Hat's Off!

Last night was Pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving, the annual gathering that my friends and I have before actual Thanksgiving.  I chose to pass the hosting torch to someone else this year so I was off the hook for hostess duties, oh, and for cooking the turkey duty too!  This year’s hostess, however, allowed me to indulge my “force your friends to take home a kitschy holiday keepsake” tradition.  I’ve made name place cards for the past two years and now they’ve become hot collector’s items! 

I found this year’s inspiration from that cutting edge company Fiskars via Pinterest of course!

First you start off with a black paper cup that you can get at any party store, some black cardstock, some white cardstock, and pretty yellow scrapbook paper.

Cut a large circle from the black cardstock (luckily, I had a coaster that was just the right size for my template!)  Then, paint the rim and the bottom of the cup black.

 

Dip the rim of the cup in some glue, turn it over and place it in the center of the black circle.  Make sure the seam of the cup is facing the back.   

If you want a truly authentic pilgrim hat - or want to commemorate the new movie Lincoln - STOP NOW.  DO NOT GO FURTHER.  If you choose to go further, please be aware, that one of your friends will most likely look up “pilgrim hat” on Wikipedia to inform you that pilgrim hats were really just black hats with no embellishments.  We’ve all been living a lie folks.  Next they’re gonna tell me that Columbus didn’t really discover America. 

The Pilgrims might’ve liked to keep their hats simple but I liked the jazzy sash and buckle that we've all seen on every Pilgrim image since the first grade so...

Cut a strip of white cardstock and glue it around the cup.  I ended up just cutting a small strip for the front of the hat.  Then cut a square of the yellow scrapbook paper and place it in the middle of the white strip so it looks like a buckle.  (I actually assembled the sash and buckle first before I glued the whole piece to the cup.)

Write the guest’s name on the brim of the hat in a shiny gold marker that you may have to borrow from a friend.  I guarantee you will have a friend who will have a gold marker.  Just ask.  But don't ask me because I actually don't have a gold marker.      

Viola!  An awesome place card to adorn your Thanksgiving table!  Not to mention, a keepsake for the ages! 

These were so easy to make!  I ended up joining forces with one of my friends and we banged out 15 in no time!  

It’s already time to start thinking about the name place card for Pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving 2013!