Gratitude Journal

I am indebted to Emily Falconbridge at http://embers.typepad.com/ for this idea. As you know, I have plenty of paper scraps on hand. I thought this was a great idea for a couple of reasons. It's important to take time to think about the many things, large and small, for which we have reason to be grateful. It's also a great way to use up odds & ends of paper!


The idea is a page for each week of the year. I didn't start this at the beginning of the year, so I counted out the weeks remaining in the year and made that number of pages. I'd like to do this annually, and hope to make this with my daughter and daughter-in-law when we've got a chance to have a few days together.


I had a lot of fun, pulling out random scraps of paper, and found ways to use even very small scraps to embellish the pages. Skinny strips were glued close to the edge; punches gave me small birds and flowers. Pieces that were a little wider, but not wide enough for a single page were glued together to form a piece wide enough for writing. I deliberately made the pages many different sizes, both in height and width for added interest. I also used stickers on some of the pages, as well as rubber stamps. This is also a good project to incorporate unusual paper; the last page in my journal is a flat brown sack I got when making a small purchase somewhere.


When I had all the pages done, I punched holes and placed hole reinforcements on front and back. Binding rings hold the whole thing together.


I was so excited by this project that I shared it at a weekend retreat, and some of my friends started their own. Another thought it would be a great project for the class she teaches on Sunday for the junior high girls. I also thought these would make nice gifts for the group of women I work with. For those, I made a cover, using similar paper for each, and incorporating rubber stamps about gratitude or thankfulness. They were very well received.



All in all, a fun, easy project.



Keep experimenting!

Immi