30 Days of Thankful Project Life Heritage Core Kit by Design Team Member Lisa Wilkinson

I have been keeping track of thankful things that have touched my heart and kept going during the month of November. I find this month grows longer each year and leaves its mark of worry and even heartache. I always wonder if I can find joy in this month and maybe that is why I stick to it and why I know I need to. Why I do not find it silly or cliché when I see everyone counting blessings all over social media this time of year. I actually relish in it and my heart swells. I know. Yes, I know and feel that this month would be dreadful without that gratitude and hope and blessing counting.

And that does not take from those other 11 months. It does not mean you forget to count or remember or sit in awe of what is happening in your little piece of this eternal story. Oh no. It means you set aside a bit of time in your everyday life to just write it down. And smile. And feel FULL.

I decided early that I needed this project to be easy and simple. I needed it to fall together more than become another thing that falls by the wayside.  I needed a simple, and yet fun, plan. So, when I found out that Craft Warehouse was sending the gorgeous Becky Higgins Heritage Core Kit for my designing month I knew these soft classic designs would be perfect for this collection of thankful notes and verses I wished to create.

I started by designing a simple title card, giving a name to my story and dates to my overall design.

This title card is just one 4x6 card, some sweet stickers, some machine stitching over the stickers, a Becky Higgins date stamp, stamped with a black Stazon ink pad.

Next, I used a few basic techniques to change up many of the cards slightly, but stayed true to the designs and patterns in the Becky Higgins Heritage kit. I started by cutting up the cards to creating quilt like designs, borders, and banners. I also cut out circles in the cards to place other card designs under or on top of other designs to create dimension and unique style.  I added the Becky Higgins stickers, using almost all of the letter and number stickers most effectively by changing them up and cutting them, if needed, to recreate letters. I really wanted to get the most out of each number and letter on the sheet, and avoid needing an additional set of stickers.

I added a few photos to share a bit more of the stories, and may even add more when completing the project, but for now it is all about the thanksgiving stories and that is what I want to shine overall in these spreads.

I also created a mini album in one pocket so I could write a special note about each of my children and why I am thankful for them. I kept it simple and yet really shared my heart in the process. I think this will be a true treasure for them when and if they ever find it in the pocket. This is easily created by placing two bifold cards together and stitching up the center of the cards. 

You may notice the verses throughout the cards, used as inspiration and completion in my thanksgiving. This is the list of verses beside each thankful theme if you wish to use them in your own set of thankful notes.

1: showing my children The Way, Proverbs 22:6

2: Capture, Psalm 69:30

3: Learn, Philippians 4:11

4: Fed, Matthew 6:25

5: Well, Psalm 46:1

6: Children, Psalm 127:3-5

7: Hope, Psalm 71:14

8: New, Lementations 3:22-23

9: Good, Romans 8:28

10: White, Isaiah 1:18

11: Freedom, 11 Corinthians  3:17

12: Beautiful, Psalm 45:11

13: Bad, Ecclesiastes 7:14

14: Growth, Ephesians 4:15

15: Purpose, Jeremiah 29:11

16: Strong, Psalm 68:35

17: Friendship, Proverbs 17:17

18: Words, Psalm 119:172

19: Rest, Matthew 11:28

20: Fruit, Galatians 5:22-23

21: Family/Unity, Colossians 3:12-17

22: Embrace, Psalm 63:7-8

23: Warm, Colossians 3:12

24: Truth, Psalm 25:5

25: Understand, Proverbs 3: 5-6

26: Create, Proverbs 31:10-31

27: Home, Psalm 84:4

28: Gather, Matthew 18:20

29:Love, Deuteronomy 6:5

30: Letting Go, Philippians 3:12-14

And my handwriting is never what I wish it were (or my stitching for that matter). And my words sometimes get jumbled or messed up as I add them to the card (maybe all those sweet distractions I call family), but in the end it is just wonderful. It is never meant to be anything but a reflection of me, my heart and my attempt at preserving that in some imperfect way. So never worry if your words are written just right, spelled correctly or how you were planning to jot them down, just embrace it all…

One sweet card at a time. And move onto the next beautiful project. In the end

being thankful is the easy part. Life is overflowing with things to be thankful for. Writing it down, counting it, holding it, and remembering it later, that is the harder part. But if you can just do it, the sweet gift you have created is priceless.

And that is just another reason why I love Project Life.

- Lisa Wilkinson