Count Your Many Blessings, Name Them One By One.

I love the colors of autumn.  I'm loving this season to stop and take time to count our many blessings!  I created this "Subway Art" collage yesterday.  I plan on printing and framing it this week to add to our Thanksgiving decor.

Which brings me back to the Thanksgiving Blessing Tree I told you about...  I wanted a metal tree like the one I linked, but couldn't bear to shell out $150 + shipping for one!  So, Jeremy and I started brainstorming how to make one.  That ended up with a trip through Lowes that ended in the torch aisle.  I was pretty convinced he just needed an excuse to buy a torch, as indicated by my Facebook Places check-in, but in the end had to eat my words, cause he was right.  :)

So, equipped with 25' of copper wire and a shiny new torch, we formed the shape of our autumn tree.  Flame, sparks, and molten metal.  Needless to say, Jeremy was in heaven!

Once the tree was pieced together and cooled, we grabbed the paper scraps leftover from the "Give Thanks" banner and started on the leaves.

 

Justus traced leaves and Jeremy cut them out.

Lexi helped cut ribbons and threaded them through the holes.

Here are a few close ups shots of some of the leaves:

 
The things we are thankful for ranged from:

• The normal:  God, family members, friends, our home, our pets, etc.
• To the thought-provoking: grace, date nights, our First Family, work, rainbow (not a double-rainbow, though I was tempted for humor's sake!), etc.
• To the practical:  clothes, food, transportation, iPhone, trees, sun, TV, DSi, coffee, etc.
• To the simply funny:  Justus was thankful for hair (I wish I could tell you if this is a vanity "I have good hair" thing or just a simple "Hey, I have hair!" thing), Lexi for Tutus, and Jeremy for bacon!

I have some extra leaves and ribbons, so I hope to add to the tree as things come to mind and to save some for Chris and Steph to participate when they arrive next week!

And here is the finished product!  I wish this picture did it justice... the shine of the copper and the discoloration from the heat and the soldered joints make it look so much prettier in real life.  I'm pretty stoked about having this piece and making leaves and hanging them part of our yearly Thanksgiving tradition!