Our Thankful Tree tutorial

I'm sure you've seen the plethora of "trees" on Pinterest and blogs lately that have little tags/leaves listing things for which people are thankful. They're called a lot of different names: Thanks Tree, Gratitude Tree, Thanksgiving Tree, etc. Even though I usually try to stay away from doing the same crafts as a million other people, I really liked the idea of this tree. So I decided to do a quick version and call it "Our Thankful Tree".


This project was really easy, didn't cost anything but my time, and I like it so much that I plan to do a nicer, more permanent version next year. If you have young children, this is something they could do in less than an hour, and then their "leaves" could become keepsakes! Just date the back and you can see the changes from year-to-year!

We have a couple of river birch trees in the front yard, so I just stepped outside and grabbed a few branches that had blown off during a storm. The rest of the supplies were things that I already had in the craft room - and I'll bet you do, too!

Supplies:

• branches
• scrapbook paper (mine had a fall leaf pattern on it)
• 2" circle punch (you could use any size/shape punch, or just trace a circle & cut it out by hand)
• Mod Podge glitter
• hole punch (or you could just poke a hole in the paper)
• twine
• Misc: scissors, brush to apply Mod Podge, permanent marker, vase/container for branches

Directions:

I decided I wanted both a front & back to my "leaves", so I cut out twice as many circles as I needed, then for each "leaf", I glued two circles together (backs together, obviously, LOL)


Next, I applied a thin coat of Mod Podge glitter to the backs of the circles.

Once they were dry, I flipped them over and wrote the things we were thankful for on the fronts of the circles. Some were serious, some a little more light-hearted. Yes, you do see "Starbucks" and "shoes". What? I'm really, really thankful for them! "TV" is there for Gus - I'm not sure what he would do without TV...


Then I applied a thin coat of Mod Podge glitter to the front of the circles.

Once that was dry, I used a small hole punch to punch holes in the top of each circle. I threaded a piece of twine through the hole and knotted it to make a hanging loop.


I attached a couple of pieces of fall ribbon to a vase from Dollar Tree and added a few glass stones to hold the branches in place. Then I arranged the branches and added the "leaves".


Not bad for a "quick" craft! I really do want a nicer version, but I don't think I have time to do that this year. I jotted my ideas down in my "future projects" book so I can make it next year.

But if you're looking for something quick to whip out for Thanksgiving (table centerpiece?), it's the perfect craft. You could even have each person at your Thanksgiving table write down something for which they're thankful, then hang them all on the tree before dinner!

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