Tuesday, November 06, 2012

Give Thanks Frame


I forget exactly how I stumbled upon this idea - it was a blog hop I'm pretty sure! But at any rate, this combines two ideas I found that night. First - the frame! Here was my inspiration. I really loved her idea and even the cards where you write things you are thankful for but we love our ABC's of Thanks around here - so I knew I wouldn't really use it for that.

But, after that - I came across this bunting idea and loved the thought of having something to do together all of November up to Thanksgiving. And with a big birthday in early November I knew that sewing the bunting was probably not realistic.

So I combined the two ideas and came up with this instead!

I started with a $1.91 frame from Goodwill, some craft paint, paper and mini clothespins.


I mixed together Kelly Green paint and a little Teal to get this color I was envisioning! After the paint was dry, I sanded it for a more rustic look. I preferred my twine lines to be straight - so I just stapled rows of twine right into the back of the frame with a heavy duty stapler. 

Next it was time to embellish it a little - the neat flower is a pin that I received in a swap box and I love wearing it! But, I also wanted to use it here so I tied it on with a ribbon where I can easily remove it when I'm ready to wear it again! I also found some stickers in my stash and some old key embellishments - so used things I had on hand.



I sort of brainstormed a list of ideas of things to do and then made the little cards and solidified my list. I came across this adorable art - if you Google "Happy Thanksgiving Vintage Truck" you should find it as well! I added numbers to the photos and printed them all out on one sheet. After cutting those out, I taped them onto brown paper and wrote the activities on the back. Then laminated the mini cards and cut those out.

We can turn the card over each day and leave it turned over to see the things we have done together so far. So I will let one of my littles turn a card over each day and we will have fun doing something together every day.



Here is my list for November 1-24 {I really tried to think about our schedule and what I knew I could do each day so some days are definitely easier than others! I also wanted some to be service oriented and of course some to be fun!}

1: rake leaves
2: Emily's birthday
3: fireside picnic
4: make our ABC's of Thanks chart
5: read a Thanksgiving book
6: watch a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving movie
7: make a fun Thanksgiving recipe
8: deliver goodies (made yesterday) to the neighbors
9: pack shoeboxes
10: print fun Thanksgiving activity and coloring pages
11: sing songs of thanks
12: make a "thankful for you" card
13: shop for the Food Pantry
14: go on a nature walk
15: make a fun Thanksgiving recipe
16: host a Harvest Party or just bob for apples, do sack races and fun games in your backyard
17: make Family Trees and paint
18: read Thanksgiving books
19: make a fun recipe or craft
20: clean out a few clothes and toys to share with others
21: deliver goodies to the children's shelter
22: dress up like pilgrims and act out
23: go for a family bike ride
24: watch a Christmas movie

I've been searching for fun recipe ideas - here are a few links for my reference and your inspiration:
Teepee Treats
Sweet and Salty Holiday Treats
Sparkling Candy Corn Cookies
Gobbling Good Cupcakes
Thanksgiving Turkey Cookies
Mini Caramel Apples
Sweet Turkey Treats


I had fun making it and think it will be fun to enjoy these things throughout November! Do you have any fun traditions for November?

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Awesome idea! I know the Silhouette company has a similar idea posted as well.

Melissa said...

Wow! You did a great job! I'm feeling very inspired now...maybe we could make one together??? My crafty juices flow better when you are around.

I'm thinking antique(ish) green for Jane's room. I already have the twine and clothes pins and ideas of what to display.

Enjoy this very rainy, cold, and gray day!

Wendi said...

Love this! I don't have much planned for November, but will be doing something similar in December.

angie said...

I love this idea on so many levels. You can re-use this frame for other countdowns, displays, etc. Instead of another "treat behind each door", these activities are family or service oriented. And, again, you made it with very little cost!
I'm thinking of doing something similar for the Advent season.

Aimee said...

darling! think I'll turn this into an Advent idea with 24 days of giving!

Valerie said...

As always, I love your craftiness!

More than Survival said...

What a FANTASTIC idea~!!! LOVE it!! Need to figure out how to do something like this!

Yvonne said...

Absolutely love this idea! And the frame could be used all year long to post daily thanks to God throughout each month. Going to pin this one! Thank you for sharing... :)