Friday, November 4, 2011

Thirty Days of Thanks

That I may make the voice of thanksgiving to be heard, And tell of all thy wondrous works. (Psalm 26:7 ASV)

November is here, and to me that means giving thanks. After thumbing through one of the many catalogs that comes in the mail this time of year trying to sell me "holiday cheer," I saw a cute opportunity for a family project.

The inspiration (see left) came from Pottery Barn Kids.  Due to demand, they are sold out of the item and it's no longer on their website. But being crafty (and cheep!) I figured that I could do something similar for way less money and involve the entire family. So off I went to Michaels...

The materials I chose were:
-Scrap booking paper (a large book of monthly themed papers, on sale!), cut into fourths.
-Tiny clothespins ($3.00 for 50)
-Fall-themed tracers (I Googled "fall tracing patterns", saved the images I liked, put them in a Word document, adjusted their size, and printed them off. I may even laminate them for easier tracing...)
-Gold sparkly ribbon (on sale in the Christmas wrapping area!)

I used some Command hooks that I already had laying around the house and tied the ends of the ribbon to the hooks. I eyeballed the length and center of the wall and put up the hooks. Remarkably, it looks even.

Here's the fun part: building the project. Each day in November, one family member will add something he or she is thankful for to the ribbon-clothesline. He/she will trace the chosen shape onto the chosen paper, cut it out, and write the item for which he/she is thankful. It's a great activity for Maddie and Ava, who are very excited to trace and cut. I use a permanent marker to write the thankful sentiment, but Maddie can help me sound out the words.

This project has led to some tender family discussions around the dinner table. What are you doing to prepare your heart to give thanks this holiday season?

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