December Thanksgiving Art Journal Challenge Day 31

We did it!! Thirty one days of getting our art journal on! I am having a celebration over here, let me tell you! I have really needed this creative jumpstart in my life, and I'm SO THANKFUL that I did this challenge. Having a creative outlet gives me a way of dealing with all the crazy in my world, and trust me, it has been CRA-ZY. Add on being thankful, and you know, it's been a pretty great month.

I hope this has given you a taste of what both art journaling and a little gratitude can do for you. Or maybe you haven't yet tried it, but it's given you a taste of what it's done for me. Seriously, I usually spend this time of year in a fetal position wondering why my life is so insane. I'd show you my last year's art journal proving it, but guess what? I tend to skip that activity when times get tough. Wrong answer.

When life is at its most crazy, that is when you most need to take time to slow down, and do something like art journal.

We always have the excuse of being too busy or not having time, but the truth is, without something to give us pause or rest, it's never going to get better. We wait for the perfect moment, or when things slow down, and I'm finding that it never happens. Every stage at which I think my life will get better or easier, it turns out that the old crazy just turns into a new crazy. Make the time now.

If you didn't start the art journal challenge on day one, that's okay. Go back and do it. Start wherever you are, wherever you want. As I said in the introduction, I purposely chose the notecards to make it easy and do-able. You saw how some of my entries were hasty and scribbled. Some took more time. But all of them gave me a much-needed injection of sanity in my otherwise crazy life.

If you've been with me this whole time, congratulations!! You made a great start on an art journal. Now you have 19 more pages to fill with stuff. A cover to decorate. The possibilities are endless, so make the most of them! Fill up that book!

I don't have a clever transition, and as I've said before, it happens, and that's okay. If you've learned anything from reading these blogs, you'll know that my space is a very grace-filled space, and I'm sharing it with you.

Today's art journal challenge is: Your favorite moment of the past year

Here is my journal entry:
"I am so thankful for this year! 2014 was such a magical year for me. So many wonderful things happened, and a lot of my dreams came true. But I will pick a moment- holding my first book. I've worked so hard and waiting so long, it was a thrill. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Can you pick a favorite moment this past year to be thankful for?

 

I'd love for you to share your art journal masterpieces. You can either post them on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram with the hashtag #DecemberThanksgiving, or feel free to email me if you want to keep it private.

And, if you'd like to receive a PDF with all the art journal challenges for this month, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter!

You can sign up here:

Subscribe to my mailing list to join in the December Thanksgiving Challenge!

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Email Format

• html


• text

 

 

 

 

December Thanksgiving Art Journal Challenge Day 15

Ah, finally caught up! It seems like December is the month for being crazy, feeling like you're behind, and that there aren't enough hours in the day. Precisely why I created this challenge. If you're just starting, or if you did one day and then got behind, that's okay. Do what you can, when you can. But take the time to be thankful.

You can't really tell in the picture, but I totally messed up my stick figure. Who can mess up a stick figure, right? But you know, I think that's what I love about it. I like how imperfect and messy my art journal gets because it's a reminder that none of us have to be perfect. So get messy. Let your art be what it is.

Here we are at day fifteen, and we've already uncovered so many things to be thankful for. My art journal is full of fifteen days of being thankful. Fifteen things that I can acknowledge as moments of gratitude. And that makes my days brighter.

No matter what stress you're under, gratitude eases the burden.

So my encouragement to you, no matter what your days are like, even when you don't have time to write a blog like I'm doing, grab your index cards and do a quick entry, giving thanks to what you do have. The good, the bad, the ugly, and the bizarre.

Today's art journal gratitude challenge is sleep.

We're all so busy and at least in my case, lacking sleep. So let's be grateful for the sleep we are getting.

Here's my entry for today: "I'm so thankful for sleep. I am a little cranky because I was tired today and tried taking a nap but got woken up. This is a good reminder to me that I need to be thankful for every minute of sleep I do get. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

How can you be thankful for sleep?

I'd love for you to share your art journal masterpieces. You can either post them on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram with the hashtag #DecemberThanksgiving, or feel free to email me if you want to keep it private.

And, if you'd like to receive a PDF with all the challenges for this month, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter!

You can sign up here:

Subscribe to my mailing list to join in the December Thanksgiving Challenge!

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Email Format

• html


• text

December Thanksgiving Art Journal Challenge Day 14

I found a new fun craft to do the other day. I went to my knitting group, hoping to do some knitting, but instead, one of the gals came with a new craft to teach us- quilling! We spent the evening making lovely snowflakes out of paper, and it felt good to be working on a craft that was not only easy, but something I've read about in historicals. How cool to be doing something that women have done for hundreds of years.

Not only did we have fun at knitting group, but then I brought some supplies home and taught my daughter. She loves it too!

Today's art journal challenge is someone you've talked to in this past week.

I'm so grateful for the group of women in my knitting group. Talking to them always brings me great joy and comfort. Some of my favorite people are in that group, and I'm very thankful for them.

My entry reads: "I am so thankful for talking to my friend Christa this week because she taught me about paper quilling and I really love this fun and easy craft. I am really enjoying it. I love the ladies in my knitting group- they are so encouraging. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Who have you talked to in this past week that you're thankful for?

I'd love for you to share your art journal masterpieces. You can either post them on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram with the hashtag #DecemberThanksgiving, or feel free to email me if you want to keep it private.

And, if you'd like to receive a PDF with all the challenges for this month, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter!

You can sign up here:

Subscribe to my mailing list to join in the December Thanksgiving Challenge!

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Email Format

• html


• text

December Thanksgiving Art Journal Challenge Day 13

I spent all day Saturday working on revisions for one of my books. I holed up at a local Panera and wrote, wrote, wrote. And deleted, deleted, deleted. And wrote some more. The story I'm working on is one that I love. I really want to get it right. So I spent a lot of time going over my words, looking at what I'd written, and, most important, looking at the revision notes from my editor.

I'm so thankful to have an editor who takes the time to go through my stories and make good suggestions. They definitely made the story better, so it was nice to be able to sit down and get it all done.

Which makes for perfect timing of this art journal challenge.

Today's art journal challenge is something you read today.

My art journal reads:

"I am so thankful for reading my revision letter today. It is something I've been working on and I'm grateful today that I had the letter to review so I can make my book better. I really love this story and I love making it better. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
I'd love for you to share your art journal masterpieces. You can either post them on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram with the hashtag #DecemberThanksgiving, or feel free to email me if you want to keep it private.

And, if you'd like to receive a PDF with all the challenges for this month, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter!

You can sign up here:

Subscribe to my mailing list to join in the December Thanksgiving Challenge!

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Email Format

• html


• text

 

December Thanksgiving Art Journal Challenge Day 12

Okay, so my intention to blog every day didn't pan out so well. It ended up being a really busy weekend, and I'm just now finding my land legs. So I apologize if you've been waiting for my blog posts to get the daily challenges. The good news is that for those who subscribe to my newsletter, you get a free PDF calendar of all the challenges so you won't have to wait on me.

I did Friday's challenge while listening to my girls practice the piano. I don't know why, but it always makes me happy to listen to music live. Especially Christmas music. So to hear my girls play Christmas songs, well, it's a good day!

Today's art journal challenge is a sound you heard today.

My art journal entry:
"I'm so thankful for the sound of my girls playing Christmas carols. It's such a beautiful joyful sound. Even with the missed keystrokes and hesitations, it's so beautiful to have this music live and be present with the sounds of the season. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

What sound are you thankful for today?

I'd love for you to share your art journal masterpieces. You can either post them on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram with the hashtag #DecemberThanksgiving, or feel free to email me if you want to keep it private.

And, if you'd like to receive a PDF with all the challenges for this month, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter!

You can sign up here:

Subscribe to my mailing list to join in the December Thanksgiving Challenge!

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Email Format

• html


• text

December Thanksgiving Art Journal Challenge Day Eight

It has to be an omen of happiness that I am starting this art journal post at 11:11 p.m. For whatever reason, 11:11 is my most favorite time. So YAY!! Today is a testimony to how wonderful this art journal challenge is for me. I'm just going to be super honest and say it was a craptastical day. A lot of things went wrong, and a big project at work got messed up, leading to my enjoying a twelve hour work day. I have to remind myself that some people work twelve hours a day regularly so I need to be grateful that this pretty much only happens a couple times a year. So YAY. But it was still a really hard day.

And here I am, at the end of this really bad day, looking back and thinking about the things I can be thankful for, and I have to say, my life doesn't really seem all that bad after all.

You see, once you start thinking about one thing you're thankful for, you start thinking of all the other things you're thankful for. And on this really bad day, where a lot of things went wrong, it's really good to have all those wonderful things to look at. It also reminds me that I have so many more important things in my life, and ten years from now, I won't remember this bad day, but the good moments, the ones I wrote about in my art journal.

If you look at my picture today, it's harried and not very good. I probably wouldn't have been able to draw a better Starbucks cup with more time, but I probably would have made the scene prettier or something. But let's face it. It's after 11 on a really long day, and I want to go to bed. And that's okay. I gave my creative spirit a little chance to step out and be heard, and I gave my heart a few moments of thanksgiving. And that, my friends, is what turned my feelings of UGH around. My life is pretty good. The good moments make it all worthwhile.

Today's topic is a moment this week.

And you know, I picked a moment from today. I took a break from work to pick my daughter up from school, and I just love our time in the car together. Today, since I was stressed and in need of a pick-me-up, and I think she wanted a little something too, on the way home, we stopped at Starbucks and got our favorite drinks, and I got one to bring home to her sister. A little thing, and even though my kids love Starbucks, I don't get it for them very often, so it's a special thing.

Here's what I wrote in my art journal:
"I'm so grateful that I could run to Starbucks after school and get treats for the girls. It's been a long hard day and I'm thankful for the moment of joy when I told my kids yes to having a special treat. I love moments of yes. I love moments with my kids. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

What moment this week are you thankful for?

 

I'd love for you to share your art journal masterpieces. You can either post them on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram with the hashtag #DecemberThanksgiving, or feel free to email me if you want to keep it private.

And, if you'd like to receive a PDF with all the challenges for this month, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter!

You can sign up here:

Subscribe to my mailing list to join in the December Thanksgiving Challenge!

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Email Format

• html


• text

December Thanksgiving Art Journal Challenge Day Six

It's really late, I know. My intention was to post today's ahead of time and life got away from me. It's Saturday, which is Westernaire day in our family. We spend the whole day at the riding arena where the kids do their horseback activities. Which doesn't leave a lot of time for art journaling or posting about it.

And yet, that's the beauty of this project. I'm sitting on the couch with my kids and we're talking about our art journals. Princess is struggling to think about things she's not thankful for. Cowgirl told us about how she's not thankful for the mean kids at school. So yeah, at our house, we're a little behind in our art journaling. And that's okay. Because here we are, after a long week, and a really long day, talking about things we are (and aren't) thankful for.

You know what we haven't been talking much about? All the stuff they want for Christmas. Yes we've had that conversation, but the thing we're talking about the most is what we're thankful for.

Not a great lead-in to today's topic, but I wanted to share how this challenge is going in my family.

Today's art journal topic is someone who challenges you.

I realized after I came up with the topic that it probably wasn't a good idea for me to publicly share the names of any challenging people in my life. Even if I made up a name, people might think I was talking about a particular person. So... I went the easy way out. You can go my way, or something personal. Remember, your art journal is for your eyes only, unless you choose to share.

Here's what I wrote in my art journal:

"I am grateful for the challenging people in my life. I decided not to name anyone in particular since I am making this public. But I am grateful for the ways they make me learn and grow. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Who's challenging you? How can you be thankful for them?

 

I'd love for you to share your art journal masterpieces. You can either post them on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram with the hashtag #DecemberThanksgiving, or feel free to email me if you want to keep it private.

And, if you'd like to receive a PDF with all the challenges for this month, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter!

You can sign up here:

Subscribe to my mailing list to join in the December Thanksgiving Challenge!

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Email Format

• html


• text

December Thanksgiving Art Journal Challenge Day Five!

I know, another day posting late in the afternoon! This is why you should subscribe to my newsletter and get my PDF so you can do yours anytime! It's been a busy week for me at work, and I forgot to do this last night before bed. :) Which is why this art journal challenge being so easy is so great for me. I have NO TIME right now, and it's so grounding to be able to sit and think about the things I'm thankful for.

Today's art journal topic is something you ate today!

And trust me, I am SO thankful for this one. I was working so hard today that I forgot to eat lunch. Enter hunger pangs and lightheadedness, and we have my favorite thing coming to save the day. Peanut butter!! I'm constantly mentioning how thankful I am for peanut butter, and today, when my blood sugar went way down, I was so happy for that wonderful invention. I didn't mention this in my gratitude journal, but boy am I thankful not to be allergic to peanut butter! Sometimes I feel bad eating it and then going out in public. I hope I don't accidentally get peanut butter germs on anyone. But I wash my hands first, I promise!

All this talk of peanut butter reminds me of how many things I have to be thankful for. For a lot of people, peanut butter is all they have to eat. It's good to remember that I get to have peanut butter, along with a lot of other tasty things. This might sound weird, but peanut butter reminds me of how truly lucky I am to be born in this time and place and that I can't take anything for granted.

None of this went into my art journal, which was a much simpler post:
"I am super grateful for peanut butter. I literally eat it every day. It's quick, filling, and no matter what I am doing, it always comes in handy. I hope I can always eat peanut butter! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

 

December Thanksgiving Art Journal Challenge Day Three

Welcome to day three of the December Thanksgiving Art Journal challenge!! This is the point where I sheepishly tell you that I mixed days two and three up. :) Take that, perfectionism! So if you have my calendar, you did this one yesterday and the other one is today, and you're confused about my blog entries. Sorry about that. At least we know I'm human.

On to day three. Or two if you did it by my handy dandy calendar. :)

Something outside your window.

How many times do we look out the window and not notice all the details we see every day? So many things we take for granted. Or maybe we do really enjoy them. My art journal entry today of something outside my window is something near and dear to my heart- my chickens. Lately, they've been getting past my extreme security measures (the baby gate) and getting on the deck, curling up in front of my sliding glass door.  I had no idea I could love a bunch of chickens so much, but I really do.

As far as my artistic talent goes, well, I joyfully admit that these are not the best drawn chickens in the world, but they're my chickens, and I love them.

Remember, your art doesn't have to be good. It's yours, so love it and embrace it!

My art journal entry reads, "I am thankful for my chickens. I love my Peeps so much. Hearing them chirp and watching them run around the yard makes me so happy! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

What's outside your window that you're thankful for?

I'd love for you to share your art journal masterpieces. You can either post them on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram with the hashtag #DecemberThanksgiving, or feel free to email me if you want to keep it private.

And, if you'd like to receive a PDF with all the challenges for this month, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter!

You can sign up here:

Subscribe to my mailing list to join in the December Thanksgiving Challenge!

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Email Format

• html


• text

December Thanksgiving Art Journal Challenge Day Two!

Ah, Day Two of our December Thanksgiving Art Journal Challenge!! I'm hoping that Day One was super easy for you, and didn't take a lot of time. Be sure to let me know how things are going. :) This is really meant to be a quick way to find things to be thankful for that you wouldn't ordinarily be aware of and to stretch your artistic muscles in your art journal!

But I'm not an artist!!

I hear people say that all the time, and you know what? That's a lie! You ARE an artist! We create things all the time, but maybe we don't call it art. Do you decorate your house for Christmas? Do you adapt recipes for your family to eat? Those all require a certain level of artistic talent, so don't be so hard on yourself. It's all about creativity and being creative.

In case you need proof of the lack of necessity of having talent to have an art journal, all you have to do is look at my page for today. I'm pretty sure no one is going to hire me as a sketch artist anytime soon! And that's okay!

Now on to today's art journal challenge!

Day Two is something you use every day. In my case, it was a no brainer- my laptop. I am so grateful and so blessed to have this wonderful tool in my life. Here's what I wrote in my art journal:
"I am thankful for my laptop. It enables me to work every day, no matter my location. I am free to travel whenever, wherever, and it's such a blessing to have that freedom. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!"

You'll notice that it's kind of hurried and I didn't use a lot of colors. Um, that's because I had a busy day. Like I said, this isn't supposed to take a lot of time. Some days my entries will be really pretty, and other days, not so much. And that's okay!

So what do you use every day that you're thankful for?

 

I'd love for you to share your art journal masterpieces. You can either post them on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram with the hashtag #DecemberThanksgiving, or feel free to email me if you want to keep it private.

And, if you'd like to receive a PDF with all the challenges for this month, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter!

You can sign up here:

Subscribe to my mailing list to join in the December Thanksgiving Challenge!

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Email Format

• html


• text

December Thanksgiving Art Journal Challenge Day One!

Yay! It's finally here! December 1st, and the continuation of thanksgiving celebrations! Today's Thanksgiving Challenge is to find something from the trash and put it in your art journal. Think about reasons why you are thankful for that item. As I mentioned in the video (but I know not everyone likes to watch the video!), you'll open up the index card book, aka your art journal, and paste the piece of trash on the top half, and then write a little something talking about why you're thankful for that item on the bottom half.  You get the idea from my picture. :)

I hope looking at my art journal inspires some of you in that it really doesn't have to be perfect. I took a tissue from my trash can and just taped it into my art journal with some pretty washi tape. I thought about gluing it, but then I thought it would take too much time to dry, and I was making a video with it and didn't want to wait. :)

And even though I've suggested this layout, you can do whatever you want. I like this way because it gives a small space for you to put your art, and then a small space to write about it, and then you're done! Easy peasy, and takes less than five minutes!!

Now to the journal part. You'll notice the very first thing I asked you to be thankful for was something in the trash. I was really intentional with this challenge in choosing items we take for granted every day. I think being faithful in being thankful for the little things helps us be more mindful in our day, and also to be more cognizant of recognizing the big things we're thankful for as well. So today's item, something from the trash, it's a good reminder for me that even though I'm throwing something away because it's no longer useful to me, it once had a use, and I'm thankful for the purpose it once served in my life.

For those who can't read my messy writing, the message in my art journal says, "I'm thankful for the tissues in my trash. Since I have sinus issues, it makes me happy to know that I have an easy way to deal with it. Plus, it's a reminder that my family is healthy. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Maybe the three thank you's seem like overkill, but to me it felt right, and it felt good to give an abundance of gratitude.

I'd love for you to share your art journal masterpieces. You can either post them on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram with the hashtag #DecemberThanksgiving, or feel free to email me if you want to keep it private.

And, if you'd like to receive a PDF with all the challenges for this month, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter!

You can sign up here:

Subscribe to my mailing list to join in the December Thanksgiving Challenge!

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Email Format

• html


• text

December Thanksgiving Art Journal Challenge

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:

Subscribe to my mailing list to join in the December Thanksgiving Challenge!

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Email Format

• html


• text

Let's continue the spirit of Thanksgiving together! I hope you'll grab your art journal and join me!