2013 {Thanksgiving} Mantel

Happy Monday all! Can you believe that the month is already HALF over and we are quickly approaching Thanksgiving? I am having a hard time wrapping my head around it.

Today I wanted to share my Thanksgiving Mantel with you.  If you can remember, a few weeks back I shared my list of Thanksgiving Tutorials that I wanted to try.  Well... I got around to doing some of them, but not all.  

So here are the things I was able to complete!

1. "Give Thanks" Canvas Tree from UCreate Crafts.  This project was a fun project that I did one afternoon while the girls were over.  While the project is not hard to do, it does take quite a bit of time to complete and you should plan on taking a few hours to get it done from start to finish

2. "Eat, Drink, and Be Thankful" printable from Five Heart Home.  All I had to do was print the sheet out and put it in a frame.  However, I did re purpose the picture frame from my Halloween Mantel by repainting it to dark brown with acrylic paint.  This allowed all of my artwork to match.

3. "Fall Fabric DIY Wreath" from Sweet Pea Pod.  For this project, I used the leftover fabric from the Give Thanks canvas tree and wrapped it around cut out cardboard pieces.  For the square, I used an almost empty cereal box and cut out a piece from each side and glued them together  The flowers are from leftover yarn from a baby blanket I made for Rachel's shower.  The lettering was made from leftover paper from my niece's 1st birthday party.  So basically, aside from the fabric I purchased for a different project, the project was free!

4. The "Sitting Scarecrow" from Pier One I purchased when I was out with my mom.  It added just a little flair to the empty spot on my mantel and it was fairly inexpensive.  They are currently on Sale for $9.98!

5. "Gobble 'Til You Wobble" Printable from A Spectacled Owl.  This printable was so cute that I could not pass it up.  Again, I had to do was print the picture and put it in the frame.  However, this frame was also re purposed from my Halloween Mantel and was painted orange to match the canvas.

6. "Happy Thanksgiving" Banner from Gerbera Designs.  This was also a printable form that you just print, cut out and hang up yourself.  I used a hole punch to punch two holes in the each flag then strung leftover ribbon I had from a previous project.

That is my Thanksgiving Mantel for 2013! What did you think? 

I'd love to see your mantels or other decorations that you've created for this festive Thanksgiving Holiday! If you'd like to share, please post a link to your blog / page and I will make sure to link it right into this post!

How to Be Happy {According to Elite Daily}

Happy Thursday everyone! It's the day before the last day of work for the week and I sure am very excited! Tomorrow, Justin and I will be going to our first EVER Red Wings Game so I am overly excited.  I even made sure to go out and get my fan gear beforehand.

20 Things You Need to Let Go to Be Happy

Photo Courtesy of Delivering Happiness

While scrolling through my Facebook today, I came across this article that one of my local radio show hosts posted.  This article struck me pretty hard because, while most of the statements are obvious, I often forget them.  I hope these are as helpful for you as they were to me! 

Things You Need to Let Go:

1. The Approval of Others
2. Anger/Resentment
3. Negative Body Image
4. Idea of a Perfect Partner
5. Perfect Life
6. You're Going to Be Rich
7. The Idea that Good Fortune Will Arrive at Your Doorstep
8. Excuses
9. Thoughts of Your Ex
10. Stubbornness
11. Procrastination
12. Your Baggage
13. Negativity
14. Judgmental Thoughts
15. Jealousy
16. Insecurity
17. Depending on Others for Happiness
18. The Past 
19. The Need for Control
20. Expectations

Out of all of these, I would say I struggle most with negative body image, stubbornness, the need for control and expectations.  While I knew that I already struggled with all four of those aspects {and a some of the other ones} this post reminded me that we are constantly learning and constantly growing.  And...

So here is my question/challenge to you: which of these 20 do you struggle with and what are you doing to do about it? 

Blog Topic Idea Series: Part II

Happy Tuesday Readers! 

Here's another post with some fun ideas/topics for you to cover on your blog and ideas that I will hopefully cover here on RunwithJackabee!

+Tell a Story in GIF Form: This idea originated from TripleSEO.  The idea is to take an event in your life and fill it with GIFs of what happened.  Honestly, I love looking at GIF stories because they often are very comical.

+Host a Giveaway: Idea originally from The Dating Divas.  If you are looking for a way to drive a ton of traffic to your blog, then host a giveaway.  Often times you can find more success if you connect with several other blogs and all host the prize.  

+Share a Few Regrets: Courtesy of Secret Regrets.  In this post you can share a few of the biggest regrets you have in your life.  It is a great exercise for you and you can include your readers by asking them to comment anonymously what they regret.

+Host a Tour of Your House/Apartment: Inspired by Little Baby Garvin.  The idea here is to share what your living space looks like.  Readers really enjoy seeing your posts, but it makes it more enjoyable for them when they can actually see where these things are happening in your day-to-day life.

+Do a Handwritten Blog Post: Neat Concept from Random Tidbits of Thought.  This concept may seem a bit strange for everyone, but it gives the readers a chance to see you for who you are and gives them a chance to get to see you on a different level.  Write your entire blog post in paper and take a picture of it.  That will be your entire post.

So were you inspired? I sure hope so! I plan on incorporating these ideas sometime in the near future! Who knows, maybe they will show up next week.

Happy Tuesday!