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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

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November 25, 2014

DIY Gratitude Tree

One morning, while upstairs putting on my makeup, I had the news on in the background and, as always, had my ears tuned to the weather segment. It was finally time for Mr. Al Roker to have his turn and he weaved his weather magic and soon I knew just what the temps would be all over the country.

But when it came time to talk about the west coast, specifically my beautiful Pacific NW, he just kind of casually waved his arm and said, “And there will be rain in the Pacific NW.” I stopped dead in my tracks…eyeliner in one hand and coffee cup in the other, unsure if I had heard correctly or if in my usual morning stupor I had misunderstood him.

Gratitude or Thanksgiving Tree from atthepicketfence.com

Because, you see, outside my bedroom window all I could see was glorious sunshine and beautiful crystal clear blue skies. Huh??

“Mr. Al Roker”, I thought, “There might be some rain somewhere in the great Pacific NW today, but please be more specific so that everyone doesn’t buy into the lie that all we ever get is rain, rain and more rain!”

I was deeply insulted.

And I’m going to just say it…I think the Pacific Northwest is highly under-appreciated. Ever since I finally came to terms with being an Oregonian, I’ve felt very defensive of my state. I mean, I’m not out hugging trees or anything…yet. 😉

So, when I was given the opportunity to try out Behr® Marquee™ Paint and Wooster® paint brushes, I turned to my beautiful home state for inspiration.

Behr Marquee paint and wooster brushes

Every year around this time, it’s so easy to get caught up in the festivities of the season. But we really want our kiddos to have opportunities to express their gratitude and what better way than with the beautiful visual of a tree filled with leaves filled with grateful sentiments?

I started out by taking apart the picket fence I used in my Fall Mantel two years ago.

picket fence posts

After lining them up like perfect little picket fence soldiers, I attached a board to the back to hold them all securely in place.

gratitude tree board backer

Next, using the Wooster® PRO mini-roller brush, I painted the boards two different colors.

wooster roller brush

The first coat was Behr® Marquee™ Sturdy Brown #MQ2-48. I was absolutely certain that because of the texture of the wood that I would need to do two coats but this covered amazingly well and I didn’t even need to go back over it! I was also so impressed at how quickly it dried considering I was working in a garage that was about 30°. Brrrrrrrr!

Once the first coat had dried, I went over it with Behr® Marquee™ in Scribe #MQ2-31 and after it had dried I did a light distressing so that the darker tone would show through and give it a nice aged look.

gratitude tree paint distressing

Next, I used ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Multi-Surface with Advanced Edge-Lock™ Paint Line Protector 2093EL  to tape off the tree design.

scotch blue tape

It stuck onto the rough wood so wonderfully!

scotch blue tape2

I decided to go with more of a Pine tree design so that this project can bridge the gap between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

And, of course, to pay homage to the vast number of evergreen trees here in Oregon!

taped tree outline

Using the Wooster® angled brush I carefully painted on Behr® Marquee Rare Wood, working my way around the outline of the tree.

wooster pro angled brush atthepicketfence.com

I always taking the tape off and seeing those neat, straight lines with no drips!

scotch blue tape line

To create the tree trunk, I simply attached little sticks using hot glue.

gratitude tree stick trunk atthepicketfence.com

I found these beautiful paper-y leaves at the craft store and we began writing on them all of the things we are grateful for.

Gratitude leaves on thanksgiving tree atthepicketfence.com

The leaves were attached to the board using mounting putty.

mounting putty on leaf

As the last of the leaves begin to fall outside, this tree is having the opposite experience.

Leaves of gratitude tree of thanksgiving atthepicketfence.com

And these are definitely the most beautiful leaves we’ve ever seen!

Gratitude Tree with leaves atthepicketfence.com

Oh and as I type this it’s a beautiful, crisp, sunny day.

Take that Mr. Al Roker! 😉

Vanessa signature

*I am proud to be a 3M, Behr®, and Wooster® – sponsored blogger, and, as part of my responsibilities, I get the opportunity to evaluate products. Opinions are my own and additional product used in the project were selected by me.* 

 

 

You can find more ideas like this by visiting ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Facebook, ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Twitter, ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Pinterest, The Home Depot Facebook, The Home Depot Twitter, The Home Depot Pinterest

14 Comments Filed Under: Christmas, Crafts, Decorating, Family, Good Ideas, Holidays, Thanksgiving, Tutorials Tagged With: crafts, DIY, Thanksgiving

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kim @ Cozinest says

    November 25, 2014 at 6:40 AM

    What a cute idea! I love the tree and the fact that you take up for your state! My husband and I have the Pacific NW on our must-see travel list and I know I will love it – rain or shine! Ya’ll make some pretty good wine out there!!!

    Reply
  2. Kallee says

    November 25, 2014 at 7:52 AM

    Love this idea. It turned out beautifully!

    Reply
  3. Claire @ A Little Claireification says

    November 25, 2014 at 8:57 AM

    I love that tree!! What a great idea. And I also loved Portland the two times I have been there for work so there you have it!! lol Pinned!

    Reply
  4. Shannon @ Fox Hollow Cottage says

    November 25, 2014 at 9:07 AM

    I concur! And when it’s not raining, we have the most amazingly blue sky, sans smog.. we get the short end of the stick news wise on every front. Like nothing happens here. Meh. More Oregon for US :))) Love the tree and the sentiment. Happy Thanksgiving season.

    Reply
  5. Wendy says

    November 25, 2014 at 9:54 AM

    Beautiful project Vanessa!! Such a clever idea!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      November 25, 2014 at 3:50 PM

      Thanks Wendy! 🙂

      Reply
  6. LUCY says

    November 25, 2014 at 10:16 AM

    What a great idea…I often use Behr paint it works great.
    Happy Thanksgiving…xo

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      November 25, 2014 at 3:50 PM

      Thanks Lucy!

      Reply
  7. Debbie says

    November 25, 2014 at 10:51 AM

    Love it! I really need to do this for our family!
    Debbie

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      November 25, 2014 at 3:50 PM

      Thanks Debbie! Thanksgiving blessings to you and your family! 🙂

      Reply
  8. Ashley @ Cherished Bliss says

    November 25, 2014 at 11:42 AM

    What a beautiful project! We always incorporate something like this into our Thanksgiving traditions and I love the idea of filling up the tree!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      November 25, 2014 at 3:49 PM

      Thanks Ashley! Happy Thanksgiving friend! 🙂

      Reply
  9. Ashley @ Simply Designing says

    November 25, 2014 at 3:41 PM

    What a really really cute idea!! I love it!!!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      November 25, 2014 at 3:49 PM

      Thanks Ashley! 🙂

      Reply

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