As everyone still happily munches on Thanksgiving leftovers, there's one thing that I'd like to keep leftover from Thanksgiving- being thankful. November seemed to have a lot of Thanksgiving art journal challenges, but once we leave turkey season, we forget about gratitude. Part of why I'm not a big fan of the holiday season is that it seems like once we put away the turkey, and sometimes before, we rush headlong into Christmas without pause. As far as my creative endeavors go, everything seems to come to a halt, and my beloved art journal sits forgotten and out of sight.When we're caught in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it's easy to forget about the simple things in life. It's easy to forget when Mr. Jerkface cuts you off trying to find a parking spot at the mall that we have so many better things in our lives to focus on rather than that irritating moment. And yet, we tend to spend so many of our moments during what should be the happiest time of the year focused on Mr. Jerkface. Or we have that irritating family member we're going to be forced to spend time with. Then there's the shopping, the cooking, the arranging of schedules, and all the other things that stress people out during the holidays, but for some reason, we keep doing it year after year, thinking that next year will be different.
I'd like to propose that we actually DO something different.
The December Thanksgiving Art Journal Challenge! Every day in December, I'm taking time out to be thankful. Gratitude is one of the most powerful forces in the universe. It can turn a bad day into a better day, and a ho-hum life into a better life.
The thought of adding one more thing to an already packed December can be pretty terrifying. When I first came up with the idea, I thought, "clearly I'm crazy." And yes, I am crazy, but in the best possible way. :) But what is not crazy is giving yourself the gift of five minutes a day to slow down and be thankful. I've created an art journal challenge that's about recognizing the things we don't often express gratitude for, but I'm a firm believer in the fact that the more you recognize the little things, the more you see the good in everything.
Each day, I'll provide a prompt for you to do a quick art journal page about something to be thankful for. You can follow along on my blog, or you can subscribe to my newsletter for a quick PDF reference calendar of the challenges. This is meant to be a simple exercise in gratitude, and not take a lot of time.
I created two short videos explaining the challenge and how to do it.
Let's be thankful together!!
December Thanksgiving Challenge from Danica Favorite on Vimeo.
December Thanksgiving Challenge Demonstration from Danica Favorite on Vimeo.
You can sign up here:
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