I am no longer actively blogging here at "Taking Time To Create", but I'd love for you to join me at my new blog: "Taking Time In The City". I hope to see you soon!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Thanksgiving Countdown Tree {Tutorial}

If you've been around Taking Time To Create a while or maybe have browsed the archives, you may remember me mentioning this little Thanksgiving Countdown once upon a time. It almost pains me to link to that old post...I've learned so much since writing it!

I never actually did a full post on it, but with Thanksgiving around the corner, I thought I'd pull out these old pictures and share it with you. They are old pictures, so keep that in mind. :-) I've also learned a lot about taking pictures over the last year.

I originally saw this post at Lil Luna (Rachel from Family Ever After was actually guest posting). I've always loved Christmas countdowns, so naturally I was drawn to a Thanksgiving countdown. This one uses leaves to countdown to Thanksgiving. You move a leaf off the tree and to the "ground" everyday. On Thanksgiving, you shouldn't have any leaves left on the tree. 

The original post has a really great tutorial, so check that out, but here's how I made my version:

I started with a base fabric that measures 10.5 x 19 inches once hemmed all the way around. I folded my hemmed edges over twice, so I wouldn't have raw edges on the back, so my original piece was probably about 11.5 x 20 inches. 

I added "loops" at the top. Mine are a little less than an inch wide and probably about 1.5 inches tall when they're folded over (you can see them best in the picture above). 
I cut out letters from felt (after printing the words from Word to use as a template) and then cut out two background pieces--one for each word. I just cut out background pieces big enough for my words; the sizes will vary depending on your words. I sewed the word background pieces (the dark brown) onto the base. Then I sewed each letter onto the word background piece using a zig zag stitch. 

And now for the fun part: the tree!
I found a bare tree silhouette and printed it in Word to fit on my base. It printed on two pieces of paper, so I taped it together. 
I cut the tree out and laid it on the wrong side of my fabric to trace the outline onto the fabric.
Once it was trace, I cut out the tree and then attached it to the fabric base using a zig zag stitch.

Now for the leaves!
I cut out lots and lots and lots of leaves from felt. You want to be sure you'll always have enough! I stitched around the edges and through the middle of each leaf to add the leaf detail. If you're using a sewing machine, this really isn't too painful to do (maybe just a little tedious).
In the original post, Rachel hadn't quite figured out how to attach the leaves. I believe she was using tape until she could figure something else out. My solution? Safety pins! Using embroidery thread the same (or similar) color as the leaf I attached a safety pin to the back of each leaf. This was a long process, but totally worth it! They'll last for years to come. 

There are only 8 more leaves left on our tree, but that's plenty of time to make a Thanksgiving Countdown Tree of your own. They'd even make a cute gift  for your host(s) if you're going to someone's house for Thanksgiving dinner. 




I'm linking at these great parties:
Mondays: Sweet Sharing Monday *  The Girl Creative * Destination: Cutesy Monday * What's In The Gunny Sack *  Made by you Monday*Make It Yourself Monday*Mop It Up Mondays*Make The Scene Monday*Make It Pretty Monday*
Tuesdays: Riverton Housewives Roundup *  Show Me What You Got * Tuesday Time Out  * Tasteful Tuesdays * Too Cute Tuesday*Tuesday's Treasures*Crafty TuesdayTrendy Tuesday
Wednesdays: Super Link Party * Show & Share * {Wow Me} Wednesday *From Dream To Reality*Create & Share*What I Whipped Up Wednesday*What We Wore & Made Wednesday*The Creative Spark Wednesdays* Milk & Cuddles*Made By Me Wednesdays*Adorned From Above*
Thursday: Pin'Inspirational Thursday Recipe Roundup *A Crafty Soiriee * Creative Thursday *Taylor House Thursday*Transformation Thursday*Hookin Up With HoH*Creative Juice Thursday*Live Laugh Linky Thursday* Link Party Thursday*Taking A Time Out Thursday*Eat Make Grow*
Fridays: Delicately Constructed Fridays * Flaunt It Friday * Financial Friday Link Up  *Friday Fun Party* Friday Flair*Pity Party*Frugal Friday*Friday Favorites*Weekend Craft Soiree*Weekend Warmth*One Creative Weekend
Saturdays: Strut Your Stuff Saturday * Once Upon A Weekend * Sharing Saturday * Dare To Share Saturday * Craft, Create and Inspire * A Pinteresting Party*Serenity Saturday
Sundays: Nifty Thrifty Sunday * It's Overflowing Sunday Party  * Cooking & Crafts Party



3 comments:

  1. this is really awesome, i would have try doing this if i saw this earlier! maybe next thanksgiving!

    huggies***
    rea

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, you'll have to give it a try next year. :-)

      Delete
  2. Super cute Erin! Maybe I'll have time next year. I'm pinning this! Thank for sharing at Creative Thursday. Have a Happy Thanksgiving :)
    Michelle

    ReplyDelete

I am no longer actively blogging here at Taking Time To Create, so if you have a specific question, please email me at takingtimeinthecity@gmail.com. Thanks so much for stopping by!