Artline Monday - World Gratitude Day

World Gratitude Day is celebrated on the 21st September every year and it is a day to reflect on the things you are grateful for and appreciate about your life.  Focusing on what is good is a great way to stay positive and improve your mood so I thought for today’s post I would show you how to make a little gratitude journal to carry around with you so you can record what makes you happy and grateful.

Supplies and Artline pens

The basic idea behind this is a junk journal, we are going to make one out of scraps of paper, envelopes, paper bags and any little bits and pieces you have laying around.  You will also need some nice pens like my Artline brush markers and fineliners.

First of all you need to find something to make the cover of your journal.  I am using a card a friend sent me but you can use some pretty card or thick paper, just fold it in half to create your book shape and then look for things to fill it with to make the pages.  I have some sheets of patterned paper, old postcards, envelopes and a couple of paper bags I have kept in my craft supplies box that I am going to use in mine.  If you have an old book that is falling a part and heading for the recycling bin then you could take some pages from that to use in yours too.

Postcard, papers and envelopes

Put all your pages in the cover and fold them inside as if you were closing your book, then trim any overhanging pieces so the papers fit inside the journal.  It doesn’t matter if any pages are smaller than others, a junk journal doesn’t have to be perfect.  If you do use any paper bags or envelopes make sure they fit inside the cover without having to cut the sides and that you have the opening end facing the top of your journal so anything you pop in them won’t fall out.  I have also cut the folded tops off my envelopes so it’s not fiddly to put things in them.  I think I will use these pockets to store things that make me happy and remind me of good times like tickets to a trip we have been on or receipts for a nice meal we shared etc.  You can also write on the outside of the bags and envelopes as if they were pages inside the book too.

Arranging my pages

There are a few different ways you can bind your book, just do whichever is easiest for you.  You can staple them into place along the middle of the centre page or sew a couple of stitches with a large needle and thick thread.  I used a piece of elastic to secure mine placed along the centre fold and tied tightly around the outside of the cover. I cut two small slots at the top and bottom of the spine of my journal to hold the elastic into place and then trimmed off the excess elastic from the knot.

Securing the pages with elastic

Here is the view from inside my journal...

The elastic holds everything in place

To make the journal look a little neater I hid the knot on the spine using a kraft coloured sticker and it will also hold the elastic in place.  You wont need to do this if you stapled or sewed your pages. 

Hiding the knot

Now you have made your journal you can add some extra decoration to it!  I used a brush marker to write on my front cover. 

Writing on the cover

Then it's time to fill your journal with things to make you smile, pictures, doodles, quotes, memories and the things you are grateful for!

My first page

Happy memories

List of things I am grateful for

There is still plenty of space left inside my journal so I am going to carry it in my bag and jot down any things that make me happy and if I am having a bad day I can take it out and look at all of the things I am grateful for and hopefully improve how I am feeling.

I hope you like my idea and please let me know if you are going to make your own gratitude journal!