How to Make a Gratitude Journal from Card Stock

Hey, y'all!  Let me start by saying first that I can't believe it's November already.  Where has the time gone? Every year when November rolls around, I see people start posting what they're thankful for every day of the month on Facebook.  I always think that's such a great idea, but I never do it.  This year, I learned that Shanna Noel of Illustrated Faith was doing a Gratitude Documented challenge during the month, and I knew I wanted to participate, so I decided to make myself a gratitude journal with just enough pages for each day of the month.  I shared my handmade journal on Instagram and had a request to show everyone how I made it.  Of course, I had to oblige, so today I'm sharing a video tutorial showing you how to create a journal from paper.  This process is so easy, and the best part about it is that you can personalize your journal.

You only need a few supplies to make your own journal:

Simple, Inexpensive Thanksgiving Table Setting

Hey, y'all!  Today I'm so excited be part of a huge Thanksgiving Dishes & Table Setting Blog Hop!  

Y'all probably know by now that I don't cook that often.  (Hence why you've never seen a recipe other than a scrub recipe on Pitter and Glink.)  So, of course, I'm sharing an easy Thanksgiving table setting.  It's nothing too fancy, but it's elegant and has a touch of glitter.  You wouldn't expect any less, right?  So here it is!

Several items that I used to create my table setting came from the dollar store.

The gold plastic charger, white plate, and drinking glass all came from the dollar store.  Some dollar stores have clear glass plates.  Mine did not, so I purchased one from Hobby Lobby when glass items were half off.  It cost me about $1.50, but I went to Target right after that, and I saw clear glass plates for $1.  Such is life.

The glittery leaf was another dollar store find.  It came in a pack of fall-colored leaves.  I simply spray painted it gold and glittered it with sparkle Mod Podge and extra find gold glitter.

The gold metallic napkins were purchased at TJ Maxx, and they, like most of the other pieces of the place setting, can be used for many different holidays.

I found the cute little acorn at Hobby Lobby.  It was 50% off.  I think this acorn is the cherry on top of the table setting!

I combined all the items I purchased with items that I already had on hand, such as the silverware and placemat, and arranged them in a simple, elegant way.

I placed a few small pumpkins on the table, along with a candle and vase I already had.

I love that everything I used is pretty neutral, but the gold and little glittered leaf jazz it up.

If you wanted your table setting to be more dramatic, you could embellish your glass plate by adding gold or orange polka dots to the back.  You could also use the acorns as place cards by writing names on them with a gold paint pen.  Or you could simply leave the place setting as is, and you would still impress your guests on Thanksgiving day. Need more Thanksgiving inspiration? Check out these Thanksgiving dishes and other table settings from my talented blogger friends.

An InLinkz Link-up

{Thanksgiving Pallet Art & A Pallet Canvas Giveaway}

Thank you, 48 BY 40, for sponsoring today's giveaway! Hey, y'all!  Have you ever created any pallet art?  I have a confession: I never had before today's project. You see, I have never been able to disassemble a pallet.  My dad found me one about a year ago, and I was all excited about using it for a project.  I think we barely got one board removed from the pallet before we gave up on the whole disassembly thing.  And then I saw posts about how you have to carefully disinfect pallets to make them safe for your home.  So, yeah, I kind of figured that a pallet project--besides a popsicle stick faux pallet project--was probably never going to happen.  The pallet-sized hole in my crafting life was filled a couple of weeks ago when I was sent two pallet canvases from a new company called 48 BY 40. I used one of the pallet canvases to create a pretty piece of Thanksgiving art for my mantel.  The art was really easy to make.  (If you stick around until the end of the post, you can have a chance to win a pallet canvas to create your own art!)

I started my project with one of the large pallet canvases sent to me by 48 BY 40.

The large pallet canvas measure 21" x 21" and, of course, comes without the hassle of pallet disassembly as actual pallets do.  You can find the canvases on Amazon.  (Below is an affiliate link.)

My canvas had a great variation of wood colors with fun nail holes and rough grain.

To begin creating my art, I first had to create my design.  I used Picmonkey to create a large graphic featuring the quote, "In all things, give thanks" and printed it.  I used the process that I outlined in my "How to Create Large, Custom-Size Graphics with PicMonkey" post and "How to Print Large Images Using Microsoft Word" post.

After I taped the image together, I rubbed chalk over the entire back of the image.  (I'm using the process I used to create my large vintage quote sign, except I'm using chalk instead of pencil.)

I then laid the image down on the top of the pallet canvas and traced around the letters with a pen.

After tracing the letters, I removed the paper and the chalk graphic was left on the pallet faintly.  I used a sharpened piece of chalk (just use a handheld pencil sharpener) to trace over the letters again so that they'd be easier to see, especially in places the transfer didn't work all that well.  When transferring graphics this way, a helpful tip is to tape down your graphic to make sure it doesn't move while tracing and to keep checking to make sure your letters are transferring.  You may need to add more chalk to the back of the paper if you're having trouble getting the letters to show up.

Once the letters were traced, I painted them with white paint.  I used a wet paper towel to remove any leftover chalk once the paint dried.  Then my Thanksgiving art was complete.

I love how it turned out!

I am such a huge fan of white and wood paired together, especially when the wood has tons of character.

This piece is the perfect addition to my Thanksgiving decor.

Now that you've seen what I did with my first pallet canvas, I'd love to see what you would do with one.  To help make that happen, the awesome people at 48 BY 40 are giving one lucky reader a chance to win two pallet canvases.  The giveaway is open to residents of the continental U.S. and runs from 12 AM Thursday, October 30th through 12 AM Thursday, November 6th.  You can enter using Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! Disclosure: 48 BY 40 supplied the pallet canvas for today's project and is sponsoring the giveaway, but all opinions in the post are 100% mine.

{Duck Tape Decorated Dollar Store Pumpkin}

Hey, y'all!  Did you survive Halloween?  I did, and now I'm ready for Thanksgiving.  In preparation for Thanksgiving, I have a lovely pumpkin project to share with you.  Y'all know that I love those dollar store pumpkins.  (Remember my Fabric-Wrapped Dollar Store Pumpkin and my Pink Glitter Pumpkins.)  This time, I've decorated one with spray paint and Duck tape, and I love how it turned out.

To begin this project, I started with a dollar store pumpkin, of course.  :)

Let's face it: that orange, styrofoam-looking thing is not that cute.

So I used a pretty turquoise color spray paint made by Valspar called Exotic Sea to begin its transformation.

I wrapped the stem of the pumpkin with twine to make it stand out from the rest of the pumpkin.  Then it was time to add the Duck tape design.

To create the design, I used Duck tape, a ruler, a craft knife, and my fabric cutting mat.

I stuck a strip of Duck tape to my mat and used the ruler to cut triangles.  You can see in the above photo how I did that easily by cutting two squares and then cutting those squares in half diagonally to create triangles.  Then I placed those triangles on the pumpkin in a geometric design.  You can create whatever pattern you'd like.

I love the final product.  The gold Duck tape looks really pretty paired with the turquoise paint.

A grouping of these pumpkins and some pretty candles would make a lovely centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table.  Who says Thanksgiving has to be brown, yellow, and gold?  ;)

{Pom-Pom Pumpkin Pencil Topper}

Hey, y'all!  Last week I had the pleasure of hanging out over at Mine for the Making.  I shared this fun pom-pom pumpkin pencil topper {HERE} as part of Teach Me Tuesday, Kara's weekly series geared toward little crafters.  Today I want to share it with you fabulous people.

The awesome thing about this project is that you may already have the supplies on hand!

To begin, you'll need orange pom poms, a small piece of green fabric, a pencil, and a brown pipe cleaner.  (If you'd like for your pumpkin to be a jack-o-lantern, you'll need puff paint as well.)  For each pencil topper, you will need one pom pom, a small piece of pipe cleaner, and a leaf shape cut from your fabric.

To make sure that you don't have any sharp wire edges on your pipe cleaner, cut a section double the size you want your stem to be and fold the piece in half.  The folded end will be the top of your stem.  Use hot glue to assemble your pumpkin.  First glue the leaf on the top center of your orange pom pom, and then glue the stem to that.

Once your pumpkin is assembled, remove the eraser from your pencil.  Use hot glue to attach your pumpkin to the top of your pencil.  Voila!  You now have a fun fall pencil!

You can use small pom poms or large pom poms like I did to create different size pumpkins.

And because these are so easy to make, you can craft yourself a whole pumpkin patch of pencils to keep or give away to friends and family, trick-or-treaters, or your child's classmates.  Happy fall crafting!

{Fabric Wrapped Dollar Store Pumpkin}

Hey, y'all!  I don't know about you, but I LOVE those little carve-able pumpkins from the dollar store.  Every year I try to think of a new way to decorate one of them.  This year I decorated one with fabric and notions sent to me by Jesse of the Fat Quarter Challenge.

I started with a dollar store pumpkin.

I trimmed the stem off the pumpkin.  Then I ripped strips of a really pretty pink and aqua fabric.

I wrapped the strips around the pumpkin, using hot glue to secure them.

I didn't glue the fabric where the stem would go because I had to leave space for the new stem I planned to attach later.  When I finished wrapping the pumpkin, I thought it needed a leaf.

I pulled a couple of leaves off of some silk flowers.  I painted them with a coat of metallic gold and a coat of gold glitter paint.  While they were drying, I attached my stem--a small piece of a branch--to my pumpkin.

I used hot glue to attach the stem in the void left by the original stem.  I glued the fabric strips to the base of the stem.  I cut different lengths of ribbon and sequins and attached them to the base of the stem, and I attached a leaf over that.  Then I had a beautiful pink pumpkin!

The pumpkin looks so pretty on my dollar store cupcake stand!

And y'all know that I love that it's pink with a bit of glitter and a few sequins!  I hope it's cute enough to win the Fat Quarter Challenge.  You're probably thinking, "What is the Fat Quarter Challenge?"  Well, come back tomorrow to read my review of the challenge, learn how you can vote, and enter a giveaway.  Have a great day! Disclaimer: While Jesse of Fat Quarter Challenge gave me some of the supplies for this project, all opinions are 100% mine.  For more info on my privacy policy, check out the fine print tab at the top of the blog.
Related Posts:

 Duck Tape Decorated Dollar Store Pumpkin

Halloween Owl Necklace with Stamped Metal "Boo" Charm