Thanksgiving Map Wreath Tutorial

Holiday Crafts, Thanksgiving Community • giving thanks • mint • robinegg • Tutorial • White • Wreath

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This craft is my creative spin on the thankfulness list its a fun and visual way to list the things youre thankful for, its inexpensive and enjoyable to make, and it can be used year after year!

To create this wreath, tear an old atlas or map paper into strips and mod podge them onto a foam wreath base. Cover the entire wreath with another coat of mod podge. Cut a simple ribbon banner out of foam board or mat board and use a paint marker to add a message.

Make simple flags from old ledger paper or scrapbook paper and glue them onto quilting pins. Use the flags to write the things you’re thankful for and pin them into your wreath.

This makes a great Thanksgiving activity and the wreath can be reused year after year with new flags.

There is always something to be thankful for. And giving thanks is a great way to improve our outlook on the world, as well as reminding ourselves of all the good things in our lives that we often take for granted.

Difficulty	Cost	Time	Age	Person	Event
Moderate	$1 to $25	1-2 Hours	--	--	--

You Will Need...

A foam wreath base (we used a 14 size)
Maps from an old World Atlas (I pickup one up at Goodwill for $2), a road atlas, or map printed scrapbook paper
A ruler
Mod Podge
A foam brush
A long skewer or dowel for holding your wreath
A heavy vase or glass to prop the dowel in
Brown foam board or mat board to make the ribbon banner
An exacto knife to trim foam/mat board
A paint marker for the banner
A hot glue gun and glue sticks
Aged looking paper for the flags
Long quilting pins (1.75 inches) with colored heads of your choice
A scrap of canvas fabric or a canvas ribbon
Brown 1 wide grosgrain ribbon (or whatever color you desire)

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1

Poke your wreath onto a long skewer or dowel and put the dowel into a heavy vase or glass to hold up your wreath. This will allow you to reach all sides of your wreath at once so you can paint the Mod Podge on and apply the paper.
Step 2

Before you begin putting the map paper on your wreath, paint a light coat of Mod Podge over the entire wreath base with a sponge brush to help seal the porousness. Allow the wreath base to dry. While this base coat is drying, tear your map paper into strips that are approximately 2 wide by laying a ruler down on the paper, holding the ruler with one hand, and tearing the paper up toward you with the other hand. I used about 6-8 sheets of 8.5 x 11 atlas pages.
Step 3

After your map strips are torn, use a sponge brush to apply a thin layer of Mod Podge to the back of the paper pieces (the sides you dont want to show) and carefully apply the map pieces to the wreath, wrapping them as tightly as you can so that they fit closely onto the wreath base.
Step 4

Continue to apply the Mod Podge to the paper strips and overlap them slightly as you wrap them around the wreath so that all the foam is covered. Periodically remove the dowel from the foam base, rotate the wreath, and place the dowel elsewhere to allow easier access while applying the paper.

After the wreath base is covered with map paper, allow the Mod Podge to dry, then paint a light coat of Mod Podge over the entire wreath. I used the glossy Mod Podge to give the wreath a little sheen, but if you prefer, you could also use matte finish Mod Podge.
Step 5

To make the ribbon banner, you will need to download the pattern available on my blog page (www.itcomesfullcircle.com). I had some leftover mat board from this project, which worked perfectly for this project. You could also use foam board. Cut the pattern out and trace around it onto your foam board or mat board, then trace around it and trim carefully with an exacto knife.
Step 6

Trace over the letters on the pattern with a pen or an embossing stylus to leave a slight indention in your matboard or foam board. Then use a paint marker to trace over the letters. Outline the edges to highlight the shape of the ribbon banner.
Step 7

Apply the banner to the wreath with hot glue.

To hang the wreath, attach a ribbon around the wreath and secure to your hanging surface with a small nail.
To make the ribbon hanger shown in the photo, I used a scrap piece of canvas from a drop cloth and cut it into a long strip, about 3 inches wide by 48 inches long. I attached a piece of 1 brown grosgrain ribbon to the middle of the canvas strip with a single stitch (I chose blue thread to match the map print). I also frayed the edges of the canvas a little and then stitched down each edge so the fraying wouldnt just keep going on forever.

I made a quick little rolled fabric flower for the middle of the bow, and secured it on with hot glue. Note: I did not actually tie the ribbon into a bow, I just folded it to look like a bow and glued the layers together with hot glue, then glued the flower to the middle.
Step 8

To make the flags, cut your aged scrapbook paper, newsprint, ledger paper, or whatever you have available into 4 inch by ½ inch strips. Fold the strips in half and use hot glue to attach them to the pins. (Be careful the paper does not insulate from the heat very well!) You could also use tacky glue for this, but the hot glue is faster. Trim triangles out of the ends of the flags.

Use a fine point sharpie or felt tip pin to write what youre thankful for on the flags, and pin them to your wreath. The fun part is watching your world of thanks fill up with flags!