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Can you believe it, this Friday marks December 1! It also starts the first day of the Advent Calendar! As a kid I always had the chocolate candy filled Advent Calendars. Peeling back that perforated door for a piece of candy was a highlight of my holiday season.  Did you know that the first Advent Calendars were used by German Lutherans in the 19th and 20th Centuries, but are now ubiquitous among groups of all faiths and beliefs. This year as part of my family’s holiday season celebration I decided to create an “Activity Advent Calendar” instead of a "treat" calendar (although, I do like treats too!). I brainstormed 25 activities that could be done in the evening/weekend for 25 days of December. They range from the super simple activities like “Eat dinner by the light of the Christmas Tree” or “Drink Hot Cocoa for dessert” to things like “Take a walk/drive around the neighborhood to look at Christmas Lights” or “Take 2 books to the free library at the park”. I gathered inspiration for our activities by perusing Pinterest. Here are some of my favorite lists (click on the image to see it larger).
Since this is the first year of doing an Advent Calendar I went with simple little numbered sacks that I bought post-Christmas last year. I hung them with some washi tape and ribbon on a large mirror we have in our entry way.
However, I am soaking up some major inspiration for our Advent Calendar 2.0! I mean, just look at these gorgeous examples!
How do you celebrate the holiday season? Have you made an Avent Calendar? Will you be keeping a December Daily/Memory Album? Reminder: there is still time to sign up for the Daily Memory Album for December with Brandi workshop tomorrow evening. Details and registration link are here!
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This is not a drill . . . Thanksgiving is only one week away! (Seriously, where has 2017 gone?) I'm sure you have given the turkey, mashed potatoes, pies and all of the other Thanksgiving goodies thought, but what about your decor and tablescape? Today we are sharing some quick and easy projects to add some Turkey Day Festiveness to your Thanksgiving. If you have a more formal Thanksgiving, let your guests know where to sit by making place cards. If things are more casual, these same designs can be used as food tent cards to identify the various food dishes. Add some pumpkins to your decor! I love the idea of adding names or sentiments to the pumpkins using metallic markers or paint. Another great idea is to add Deco Foil (available in a multitude of colors for $6) to the pumpkins - super easy to do, but you get a very dramatic look. I bet you could create some truly awesome looks with Viva Decor's Inka-Gold and Glitter Paste also! Go on a little nature walk and pick up some greenery and leaves to adhere to a pumpkin using Gel Medium. P&P offers a variety of Gel Mediums from various manufacturers.  Make cute garlands to decorate with for Thanksgiving. This pumpkin pie garland looks good enough to eat! P&P has a lot of great solid cardstock in 8 1/2 x 11" and 12 x 12" sizes to use, along with fun patterns for autumn. Lastly, give your silverware (or plasticware, after all, Thanksgiving is meant to be spent being thankful with loved ones and not washing dishes!) a little oomph with one of these ideas.
Just a reminder we are open the following days/times now through Thanksgiving, so be sure to stop in and say hi. Thursday, Nov. 16: 11 am - 5 pm Friday, Nov. 17: 11 am - 5 pm Saturday, Nov. 18: 11 am - 5 pm Sunday, Nov. 19: closed Monday, Nov. 20: 11 am - 5 pm Tuesday., Nov. 21 11 am - 4 pm Wednesday, Nov. 22: Closed Thursday, Nov. 23: Closed We are extremely thankful for all of our customers, and wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving. We hope to see you on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday (make 'n takes, sales and discounts and free tote bags for qualifying purchases).  In last week's blog post we talked about Gratitude Journals. This week we are continuing with the "creating with gratitude" theme and exploring bible journaling with themes of Thanksgiving and Gratitude. If Bible Journaling is a new concept to you, be sure to check out our "What is Bible Journaling" blog post we shared last year. You can also click on the "Bible Journaling" Category in the right hand column to see all of our blog posts containing bible journaling information or images. It makes perfect sense to focus on thanksgiving and gratitude while bible journaling this time of year. Afterall, Thanksgiving is only two weeks from today! Sometimes it can be a little hard to determine which verses to focus on though. Below is a summary of some great verses to study and create with. If you need some gorgeous crafty inspiration to get going, well, look no further than below. Palette & Paper carries a variety of items that can be use in Bible Journaling - Ranger Distress Inks and Distress Oxide Inks, Micron Pens, Autumn/Fall/Thanksgiving washi tape, ephemera, stickers, journaling cards to make tip-ins with and so much more!   Happy November! Today kicks off the first day of November - a good month to reflect on all the good in your life, give thanks and let gratitude sink in. It's also a great time to keep a gratitude journal. "A gratitude journal is a diary of things for which one is grateful. Gratitude journals are used by individuals who wish to focus their attention on the positive things in their lives. Gratitude, the feeling of appreciation or thanks, has gained a lot of attention in the field of positive psychology," according to Wikipedia.  A gratitude journal can take many forms - a simple composition notebook, a Traveler's Notebook insert you make or buy, a collection of small journal cards that you write on and stick in a SN@P! Album or similar, writing in a mini album you have created and so much more. Keep in mind if you already use a planner or bullet journal, you can easily incorporate this idea into that. Just look at the examples below!
Now that you have your Gratitude Journal, what should you fill it up with? It's an easy answer: whatever makes you feel gratitude. However, it can be a little intimidating to start. Below is a round-up of some prompts that can help inspire you to create and reflect on your gratitude. Do you keep a gratitude journal? Have you been inspired to start one? |
Palette & Paper's blog is written by creative team member, Kimberly.
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