Gratitude Journal

Hey Everybody, welcome back. I've got a project for you today featuring Dawn's new Gratitude Journal set and tab dies. What an awesome concept for the fall release. And even though Thanksgiving comes but once a year, this is a concept you can use year around.

I decided to channel my inner Oprah Winfrey and create a Gratitude Journal to keep on my bedside table for the years to come. Seeing as I intend to use it, I put a lot of thought into the design so that it would be not only practical and usable, but pretty as well. Let me show you some of its unique features.

Like many of you, I have lots of supplies that I had purchased in the past that have never been used. I have a whole box of blank mini-books/journals. Instead of going out and buying something new, I decided to dig in and see what I could put to use from my stash. I found a thick, kraft colored binder full of blank pages that seemed to have lots of potential.

Half & Half stamps/dies as well as the new Fillable Frames Addition #2 set made up my front. Take note of the ribbon that is adhered on the cover...

...when not in use, it tucks in the front cover.

But  can also act as a book mark. Leaving it adhesive free allows you to do this.

My book is divided up into years. I used the new Journaling Tab dies and Library Ledger Year Additions to create a cover page every year. I like how half of the Fillable Frames Addition 2 stamp and the journaling tab looks a little like an acorn.

Now, the one thing I don't like about journals is that often, you run out of room or you have too much room between sections. To eliminate that issue, I'm only going to stamp ten pages or so at a time. I will stamp the rest as I go. The plan is that there are no blank pages when it is all said and done, but have the years divided up with cover pages in the appropriate spots.

The actual journal pages have a numbered list left justified on the right page. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts to put down than I have the desire to write in a list format, so I left the rest of the page blank for more structured thoughts. I like the idea of have both styles of journaling on a single page.

I also added a date stamp from Mini Scrapbook Series: Library Ledger because it is always insightful to know the time and place when one goes back to read journal entries.

Notice the numbers? Place them all on your block at once so you can stamp multiple pages with ease.

When each subsequent year is finished, I'm planning on cutting the next blank page for my "Year Cover Page" and adding a tab. I've already created the tabs (with adhesive) and they are kept in the envelope in the front cover. The Seed Packet die worked great in this application.

Since all the stamping will be done as needed in this journal, I used the last page as a reference. I can now see in a glance what stamps and ink colors I would need to use to add on. Seems a little silly now, but I'm sure in 2018, I might need to refer back to it.

Don't be afraid to take something that is already existing and adding to it with your stamp supplies. If you mess a page or two up--no biggie. Just rip it out and go on to the next. The spiral binding helps with this too:).

I hope you are inspired to create some "stamp as you go" mini albums of your own. Be sure to check out the PTI design team blogs for even more creative ideas. Thanks for stopping by!


Nichole Heady
Jessica Witty
Betsy Veldman
Dawn McVey
Heather Nichols
Lisa Johnson
Melissa Phillips
Michelle Wooderson
Maile Belles
Danielle Flanders

Supplies:

Gratitude Journal

Stamps: Gratitude Journal, Autumn Acorns, Half & Half, Fillable Frames Additions 2, Label Basics, Mini 

Scrapbook Series: Library Ledger and Library Ledger Year Additions

Cardstock: Spring Moss, Terracotta Tile, Stamper's Select White

Ink: Ripe Avocado, Spring Moss, Summer Sunrise, Dark Chocolate

Adhesive Back Cardstock

Terracotta Tile Swiss Dot Ribbon

Vintage Button in Terracotta Tile

Dies: Journal Tabs Addition, Seed Packet Envelope, Angled Labels

Other: Blank Journal