A huge part of living graciously is living with a grateful spirit.  When we approach life grateful to be alive, grateful for various situations, grateful for what we have, or grateful for the people we are blessed to know it’s more natural to live graciously.

Here is a little DIY: Giving Tree project our family will be using on Thursday to get the gratitude conversation rolling…

Step one: take a trip to the hardware store (or add a few items to the list when the honey is out picking up supplies for the “Honey-Do” list) and the curly willow from a local florist.

Step Two: Cover up the hole and add weight to the bottom of the clay pot.

Step Three: Read the directions and the warnings for the spray insulation. Note: It’s a very fun product to work with, but I’ve made the mistake of not respecting the instructions and walked around town for a week with what looked like a prosthetic hand… true story

Step Four: Put on gloves and spray in the foam. The spray foam is great as it doesn’t get hot and crack the clay pot, and once it’s dry the foam can be shaved down to the perfect height.  Remember the foam nearly doubles in size so don’t fill the entire pot full.

After the foam fills 3/4 of the pot stablize the curly willow by gently wrapping two strands of string around the tree’s trunk and tape the ends to the sides of the pot.  Helpful Tip:  An extra set of  hands helps for a smooth stablization.

Step Four: Once the foam is dry with a plastic knife shave the foam down.  It’s very important that the foam be 100% dry before you shave it down.

Now the trees are ready to be decorated.  We love to adorne them with beautiful dry or preserved leaves…

and tie-on these notes of thanks from Paper Source…

or spray the branches gold…

and tie-on these note cards from Paper Source…

From our Thanksgiving table to yours, we wish you a gracious Thanksgiving!