Give Thanks – Paper Quilt

by Amy on November 18, 2010

I wanted to do a project with the girls that would help us focus on gratitude and all the many things we have to be thankful for. Last year, we wrote Thankful Poems and we enjoyed pulling those out and reading them again.
We’ve done all sorts of turkey projects in the past, which always turn out cute – I’ve seen some really creative crafts and activities out and about blogland this year. For some reason, though, I was not feeling inspired!
A few days ago, we were puttering around with craft stuff and ended up putting together a paper quilt project using things we had around the house. I love how it turned out – sometimes those spur-of-the-moment things are the best!
We started with an 18″x24″ canvas (that has been taking up space and needing a purpose). The girls helped me look through our stash of scrapbooking paper scraps for blues, greens, and browns. I cut 3″ squares and we used Mod Podge to attach them patchwork-style to the canvas.

We then set to work creating little paintings of things we are thankful for. We used 3″ squares of white cardstock, extra-fine Sharpies, and watercolors with tiny brushes.

We let our little paintings dry, then used Mod Podge again to glue them to the canvas. I just love the combination of the girls’ handwriting and their tiny drawings!

Here is the finished product, in all its simple-and-meaningful glory. We gave it a nice place of honor in our living room, and I can see myself enjoying it year-round.

Do you have any gratitude projects in the works at your house? Anyone using a gratitude journal with kids – I’m thinking of doing something along those lines and would love to hear your ideas!