Helloooooo!! It's Papertrey Countdown time again and this month, I'm thrilled to introduce you to my newest stamp set called Gratitude Journal! Gratitude Journal is a set dedicated to reminding us to be grateful for the blessings in our lives. I don't know about you, but sometimes it's easy to focus on the junk going on around us and forgot to see the blessings in life. So, Gratitude Journal is a beautiful set filled with sentiments and images that will allow you to create gratitude journals.....a place to jot down the things you're thankful for. Gratitude Journal will also allow you to create gorgeous cards to let others know how much they mean to you. I'm so excited to show you this set in action and I've got a really fun project to share with you today, but first up, I want to tell you about one other new product I have coming out this month.....
Introducing Journal Tabs dies!! These little dies were designed to create cute tabs that, after die cutting, you simply fold in half and add to your gratitude journals. They coordinate with some of the sentiments and images from Gratitude Journal, but the best part about them is that you don't have to just use them with Gratitude Journal. They can be used on just about ANY project! I'll be showing you peeks at these little babies in use all week, so stay tuned.
In the meantime, let's get to today's project, shall we? I whipped up a gratitude journal but I wanted this one to focus on Fall and all the things I love about it!
For those of you that are scrapbookers, today's project may seem like a cinch to you. But for just a sec, I want to talk to those of you that are card-makers only.....to those of you that think that scrapbooking of any kind, even if it's just a mini book with no photos, just seems way too difficult and involved....way more work than simply making a card. Let me just say that I have been there! I know what it's like to be completely intimidated by projects bigger than a single card. BUT, my hope is that by the end of this week, you will see how EASY it can be to put together a gratitude journal for yourself. I'll be showing you several different applications to give you some ideas. You don't have to use photos, if you don't want. You can make it as small or as large as you'd like. You can keep it simple or pile on the layers. The choice is yours, but I hope that by the end of this week, you'll see how un-intimidating a gratitude journal can be! If you just think of each page as a card, you can totally whip up a book like I'm going to show you today, in no time, particularly because you're using one color scheme and similar products and tools throughout your journal! I can honestly say that I'm soooooo happy I took the time to create this gratitude journal because it's so pretty to flip thru and it just makes me all warm and fuzzy to read thru the bits I jotted down about fall. This is a journal I'll treasure and one that I would be happy for others to look thru as well. I might just have to put this one down in the family room as a part of our fall decor this year!
Let's get to the details, shall we? The base of the journal was created with a few pages of card stock and patterned paper, scored down the middle and then stitched together on my sewing machine. If you don't sew, you could easily staple your journal together.
ETA: The front cover measures 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". The pages inside vary in size.
Here's the front cover.....the "Gratitude I A Journal" sentiment is from the Gratitude Journal stamp set.
There's also a peek at Maile's new Background Basics: Houndstooth along the bottom of the card. Watch Maile's & Nichole's blogs for lots more about that new set this week. There's also a new strip of patterned paper there, designed by Heather Nichols.....she'll have more info about that for you this week, as well.
I also added a strip of berry sorbet card stock that I die cut with the small scalloped border die and a strip of dark chocolate topnotch twill ribbon.
The doily was made by die cutting melon berry card stock with a Doily Details die. The dark chocolate circle on top of that, was cut with the Limitless Layers: 1 3/4" circle die and on top of that is a butterfly that was die cut with my Signature Series: Butterfly die and then run thru a paper crimper. A berry sorbet button threaded with a bit of chocolate baker's twine finishes off the cover.
I kept the inside cover plain and the first page is another piece of new patterned paper.
The "Counting my blessings" and "one by one" sentiments are both from Gratitude Journal. I used the limitless layers: 1 3/4" circle dies here again, along with a new woodgrain stamp that Nichole designed. (Watch her blog for more info about that!)
For this next couple of pages, I decorated the left side and added journaling to the right side.
TIP: If you're not long-winded or feel like you just don't know what to say, remember to keep it simple!! There's nothing saying that every page of your gratitude journal has to have tons of writing on it! This journal is for YOU, so make it however YOU'D like!! It's perfectly fine to have some pages that are just pretty.....pages that just make you smile and inspire you. Add bits of journaling text wherever it works, but don't let that part stress you out!
As you can see here, the page on the left has a bit of Road Trip patterned paper trimmed with pinking shears along the bottom as well as half of a mat stack 4 die cut. I stamped a pretty flourishy-bracket image from Gratitude Journal on the mat stack layer as well as the sentiment "It's the little things that matter most". I love that sentiment. I also added a little postage stamp that was die cut with the postage die and stamped with images from the Postmarks stamp set.
As for the page on the right, I added a strip of Damask Designs patterned paper along the bottom and then used a little kraft sack to serve as a pocket for my journaling.
TIP: If you hate your hand-writing (I hear that from readers all the time!), you can always tuck your journaling cards and strips into pockets such as this so that it's only visible when you pull it out to read it. OR, of course you can always type out your journaling, print it out and add it to your journal. But honestly, even if you hate your hand-writing, your children will probably LOVE to see your hand-writing years from now. Don't be afraid to just write it out. ;)
To the kraft bag, I stamped a couple of strips from Gratitude Journal -- the three stripes image as well as the little scalloped strip image. Topping the bag are a couple of leaves die cut from new patterned paper and dark chocolate card stock, using the Leaf Prints dies. And on top of the leaves is a little "Grateful" image from Gratitude Journal that was stamped in dark chocolate ink and punched out with a 1" circle punch.
I used a half & half die to create the journaling strip here. I first die cut a strip of rustic cream card stock and then another little snippet of Road Trip patterned paper, which I trimmed off with pinking shears and adhered to the top of the strip. A berry sorbet button fit perfectly on top and makes for an easy "pull" feature at the top of the strip. The "Today I'm grateful for:" sentiment is from Gratitude Journal and below it, I listed a few things about Fall that I'm grateful for every year. (Right now with this ongoing heat, I'm especially grateful that Fall is right around the corner!)
One other detail about this page that I wanted to show you......see that handy-dandy little tab?? That's melon berry card stock die cut with the smallest Journal Tabs die and stamped with an image from Gratitude Journal! Cute, right?! I love those tabs!
Here's what you'll see when you turn the page. The back side of that same little tab shows up on the next page, so I stamped it with the same image on the back side as well. I added a strip of vintage book print that was die cut with the small scalloped border die. The "rejoice" sentiment is another from Gratitude Journal. Are you starting to see how many mix and match elements there are in this set?! I used another fun little die cut I had laying on my desk here -- the Sending You die was used on kraft card stock and then it was run thru my paper crimper. The flower was cut from dark chocolate felt with a Beautiful Blooms II die and topped with a berry sorbet button and some chocolate baker's twine. And those leaves??? Well those leaves are a new fave of mine.....they're a new little something that Nichole designed, and yes, there are coordinating dies!
Moving on to the page on the right, I chose to simply jot down some thoughts on that page. The edge of the page was die cut with the Edgers #3 die so it already had a really pretty element to it.
I started out my journaling by stamping the "So very grateful for" sentiment from Gratitude Journal, and then I just finished the sentence. There are a few little sentence starters like this one, in Gratitude Journal, to help you out a little if you can't think of what to say. Simply finish the sentence! Not hard at all! :)
Here are the next two pages. Let's talk about the page on the right first.....more new patterned paper topped with another faux corrugated mat stack 4 die cut, more dreamy die cut leaves and what about that die cut flower?!!! You're gonna have to tune in to Nichole's blog this week for more info about that as well! Let me just say....LOVE!! Lastly, the "treasure" sentiment from Gratitude Journal was stamped on a little strip of rustic cream card stock and peeks out from behind the flower.
On the left-hand page, I stamped a strip of houndstooth and added another postage stamp as well a little label. I let the label serve as my journaling for this page. The label was die cut with an Angled Labels die and stamped with the coordinating image from the Label Basics stamp set. The "Thankful for" sentiment is from Gratitude Journal and again, I simply finished the sentence with something I'm grateful for every fall.....the smell of baking banana bread. Mmm.
For the page on the left here, I used another half & half die on a strip of Damask Designs patterned paper and topped it with some more Leaf Prints die cut leaves as well as another of those gorgeous die cut flowers. Along the bottom of the page, I added a strip of rustic cream card stock that I stamped with another sentiment from Gratitude Journal -- "life is beautiful".
For the page on the right, I used the button card die to create a little journaling card. On this one, I stamped it with a topper image from Gratitude Journal....it says "Give thanks with a grateful heart". Next, I stamped 3 of the little numbers from Gratitude Journal and listed out three colorful things that make me smile when fall rolls around. Along the bottom of the journaling card, I stamped the little scalloped strip from Gratitude Journal.
I used the library pocket die to create a pocket for the journaling card and added a strip of vintage book print (this time, cut with the large scalloped border die), as well as a strip of aqua mist card stock that I stamped with houndstooth. A faux corrugated die cut star and a berry sorbet button round out the little pocket's adornment and behind the pocket, I added a strip of fine linen saddle stitch ribbon.
Again here, for the page on the left, I let it simply be a "pretty" page and added journaling to the page on the right.
On the left is another strip of Damask Designs patterned paper die cut with a half & half die. On top of that are a few acorns that I created using another new set & coordinating dies from Maile. The "autumn Blessings" sentiment at the top of the page is also from Maile's new set. Lastly on that page, I added another little die cut label stamped with the word "priceless" from Gratitude Journal.
For the page on the right, I stamped "Thankful for" and the scallops from Gratitude Journal as well as the "Grateful" circle image at the bottom. Then, I just jotted a few thoughts about how much I love our wood-burning fireplace.
Here's a look at the last two pages......I kept them nice and simple. Both pages incorporate a bit more of the new patterned paper that Heather designed. The page on the left, also uses another new die coming out this month -- a pretty scalloped rectangle. I stamped the stripes image from Gratitude Journal on the rectangle and then added a bit of kraft card stock die cut with the double-ended banners die. The sentiment on the banner is another from Gratitude Journal -- "Gratitude, the state of being grateful".
Over on the right, I stamped the "Today I'm grateful for:" sentiment one more time and simply hand wrote the word "Fall". In the bottom right corner, I stamped the "Date:" from Gratitude Journal. And of course, I can't forget to point out that big tab die cut in the upper right corner -- the largest Journal Tabs Die! It's stamped with another sentiment from Gratitude Journal.
And here's a little peek at the back cover, stamped with yet another image from Gratitude Journal.
All right, Dearies......I hope you've enjoyed this first peek at Gratitude Journal! Are your wheels turning about a gratitude journal you could make for yourself? Are you loving the idea of creating a pretty place to jot down things that you're thankful for? Or are you scared out of your wits?! Haha. Are you anxious to see how Gratitude Journal can be used on cards? I'd love to hear your thoughts!!
Be sure to visit Nichole Heady as well as Betsy Veldman, Heather Nichols, Maile Belles and Melissa Bickford for lots more Countdown fun!
See you tomorrow,
{Gratitude Journal supplies - click on thumbnails}
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