Thursday, November 14, 2013

Project Life and Gratitude

Perhaps it's the change of the seasons that inspires so many people to be grateful this time of year. In some places Autumn has danced into view and you can not miss her colorful display. Where I live, she tiptoes and you must pay careful attention or you will miss her presence. Regardless of Autumn's chosen display, wherever you live, you are likely conscience of the changes. The difference in the weather seems to have us reflecting on the past year, almost ready to move on, but pausing to savor the good memories.

This year, I had a lot of good memories to savor. Twenty years worth to be exact. I began this month celebrating my marriage and grateful for all the wonderful moments with my husband. It seemed like the perfect time to start a gratitude journal. In the past, I have considered such a project, however, I always knew I would not finish it. Adding on additional projects to those already in progress makes them very difficult to complete. My solution was to incorporate the gratitude journal within my regular Project Life pages.

I started by gathering my supplies. When it comes to scrapbooking products, I often go a bit overboard. So I ended up with a pretty large kit. I will be using the JBS Mercantile October and November kits. They mix easily with the supplies I have on hand.

I really want to start making more of older supplies. I find that the easiest way for the older items to feel new again is to mix them with a few newish supplies. I have a variety of older products from Bella Blvd. and Simple Stories. The Fall Theme Set of Project Life cards made a nice addition to this kit. 










The Echo Park Oh So Thankful kit included the page protectors. It will pair well with Jenni Bowlin Studios Fall Bingo cards and the JBS Mercantile November mini album kit printables. I also added in a small plastic flower sign that said Happy Thanksgiving. The Echo Park papers have a more trendy feel. I will be able to mix them with the more traditional kit items by using the Navy and Orange colors throughout the pages.



It's a little unusual for me to work on my Project Life album during the month. Usually, I am revisiting months, jumping around to use the photos that I find inspiring at the time.I did find that I enjoyed switching the process up a little. Perhaps that may be key to me for participating more fully in Project Life.


While I did have two full kits centered around Autumn and Thankful themes, I still chose to add some additional items. I was able to use up some scrap ribbon and I incorporated some of the October Freckled Fawn Oh Deer Me kit embellishments. Using some of the regular Project Life cards also afforded me some flexibility.









I alternated between documenting the events that occurred and journaling about my gratitude.














Adding the gratitude journaling to the event portions of each part of the day allowed me to add a more refreshing perspective to the layouts.















Day one managed to spread out over three pages. Incorporating the gratitude project into my Project Life spreads is making it more doable. I know I never would have completed two separate projects. I am using my kits but also allowing myself to add small bits from my supplies. Overall, I am more satisfied with the way the cards look. There is variation but sticking to a color scheme is helping me achieve a more consistent look. Adding the gratitude project to Project Life is also inspiring me with it's fresh perspective. It leads me to believe that the key for me  to complete PL spreads lies within the consistency of a kit paired with varying how I approach PL each month. Adding new projects will help me add a fresh perspective while keeping PL from becoming a chore.



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