Thanksgiving Gratitude Project

For the last seven years or so, part of our Thanksgiving tradition has involved asking our guests to write a bit about something for which they are grateful. We started out using this altered mini composition book but by last year space was running out, so I decided to look for something new.

I came across this post on Cathy Zielske's blog and thought I would give it a try. As usual, I was pressed for time, but thought it seemed like something that wouldn't be all that hard to do. The only changes I made were to recolor the elements on some of the cards to coordinate better with the cardstock I used. In fact, this was so easy to pull together, that I had time to cover a box to match. 

I used an assortment of cardstock colors to make it a bit more interesting

I set this box filled with cards and archival pens on a table and asked everyone to fill one out before dinner. I also made sure to take a photo of each guest before they left... this year I think I'll ask someone else to be in charge of this... last year, by the time I got around to remembering about taking all the pictures, it was dark and they didn't turn out so great.

This was another element in the digital kit... I printed it on matte photo paper and then die cut it into the label shape.

All that was left to do was print the photos and assemble the cards into an album.

I decided to keep it very simple and use a binder ring to hold the pages together. I added the year to the album cover that came with the kit and changed the opacity to 50%. 

I'm really pleased with how this turned out. It was my very first time using a digital kit and I found it to be a huge time saver - which is key for being able to complete projects during the busy holiday season. I know these gratitude books will become family keepsakes that we will treasure in the years to come. Thanks Cathy!

Still a few more days to enter the Thanksgiving drawing! See you tomorrow.

 

 

Comments

[sandra m.]

love this idea, i saw it on Cathy's blog too, thanks for sharing it.

[Myoriah]

I love this idea. Wish I would have known about it when I was hosting family Thanksgiving dinners. Thanks for sharing this lovely idea.

I think I'll adapt this idea to make a thankful journal for myself and as a gift for my sister to fill in pages for things we are thankful for next year. The photos can kind of be a jump start to remind us of some things to write down. Can't wait to get started

[Aleks]

Oh my goodness!!! I SOO love this! A lot! Our thanksgiving was in October so I wouldn't have had a chance to do something like this. Is that your grandfather??? He's SO sweet..those are words to cherish forever!

[Jenny E]

Aww...what a cute way to preserve family memories and create a great treasure.