Have you ever made Thanksgiving Bunting? It’s a great way to take a moment
to think about all you’re grateful for, while adding whimsical holiday decor to your home.
Last week for The Creative Play Challenge, we made a list of what makes our hearts sing (aka, what we’re grateful for.) If you’d like to go back and review that post before you get started on today’s project, then click here.
When my husband and I were first married, I thought it would be fun to cut up kraft paper (or was it paper bags?) to make leaves and then string them in our dining room area. We brainstormed things we were thankful for (it had been quite a year of God’s provision that I won’t forget anytime soon—wow) and I wrote them out in white gel pen on the leaves. Because white gel pen ink looks awesome on brown kraft paper.
I was thinking about doing something similar this year by incorporating the list I made last week for the challenge, but on a stop in to Target I came across a set of dye-cut leaves on the mark down shelf and couldn’t resist. They were too perfect.
If you don’t have a Target in your area or can’t find these leaves, don’t worry. You can still do this activity. I’ll share how we decorated these leaves first and then share several more options, including using real leaves!
I wanted my daughter to be able to participate, so I pulled out the craft and painting supplies for her and we made a few leaves each day for a week. I’m all about the 15 minute craft time. 🙂
You can see below how some of the leaves were colored with crayons and some were stamped with circle sponges dipped in acrylic paint. I painted mine with watercolors. Since the leaves are dye-cuts, after they dried, I only had to pop them out and hole punch them to make the bunting. Too fun.
For the kraft paper leaf option, I cut a basic leaf shape out of brown paper and then decorated them. If you want to have some decorated leaves, I’d recommend painting, coloring, etc. an entire sheet of paper and then cutting out leaf shapes.
Take a moment to write out the things you are thankful for on the leaves. If you have kids or roommates, ask if they’d like to join in!
Use a piece of twine, ribbon, or string to hang your bunting. Our Thanksgiving bunting will go in the dining room again this year, just like that first year together.
A couple more ideas before I go . . .
Gather REAL leaves, press them between books to flatten them, and write your blessings on them.
Use your real or handmade leaves to make a paper wreath or table runner.
Cut out tiny leaves and decorate them for your journal or planner pages. In the image below, I could have written words on the leaves instead of drawing details on the leaves.
Think of ten things about a particular person who you’re grateful for, write those items on small leaves, and tuck them into a card.
Attach the leaves you’ve made to twine and hang them from a branch to make a Thanksgiving tree.
There are so many ways to practice gratitude. I hope these got your own imagination going—I’d love to hear what you’ll be making in the comments.
Hope you all have a lovely {and creative} week!
