Family Thanksgiving Journal

What do we need more than anything during this awful year of 2020? To remember all we do have to be thankful for. God hasn’t left us high & dry to fend for ourselves; He’s here, always giving mercifully.

I decided to start a new tradition this year. Normally we go around our family, just before we ask God’s blessing over our food & family, & say what we’re thankful for this year. We have it at my Granny’s house, with her children, grandchildren, & great-grandchildren, so there’s quite a few of us. We will probably still do that, but I wanted to be able to look back year after year & see just how much the Lord has blessed us.

To do this, we need a way to keep track, so I’m starting a “Family Thanksgiving Journal.” At sometime during our visit, I’m going to have everyone write down what they’ve been blessed with this year, & then for all the years to come. They can write down one thing, or many things they’re thankful for.

Since Thanksgiving is tomorrow, you might not have time to pretty up your notebook. In that case, just bring one to your gathering, then you can fix it up later. Mine isn’t exactly as perfect as I’d like it, but I can fix that later. I want it now because we are not guaranteed tomorrow! I want to know what’s on my family’s hearts now.

To make your own you’ll need:

A notebook- binder, composition, it doesn’t matter.
Mod Podge matte finish
Sponge brush
Glue stick
Scissors
Patterned cardstock or scrap book paper-I used a fall themed pack from Michael’s.
5 different color cardstock papers- I used brown, orange, teal, light tan, & white to match my patterned paper. How many you need depends on what you’re putting on the front & how many different colors you’d like on it.
Due cutting machine or stencils
Tan vinyl or a color of your choice

First cut your patterned paper to the size of the front of your notebook. I used my Cricut Explore 2 because I’m a perfectionist, ha. It’d be fine to trace the notebook on the white side of your paper then cut it with scissors.

Add some glue to the front of the notebook with your glue stick, & some on the back of the paper too. Brush some Mod Podge onto the notebook front, then place your paper onto the notebook. Smooth it on, then brush more Mod Podge over the front of the paper.

While that dries you’ll begin to create the image you’d like on your journal in Design Space. You can also use stencils or vinyl wording from Dollar Tree. They have so many choices!

I knew I wanted a scripture on it, “Family Thanksgiving Journal,” & “Est 2020.” You can choose whatever you’d like for yours. If you want yours to look like mine, open Cricut Design Space on your computer, click “Image,” & type 1 Chronicles 29:13 in the search bar. Click add image & resize the image to fit your notebook. It’s free with Cricut All Access.

Click “Image” again & search for “turkey.” I chose a cute little layered turkey, so that’s where the multiple cardstock papers come in. Click add then resize it as well. To add your names click the “Text” button & type “Family,” then open another text box & type “Thanksgiving Journal,” then another text box & type “Est. 2020.” Choose the font that you like for each one.

This turkey has 4 different colors. I used colors that matched my scrapbook paper.

Once you’ve finished your design click “Make It.” For the scripture you’ll use vinyl, so turn your know to vinyl, place your vinyl on your cutting mat, & load it into your machine & press the cut button. It’s so much easier to use vinyl for lettering because you can use transfer paper & place the design right on to your notebook. I didn’t have the right color vinyl that I wanted to match my scrapbook paper, so I had to cut it from teal cardstock. It is a pain! I haven’t added the words “Thanksgiving Journal” on my book yet. I’ll do it after the holiday. It’s THAT hard!

Remove the cut vinyl from your mat, & follow the order of cuts on your computer. You should have 6 different pages of cuts.

Weed your images to place them on your book.

I ended up using an orange piece of cardstock to put my vinyl on. I cut the it into a square, & put the vinyl scripture in it. It made the words easier to read & pop.

Use transfer paper, or like me contact pairs from Dollar Tree, to put your words on the orange cardstock. This time I couldn’t find my cardstock paper, so I had to use Glad Press & Seal. It does not work as well! Use a credit card to go over each letter to adhere it to the transfer paper. Remove the backing from the vinyl & then place the scripture on the square. Repeat the process of using a credit card to go over each letter, ensure it will transfer to the square & stay on.

Now glue the square at the top of your notebook. Next, glue the different layers of your turkey together with a glue stick. Glue the turkey underneath the scripture.

If you are able to use vinyl for your family lettering section, great! Repeat the process as above. If not, this will take a good bit of time. You’ll run each letter on the top of a glue stick, then press them on to the front of the book. Make sure they’re even & you’ll have enough space for everything by laying the words out before you glue. Do this with every letter.