Happy Thanksgiving!

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is here already! I love the tradition of this day. No worries about what to make because it is always exactly the same! Once in a while we'll add a new dish to see if it's worthy of the day. Some are, some aren't. One we kept is a cranberry, apple oatmeal casserole that fits in perfectly and is ideal for breakfast the next day. We use my Mother's recipe for bread stuffing (simple but delicious), and my husband's Mother's recipe for wild rice casserole. Other than that, its the traditional turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes and corn. Talk about carb loading! But of course, the best part of the day is being with family and friends.

Another great tradition is watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. This year the Dream Team is hosting our own version of a Thanksgiving Parade with a parade of Christmas card "floats". Lynell has challenged us to create Christmas themed cards in non-traditional colors. So be sure to visit all the Dream Team blogs to get lots of great ideas.

I decided to create an Advent card, which is actually very traditional, but uses colors you would not normally choose for a Christmas card.

I started by taping the Candle Trio stencil (LM119) to white paper, then used small stencil brushes and Distress Inks to stencil color into the openings of the stencils. Mustard Seed on the flames with a little brush of Fired Brick near the base of the flames: Victorian Velvet and Worn Lipstick on the center candle and bow: Dusty Concord on the purple candles; Pine Needles on the holly leaves; and Fired Brick on the berries and to highlight the bow. Remove and clean the stencil and tape it back over the colored image. Apply Translucent Embossing Paste over the image, remove stencil and sprinkle the wet paste with crystal glitter. Let dry. Mount onto a layer of dark purple paper cut 1/4" larger than your white layer.

This close up of the candles shows how your colors will really shine through the Translucent paste and glitter when the paste dries clear.

The pink candle in an Advent Wreath represents Joy, so that's the word I chose to describe this beautiful season. While the candles are drying, take a larger piece of pink paper and center the word Joy near the bottom using the Love & Joy stencil (LG693). When you tape it to the paper, make sure you tape over any opening in the stencil that may get in the way (this is very easy). Apply Glossy White Embossing Paste over the Joy, remove the stencil and sprinkle the wet paste with crystal glitter.

When everything is dry, mount the layers together for a beautiful card that pays homage to the season without being red and green.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day and don't forget to finish "watching" our Dreamweaver Parade! Just click on the links below for the other team members "floats".

Deborah March

Georgia Sommers

Kim Parkinson

Kristi Van Doren

Laura Drahozal

Lee Kellogg

Liz Martin

Pam Hornschu

Terrece Siddoway

Wendy Jordan

and last but not least Dream it UP!

Happy Creating,

Louise