A current trend I see going on right now on facebook and other media is to say something you are grateful for each day in the month of November. What a great way to remember the true meaning of Thanksgiving. Although the food is great, I love Thanksgiving as a time to reflect on all the blessings we do have. And, right now in this economy, sometimes it can be difficult to focus on the positive. So, we are only on the 4th day of the month, so it is not too late to get caught up! At the end of the month, we can turn that list into a beautiful layout of thankfulness.
Marking down what you are thankful for at any given point in your life is always a good idea for a scrapbook layout for your heritage scrapbook. You posterity will enjoy reading about what made you happy, and what your blessings were. I would love to read a list like this of one of my parents when they were my age and raising a young family. Sometimes I wonder if they ever had the same kinds of challenges and struggles as I do, and reading a list of things they were grateful for would definitely give me some insight into what they were like in their younger years.
So, the easiest way to go about this is to start now thinking of one new thing everyday. But, how to translate that onto a layout? I have a few ideas.
*Take a picture of everything that is on your list. If it is an abstract thing, get creative in what you can take a picture of to represent that thing on your list. For example, if you say, I’m thankful for thoughtful people, then add a picture to your layout of someone you know that is thoughtful. If you use a picture for each of the 30 things, then you will have to crop them all to fit on the page. This can be done, but it will require some creative picture taking and cropping. Use this layout for inspiration.
*Another idea is to use word strips in your own handwriting of the things you are thankful for. Use big number stickers to put next to each word strip. Mix and match the fonts of the the number stickers to give it a fun look. Choose a picture that might encompass everything on your list.
*The third idea I have is to journal a simple list on a large journaling tag. Include a picture on your layout of the thing that you are MOST grateful for right now. This might be a picture of your family, or your kids, or your spouse. Whatever it is, choosing just one picture will be a great way to keep this layout simple, but still meaningful.
There are many ways that you can make this layout come to pass. The most important part is choosing what you are grateful for. Really try to ponder each day what makes you happy, but don’t forget to include silly things too. Like, a food you couldn’t live without, or a funny quote you heard. Whatever you do, just try to make it personal so that your posterity will get some insight into who you are, and what makes you truly happy and thankful!
Meredith Ethington is the author of this blog. To learn more about Meredith, and her history with Scrapbooking and Genealogy, go here. < Return To Scrapbooking