Thankful Tree



You see lots of Thankful Trees this time of year- it's such a sweet way to focus on gratitude. I like the symbolism of a tree, as in "family" tree.

At Thanksgiving, our family always writes down the things we are grateful for, and then we read them aloud during the meal. This year, I decided to make our own Thankful Tree, as a little bit different way to continue our tradition.



As guests come in, they can take a tag and write down the things that they are thankful for.

To make my tree, I started with sticks and small branches out of my back yard. 
I have several huge, ancient pecan trees, so I knew finding materials would not be a problem.

Needing something for the base of the tree, I remembered an old silver urn I had out in the garage- it was tarnished and dusty.

I wiped the dust off and decided to leave the tarnished patina as it was. I poured some rocks into it, and placed the first branch.

Arrange the branches until you get the shape you like.



I stamped tags that I found at a crafts store.





What are you thankful for this year? 






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53 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Rhonda, thank you so much, and thanks for coming by! :)

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  2. What a great idea!! Wish I could pull one of those off and how thankful I am for you!! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

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    1. Kay, you are so sweet- I am so very thankful for you, too. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving! :)

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    2. I really like this idea!

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  3. Hello Joy! Thank you for stopping by my little 'ol blog! :) I love all of your fall decorations! What an AWESOME idea for Thanksgiving!

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    1. Taylor, thank you! I had a lot of fun making it! :)

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  4. Love this! And so easy to do! I'm thinking I may do one for Christmas! Found you through Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson.
    Blessings, Diane

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    1. Diane, thank you so very much for visiting from Mrs. Olson's....I was so late to the party, I almost didn't link up! It was my first time at her party- I love it! And I love your idea for using the Thankful Tree at Christmas; it's good to focus on gratitude at every chance. :)

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  5. Replies
    1. Thank you, Brenda, and thanks so much for visiting! :)

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  6. What a creative and beautiful idea! I would love to do this. Thank you for sharing!

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    1. Thanks, Vashti- I really enjoyed putting it together. I appreciate that you came by- thank you! :)

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  7. Such a pretty tree and great idea! Love the Stamp that you used!

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    1. Melissa, thank you so much! This is really special to me, and I appreciate your comment about it. :) I really love the stamp, too- I had a kind of a hard time finding exactly what I was looking for, and finally ended up ordering one on Amazon.com. I can't believe that I thought about it that far in advance. ;)

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  8. Such a pretty and appropriate Thanksgiving decoration! We get so busy cooking and preparing that the "thanks" can get lost. I am pinning this idea. Right now our puppy would eat it. He has a driving need to rid the earth of sticks and branches. I think he would figure out a way to eat it, no matter how high up I displayed it. :)

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    1. Ha! Wendy, I think you are smart to wait until your sweet puppy won't be as likely to eat all of your thankfuls. :) He would think it was an early Christmas present, just for him!! Thank you so much for coming by, and for pinning! :)

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  9. Joy, this is so beautiful and I LOVE how you put this together! You are not going to believe this, but I have almost the exact same urn - it belonged to my mother-in-law! The cards are just lovely. Thank you so much for sharing with us and of course, pinning! Hope you have a happy Friday! Hugs! xoxo

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    1. Thank you- it was definitely one of those heart-felt projects! I love that you have an almost-the-same urn. I hope yours is in better condition, lol! Thank you for coming by- I am truly thankful for you, Cindy!

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  10. Joy, I love your Thankful tree. I actually thought about making one this year, but it didn't happen. The rustic urn is the perfect base and I love your stamp. We often go around the table and say one thing we are thankful for. Sometimes to give it a twist they name some thing that starts with the first letter of their name. This year I am so thankful to have my youngest daughter and sil return home after being in Europe and Africa for a year. So happy to have you share with Share Your Cup.
    hugs,
    Jann

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    1. Thank you, Jann. I like your tradition of going around the table and saying one thing; how fun to choose something that starts with the first letter of their name!! I want to do that one, too. Let's see, "Jam, Journeys, Junkin' (lol)....I'll have to come up with some good ones. What a fantastic gift to have for the holidays- your daughter and sil HOME! Oh, here's another "J": Joyful Reunion"! :)

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  11. Replies
    1. Ashley, thank you so much. It's not an original idea with me, but I did put my own spin on it. :) I really enjoyed making it.

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  12. Love it! What a beautiful way to celebrate Thanksgiving (with something other than food!)

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    1. Thank you, Stacey! This project came from the heart, so it does mean a lot to me. :)

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  13. Love this!!!! Please add to this to our linky party, http://thecraftiestallie.blogspot.com/2013/11/friday-follow-along-linky-party-tgif.html

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    1. Thank you for the invitation, Allie! I have linked up with your great party! :)

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  14. That turned out beautiful! I've actually never seen this done before, but I like the idea!

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    1. Thanks, Rachel, I liked the idea, too, and really enjoyed making it! :)

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  15. I've never heard of a thankful tree before. What a lovely idea. I'll have to make one for next year (we had our Thanksgiving in October). I'm hosting a link party and would love for you to link up at http://ihearthandson.blogspot.ca/2013/11/show-off-friday-no-5-plus-features.html

    Have a great weekend!

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    1. Thank you for the invitation, Jenn! I will be there. :)

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  16. I was just introduced to this tradition the other day and I love it! Such a nice way to remember what this season is about, and your tree looks gorgeous!

    Stopping by from SITS, enjoy your weekend!

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    1. Kristin, thank you so much! It is very meaningful to me, and I enjoyed making it! :) Thank you for visiting from SITS!

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  17. totally fab idea! love it and pinning to share. Thanks for linking up to Follow along Friday!

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    1. Thank you for coming by, and for pinning! And thanks for co-hosting Follow Along Friday! :)

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    2. You are welcome for my hosting lol :) Thanks for coming to our Snickerdoodle Sunday! I so love this tree!

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  18. What a wonderful idea! Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving Joy!

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    1. Thank you so much- I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving, too! :))

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  19. What a great idea! I love the simplicity of it! Hope you have a nice Thanksgiving!

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    1. Kelley, thank you, and thanks for hosting Life of the Party! :) I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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  20. Thanks for joining 4 seasons blog hop. You are very creative. In Hong Kong or Singapore, there are people who write wishes in a piece of cloth, tie with a stone and throw up the tree. The piece of cloth will write down all sort of wishes they hope to achieve. If they are able to stay in the tree again, they believe the wish will be granted. Thanks again.

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    1. Ken, thank you for telling me about the wishes tradition from Hong Kong and Singapore- I love the idea of releasing wishes into a tall tree! Thank you for coming by and for hosting 4 Seasons Blog Hop! :)

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  21. Love it! I've never heard of a Thankful Tree. Have I been under a rock? This is such a neat idea. Thanks for sharing with The Good Neighbor Blog Hop!

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    1. Thank you so much- it was a very meaningful project for me. :) Thank you for visiting from the hop!

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  22. Joy, I think this is a beautiful idea. We did Thankful Jars at our Leverett Cousins DIVA night earlier in November, I'm thinking a Thankful tree will be a great start off point for next Thanksgiving. Stopping by from TWB. <3 Kim

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    1. Oh, thank you so much, Kim! I like the idea of Thankful Jars- it's wonderful to celebrate thankfulness in every way possible, isn't it? I'm so glad you came by from TWB- I'm enjoying that group! :)

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  23. I've got some branches I use for Christmas - I think I'll pull them out and do this tonight!

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    1. Michelle, that’s a great idea- I’d love to see it. :) I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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  24. Hi Joy, I love this thankful tree! It's so nice and you were very creative in making it. Wishing you and you family a wonderful Thanksgiving. Julie at julieslifestyle.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you, Julie! It means a lot to me that you came by, and I appreciate the Thanksgiving wishes! :)

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  25. What a great idea, Joy! We always make hand turkeys - but as my kiddos get older, this would seem more appropriate :) Thanks so much for linking to Freedom Fridays! I've pinned this and have it scheduled to be shared on FB today :) Have a Happy Thanksgiving, friend {hugs}

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    1. Thank you, Jamie! I really enjoyed making this. Thanks for pinning and sharing, my awesome friend! :)

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  26. I love this idea, Joy! It really captures the heart of the holiday! Thank you for sharing your Thankful Tree with us at the Hearth and Soul Hop. Pinned and will share on FB :-)

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