Tree of Thanks - Thanksgiving Centerpiece

In honor of Thanksgiving this week we will be bringing you a new Thanksgiving project everyday! We hope to inspire you and help you create a wonderful Thanksgiving table to share with your friends and family. Take elements from your favorite posts and incorporate them with what you already own to create a truly original tablescape. We would love to see what you come up with so don't forget to snap a few pictures to share. On Friday we will be doing a McLinky so that everyone can share thier beautiful creations!

Today's project, Tree of Thanks from Better Homes and Gardens. I love this one it truly embraces the reason for the holiday.

Turn a potted tree branch into a sharing tree. Ask family and friends to write messages of thanks to hang on the tree. Chickpeas (attached to the branches with glue) masquerade as berries, while paint and glitter add a festive touch.

What You Need:
Tree branch
Handheld hedge clippers
Butter tub
Cement
Water
Disposable container
Hot-glue gun and glue sticks
Chickpeas or dried beans
Spray primer
Orange spray paint
Clear spray sealer
Orange glitter
Scissors
Decorative container
Decorative rocks and silk leaves
Papers in green and gold
Paper trimmer
Glue
Marking pen

Shower curtain clips

How to Make It:
Trim a dry dead branch to the desired size and shape using hedge clippers. If needed, combine several small branches.
Choose a container, such as a butter tub, that can be hidden in a decorative container and filled with cement.
Following the instructions on the cement package, mix cement in a separate disposable container. Pour the cement into the butter tub.
Insert the branch base into the center of the cement-filled tub. Tap the sides of the tub until the branch sits firmly in cement. Allow cement to dry.
Use a hot-glue gun to adhere chickpeas or dried beans randomly to the branch, using as many as desired. In an outdoor area, spray the branch with primer. Spread extra chickpeas on newspaper and spray them with primer. Let the primer dry.
Spray-paint the branch and chickpeas with orange; let dry.
Spray one section at a time with clear sealer. Quickly sprinkle orange glitter onto wet sealer; let dry. Repeat this process until entire branch and chickpeas are glittered. Place the weighted tree into decorative container. Place decorative rocks around the branch base until the cement is covered. Sprinkle extra chickpeas onto the rocks.
Trim silk leaves from stems. Coil the wired ends and hang on the tree.
Trim 2-inch squares of green paper and 13D4-inch squares of gold paper. Center and glue the gold paper onto the green paper. Ask family members to use a marking pen to write meaningful messages on the squares. Use shower curtain clips to hang the messages from the branches.
Leave extra colored squares around the tree base for guests to add more messages to the tree.