Crafting for Your Thanksgiving Table

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     Yesterday, we reshared our Thanksgiving 101 Timeline.  It is getting to be that time of year!  I love crafting things for the holidays and so my mind began to work on what I could do for the Thanksgiving table this year.  I came up with copper wire napkin rings and stemware charms using beads, charms and of all things Shrinky Dinks!  I had some Shrinky Dink Supplies left over from this post, so I decided to use it! They came out pretty cute, so I thought I'd share them with you and see what you think! 

     First of all, if you want to do crafty little things like this, you need to plan ahead!  This is kind of a fiddly craft, but it was also pretty fun!  No two napkin rings or glass charms looked the same, which means they would be very easy to personalize for individuals coming to your Thanksgiving Dinner! If nothing else, they would make a very fun kids table decoration and help the kids at that table feel special!  I'm using my very old Princess House stemware here, but you can purchase plastic stemmed glasses at Dollar Tree or from Amazon if you don't have enough of the real thing, or for the kids! 

     Here are the materials that I used to craft my napkin rings and glass charms: 

• 26 gauge copper jewelry wire 
• Shrinky Dink Kit​
• Charms and Beads with Thanksgiving Color or Flair  ​I used random charms that I already had, but you can find some on Amazon.  Also, I used initial charms.  You could use these as place cards to assign seats if you wanted! 

     The first thing that I did was make my Shrinky Dink Charms.  I traced pumpkin charms or all the same size onto the plastic, colored them and cut them out.  I also freehanded some acorns and colored and cut them out, too.  I made some of them a little too big, so beware of that! 

Ready for the oven

Don't for get to punch the holes before you put them in the oven! 

Here they are out of the oven. I put them in at 350 degrees F. and watch them shrink through the oven door. It only takes about 5 min.

Now your ready to craft! 
      Let's start with the napkins and make a napkin ring! 

Fold a square napkin into a triangle and then fold the corners towards the center as pictured.

Start at one side, with the point of the napkin up, and roll to the other side.

     Cut about a yard of the copper wire, maybe even a little longer than a yard.  Place your rolled napkin over it with about 6 inches extended on one side.  Use the long end and begin wrapping the wire around the napkin until there is about 6 or 8 inches left on the other side.  
     Pull the first end under the wrapped wires to secure it.  Then begin adding charms and beads to dangle on the front of the napkin.  One tip that I have is to add a charm or bead and then secure it in the place that you want it with a twist.  

I wanted this charm to dangle down a bit, so I put a twist there. Or, you could go through a bead twice to hold it in place.

You can put on as many or as few beads and decorations as you would like!  

End by twisting again over the wrapped wires and then making a twirl with the wire by wrapping it around a pencil!

     Now, let's move on to the glasses! 
     The stemware takes less wire.  I cut about an 18 inch piece for each glass.  The easiest way I found to do the glasses was to string everything on the wire first, before wrapping the stem.   
      I began by making a curly que on one end and then I added a bead and a Shrinky Dink pumpkin because I wanted those to rest on the food of the glass.  Then, I added other beads and charms along  the wire, leaving space for wrapping.  I would give the wire a twist at each charm to keep them in place.  After adding all that I wanted, I began at the base of the glass with the first curl and pumpkin charm, and then wrapped my way up the stem.  I reserved a few inches of wire to end with.  I would put the end through the last bead on the string to anchor it there and then use a pencil to make a curly que with the wire at the top.  Be careful to push any sharp parts of the wire out of the way! 

     Once you get the technique down, they go pretty fast.  I think they all look cute clustered together on a table!  I haven't decided whether I will do this yet, the jury is still out, but it is a possibility! 
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Here are some other little crafts and favors we've done in years past: 

• 2 Special Projects for Thanksgiving
• Cornucopia Favors
• Thankful Chalkboard
• Easy and Affordable Thanksgiving Centerpiece​
• Count Your Blessing Interactive Art