We’re trying to remember to be purposefully thankful this month so we made a Thankful Tree.
We started with a branch from the backyard.
Note: No living trees were harmed in the creation of this project.
Of course, I had to hit it with my favorite red spray paint…Krylon Banner Red. (It would have been fine au-naturale too. If you’re ok with naked sticks in your house.)
Then we put it into my Jute Twine Vase. There’s a piece of floral foam hot glued to the bottom. And some rocks for stability.
We’ll use the little paper tags to write down things that we’re thankful for throughout the month. This would be adorable if you have paper leaves to write on. But I was using what I had…paper tags. I’m hoping this will keep us in the habit of being grateful.
For the expected things…
For the sweet things…
For the things that bring tears to this mama’s eyes…
For another great idea for encouraging intentional gratitude, check out this post that Robin at Pensieve wrote for (in)courage.
And if you missed our Make Your Home More Welcoming Challenge from this morning, scroll down or check it out here.
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Oh, I love the way you did this! We do a thankful tree, but we make it out of construction paper and glue on construction paper leaves. This is a fabulous twist, so much better than construction paper. =)
Lovey, love, love this! My 3.5 yr old will get a kick out of hanging up the tags plus it’s a great excuse to use my Cricut
Thanks, Kimba. PS – love the new site. I’m updating my feed now…
Lovin’ this Thankful Tree!
The red spray paint transformed it into fun and hip!
Prefer the RED to the natural!
Cute tags…also make it fun and funky!
Cutest one I’ve seen!
I know your kidos love this!
BEAUTIFUL & THOUGHTFUL — a perfect combination. Thank you!
I love this idea! I’ll have to go hunting for a nice branch!
I think I would use it for other holidays, like Christmas and Easter – adding tags with words that reflect the holiday, or scriptures…. Oh.. and for birthday’s the “tree” could be set up (and decorated??) then each family member can fill out cards with things we love about the birthday boy/girl… Ok… too many ideas in my head.
Great idea!
I absolutely love this idea. You are always so creative, I love getting ideas from you.
Love this!! Some great ideas in the comments too.
I LOVE THIS! Thank you for sharing it!!!
So sweet…Jesus…yes…Jesus…
Adorable! I love that you painted it red. Very cute! I love the sweet, honest things children are thankful for. My oldest told me this morning that she’s thankful for Jesus and it melted my heart.
What a simple and fabulous idea! I love it!
This is a fantastic idea. I have been looking for a way to have some sort of gratitude display in our home and this is perfect. I use tree branches for decorating anyway, so this will tie in beautifully. Thank you for sharing.
I LOVE this idea. I am going to give it a try.
) Thanks
How funny! We were just making leaves this morning to use on a thankful tree of our own! Great minds think alike!
We made “crayon leaves,” copying this idea from A Pretty Cool Life: http://yourcoolfriendcheryl.blogspot.com/2009/09/crayon-leaves-for-pretty-autumn-window.html
I love this idea!
Kimba, you know my boys are big Lego fans. One year, on Good Friday, one of them made me a Lego cross with Jesus hanging on it. I have a cross collection. Guess which one is most special to me?
Little boys have a special gift for bringing tears to their mamas’ eyes. Maybe it’s because Jesus was a little boy once.
Love this idea. Thanks for sharing it.
I love the idea – especially the notes the kids have added. Love the new blog too – gorgeous! You’ve definitiely been an inspiration!
I’m having my first link party & giveaway, (all about Holiday Treats & goodies), so please pop by!
Jaime
http://modern-country.blogspot.com/
I love this idea. Wish I’d done it when my boys were small. I’ll have to wait another year til my grandson can write – he’s 2 now. I love hearing that other families are doing the same thing.
We did this at a Thanksgiving service for church last year. We had asked people to come prepared to share a poem, story, or some other ‘thankful’-related thing, and had the tree all set up there (we just used a clear vase and filled it with sand) and had cut out paper leaves ahead of time (from construction paper) and amid the stories and thanks-related songs, people could come up (individually or as families) and write things they were thankful for and hang the leaves on the tree. It was really neat.
Love this! Following, and looking forward to visiting you again! Blessings to you!
Joyfully,
Wylie
What a wonderful idea. The branch looks great painted and I love the tags.
Kimba I love this idea! What a wonderful way to count your blessings, as well as have a keep sake of all that you are thankful for, for years to come! ox
I love this idea… beautifully done too…
Just precious!
m ^..^
Really great idea! I love that you painted the branch. Very creative.
I actually did this prompt this week for the Writer’s Workshop!
I love this idea! Mine are too small to write yet, but my two yr old will say “mom, pay Jesus?” which means “mom, can we pray to Jesus?” and that always warms my heart.
Praying our little ones come to know Him early on,
Courtney
What a neat idea.
I love this. I will be doing this with my kiddos. Thanks to Tropical Storm, Ida, we have loads of limbs to choose from. I could do enough Thankful Trees for all your readers, in fact!
It would be great to carry this on into Christmas and sorta make it an Advent tree. Put on the tags different things to do in relation to the season and have the kids pick something off each day. Fun. This is my first time to comment on your site, but I had to tell you how inspiring the DIY days have been to me. I actually have redone a nightstand and a lamp in the past 2 weeks. I’ve always been too scared to mess with anything before. Thanks for the inspiration.
Found your post through your comment on (In)Courage. I like your idea. It has a much more modern feel to it, as compared to my family’s thankful tree. I like the tags!
Awww, I love it.
Gorgeous ! And so festive. What a sweet sentiment. Will you hang ornaments come Christmas ? That branch is too purty to put away after Thanksgiving. Loving the red spray paint !
Kate
Beautifully accomplished!
Thank you, sweet friend…
All’s grace,
Ann
This is a great idea. I’ll have to remember this one for next year. It goes along well with the Thanksgiving garland I made. You can see it at this link http://www.simplymodernmom.com/2009/11/thanksgiving-garland/
oh, how i love this idea. you’d think by the third child i’d have mindful gratitude down, but it’s still a struggle… what a beautiful and fun and concrete way of capturing it. Thanks for the suggestion. -Molly
Kimba – Thank you for the inspiration to make our own!
(Course, we might have gone…too big – lol!)
You can see it at
http://cookingatcafed.blogspot.com/2009/12/our-thankful-tree-and-big-thanks-to-2.html
DanaMc
I wish I had come across this sooner, but what a great idea. I love fall and fall decor….especially thanksgiving! I can’t wait for next year to do this!
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