DIY Fall Craft Idea: Painting a Gratitude Village
We are back with Shay Livenspargar and another fabulous fall craft tutorial for you. This time Shay is sharing a DIY fall craft idea, painting a gratitude village! This project is super simple and makes for beautiful and meaningful Thanksgiving decorations.
Fall is in full swing now. We have had a lot of fun with Halloween and Pop of Color Paints and now we have another DIY fall craft idea for you! In the video below, Shat is painting a gratitude village and showing us how we can make one too. She found some cute little wooden houses and decided to turn them into something beautiful and unique for Thanksgiving.
You may not be able to find the exact houses that Shay uses. But you are sure to find something similar that will work. Check your favorite craft or hobby stores as well as your dollar stores. If all else fails, you should be able to find some online. Whatever type of house you end up with, stick with Shay and you will be displaying your own gratitude village in no time!
DIY Fall Craft Idea: Painting a Gratitude Village
We have so much to be grateful for this year, and every year. One of the things that we are most thankful for is the amazing artists in our community. All of your support and the beautiful things you create are what keep us motivated and excited! We feel thankful and blessed every day of the year but November brings an added focus on gratitude.
As Thanksgiving approaches and the end of the year draws near, it is the perfect time to reflect on all of the ways we have been blessed. We love Shay’s idea for a gratitude village because it is adorable and also very thoughtful. And, because you are making it yourself, it can be tailored to your own style and words of thanks!
Gratitude Village Design Ideas
There are so many different ways that you can design your gratitude village. Shay chose some of her favorite Pop of Color Paint colors and we have listed them below for you. But you can use any colors that you love! You can decorate them like Shay does or go with something a little different. Whatever you think is cute and matches your decor is the right way to go!
And you can add any kind of embellishments that you like! Keep it simple by adding sections of a fall floral pick or go really nuts and add a ton of details. It is entirely up to you! There were a ton of great ideas that were tossed around during this live video and you are sure to have some of your own. You could add little painted pumpkins and other fall items. Or you could add a little picket fence and some tiny curtains. The only rule is that you love it when you are done!
Gratitude Village Display Ideas
Shay’s plan is to make one house for each of her four children and have them each pick out their own gratitude word. Each part of the village will be unique and special! She then plans to display the village on her mantle. Mantles are so handy for displaying decor items like this! But we know that not everyone has them.
You could also display them on top of a bookcase, on a hutch, along your windowsills, etc. We know you will find the perfect spot! These sweet little villages would also make wonderful gifts! You could tailor them to the interests of the person you are gifting too. “Mom’s Bookshop” or “Pop’s Garage” are some fun examples. Not only will they love that your gift is handmade, they will also treasure the sentiments that are unique to their village!
Watch the Video Tutorial Here!
DIY Fall Craft Idea: Painting a Gratitude Village
Materials
- Wooden houses
- Sheet of crafting metal and tin snips (optional)
- If using the metal for your roofs, finishing nails or wood glue to secure it in place
- Premium Flat Furniture Paint Brush
- Paint brush small
- Fine detail brush
- Light Turquoise Shock Paint
- Light Grey Shock Paint
- Orange Slice Shock Paint
- Pine Needle Shock Paint
- Dark Mint Shock Paint
- Pure White Pop of Color Shock Paint
- Golden Yellow Shock Paint
- Decorative fall floral pick with raffia in it
- Hot glue gun
Instructions
- If you are adding a metal roof, measure and cut your sheet to fit your houses. Then use finishing nails or wood glue and a vice to attach your roof like Shay does in the video.
- Now it is time to paint! Use your flat brush and Light Turquoise paint to cover the front and side of the house.
- Then use a small paint brush to brush the Light Grey lightly inside the windows.
- Next use the detail brush and Orange Slice to add vines to the front of your house.
- Then use your detail brush and the Pine Needle to dot on leaves along your vines. Then do the same with the Dark Mint using it to highlight the Pine Needle leaves.
- Now use the detail brush and the Pure White and dot some in sparsely along your vines. Use the Golden Yellow to add in a bit more on your vines.
- Next separate the raffia from the fall floral pick and use hot glue to attach it to the bottom corner of your house. Then separate the rest of it and use what you want, attaching it with hot glue.
- Finally, add your gratitude word to your house. You can free hand it with paint, use a stencil, or use a vinyl cutter.
The Final Touches
Whether you have been painting for a long time or you are just getting started, this gratitude village is a DIY fall craft that you can do! Maybe you won’t be able to free hand your gratitude words but there are other ways to do it. You can use a stencil or whip out your vinyl cutting machine and print the words that way.
And here is another super fun idea that Shay had! You have painted a fall theme on one side of your houses but you don’t have to put them away with your other fall decor. Flip them right over and start decorating them for winter! They would be so cute all decked out for the winter months too. Snowmen, Christmas lights, snowflakes, and holly are just a few cute ideas for that!
Pop of Color Shock Paints are one of a kind chalk paints and sold exclusively at Counter Culture DIY. So now you have even more reasons to stop by!
You can find more awesome video tutorials like this one on our YouTube channel!
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Do you have an art project using any of our products that you want to share? Send it to us at support@counterculturediy.com, and we can feature them here!