And so, my little album project has come to a close.
That was fun, and it was easier than I thought it would be. I mean, it's really not difficult to think of things you're grateful for. They don't have to be all deep and meaningful all the time either.
I'm going to make this an annual tradition.
Thanks to everyone who has played along and shared their gratitudes as well. Be sure to post a link today and share your final pages.
Onto the month of December with a full and grateful heart!
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I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving yesterday (to my U.S. readers, of course), and that you are safely nestled at home this fine Black Friday.
I fully plan for today's entry to be: Thankful I don't fight the crowds today. I know people get out there and do, and I admire that pluckiness.
Here are the last few days from my album, minus yesterday which I'll post next week in my final post for 30 Days of Thankful.
Be sure to share a link to your pages at the bottom of this post.
This is definitely a project that doesn't have to be relegated to the month of November. By using the digital kit, you can drop in any seasonal papers and colors to make this a project suited for any holiday—Christmas, Hanukkah—you name it. Have a great rest of your holiday weekend.
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Another week of documenting gratitude has come and gone.
And I like it!
It's also been cool to see what you have been documenting as well. I'm particularly loving seeing all the digital pages and I think next year, I may try to go the fully digital route and make a printable book out of the project. But there I go again, dreaming…
Onto my past six days…
Yes, that may be the single lowest quality photo in existence of me and my beloved, but hey, it was taken in a darkened restaurant and it was the best of the bunch.
It's really about the story, right?
Please share a link to your pages today! And continue to enjoy the process.
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Seven days have passed since the first 30 Days of Thankful: Share-a-Page Friday post. It was really cool to see what you're doing via the links many of you shared. I encourage you to join in. You don't have to be using my album to do this project!
Without further ado, here are my pages for Days 3 through 8.
It's been really nice to think about what I want to write at the end of each day, an sort through any photos I've taken. My only regret so far? My handwriting. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with it, but what happens, because I'm so used to typing, I make "typos" when I'm writing. It's the weirdest thing. I almost switched to doing this project digitally, but then I realized, "Um, you printed all that paper out, missy."
Maybe this project will get me back in the groove of writing by hand a bit more often, and with better accuracy!
Please post a link below and share your pages. I'd love to see what you are doing. And, what you're thankful for.
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The Designer Digitals 4th Quarter Sale is going on now! Save 30% off the entire store, including this 30 Days of Thankful set. It's a great time to stock up digital products. The sale runs through next week.
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Yes, the month is only two days old, but every Friday this month I plan to share my 30 Days of Thankful pages here on my blog and I'm going to encourage you to share as well.
A few things to keep in mind:
1. You don't need my album set to do this project. You people are crafty scrapbookers! You can take any approach you like to this concept. You don't even need to scrapbook it. Heck, you can post to your Facebook page, or your Twitter account. One thing you're thankful for every day can take any number of expressive forms.
2. You don't have to be the deepest person alive! My first page, as you'll see, is devoted to being thankful for the silly things in life.
3. You just have to share what is in your heart. From the littlest things to the biggest things, this challenge is meant to capture what is authentic about you and what you are grateful for.
Here are my first two pages, from yesterday and today.
Silliness and having an income. Two things, one small, one not so small. Both reminding me of what I'm thankful for on the first two days of this month.
I have a strong feeling I'll be using my iPhone a lot for these album photos.
I would love to see what you are doing and encourage you to post a link below so others can see as well! Every Friday this month will be about show and tell and gratitude. I hope you'll consider joining in.
30 Days of Thankful is officially underway.
PRODUCTION NOTE: For those of you who are using the printable PDF, please note that sometimes Adobe Acrobat will stretch your pages to fill a full sheet of paper. To avoid this, when you print your files, be sure to select the Actual Size option under Page Sizing & Handling in the print dialogue window. This will ensure a final trim size of 6 x 6.
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For the past few years, I've made gratitude-themed mini albums on Thanksgiving. The idea was simple: hand out pre-printed cards to everyone in attendance at our Thanksgiving Day celebration, have them write what they are thankful for, snap a photo of them, and then compile everything into a 4 x 6 photo album. I created albums in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
This year, I wanted to change up my project a bit and have designed a new album set that focuses on 30 days of thankfulness. This new set features a 32-page, pre-designed album project. No Photoshop skills are required. You simply open the PDF print onto white cardstock, trim, and then add your words and photos as you go through the month of November. (There are 32 layered PSD templates included in the set for full customization.)
Each 6 x 6 page features a day number, a simple phrase (today I am thankful for…) and lines for journaling. You add a 5 x 4 inch photo and the page is complete.
It took me a few hours to prepare all of the pages, printing and trimming. After printing, it looked like this:
I couldn't help but smile as it reminded me of my days of press checking at print shops, with big old sheets of papers layed out before me. Of course, what you see here are 32 pieces of Bazzill Orange Peel cardstock all neatly placed together. If there is a finer sheet of white cardstock on the face of the Earth, I have not seen it. I order this stuff in bulk.
Each spread features alternating patterns and colors. I designed a very simple polka dot pattern and chevron pattern to use for this project in brown, orange and green.
Each page also features crop marks, guides to help you quickly trim the pages to their 6 x 6 size.
It's easy to use crop marks with a paper trimmer. You simply line up one set of marks with the cutting guide first.
Then you pop the blade into the paper right over the mark.
Then you drag to the end mark and release, being careful not to cut all the way to the edge of the paper.
When you reach the end of the cut, you lift the blade up, turn the paper and repeat. And voila, you have a 6 x 6 page ready to go.
After trimming all the pages, I placed them into a 6 x 6 album so they are ready to go come November 1st.
The goal, of course, is to document the things you are thankful for for 30 days. From the heartfelt to the frivolous to everything in between, this album gives you (and anyone else who'd like to join in) a chance to focus on gratitude for a full month.
In the end, you'll have a collection of pages like this one:
You'll have plenty of room to jot down whatever you are thankful for in your own, unique handwriting.
IMPORTANT PRINTING TIP: If you are using the PDF file to print in Acrobat, you need to select ACTUAL SIZE under Page Sizing and Handling in the print dialogue box. Do not choose FIT or it will fill the entire page and your file will print larger than 6 x 6.
I have a few free downloads for anyone who'd like to join in. First, if you use a We R Memory Keepers binder, I have a label designed for the spine.
It's so tiny and adorable! Click on the link below to download a printable PDF.
I also created a 3-page planning sheet for this project. It let's you jot notes as you go through the week, in case you don't have time to create the pages every day. I know how sometimes the week can get away from you, and it's easier to sit down and scrapbook on the weekends.
To download the Daily Log, click on the link below:
And finally, if you'd like to create this album, I've got a simple blog button you can download to share with your readers as well. Click on the link to download this 120 x 120 pixel jpeg file. (Mac users, Control + Click to Save Image As…, PC users, right click, I believe.)
So here's the rest of my plan: every Friday in November, I'm going to share my pages on my blog and encourage you to share yours as well by adding your link to my Friday posts.
I'm really excited about this little album project and I'm always looking for ways to refocus my energy on what I am grateful for. I think it grounds me like nothing else and especially during this time of year. It helps me to focus to on what I have instead of what I wish I had.
Here's to 30 Days of Thankful. I hope you'll join in!
SUPPLIES:
Note: you will need a total of 33 sheets of cardstock and one extra set (10) of 6 x 6 page protectors to complete the album.
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