This week in MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) we made “I am thankful for…” Dry Erase Frames.

This is a quick and simple activity.

Due to the cost of the frames it is a little more cost than some of our other activities but if you could get the frames donated or if you found them at garage sales this craft would cost less than a dollar each.

All you need is a

–         Frame (we used a 8 x 10 frame)

–         Some Scrapbook paper of your design choice

–         We printed our thankful phrases on vellum. If you don’t have vellum you can always just handprint the phrase on the paper or a separate paper that is trimmed.  I gave the ladies two options: a page that had “I am Thankful for…” and another “Counting our Blessings” printed

Optional:

–         Bling (some of our ladies love their bling, but I did not put it out this craft to save time)

I chose this activity mostly because I found this idea about a year ago and I made one for our house. I used a frame I got for our wedding (Confession: It had been sitting in a box for about 10 years). The frame is also metal so the pen can stick to the frame with its magnet We love it! It sits on our kitchen counter. It is a great way to remind us on a regular basis what we are thankful for. This is also a great activity to do next to Thanksgiving Day.

Our Thankful Board

I erase the board when it gets full and we refill it. My favorite is when our house guests add to the board (those are also the ones I keep on the board the longest).

The directions I gave to the ladies at their tables:

Thankful/ Blessing Frame Directions

1)    Pick a frame, scrapbooking paper, strip of ribbon, and vellum printout.

2)    Trace frame glass on paper and cut out.

3)    Trim Vellum to desired size.

4)    Using Dots, attach vellum piece(s) to paper. Reassemble frame w/ paper

5)    Pick out a ribbon. Attach to dry erase marker then to back of frame using silver or clear tape.

I only had to cut ribbons to length (I used some leftover ribbons from the Washer necklace project), and print the two vellum choices

One of the ladies working on her blessings frame

The only items I put in the shoebox totes that went on each group table were the glue dots to attach the vellum (four for each person), the directions, scissors and dry erase markers. All other items were on community tables.

I am Thankful board

Variation:

We did a variation of this craft for the kid’s grandparents. We put “I love you because…” on the vellum in the middle of a black frame and then I gave the kids silver permanent markers. They put all the things they love about their grandparents on the borders.  .  The middle was then left for them to write to each other with dry erase markers. Wish I had a picture of it. It was adorable.

Are you part of a MOPS group or do you have any wonderful 20 minute or less craft activity ideas? Would LOVE to hear about your ideas in the comments.

Happy Crafting 🙂

-Frabjus Lady