Wednesday, January 2, 2013

2013 Gratitude Journals


Gratitude....that is my word for 2013.  I'm not big on New Year's Resolutions, but I decided this year I am going to "on purpose" look for something to be grateful for each and every day.  I actually started doing this a few months ago when I spontaneously decided to jot something down in my prayer journal one night thanking God for something good that had happened that day.   I didn't plan on it, but I ended up doing the same thing the next day.  By the third day I found myself going through my day watching for things that I could thank God for at the end of the day.   When I realized what a difference it made in my day, I decided I need to make this a permanent part of each day!

I got the idea for making journals last month when I saw something on pinterest where someone was making 2013 gratitude journals and selling them on etsy.  I thought that was a great idea and wanted to make one for myself, but didn't get a chance to think anymore about it until a few days after Christmas.  Then I decided that I HAD to make one not only for myself, but also for my mom and sister.  I went in search of a datebook of some sort to turn into a journal, but couldn't find just the right thing.  I did find some plain journals I liked, so I bought 3 of them and set about turning them into Gratitude Journals. 

I had to start this project by doing math so I could evenly distribute the pages into the 12 months. 
I attached little tabs dividers to separate the months and then had to hand write in each day's date.  That took a while to do for all 3 journals!  Then I found 12 bible verses on gratitude and printed them out and matted them onto scrapbook paper. I used the verses and things from my papercrafting stash to decorate the first page of each month.  This was a very time consuming project, but  I loved every minute of it.   I finished them up and got them delivered to my mom and sister just in the nick of time for the new year.  We are all looking foward to keeping these journals and how fun it will be at the end of the year to look back at all the blessings we received from God this year.  :)



One of the first things I am grateful for this year is wonderful parents who gave me the yarn for Christmas to make the Umaro Blanket by Jarod Flood.  This blanket has been on my wish list for quite a while and I am having so much fun working on it.  Thanks Mom and Dad!  :)


And I have a feeling this little goofball (my nephew Eli) will be on many pages of my Gratitude Journal this year.  He is such a blessing from God and he makes me laugh constantly!  This day he was "helping" me in the kitchen (notice the beater on the floor behind him in the 2nd pic) and he wandered out of the kitchen and then stuck his head around the corner wearing the hubby's reading glasses.  He loves wearing these glasses so much that we ended up popping the lenses out and just letting him have them.  :)



 
Happy New Year's to you all!


 

8 comments:

Ellyn said...

Gratitude was my word last year and I will tell you focusing on gratitude made a huge difference in my year! May it be the same for you...

Thimbleanna said...

Holy Cow -- Eli is growing up before our eyes! Those journals are darling Doni. And that blanket is gorgeous! Happy, Happy New Year!

Barbara said...

Love those journals! I think, no - I KNOW, that people would be happier if they focused more on the things that make them happy instead on the things that aren't perfect. I think I'll make that my New Year's Resolution, too (unfortunately I'm really good at finding the bad things in my life).

Anyway, thanks for the inspiration and have a Happy New Year!

Lily said...

That's a really special project, Doni :)) I admire such things... makes me think... I recently read on another (crafty) blog an observation about our not realising we were happy until later when it's past... all obvious things...

When one keeps a journal of any kind there's always a place to write down what we were grateful for, each day... it's so easy... but so many (petty) annoyances distract us...

Thanks for sharing :)

Annette said...

Happy new year!!
That looks so lovely all!!
Good luck keeping it al in your journal

What a cute pic off little Eli!1

Landon Clary Eason said...

I am doing daily gratitudes myself, on my Facebook page. I like your idea of having your gratitudes all in one place, might have to get a journal of my own. Thanks for the great idea!! Happy Crafting XOXOX Landon

Angelique said...

Doni, Happy New Year! Thank you for sharing suchh a beautiful work. You are now in my list of best blogs to follow.
www.becodaangel-artesmanuais.blogspot.com

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

Your journals are great! Wow! A lot of work went into creating them but how special they are. An attitude of gratitude is a great way to live every day. Happy new year! Tammy