Thanksgiving Leaves Canvas

by Kate Griffin | Eating in the Shower Blog

Easy

I'm always looking for ways to involve my son in craft projects and this was a perfect way for us to work together to create something that would fit in with the holiday decorating and remind us of all that we're thankful for this time of the year!

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We started collecting colorful leaves as soon as they began to drop and pressed them in between the pages of a heavy book to prevent the edges from curling up.

We painted thick coats of Mod Podge on both sides of the flat leaves with paint brushes and set them in between pieces of wax paper to flatten under a weighted cookie sheet. It was a great way for my toddler to practice painting without the mess of paint.

I painted a coat of gold paint on our canvas and added the word 'Grateful' at the top with adhesive lettering.

After placing the leaves in a pattern I liked I brushed more Mod Podge over the whole canvas and let dry. The finished project took about three coats to preserve the shiny finish and keep the leaves from peeling up.

This was a simple and easy project to complete with a toddler and makes a nice addition to our fall and Thanksgiving holiday decorations.

Each year as we get ready to host our family for Thanksgiving and think about how lucky we are to be able to, I'll look at this canvas and remember working on this project with my son when he was tiny.