Clay Gratitude Leaves Thanksgiving Craft

Make clay gratitude leaves for thankful trees, garlands, wreaths, and other gratitude crafts and DIY fall home decor projects.

Here’s a craft tutorial to guide you through the process of creating marbled clay gratitude leaves. Gratitude leaves are usually paper cutouts shaped like leaves that people use to write down things for which they’re thankful. However, this craft tutorial shares how to make gratitude leaves out of clay to use instead. Discover how to create clay gratitude leaves with the step-by-step instructions below. Then use them to decorate a thankful tree, gratitude garland, fall wreath, and other autumn-themed DIY home decor. Transforming marbled clay fall leaves into gratitude leaves with words of thanks stamped or written upon them is a fun autumn-themed Thanksgiving craft for kids and adults of all ages. Alternatively, you can use these printable gratitude leaves and trees if you prefer.

These versatile leaf ornaments are perfect for adorning fall crafts and DIY projects, such as gratitude or thankful trees, wreaths, and mobiles. DIY thankful leaves add a charming touch to your autumn-themed décor, becoming beautiful reminders of what we’re most thankful for. First, use the instructions below to turn marbled-clay autumn leaves into gratitude leaf crafts. Then, use the hand-crafted thankful leaves to transform fall-themed DIY projects and autumn home decor into various types of gratitude crafts.

In other words, use the gratitude leaf ornaments to make a thankful tree, wreath, garland, or gratitude mobile. Simple fall crafts and DIY projects, like these, offer a straightforward way to cultivate an attitude of gratitude at home or in the classroom for Thanksgiving. First published November 4, 2017; this post has been updated and republished to improve the content. You may also like this list of Thanksgiving Gratitude Activities and Crafts.

Related: The Best Thankful Trees for Thanksgiving

Marbled Clay Leaves Gratitude Craft for Thanksgiving:

My daughter and I made marbled clay handprint jewelry dishes several years ago. At the time, we thought it would be fun to make marbled clay leaves using the same process, which worked great. However, because I wanted to use them as ornaments for a thankful tree, I decided to try stamping them with words of gratitude before baking them, to create a new way to decorate our thankful tree, which also turned out well.

Marbled clay gratitude leaves make lovely gratitude leaf ornaments for thankful trees, wreaths, gratitude mobiles, and more! The autumn colors look gorgeous when marbled together and make beautiful leaf ornaments that hang from bare branches, looking just as amazing on gratitude wreaths and garlands. Today, you can choose to stamp them with the things you are grateful for before baking them, or use a paint pen or permanent marker to write what you are most thankful for on them after they are baked. Scroll down for step-by-step instructions to make marbled clay gratitude leaf ornaments.

Related: Turkey Leaf Lanterns Thanksgiving Craft

How to Make Clay Gratitude Leaf Ornaments for Your Thankful Tree:

Making gratitude leaf ornaments is a simple project with several steps. First, determine whether you will hand-stamp words of gratitude onto the leaves before baking, or write what you are thankful for onto each clay leaf after it has baked, hardened, and cooled. My family has tried both of these options, and they both work great.

The method you choose depends on personal preference and how you want to use the leaves. If you plan to make a finished product, stamp the leaves with alphabet stamps before baking them. If you wish for family and friends to be able to write what they are grateful for onto the leaf ornaments at any time after baking, use a paint pen or permanent marker. Once you’ve decided, gather the craft supplies you need to make these easy gratitude crafts, and scroll down for the step-by-step instructions.

Clay Gratitude Leaf Craft Supplies:

• Polymer clay
• Rolling pin or acrylic clay roller
• Precision glass cutting mat
• Leaf cookie cutters, or try THESE
• Alphabet stamps, a paint pen, or a permanent marker
  • Either use stamps to write words of thankfulness onto leaves before baking, as shown in the photograph below. Or, use a paint pen or Sharpie to write them on the gratitude leaf ornaments after they have baked, hardened, and cooled.

Related: Windy Fall Leaves Sensory Bottle

Clay Gratitude Leaf Ornament Craft Instructions:

One easy way to teach children about thankfulness is to make marbled-clay gratitude leaf ornaments for your thankful tree, wreath, garland, or gratitude mobile. Use the easy step-by-step instructions below to make gorgeous clay autumn leaf crafts with words of thanks written upon them. Please read through the instructions carefully before starting this DIY gratitude project, so you understand the steps involved and what to expect. You might also enjoy Gratitude Books for Kids that inspire thankfulness.

1. Make marbled clay Fall Leaves:

• First, create gorgeous marbled clay autumn leaves using the step-by-step leaf craft tutorial: here.
• Once you have made fall leaf crafts, please return to this page to learn two ways to turn them into gratitude leaves for your Thanksgiving decor.
• A link to return to this post is included in the directions, making it easier for you to revisit these instructions if needed.

2. Stamp or write words of thanks or Gratitude on each leaf ornament:

• Choose one of the options below to transform marbled clay autumn leaves into thankful leaves:
  • Either stamp autumn leaf crafts with letters to spell out words of gratitude on each leaf before baking them, as shown in the photographs.
  • Or write thankful words and phrases onto each thankful leaf after the leaves have baked and hardened.
• In other words, if you want your clay thankful leaves hand-stamped, use alphabet stamps to write words of thanks on them before baking and hardening them in the oven, as shown in the photograph below.
• Or, write gratitude words on them with a paint pen or permanent marker once they have completely cooled after baking.
  • Please wait until they are no longer warm to the touch before writing what you are grateful for onto the clay leaves.

Related: Year-Round Gratitude Activities and Crafts

Helping Kids Make Gratitude Leaf Ornaments:

Teaching children to be grateful for what they have opens the space for abundance to flow into their lives and can create an attitude of gratitude in the home or classroom. First, teach children about thankfulness with gratitude activities and crafts, such as our gratitude journal prompts, thankful turkey printable, or this fun gratitude coloring page.

Next, please encourage them to use their own words of gratitude to stamp or write on the marbled clay fall leaves. If your children are not yet reading and writing, ask them what they feel most thankful for, and then help them stamp or write their responses onto the leaf ornaments.

Although my daughter cannot write, she wanted to stamp some of the clay leaves herself. She created many leaves with smiling faces to represent happiness. I showed her how to use the colon and parentheses that came with our alphabet stamps to make them, and away she went!

Writing on the leaves makes it possible to create a thankful tree with clay gratitude leaves, perfect for a Thanksgiving advent or an interactive Thanksgiving centerpiece. Learn more about thankful trees and their uses in Thankful Tree Tradition Ideas for Thanksgiving.

Related: 10 Ways to Have Fun Outside with Fall Leaves

DIY Clay Gratitude Leaf Ornaments:

This thankful craft project is perfect for creating a sense of gratitude in your home or classroom, making it a meaningful activity for both children and adults. One common way to use gratitude leaves is by creating a thankful or gratitude tree. In other words, use the marbled clay gratitude leaves as ornaments to decorate a thankful tree, wreath, or garland.

This activity is excellent for both kids and adults. Over time, the tree fills up with leaves, becoming a beautiful visual reminder of thankfulness. Click on the link to view a thankful tree we created using the gratitude leaves featured in the photographs for this post.

Gratitude activities like this can help children of all ages cultivate a more positive mindset. Alternatively, create a thankful tree using real, preserved autumn leaves. Or try this printable gratitude tree or this thankful turkey placemat to color.

And don’t forget to look at these Thanksgiving traditions for even more fun things to do on Thanksgiving! You may also enjoy this Fall Bucket List of fun fall activities.

Learn more about Nell Regan Kartychok, author, photographer, and creator of this original gratitude leaf ornament craft HERE, and Rhythms of Play HERE!

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