Stamped Leaf Garland of Thanks

While thankfulness is something we try our best to practice year round in our house, my little one and I usually take the week before Thanksgiving to really reflect on all we have to be grateful for and then spend some time creating a showcase of thankfulness to display in our home. This year’s display—a garland of thanks—is beautiful and easy to create with basic art supplies you probably already have around the house.

What you’ll need to create a stamped leaf garland of thanks:

• large leaves
• washable paint
• paintbrushes
• white paper
• scissors
• black permanent marker
• scotch tape
• string

1. To get started, head outdoors on a leaf hunt! Here in the desert, our leaf selection is extremely limited, but do your best to find large leaves of different types to add some variety to your garland.

2. Next, head back inside to do some leaf stamping. To do this, simply brush paint on one side of your leaf ensuring that it’s fully covered (but not drowning in paint).

3. Working quickly, flip the painted side of your leaf onto a piece of white paper. Gently press the leaf down onto the page in order to ensure you get a full leaf print.

4. Use the stem to slowly peel up the leaf and reveal your print. Create several leaves and allow them to dry completely.

5. Once dry, cut the leaves out.

6. Depending on the age of your child, this next step can look a variety of different ways. Because my little one is very interested in printing but not yet a proficient speller, I recorded the things she told me she was thankful for on post-it notes first and then she copied them onto the leaves using a Sharpie afterwards. Of course, some children may need help with the printing part, and some may not need any help at all.

Whichever way you do it, just be sure that you have one leaf that says ‘I am thankful for…’ as it will be a title of sorts for the garland.

7. With all of your leaves now finished, simply tape them along a length of string to create a garland. We placed our ‘I am thankful for…’ leaf on the very lefthand side, but it could also be placed in the middle.

8. That’s it—your garland of thanks is done! All that’s left to do now is to display it on a wall for all to see!

Happy Thanksgiving!