Thankful Tree

Give your Thanksgiving guests a chance to share what they are most thankful for with a Thankful Tree.  You could also use this as a great kid-friendly activity for the whole family.  The best part is that you can do the entire project using scrap papers!  Dig into your scrap paper stash and use some of those long-forgotten pieces.

Supplies:

• Fallen sticks
• Scrap paper
• Leaf die or scissors
• Therm O Web Sticky Strip Runner
• Therm O Web Zots – Small
• Vase
• Vase filler (acorns, rocks, moss, etc.)

1. Gather fallen sticks from nearby trees.  Cut to the proper length.  Gather scrap paper with brown, yellow, orange, rust, and red tones.  They can be striped, floral, or whatever pattern you desire.  You will see both sides of the leaf on the tree so double-sided patterned papers work well for this project.  You will also need some solid papers or cardstock scraps to write the words on. 

2. Cut out a lot of leaves.  For my family of 4 I cut out 32 leaves, 8 for each of us.  Each leaf should have the patterned background and a solid center to write on.  I made each leaf about 3.5 inches long because I have a 4-year old that still writes BIG.  Choose a size that works best for your participants.  Attach the solid center to the patterned leaf with Therm O Web Sticky Strip Runner adhesive.

3. Write what you are thankful for on the different leaves.

4. Attach the leaves to the sticks with Therm O Web Zots.  My leaves had nice long stems so I just wrapped the stem around the stick and attached with a Zot.

5. Arrange in a vase and display!  When Thanksgiving is over carefully remove the leaves to use on a scrapbooking layout.  Here is a quick sketch using the Thankful Tree leaves: