We’re having cool morning fog lately, and cool weather always gives me a hankerin’ for soup so this week it was split pea. This time, I ventured out into new territory and grabbed the yellow versions instead. That’s me, livin’ on the edge! Green split peas beware, your yellow sisters are convincing me that they’re a tad bit prettier in the bowl. 

Here’s the easy recipe.  I like mine a little spicy, hence the cayenne. 

Spicy Split Pea Soup, Ingredients:

3 cups dried split peas

6 cups chicken or vegetable broth

4 cups water

1 cup finely diced carrots

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

crème fraiche + crouton garnish (optional)

To make: rinse split peas and drain. Place split peas in large pot and combine with broth. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes.  After 30 minutes, add cayenne, carrots, and additional water to pot, and simmer on medium low heat another 30 minutes, or until split peas are soft.  Add ½ to 1 cup of extra water or skim milk at the end if soup is too thick.  You can always add diced bacon or ham to make it meatier.  Garnish with a drizzle of crème fraiche + croutons (optional) and serve warm. 

So while I was whipping up a batch of split pea soup, I happened to notice that those pretty little split peas looked like brads used for cardmaking.  Hmmm.  My creative mind got to thinking, and while the soup simmered, I got my craft on and came up with a few little fun yellow split pea creations. 

Here are some kid craft ideas for your Thanksgiving table.  Set up a station with split peas, glue, scraps of paper, and dried bits of corn husks and have the kids recreate miniature ears of corn to embellish “I’m Thankful For” place cards for the table.

Make studded decorative napkin rings with more scraps of paper, glue, and peas. 

Or put them in charge of the centerpiece!  Hand the kids some pumpkins, and have them decorate the gourds in their own fun patterns.  

A great way to keep the kids busy during your Thanksgiving meal prep! 

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Janel shows us how she crafts some extra special touches during the season for her Thanksgiving table, and not a moment too soon since the big day is upon us !

Enjoy these simple and easy tricks for dressing up your seasonal tabletop, including Golden Twig Place Card Holders, Purple Flame Place Card Holders, a multiple use Starburst Bow, and a Giving Thanks Simple Place Card Holder.

Golden Twig Place Cards

  
Supplies: Scissors, pressed paper, gold metallic spray paint, pen, twigs (about four inches long) gold glitter, three large leafy greens from the yard, and hot glue.

Steps:  1) Begin with clean twigs found around the neighborhood or yard. Spray paint them gold, flipping once or twice to get full coverage.  2) Trace a leaf of choice on the paper, cut it out to reveal your paper leaf.  3) Write name on leaf, then dab a drop of hot glue on bottom on leaf on front side and quickly adhere to stick, with the stick being in front on the leaf.

 
For your centerpiece, spray paint oversized leaves from your yard gold, and while your paint is still wet, sprinkle with sparkles on top.  When dry, dust off the excess glitter and plop into a vase to coordinate with your twig place card holders. 

Purple Flame Candle Holder Place Cards 

Supplies: Scissors, thin wire, small fall leaves, purple marker/sharpie, wire cutters, votive candle holders (glass & clear,) tags, and silk ribbon in a neutral color.

Steps: 1) Begin with the votive candle holder and placement of leaf. Wrap the wire around it, and securely twist the ends together.  2) Twist the wire end to the front, and wrap silk ribbon around the votive, following the wires placement. 3) Tie ribbon around front of leaf.  3) Write name on tags before attaching them to the votives.  Snip off string attached to tag, and use wire to secure into place in center of votive. Where the ribbon is tied. 

For added drama, take a small amount of gummy adhesive and place on top of crystal candle holders. Place votive place-cards on top of candle holder, pressing firmly down to secure and prevent sliding.

Isn’t this a gorgeous idea, and fabulous use of jewel tone colors ?  Notice the casual draping of beads across the table.  Love it !

Starburst Bow – Multiple Uses

Steps:  Begin by cutting two pieces of yarn, one 2.5 feet and the other 3 to 5 inches.  Take the longer piece and wrap around an open hand (trying to keep each wrap even sizes.) 2) Create your circle of yarn, and tie the center securely with the 3 inch long piece. The extra length of this piece will be used to tie onto gifts, bottles or napkins.  4) Use a small piece of wire to wrap a bead to sit in front of bow. Leave a little wire on the backside.  5) Use the scissors to snip open the loops on each side. 6) Cut a leaf shape from the hand-made paper. Secure in the back with the extra wire to be used as the gift tag. 

Use these to dress up your vino on your table or sideboard for Thanksgiving, and pull the whole look together buy making some complimentary napkin holders to coordinate.  Use mini punched leaves to make personalized wine glass tags. These make great gift toppers too !

Giving Thanks Simple Place Card Holder

Supplies: Scissors, yellow construction paper, tan hand-made paper, leaf hole punch, gold/bronze wire, silk orange ribbon, crayons, chunky yarn, pen, scotch tape, glass beads.

Steps:  1) Begin by cutting the yellow construction paper into 4″x 4″ squared. Loosely roll each one and secure with tape. 2) Cut the hand-made paper into 2.5″ x 4″ rectangles.  Roll them around the yellow rolls and secure with tape. 3) Take about a 6″-7″ strand of the silk ribbon and secure tie around the roll. 4) Snip out leaves with the yellow construction paper and the leaf hole punch. 5) Take a 3″ length of the wire and poke it through one of the leaves.
6) Roll one end of the wire around a pen to get a coiled effect (be careful not to crush the leaf, then stuff one end of the wire through the ribbon around the roll. 7) Cut yellow paper into a 3″ x .5″ piece to roll around the crayon. 8) Write names before securing to crayon. 10) Roll over crayon and secure with tape or glue. 

Giving Thanks idea:  At the beginning or end of dinner, have each guest unravel their “roll” and write with their crayon one thing they are thankful for on the yellow paper. Begin a “Thankfulness Minute” as each person continues to pass the yellow notes to the right until the circle is complete. 

If you’re interested in some simple printable place card holders, take a look at these designs.  

Janel offers you this PDF file for her harvest collection place cards right here. 

Thank you so much Janel for sharing your creative ideas with us.  Show her some love by leaving a complimentary comment, and check out Janel’s cute blog right here.  Look for more guest posts coming soon !