Pretty Handy Girl

Every year, my wonderful mother-in-law hosts Thanksgiving. My contribution is usually to provide the centerpiece. (Yes, I got out of cooking the turkey all these years?! Suh-weet!)

This year, I've been captivated by the beautiful fall leaf colors that are swirling around us here in North Carolina. Apparently there is an extraordinary display of colors this year due to the perfectly coordinated weather conditions this summer. (Don't ask me what those are because I heard it on the news and promptly forgot!)

Today on the way home from picking up my youngest from preschool, I pulled over to the side of the road and ~~stole~~ scooped up some gorgeous crimson red leaves from a japanese maple tree.

Then a mile later I did a quick u-turn after spying these bold yellow leaves from a Gingko tree.

I filled two grocery bags and brought them home (hoping upon hoping that I hadn't scooped up anything gross in my haste to grab the leaves before the homeowners ran out of their homes.) Okay, seriously, is stealing leaves a punishable crime?

To make the hurricane centerpiece, I took one large vase and then placed a smaller jar inside it. I added the foil to the bottom of the smaller vase so it wouldn't wobble on the curved bottom of the large cylinder.

I gently stuffed half the space between the hurricane vase and the smaller vase with red maple leaves.

Then I added the yellow gingko leaves to the other side of the vase.

You can see that I created a diagonal line where the two colors met.

I did this to add visual interest. Next I inserted some red leaves on top of the yellow area, and vice versa. I played with the arrangement of the leaves until I was happy with the results. Then I cleared any stray leaves out of the middle jar and added a candle.

And that's it. I'm done - it's beautiful - and I'm thankful I didn't have to spend hours cooking!

I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh, did you see those cute sweater vases? They are all the rage in Bloggerville. Stephanie Lynn at Under The Table and Dreaming has a great tutorial here if you would like to make your own.