Giving Thanks: Three Easy-to-make Thanksgiving Crafts

The World Wide Web is chock full of no-cost Thanksgiving images that have a variety of fun uses. They can be used to illustrate the holiday on web pages or blogs, or for one of my favorite things: Thanksgiving crafts. For example, making craft projects out of free vintage Thanksgiving cards are easy-as-pie, because vintage images are both versatile and very effective at getting a point across. Because of their age, these images can also be downloaded and used without fear of consequences stemming from copyright infringement.

Doing a quick Web search for “vintage Thanksgiving cards” will give you a huge selection of free vintage images from which many craft projects can be made. And if you’re not a fan of vintage, contemporary Thanksgiving clipart or fall clip art can also be used to produce beautiful craft projects.

Here are some examples of simple projects virtually anyone can make by using free images found online:

* We’re so Thankful Garlands *
Making thankful garlands is as simple as having your guests write all the things they’re thankful for in their lives. Then, just print some vintage Thanksgiving cards and using miniature clothespins, fasten the cards and the leaves in an alternating pattern onto a long piece of ribbon or yarn. In the absence of clothespins, paper clips, colorful clamps from the office supply store or tape will hold the components in place. Another option to consider would be to alternate Thanksgiving clip art with the leaves, instead of using the vintage cards. Once finished, drape the garland over a windowsill or a mantelpiece so your guests can be proud of what they created!

* Handmade Thanksgiving Cards *
Once you’ve gone online and downloaded the image you would like to use, paste it into a Word, PowerPoint or OneNote document. You can size the card using the software’s settings. Place the image on one half of the card, so it can be folded in half after it’s printed. Print the card on card stock as heavy as your printer will allow, fold it and use a little glitter glue to make it sparkle. You might also want to make your own envelopes or just buy two-for-a-dollar card and envelope sets at the dollar store and then throw away the cards.

* Thanksgiving Place Cards *
Some believe a Thanksgiving dinner table is bare and incomplete without table place cards. Fortunately, you can make them easily with free clip art images or vintage cards. Simply download the the image or images you like and paste them into a table in your word processing program. Make the table two columns by six or eight rows, depending on how tall you want the cards to be. Place your chosen art into every other cell, leaving room to write people’s names. Then, print onto heavy card stock, cut the place cards using a paper cutter or a ruler and craft knife and they’ll be ready to fold in half. Voila! That’s all it takes. Your holiday table will be that much more festive.

I hope you have a great time making these Thanksgiving craft projects and that you have a happy Thanksgiving!