time:@)

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  18. Hi Yvonne,
    I did this one year for Christmas, but your decorated photos look ten times better. And, oh my, your son is drop dead gorgeous! ~Delores

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  19. Wow Christopher has great teeth. I always look at people and see what their teeth look like. And I love your idea. I have been looking for a great way to make place cards for my table. Now I know what it will be. Bless you.
    xo
    Betty

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  20. Love it. What a handsome young man your son is!

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  21. Very darling and your son is very handsome..:)

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  22. Thanks for the great idea Yvonne, I'm sure your table will look fabulous.

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  23. Yvonne, those are so nice. I am sure your guests will appreciate the extra work you go to for them. Your son is quite handsome, too.

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  24. Yvonne, this is a spendid idea. Your son is a handsome young man and he looks quite alike his Mom.
    Greetings, Johanna

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  25. Very touching place cards/ornaments - the guests will love them!! Esp like them in sepia to give a vintage feel and add uniformity to those of different generations- i am using a similar idea with sepia toned pics- but placing them onto scrapbook paper in a family tree design and then framing it during Christmas and will probably give it to my grandmother for a gift.

    have to add that we are using place cards this year- simple leaves with metallic pen used for the names- we have 35-40 expected guests.

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  26. Yvonne, An invitation to dine at your house must be viewed with great pleasure!!!! Your place card idea is so creative with the baby pictutes. And your very cute baby boy has grown into a very handsome young man! Linda

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  27. That is such a great idea.

    I'm cooking dinner---and making those cards!

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  28. Yvonne, love the baby photo place card idea. I always like to send my guests home with a little favor. Just might use this idea for our Christmas Eve dinner. ;-)

    Everything you do has such style. Thank you for generously sharing with all of us. ~ sarah

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  29. Yvonne, this is such an adorable idea! I also like your gift from last year and think I might be able to manage that for this year. If I start working on getting baby pictures now, I can use your great idea at next year's table. Love it!

    Your son is so handsome now and was so cute as a bundled baby!

    Thanks for sharing your creativity with us. Your blog is truly a blessing.

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  30. Hi Yvonne,
    I wanted to come over and congratulate you on your win over at Beatrice Banks. Tammy is such a sweetie and what she said about you makes me to know that you are a wonderful lady with a nice blog.
    I love your place card idea. Our Thanksgiving was in October here in Canada, but that would be a great idea for Christmas! I am off to see more of your blog now.
    Hugs, Cindy

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  31. What an adorable idea and I love how you have decorated the frames. What a handsome son you have ;) My table will be set several days ahead of time too.

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  32. What a great idea and a different way to do it, Yvonne! I love the way you've embellished the frames, too. Your son has grown into a handsome young man; I'm sure he'll be thrilled to see his baby picture on the table! :)

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  33. That is so precious and I'm sure your family will all get a kick out of the place cards. Happy Pink Saturday.

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  34. This is such a wonderful and unique idea. I love using old pictures. I may have to try my hand at this. Thanks for sharing. And your son grew up to be quite the handsome man!~Ames

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  35. What a fun idea. I can imagine everyone passing them around to show each other.

    I'm home 4 days from Florida and not able to catch up around here! I just hate knowing that I probably missed some really great posts...but, we can't do it all, can we?

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  36. Love it. Warm memories in the making that will last forever. What a wonderful idea!

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  37. Yvonne, that is a wonderful idea! So many good ideas, not enough time!! :)

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  38. what a pretty frame you got here. Thanks for the insrucions. I never made one of these before. HPS to you.
    Nancy

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  39. Bonjour Yvonne,
    What a nice touch, it is sure to be a hit. Christopher is a handsome young man, you must be such a proud mother.
    Thank you for the prayers my friend!
    Have a sweet Sunday,
    Mimi

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  40. What a great idea my friend....love the photo frame idea!

    Have a great Thanksgiving...ours is over in Canada so now I can focus all my attention on CHRISTMAS!!!!!! xoxoxo

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  41. Such simple beauty! I love this idea. You are so creative ~ thanks for sharing.

    Jo

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  42. I'm always in charge of placecards for our Thanksgiving dinner. I love the ones you created; each added element is perfect! Your son was a little cutie and is a handsome young man.

    Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful ideas.

    Brenda

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  43. Oh my God!!! What a lovely ideia. Thanks for sharing!!!

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  44. How pretty! Love everything. My, my your son is quite the handsome man. But what is this cashew crunch you speak of? I think I need to know more about that.

    ~Karen

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  45. What a great idea! Very crafty.

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  46. A lot of us will be very envious that you have gotten such a head start on your table, and I can see that you want Thanksgiving to be special for all who are at it.

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  47. Yvonne:

    Such a wonderful idea! You're lucky to get your hands on all of those baby pictures. Thanks so much for linking to Seasonal Sundays!

    - The Tablescaper

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  48. Cute idea! I've done this before with "retro" pics of friends that I scanned in from old photos and it really surprised them and was a sure conversation starter at our dinner party. Another time I put friends' photos into a poloroid (sp?) look via a photo site, and put them on a stick and "planted" them in a little pot by each place setting. Sounds like you are going to have a wonderful, well organized holiday week! Enjoy!

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  49. What a handsome young man your sweet baby boy grew up to be! I know you are SO proud of him!
    The photo place cards are a wonderful idea & will surely generate some fun discussions around the table.

    I have to tell you, Yvonne, I'm loving all the tips & reading about your preparations. I sure hope you get lots of help with the clean up. You have put so much into getting ready for your family's special gathering.

    Thanks for sharing it all with us.

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  50. wow how creative. I absolutely love the ideas! I love your blog and am a new follower!

    xo

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  51. Yvonne,
    First of all your son is GORGEOUS!!! Please don't hesitate to send him over to my next cocktail party so my girlfriends and I can get our 'inner-cougar' on and just stare at him a bit, sorry I need to focus here LOL!! Your menus, ideas, place cards and everything you do is so helpful to all of us! I can always leave here with an idea, a great recipe and a smile on my face!
    xx
    PS, I'm trying to get that short rib recipe together, a couple I based it on were very easy then I stumbled across a French version that was more time consuming so I combined them all. one thing I added was an ounce of bittersweet chocolate and it was amazing the depth that was added. Delicious. Next time I am going to make what you suggested, a side of cheesy polenta which is one of my favorite sides and would be perfect with the short ribs!!!
    Have a nice evening.

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  52. What a handsome young man. I love these placecards. Everyone would be so surprised. I may have to try this for our Christmas Eve table. Thanks for the very fun and charming idea. It would sure make the table conversation a lot of fun.

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  53. This is just lovely and your son is so handsome!

    Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

    Susan

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  54. I just love this idea. Can you tell us where to find these little picture frames? I bought some this size a few years ago at IKEA, but they don not carry them any longer. Thanks so much in advance! Keep all the wonderful ideas flowing! Sharon

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