...to Decorate for November.

Thanksgiving is almost upon us, and I've contributed approximately zero to the decorating process.  My office is presently bare of oranges and browns, pumpkins and turkeys.  My room is devoid of festivity.  And our big white front door...just big and white.  It was about time I did something.  Well, one thing.  And here is the story of my single contribution to Thanksgiving.  And like most of my stories, this did not involve an extra trip to the store, because I used only things I found around the house.

Remember that foam board storage container?  Well, I had an extra sheet of foam leftover, and I decided to make a wreath.  At that point, I didn't know what else I was going to use, so I went on a hunt.  I knew I wanted it to be orange.

A toilet seat?

I found some batting and raffia in the spare room.  It was a start, but I still couldn't find anything orange.  I put the batting to use by rubber cementing it onto the foam, because who wants a boring old flat wreath.  My wreath, at the very least, would be a squishy one.

A really comfortable toilet seat.

Back to the hunt for my something orange.  I searched the craft closet.  No orange fabric, no orange yarn, no orange orange tissue paper.  Nothing!  So I got desperate and started searching my closet, my drawers.  I wasn't giving up.  How could I not own a single orange article of clothing?  And then, I remembered it.  A single orange shirt, folded and stuffed in a bag for Goodwill, waiting patiently by the door until I had the time to make the trek out there.  Perfect!

It's ugly, but no one has to see the back!

I wasn't sure at first how I wanted to apply fabric, because I figured glue just wouldn't hold it together.  I couldn't find a stapler either, although I'm not sure if that would have worked either.  I settled on tying the shirt in knots around the foam board.  This actually turned out to be much easier than the glue, as there was no drying time, so I didn't have to impatiently wait to complete the next step.

Once I finished wrapping the wreath in fabric.  I used smaller strips of the orange shirt, twisted into ropes, and wrapped them around the wreath to add subtle detail.  At the bottom, I used a braided strip for a little extra pizzazz.

Using the remaining strips of fabric, I made flowers.  I folded the strips in half to get a finished edge, and used the rubber cement to seal them together.  You could add as many as you wanted, really.  I mean, you could even make an entire wreath this way, it would probably look pretty cool.  I ended up with ten or eleven.

And finally, I added the raffia I scrounged up.  It provided the perfect Fall touch to an otherwise very plain and orange wreath.

Add a pumpkin here, a scarecrow there, and you're ready for Thanksgiving!  Easy, quick, and festive!