Hey, y’all! (That’s Southern-speak for “Hi, everyone!”) I’m Brenda Arnall, former Contributing Editor with Creating Keepsakes magazine, and I’m so happy to be here as the guest blogger today. I may have left the world of deadlines and trade shows behind, but I’m still scrapbooking in retirement.
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I can almost taste the turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Even more, I love having all the family gathered around the table, enjoying the meal together. The holiday is a fitting reminder of how much we have to be thankful for.
Have you ever wondered why we only devote one day each year to counting our blessings? What would happen if we focused on life’s good things throughout the year? Science tells us that practicing gratitude can increase our happiness, reduce our level of stress and boost our immune system. Pretty powerful stuff, huh? I can think of no better way to practice gratitude than to build a scrapbook project around it, and that’s just what I’ve been doing in 2009.
Gratitude Project
Each week, I photograph an event, person or thing that has made my heart happy during the previous seven days. I record it, as my blessing for the week, on a page in a mini album. The subjects range from silly to serious, meaningful to mundane. Combined, they are a snapshot of a part of my life that’s been undocumented until now. While I’ve always been a glass-half-full kind of gal, I feel blessed beyond belief as the album has grown. It’s tangible evidence that life is good.
It’s been a creative adventure, too. I purposefully chose a small album format (roughly 5″ x 7″) to make the album easier to keep up with. I’ve challenged myself to use leftover scraps, old products I still love, new techniques I want to play with, and pages in different sizes and shapes not found in traditional scrapbooks. This approach has been both liberating and stimulating.
3•2•1 by Brenda Arnall. Supplies Cardstock and mini brads: Bazzill Basics Paper; Patterned paper: Jenni Bowlin Studio, KI Memories and SEI; Punch: EK Success; Acrylic stars: Heidi Swapp for Advantus; Ink: Tsukineko; Embossing powder: Ranger Industries; Chipboard letters: BasicGrey; Paint: Golden Paints; Font: Berlin Sans; Other: Graph paper.
Here’s this week’s entry documenting the good fortune Wayne and I had to see the launch of the space shuttle on Monday. It was one of the items on Wayne’s “bucket list,” and I was filled with gratitude not only for the opportunity to see such an impressive sight but to know how much being there meant to him. I always use Friday entries on my blog to explain the what and why of the week’s gratitude, and that entry eventually becomes the journaling on a separate page in my album.
Embossing Technique
The layout itself is white, but there’s a gray background behind it so you can see the pattern I created on the clear acrylic stars. If you’ve hesitated to heat emboss on acrylic for fear it would destroy the clear embellishments, wait no longer. It definitely works, and it’s easy and fun to do. Here’s how:
You’ll need a watermark stamp pad (I use VersaMark by Tsukineko), some embossing powder, a clear acrylic embellishment and your favorite stamp. Ink your stamp and press straight down on the acrylic embellishment. Since the surface of the acrylic is slick, try to go straight down and straight back up without letting the stamp slide. If you’re not happy with the stamped result, just wash the ink off under warm water and start over.
Shake the embossing powder over the stamped acrylic, and tap off the excess. You can have “do overs” here, too—the powder and ink will wash off until they’re heated. I used an ultra thick embossing powder (UTEE) that was clear with a hint of blue, and it produced a nice dimension but was still transparent. A generic pattern on the stamp is probably better than a detailed one because some powder will cling to the unstamped areas despite your best efforts.
Use a heat gun to melt the embossing powder. I held mine about 12″–14″ away from the accent and held it straight overhead so the acrylic wouldn’t blow away from the force of the airflow. It took a little longer because of the distance, but the powder melted with time. The acrylic gets soft, but that’s nice because you can alter the shape, like adding a twist to an acrylic heart or folding up the wings of an acrylic butterfly. The acrylic embellishment will retain the shape when it cools, or you can reheat it to flatten it back out.
Other Options
My yearlong gratitude project has been rewarding, but if that sounds like a time commitment your schedule doesn’t permit, then you can still scrapbook your gratitude throughout the year. Take one photo per week that is blessing based. Create a page once a month or once a quarter documenting things you are grateful for. Begin a “book of good things,” and add a layout whenever the mood strikes. There are endless ways you can practice gratitude through scrapbooking, and counting blessings instead of burdens is bound to have a positive influence on your life.
Whether spent at home or away, with family physically or just in your heart, I hope you have a wonderful—and blessed—Thanksgiving.
—Brenda Arnall
P.S. Who can resist a food-named font when thoughts of Thanksgiving are on the mind? This week for Free Font Friday, enjoy this free download of the CK Porridge font.
Brenda – what a great idea! I’ve been challenging myself this month to keep a gratitude mini-album scrapbook. Every day I write about something that I’m grateful for and then take a picture that relates to it. It’s been a really neat exercise and I have found that I’ve been focusing so much more on the positive things in life. Yes, life is good! I really like the idea of doing something throughout the year to stay mindful of all the things that I have to be grateful for. Thanks for sharing this scrapbook project. I’m excited to try it for 2010! Oh, and I can’t wait to try the embossing technique too.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Brenda – what a great idea! I’ve been challenging myself this month to keep a gratitude mini-album scrapbook. Every day I write about something that I’m grateful for and then take a picture that relates to it. It’s been a really neat exercise and I have found that I’ve been focusing so much more on the positive things in life. Yes, life is good! I really like the idea of doing something throughout the year to stay mindful of all the things that I have to be grateful for. Thanks for sharing this scrapbook project. I’m excited to try it for 2010! Oh, and I can’t wait to try the embossing technique too.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I agree with Bernadette, Brenda! What a wonderful idea. I especially like the idea of doing a mini album using left over pieces and scraps…great way to stay motivated. Out of curiosity, did you use large jump rings to hold your book together? I’m imagining that with a book with nearly 52 pages, it’s got to be pretty thick. I have so many ideas for this already, I can’t wait to get started! Thank YOU for the inspiration!
I agree with Bernadette, Brenda! What a wonderful idea. I especially like the idea of doing a mini album using left over pieces and scraps…great way to stay motivated. Out of curiosity, did you use large jump rings to hold your book together? I’m imagining that with a book with nearly 52 pages, it’s got to be pretty thick. I have so many ideas for this already, I can’t wait to get started! Thank YOU for the inspiration!
Thanks for a great idea! I just made my first “December Daily” album and I can’t wait to see it fill up. But this would be such a fun project to do for the new year. I’m even thinking this would be a great idea for my kids to do too, maybe in a simpler journal book. It’s so important to focus on the special blessings in our lives so we don’t let them pass us by unnoticed. Thank you for the inspiration today!!
Thanks for a great idea! I just made my first “December Daily” album and I can’t wait to see it fill up. But this would be such a fun project to do for the new year. I’m even thinking this would be a great idea for my kids to do too, maybe in a simpler journal book. It’s so important to focus on the special blessings in our lives so we don’t let them pass us by unnoticed. Thank you for the inspiration today!!
What a wonderful idea Brenda! I will definitely do this! Lovely pages too. TFS!
What a wonderful idea Brenda! I will definitely do this! Lovely pages too. TFS!
Brenda, so nice to “hear” from you. Your gratitude album is wonderful and wonderfully done! Love it. If I start today I could do one week anyway by Thanksgiving. Might just make it a two-page spread in my annual family scrapbook. Off to look for a picture for today. Shouldn’t be too hard to do as my DH is out in his shop cracking and picking out pecans that he harvested yesterday. Lots of pecans for my holiday baking and that’s something to be grateful for. (Him and the pecans!LOL)
Brenda, so nice to “hear” from you. Your gratitude album is wonderful and wonderfully done! Love it. If I start today I could do one week anyway by Thanksgiving. Might just make it a two-page spread in my annual family scrapbook. Off to look for a picture for today. Shouldn’t be too hard to do as my DH is out in his shop cracking and picking out pecans that he harvested yesterday. Lots of pecans for my holiday baking and that’s something to be grateful for. (Him and the pecans!LOL)
Brenda, thank you so much for sharing your gratitude album. I love it. It is so special. In addtion, I think this great project can be very full-filling. Oh, another bonus is getting to scrap when I don’t have a bunch of time but want to keep those creative juices flowing.
OMG, I am so excited! Thanks, again, for sharing.
‘Wishing you many blessings this holiday season! Please come back soon!!
Brenda, thank you so much for sharing your gratitude album. I love it. It is so special. In addtion, I think this great project can be very full-filling. Oh, another bonus is getting to scrap when I don’t have a bunch of time but want to keep those creative juices flowing.
OMG, I am so excited! Thanks, again, for sharing.
‘Wishing you many blessings this holiday season! Please come back soon!!
Brenda, your album has turned out to be quite a keepsake! I have really enjoyed your pages through the year.
Brenda, your album has turned out to be quite a keepsake! I have really enjoyed your pages through the year.
lovely work–the shuttle page is wonderful! And we want to see that someday as well! thanks for the acrylic info too!
lovely work–the shuttle page is wonderful! And we want to see that someday as well! thanks for the acrylic info too!
Wish i knew where to purchase the basic sketches book.