journal your gratitudes :: the album

Goodness...I just wasn't feeling the mojo with my journal. I adored my 2010 album so, so  much that I was having a hard time recreating something that I thought could even compare.

In real life, the green is not quite as "pukey" as it appears here although the cover is bright and cheerful for sure. I used a 5x7 Canvas Art Board cover from Zutter {which I also used on this mini album} first painting it light blue, then dabbing some paint off and coating it with lime green. After dabbing and swishing the paint brush around, I brushed some red paint at the edges and used a tissue to dab most of it off.

The turquoise numbers and wording are American Crafts rub-ons and I used my letter stamps to spell out gratitude, blessing and joy. You might notice that I wrapped Lemondrop baker's twine from The Twinery around my 2" binder ring and through the holes of my bookplate.

I decided to mix in a variety of page sizes and shapes to give my journal more interest, that was one feature of my 2010 album that I really enjoyed. So, as I was assembling my album to write this post, I actually ended up creating a few more pages!

Making Memories journal spot | Anna Griffin journal spot

Martha Stewart label | manila shipping tag and transparency from Hobby Lobby

Anna Griffin journal spot | menu planner from Michael's Dollar bin

Teresa Collins journal spot | studio g stamp

Colorbok {?} journal spot | ek success real estate punch

Avery labels | Anna Griffin journal spot and Hobby Lobby transparency

Hello label from WalMart | Cosmo Cricket journal spot

Colorbok {?} journal spots | time card from Office Depot

Stampin' Up scallop punch | Avery labels

Michael's Dollar bin | Fiskars punch

Teresa Collins journal spot | {?}

Teresa Collins journal spot | ek success Real Estate punch

Post-It Notes | journaling card

Colorbok journal spots | ek success Real Estate punch

Cosmo Cricket journal spot | Fiskars Threading Waters border punch

craft supply | Martha Stewart label

Top Note die cut | craft supply

label from Dollar Tree | back cover made by adhering two pieces of chipboard together

sweet little touches achieved by using baker's twine from The Twinery

I'm not sure how often I will write in my journal...not as often as daily but more often than weekly. And for the one-sided patterned papers, I might include a photo on the reverse side and just add journaling on top of that. I'll be sharing my pages throughout the year and how I've included bits of memorabilia and photos to tell the story of my 2011 gratitudes.

If you think you'd like to journal your gratitudes, but aren't into making a journal this involved, you could try to embellish a spiral bound index notebook, make a cover for a notepad or even use a composition book and pretty up the cover a bit.  You might want to do a digital album, much like Karen Grunberg's {she provides a free template for you}. Don't let the "pretty" stop you, after all, that's not what it's all about. It is about making ourselves more aware of the bounties in our life.

I would love it if you would share a link with me to your own Gratitude Journal so that I can be inspired by you! Don't forget that clicking on the photos brings them up in a new window in a larger size.

Here, here, and here are links to other posts referring to the Gratitude Journal.

NOTE  |  The new Gratitude Journal is now available in the shop!