Hello there and welcome to the final day of the August Papertrey Countdown! That means that tomorrow is the day (Aug. 15) that all of the new products will be available for purchase at Papertrey Ink!
I'm very excited about the projects I have to share with you today, starting with this gratitude journal I created using a 3-ring binder. I've showed you a few journals this week that were heavy on the craftiness, but didn't allow for a lot of actual journaling. I wanted to create a gratitude journal for myself, with lots of room to write. I feel like there are lots of blessings in my life that I would like to record and that's how today's gratitude journal came about.
Before we get to the specifics of the journal though, I wanted to show you a pretty pile of tabs that I die cut using my new Journal Tabs dies.
As you can see in the photo above, I left a few of the tabs blank, but I stamped various patterns and images on several of them.
I also die cut a few different patterned papers. Now I've got a stack of die cut tabs ready to go, just waiting to be used on projects here, there and everywhere!
This is a great thing to do when you're feeling crafty but not necessarily creative. You can go ahead and die cut a pile of tabs to have on hand, and even stamp them with stamps that you already have in your stash. Tabs like these, make such cute additions to a wide variety of projects.
Like I said earlier, I wanted this journal to have lots of room to actually WRITE in and I wanted to create a journal that could easily be added to throughout the year. The 3-ring approach to a gratitude journal makes it so easy to do just that.
I created the journaling pages you see in the photo above and have provided them here for you today, as a FREE download. Simply click the link below to download, print them out, trim around the edges and punch out the holes. All that's left is to embellish them however you'd like! The pages were designed with ample space at the top to stamp any of the sentiments from Gratitude Journal, and the "Date:" sentiment can be stamped in the box at the bottom of each page.
Download FREE Gratitude Journal Insert
After printing out the journal insert pages, I also cut some patterned papers down to 5.5" x 8" and used the journal inserts as a guide to hole punch my patterned papers.
Because I planned to keep the journaling pages largely for writing on, I chose to use these patterned papers as divider pages that I could embellish with lots of my favorite goodies.
Here's a closer look at the front cover of my binder. I used the Kraft Binder from Papertrey and adhered a large piece of my favorite Damask Designs patterned paper to the front with scor-tape. I then added a scalloped strip of dark chocolate card stock followed by a bit of vintage book print that was die cut with the mat stack 5 die. A Doily Details die was used to create the dark chocolate doily and I stamped the title sentiment from Gratitude Journal on a 1 3/4" circle.
Here's a peek inside the journal.....this is the first page. I stamped some Harvest Berries leaves on the bitty dot patterned paper and then started adding layers. More vintage book print was die cut with the mat stack 4 die. I added a scalloped strip of distressed dots patterned paper and adhered a strip of dark chocolate topnotch twill ribbon. Limitless layers dies were used for the two circle layers and the top one was stamped with a new Modern Wood Mats image. A die cut butterfly (Love Lives Here die) was added to finish off the focal point.
Also, notice that cutie-pie tab up in the corner? That's one of those tabs I showed you earlier that I die cut with my Journal Tabs Dies. I topped it with a threaded dark chocolate button.
Ahhhh......here's a happy page. I stamped it with images from Harvest Berries followed by the Gratitude Journal sentiment at the top and the "Date:" in the box at the bottom of the page.
This page was stamped with an image from Half & Half and another Gratitude Journal sentiment. I topped it with a die cut heart.
Here's another divider page.....more Damask Designs patterned paper here, as well as another Journal Tabs Dies tab. I also used a half & half die on the kraft card stock layer, and the doily was cut from dark chocolate card stock with a doily details die. The cute little button card was created with the Button Card dies and the Button Boutique stamp set as well as some pure poppy buttons.
Another Modern Wood Mats image here, as well as another limitless layers die cut. The Gratitude Journal sentiment was stamped on a double-ended banner die cut.
I stamped some Turning a New Leaf images on this one, as well as another Gratitude Journal sentiment.
This page makes me smile. Since it's a gratitude journal, I thought it would be appropriate to include a photo strip of me and the Sr. Design Team girls from last month's Stamp-a-Faire event. I'm grateful for that trip and these girls, so it was a fun thing to include on this page. (As you can see in the photos, I couldn't stop laughing!)
Remember that since this is a 3-ring binder, you can easily include other bits and pieces that represent things that you're grateful for. You could include a treasured Christmas card from someone special, ticket stubs from a great date night or airline boarding passes from a trip that makes you smile, and then you can jot a few notes about the item and what it represents.
You could also make this book a family affair by giving a page to each of your kids and having them jot down things that they're grateful for. All of those pages could then be tucked into your binder! You could even add pages throughout the year. These gratitude journals can really be customized however you'd like!
I stamped another Gratitude Journal sentiment on this last page as well as Polka Dot Basics II dots.
I can't wait to start filling in the pages of my gratitude journal. I imagine I'll probably need to add some more pages before too long....I feel like I have a lot to be grateful for.
All right, so how about if we switch gears and I show you a few cards I made with Gratitude Journal? That sound ok?
I stamped an image from Modern Wood Mats on each of these cards and then added die cut flowers that I made using the new Bloom Builders 3 die. I used Making Memories brads in the centers of each flower.
The "Thankful for" and "You" sentiments from Gratitude Journal were stamped on strips die cut with the double-ended banners die. I just tore each strip in half before stamping.
A few close ups.....just 'cuz they're pretty..... ;)
One last simple little card for you today.
I started out with a kraft card base and added a strip of damask designs patterned paper as well as a strip of rustic cream card stock that was die cut with a half & half die.
I added some messy stitching at the top of the card and left the thread ends hanging for a bit of added interest.
The flower was created with a beautiful blooms II die and dark chocolate card stock. The leaves were created with the Sending You die and a paper crimper. I stamped the "Grateful" sentiment from Gratitude Journal and punched it out with a 1" circle punch and topped the flower with it.
At the bottom of the card, I stamped the "Thank You" sentiment from Say It With Style.
That's a wrap for me today, but it's Group Post day which means that ALL of the girls on the Design Team have Gratitude Journal projects to share with you!! I can't wait for you to see what they've come up with! Be sure to pay them each a visit and leave 'em some comment love for all their hard work!
Mish Wooderson
Betsy Veldman
Heather Nichols
Maile Belles
Danielle Flanders
Melissa Phillips
Jessica Witty
Erin Lincoln
Lisa Johnson
Thank you so much for spending a bit of your day with me. I appreciate it so much and I hope I've inspired you to think of all the things in life that you're grateful for.
Have a fabulous day, friends,
{3-Ring Gratitude Journal supplies -- click on thumbnails}
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{Thankful For You card set supplies}
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{Grateful card supplies}
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