A gratitude mobile is a gorgeous DIY fall decoration for the home or patio the whole family can make together!
Thanksgiving gratitude crafts like this thankful gratitude mobile are fun to make at home with the family or in the classroom as a class project. Make a grateful mobile with words of gratitude written on hanging marbled clay fall leaves to increase feelings of joy throughout the holiday season.
The gratitude leaves hanging from this Thanksgiving craft can also be used to make a DIY thankful tree. Click on the link for the step-by-step instructions. Or, scroll down to learn how to make the gratitude mobile pictured here. You might also enjoy this list of Thanksgiving gratitude activities.
Gratitude Mobile Craft Supplies
- Polymer clay and leaf cookie cutters to make gratitude leaves
- Bare branch, stick, or wooden embroidery hoop (We used a branch from an alder tree we found on a walk through the park.)
- Stamps or paint pens
- Monofilament string (fishing line), twine, yarn, or ribbon
- Scissors
- Ceiling hook, Command ceiling hook, or S-hook
Thankful DIY Fall Decor
My family loves to make Thankful trees, but just after the autumn equinox one fall, we decided to make a homemade thankful mobile instead–and it turned out great!
Thanksgiving gratitude crafts like this DIY gratitude mobile can help children and adults focus on the blessings in their lives instead of what they do not have. Gratitude brings abundance, and when we focus on being thankful, even when we feel like we are at the end of our rope, gratitude brings us more of what we are thankful for in life.
Thankfulness and grateful thinking correlate with positive thinking and improved health, so my family likes to spend time in gratitude during the dark months of the year. For more thankful fall decor ideas, look at this list of Thankful Tree Ideas.
How to Make a Gratitude Mobile: Step-by-Step Instructions
Use these step-by-step instructions to make a gratitude mobile, or click on the link to learn how to make a thankful tree with clay gratitude leaves. Please read through the step-by-step instructions before making either thankful craft. You might also like our printable thankful tree with gratitude leaves.
Step 1 – Make Marbled Clay Fall Leaves.
- We have two articles on Rhythms of Play that share how to make leaves to hang on a gratitude mobile or a thankful tree. First, learn how to make the marbled polymer clay leaves HERE.
Step 2 – Write Words of Gratitude on EAch Marbled Clay Leaf.
- Next, transform clay autumn leaves into gratitude leaves.
- If you would like words of gratitude imprinted into each clay leaf, use stamps before baking the fall leaves.
- Or, use a paint pen to write what you are thankful for onto each leaf after it bakes and cools.
Step 3 – Collect a Bare Branch or use an Embroidery Hoop.
- Head out on a nature scavenger hunt in search of a beautiful bare branch, stick, or use a piece of driftwood to make a gratitude mobile or wall hanging.
- Alternatively, hang thankful leaves from a wooden embroidery hoop.
- We used a branch from an alder tree that we scavenged while walking through the park.
Step 4 – Hang Gratitude Leaves onto the Bare Branch or Embroidery Hoop.
- Use monofilament string (fishing line), twine, yarn, or ribbon to hang gratitude ornaments on the bare branch or wooden embroidery hoop.
- The gratitude mobile pictured is a bare branch with gratitude leaves strung with a fishing line to give them the appearance of falling gently down from the sky.
Step 5 – Hang the Gratitude Mobile or Wall Hanging.
- Use 2 to 4 feet (or more) of fishing line, twine, or string to hang the gratitude mobile on a ceiling hook or another suitable location. The length will depend on where you want to put it, its height, and how low you want it to hang.
- The thankful mobile in the photograph below has a monofilament line tied around the bare branch in two locations–and is hung on a ceiling hook.
- The monofilament string it hangs from makes the gratitude mobile in the photos look like it is dangling in mid-air.
Words of Gratitude Mobile for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful for not only the gifts we receive but the lessons contained within the mistakes we make and the challenges we go through in life. And this makes it a great time to be thankful, so we can continue to reap the blessings, rewards, and lessons that teach us how to be a better person every day.
Create an attitude of gratitude in your home, classroom, or workplace for Thanksgiving with this gorgeous gratitude craft idea for kids and adults–or look at this list of Thanksgiving gratitude crafts and activities. Make thankful arts and crafts as a fun way to increase feelings of gratitude with your students, co-workers, or family.
You might also enjoy this list of gratitude crafts and activities you can enjoy year-round. Or, scroll down to see a list with a few more crafts and activities fun to make and do for Thanksgiving.
Learn more about Rhythms of Play HERE!
More Gratitude Crafts and Thankful Activities
- Thanksgiving Thankful Tree Ideas
- How to Make a Thankful Tree with Real Fall Leaves
- Thanksgiving Gratitude Crafts and Activities
- Thankful Turkey Printable
- “I Am Grateful” Gratitude Journal Printable Worksheet
- Gratitude Journal Printable Prompts
More Thanksgiving Crafts and Ideas
- 20 Fun Thanksgiving Traditions
- Turkey Leaf Lanterns
- Thanksgiving Turkey Leaf Crafts
- Thankful Tree Printable with Gratitude Leaves
It looks great! Thank you for sharing and we’ve made it with all family, and it turned out more leafy!
I’m so glad that you made this DIY gratitude mobile and that it turned out great!
With gratitude,
Nell