Friday, November 23, 2012

BBA November Challenge - An Attitude of Gratitude





As a member of the Blogging Business Artisans Team, I am challenged each month to create an item in response to a theme.   This month's challenge is about gratitude.  Our host says, "Living with gratitude is my goal, but certainly at Thanksgiving we all stop to think about what we're thankful for. How does gratitude play a part in your life? Create something that shows your gratitude."

A few years ago, I was truly inspired by Sarah Ban Breathnach’s book, SIMPLE ABUNDANCE: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy (Warner Books: 1995).   There’s a newer edition out now, published in 2009:  http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Abundance-Daybook-Comfort-Joy/dp/0446563595/ref.   One of my 2013 resolutions will be to reread it again, as a daybook, one day at a time.   

One takeaway from the book was this:  Write down each day at least three things for which you are grateful.    
I’ve been using a cheap little spiral notebook for my daily gratitude lists.


As I began to run out of pages (determined to get to the end of 2012 before switching books), my writing got smaller and  smaller.



So this challenge was the perfect excuse to upgrade to a REAL gratitude journal for myself for 2013.

I covered a composition book with fabric loosely quilted to a layer of flannel.  The wide inner flaps create storage pockets.    The teal tone-on-tone fabric has inspiring phrases, such as “peace surrounds” and “built with love and dreams” and “home is where the heart is.”   The fabric is from the Tucsadelphia collection by Lizzie B. Cre8tive for Henry Glass & Co. 

The small-scale print in brown, cream and teal has small leaves, signifying growth.  It will be a subtle reminder to spend some time with Nature every week.  The print was designed by Nebraskan, Jo Morton, for Andover Fabrics, and it was inspired by a quilt from the International Quilt Study Center & Museum here in Lincoln, NE. 

The plaid fabric was needed as “filler” because I only had a fat quarter (18” x 22”) of Jo Morton’s print.  The plaid reminds me of country roads and fields on the farm where I grew up.  The Midwest is full of right angles. The plaid is from the Bread & Butter collection designed by Kaye England for Wilimington Prints.

The applique starburst design was fussy cut from an organic cotton print to resemble a compass.  It reminds me that as I navigate through life, God is and must remain my True North.

TTFN
LeAnn aka pasqueflower




11 comments:

  1. What a wonderful idea. I am definitely going to start my book :)

    Hugs,
    Laura

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  2. "God is and must remain my true North." So true, and beautifully said.

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  3. There is always something to be grateful for! I love that each part of the cover represents something to you, especially keeping God as your true north.

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  4. What a perfect project for this challenge theme! Best of luck with it in 2013.

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  5. Your fabrics are perfect for your new journal, and especially so since they represent something personal to you.

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  6. Love the journal! I also love this idea. I'm thinking that one of the ways I'm going to celebrate 2013 is to make a gratitude journal too. I have so many things to be thankful for that sometimes I actually feel guilty!

    Focus on the positive! Wonderful post. I'd say that you have met this challenge well.

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  7. What a beautiful journal! I love the compass - great reminder of Who to follow!

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  8. Beautiful! This blows my paper journal out of the water!!

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  9. Made me giggle that you wrote smaller an smaller! And I love that you'll continue this tradition into 2013!

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  10. Love your new journal! What a great idea to keep this going all year long! I did mine just for the month of November and really liked taking time to stop and think about what I was thankful for each day :)

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  11. your gratitude journal is very beautiful. I like all the symbolism you found in the fabric. I live in southern Oklahoma, and we have lots of right angles too! {:-D

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