Thankful Notes

With Thanksgiving on its way I wanted a way for our family to remember what we are thankful for.  We have so many blessings we just sometimes need a reminder. This year I decided to use a frame I already had to pin up our thankful notes each day in November.

I started with a white frame. It had a canvas in it that I probably used for a chalkboard. So you could find any size frame from around the house or a thrift shop.

I spray painted it, of course, using Avocado green by Valspar. It is not a perfect paint job and that is ok because I am not done (plus it was cold and windy the day I sprayed it and I was done).

The green was too bright so I used some stain I had on hand. Then with a rag I dipped it in the can and then squeezed out most of the stain and then wiped it on the frame. I wanted a light coat, not too dark just an aged look. I continued around the frame until I got the look I desired.

Not a great picture but you can see how the stain settled in some of the cracks and corners.

I picked up some chicken wire from Home Depot and stable gun and wire cutters I had on hand.

I unrolled the chicken wire and stapled it down on one side to secure it.

I tried to stretch it a little from top to bottom so it didn't bubble out so much then I stapled along the top and bottom. I cut the wire before stapling the last side.

And that is it! Pretty easy!

I picked up some small clothes pins at Michaels and cut some card stock into various shapes. I placed them nearby so the kids could grab them easily.

The kids have had lots of fun writing down things they are thankful for as well as drawing pictures. I love seeing their pictures and it also helps practice spelling for all the kids. The beginning of November is easy to come up with ideas, I look forward to later in the month when they have to get creative. You can only write "family" once. We are putting our names on the back so I can save them and next year we can read them again. This will be a great family tradition.

This will also be great to display Christmas cards and maybe even love notes for Valentines day.

Do you have a tradition with your family on ways to show what you are thankful for?

I hope you all are having a wonderful week!

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