Giving Thanks: Three Inexpensive and Easy 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. As an example, crafts made from free Thanksgiving cards are no-brainers, because vintage images are both versatile and very effective at getting a point across. These pictures also usually cost nothing to download and their use doesn’t have any repercussions because their age puts them beyond copyright protection.
Just a simple online search using the search term “vintage Thanksgiving cards” will give you a huge selection of free vintage images from which many cool crafts 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 on the Internet:
* Thankful Garlands *
Making “thankful” garlands can be as simple as having guests or family members write their blessings on leaves cut from construction paper. Then, just print some vintage Thanksgiving cards and using miniature clothespins, attach the cards and the leaves in an alternating pattern onto a long piece of ribbon or yarn. If you don’t have any clothespins, you can use paper clips, colorful clamps you can get at the office supply store or tape to hold everything in place. If you want, you could also alternate Thanksgiving clip art with the leaves, instead of using the vintage cards. Once the garland is completed, hang it from a windowsill or a mantelpiece to show off everyone’s good work!
* Handmade Thanksgiving Cards *
When you’ve downloaded the Thanksgiving image you’d like to use, paste it into a Word, PowerPoint or OneNote document. You can size the card by adjusting the software’s settings. Position the image on one half of the card, so it can be folded in half once 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 Table 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. Just download the image or images you want to use 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 the page onto card stock, cut them out using a paper cutter or a ruler and craft knife and they’ll be ready to fold in half. Voila! That’s it. Your Thanksgiving table will be instantly more beautiful.
I hope you enjoy making these simple and fun Thanksgiving crafts and that you have a wonderful holiday!
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