Dare to DIY: Grateful Sign

I came across this challenge to DIY for the holidays and since I don't have a lot of holiday decor, I decided to give it a shot. The theme of the first one is make something epitomizing 'gratefulness'. After much searching online for inspiration and coming up relatively empty-handed, I came up with something of my own. A fusion of these two pins (here and here) and a little something of my own.

The idea of a wood plaque was intriguing to me, but I've done a simple piece of wood before. I wanted it to be more Thanksgiving-y, so instead of a plank, I would use a cutting board. And since I'd be using a cutting board, I didn't want to permanently mar it with paint or stain so I'd have the option to use it again. Other than that, I didn't have much of a plan.

Want to get inspired? Just wander a craft store for a while and you'll be bound to come up with something. After half an hour at Michael's, I came out with some sticker letters made of cork and some twine, each $2.99. 

And in true uninspired fashion, I just began winding the twine around different parts of the cutting board. In order to not glue it, a simple box knot held a loop around the handle and I ended up with this.

To hang it, I looped it around the hole to create something to hold it, again without using any glue. Nothing fancy. Kind of looks like some sort of weird, cheap Muppet, right?

I really like these little cork letters from Michael's. They almost look like wood. And it's a nice little bonus that the words "GIVE THANKS" only use each letter once so you only need to use one sheet of letters. A bit of measuring went into their placement, but most of it was eyeballed.

Helpful little tip: don't try to make this around cats.

Here's the finished product. For something so cheap and easy, it's classy, simple, and subtle.If you break down the cost, including the cutting board, you can make this for under $20. Excluding the cutting board and using a coupon at a craft's store (which I didn't do), you could make this for under $5.

And completely reversible if you find you need more cutting boards while making your Thanksgiving feast.