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   Thanksgiving wreath from clothespins Posted by Jo 
November 9, 2009 
Jo
 

Toolbox

Please VOTE! We entered this project in Michael’s Handmade contest.  If you like it, please click here to rate us!

Sometimes, I can trace the thought process of a project.  However, with this one, I only remember that I started with the thought that I wanted to make a wreath for my door for Thanksgiving.  How that turned into using clothespins and a wire wreath hanger, I have no idea!  The idea behind the wreath is for visitors to my home to add what they are thankful for to the wreath.  Each visitor writes his name on the tip of the clothespin and what he is thankful for on the handle of the clothespin.  When the season is over, I will have a fantastic collection of things my friends, my family and even the UPS man are thankful for!  Here’s how to make your own.

First, I bought a wire wreath frame Then, I purchased a bag of clothespins.  Turns out that you will need exactly 53 of them to fill this 12 inch frame.  Next, I assembled my child labor to paint the clothespins. I gave them yellow, brown and orange acrylic paints and some sponge brushes and told them to paint them however they liked.  Little Jo and her friend had a great time painting all the clothespins, some paper and their fingers. I love how their mottled paint jobs look when all of the pins are on the wreath.

Thanksgiving wreath from clothespinsThanksgiving wreath from clothespins

Once the clothespins are completely dry, you will attach them to the ring.  Simply clip them onto the inner-most ring.  The length of the clothespin will cover up the rest of the wire rings, forming the nice wreath shape.

Thanksgiving wreath from clothespins

I wanted to add a little something in the middle to help explain the point behind the wreath.  I purchased a 4 inch wooden heart shape and suspended it in the middle of the wreath with the same ribbon I used to make a loop to hang it on the door.  I used a woodburner to inscribe “I am thankful for…” on the heart. If you don’t have a woodburner, you could easily use rubber stamps, a marker, or paint to write your message.

Thanksgiving wreath from clothespins

The final touch was to tie a permanent marker to some ribbon tied to the bottom of the frame.  I used a fine-point retractable Sharpie marker so I wouldn’t have to worry about losing the cap.  Everyone who has visited so far has loved my wreath.  One visitor, a teacher, went out the next day and bought the supplies so she could make one to hang on her classroom door for the students.  What a great idea!

If you want, tell me what you are thankful for in the comments below and I will add my blog friends to my door wreath, too!

Thanksgiving wreath from clothespinsThanksgiving wreath from clothespins

Thanksgiving wreath from clothespins

27 comments so far:

  1. Valerie said: (November 9th, 2009 at 3:43 pm)

    I am thankful for….every day! I love this idea.
    Thanks for sharing.

  2. Rachel said: (November 9th, 2009 at 4:40 pm)

    Whoa…this is so fabulous! I love it! Thanks so much for yet another fantastic idea, I’ll be linking.

  3. Jo said: (November 9th, 2009 at 4:43 pm)

    Thanks, Rachel! You forgot to tell me what you are thankful for! You are definitely one of my blog-world friends!

  4. Becca said: (November 9th, 2009 at 6:13 pm)

    I am thankful for Chemotherapy, now my dad can live a few months more than his alloted 10-12 months life.

  5. Jo said: (November 9th, 2009 at 6:27 pm)

    Becca, a lot of people would agree with your sentiment on chemotherapy. We are so sorry your family has to go through the battle with cancer but thankful you will get to spend more time with him.

  6. Johna said: (November 9th, 2009 at 9:24 pm)

    I am thankful for your generosity!
    you guys have an awesome blog and I appreciate it. so glad I found it and suscribed!

  7. Jo said: (November 9th, 2009 at 9:59 pm)

    Welcome, Johna. You are too kind!

  8. Lori said: (November 10th, 2009 at 10:26 am)

    What size wooden heart did you use inside the wreath? I know that you said to use an 8″ wire wreath, but it looks bigger than that to me unless 8″ is the opening size. Thanks. Lori

  9. Jo said: (November 10th, 2009 at 2:44 pm)

    The wooden heart is 4 inches. The wire frame is 12 inches from outer edge to outer edge!

  10. Karin in Kokomo said: (November 11th, 2009 at 10:37 am)

    I am thankful for your creativity also. I am using a wooden initial “P” in the middle for our last name. My family is going to have a good time making this wreath tonight!

  11. Jo said: (November 11th, 2009 at 11:06 am)

    Karin, I love the idea of using your initial! Please add a picture of your wreath to our Flikr group!

  12. Polly :) said: (November 11th, 2009 at 8:50 pm)

    This is awesome! I love how kid friendly it is! We’re moving in a couple weeks, but I think I’ll try making it with my daughter anyway. If not, we could always make a Christmas version with the clothes pins painted green with something red thrown in for holly to remind us to be thankful for the things we have around Christmas and not just the things we want. Thanks for the idea. I added it to my list of “Projects to Do” on my blog at http://helpinglittlehands.blogspot.com. I’ll let you know how it goes.

  13. Polly :) said: (November 11th, 2009 at 8:51 pm)

    Oops…forgot what I’m thankful for…

    I’m thankful my hubby is finally graduating with his PhD and we get to move to the country!!!!!

  14. Jo said: (November 11th, 2009 at 9:44 pm)

    Polly, I was thinking of making my Thanksgiving wreath into a Christmas one by just flipping the clothes pins over! There’s no reason not to use the back side of them. I would love to see a picture of your wreath if you would add it to our Flikr group.

  15. PammieTaj said: (November 12th, 2009 at 8:44 am)

    I’m thankful for the opportunity to go back to school!

    I love this project – I’m going to make one for my house!

  16. cheryl said: (November 12th, 2009 at 9:19 pm)

    what else could you use instead of the wire frame thing? we are on a tight budget. love this idea!!!

  17. Jo said: (November 12th, 2009 at 10:31 pm)

    You could try making your own wire frame out of old coat hangers. Or take a large plastic lid like from a coffee can, cut the center out of it so you have a plastic ring. You basically need one smaller ring to clip them to and a larger ring to hold up the backs. I will let you know if I find anything else that might work.

  18. Anke (anke-art) said: (November 13th, 2009 at 6:30 am)

    Wow, what an adorable idea! Just like Becca, I’m thankful for chemotherapy because it helps my stepdad who’s been suffering from brain cancer since the beginning of 2009.

  19. The Magic Onions said: (November 13th, 2009 at 3:41 pm)

    Such a cool idea for the kids… I’m hoping you’ll pop over to my blog today and post it on Friday’s Nature Table.
    Blessings and magic.

  20. Tammie said: (November 13th, 2009 at 11:40 pm)

    ah, this is wonderful. Thank you for sharing.

  21. Jill said: (November 17th, 2009 at 11:57 am)

    I’m thankful that creative women like you are willing to share their wonderful ideas with us! I will get the supplies to make a Christmas one with my family on Thanksgiving – two birds, as they say.

  22. michelle said: (November 17th, 2009 at 1:57 pm)

    this is one of the nicest ideas i’ve seen in a long time. it’s great for home but i just love the idea of giving it to a teacher to hang in her classroom. my son’s teacher would love something like this.

  23. Sarah said: (November 17th, 2009 at 2:33 pm)

    I love this idea!

  24. Kristen said: (November 18th, 2009 at 1:43 pm)

    I love this idea!! It looks pretty easy and it really communicates a great message for Thanksgiving. Thanks for sharing this.

  25. Amanda said: (November 22nd, 2009 at 10:22 am)

    A great idea, looks so festive too!

  26. Chrissy MacCEO said: (November 22nd, 2009 at 10:39 am)

    This is an adorable idea! I LOVE IT!

  27. Mary Lou P said: (November 24th, 2009 at 7:40 am)

    I could see this used for all holidays or occasions, even birthdays. Such a great flexible idea. I’m on a Chrismas one already{plan to write my fave things about Christmas on red, white and the occasional green pin.

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