I’m going to preface all this by saying I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. The next big holiday for me is Christmas, but I know many of you will be sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner next week, so I thought it’d be a nice touch to have gratitude cards for that dinner — just another layer of giving thanks 😉
So… Let’s get started!
(Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and purchase something, I make a small commission — but you still pay the same amount! I only put affiliate links on items I use and love.)
How they work
There are several ways you can use gratitude cards. You could write why you’re grateful for each person and give them out at dinner. You could also use them as place cards, and give everyone a pen then let them pass it around — with everyone writing why they’re grateful for the person whose name is on the card.
For kids, parents can do the writing. Or if you’ve lovely writing (and I’m sure you do!), you could offer to letter everyone’s reasons!
How to Make the cards
You’ll need:
- Card stock or watercolor paper — I’m using Canson 300gsm here. It’s fairly smooth but won’t buckle when I paint!
- Watercolors and brushes
- Brush pens for writing
Let’s get started!
1. Print out template and cut out
To make it easy for you, I created templates for you to use. They are dotted in the ‘for writing’ area, and there’s also a line where you can write a name to address the card.
If that’s not your style, you can cut your paper down to size and draw a 1-inch margin on it. That’s your decorating space to make it pretty. Leave some space up top or on the bottom to write a name, and that’s about it!
2. Decorate the card with some fall-themed florals
There are plenty of options here. I’m not the best at painting, so I went with what I do know how to do: leaves, flowers, branches and berries.
Colours can work wonders! I kept my flowers in the rich red/ orange/ yellow zone — think fallen leaves, and then mixed in some brown with light green to paint my leaves. The video up top probably explains how to paint it better than I can!
My card’s a full ‘wreath’ style, but you can also keep it simple with little clusters in the corners instead.
If you need some help with how to paint those florals, I put together a step-by-step printable guide for you, which you can download right here!
3. Letter the name!
Last step, label which card goes to who. There is a line across the top for you to letter on, if you’re hopeless like me when it comes to writing on a straight line! Once you label it, you can either fill it up or let them pass it around to be filled up.
Will you be using gratitude cards this Thanksgiving?
I’m going to make mine as mini prints to frame and gift instead, since we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here. I’d love to see pictures of yours in action — tag me on Instagram @lyssycreates if you’re sharing, please!