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Welcome to the November Art Journaling Challenge, Week 1

svanderhaegen

Well-Known Member
CHEERY O
Welcome to the Novemtber Art Journaling Challenge, Week 1. Our word prompt for this month is GRATITUDE.

The word gratitude means a feeling of thankfulness or appreciation for something received or experienced, often directed toward others, situations, or even life itself. On a basic level, it’s the acknowledgment of the goodness in our lives, recognizing the positives, big or small, and expressing thanks for them.

On a deeper level, gratitude transcends simple acknowledgment. It becomes a mindful and intentional awareness of the many elements that contribute to one’s life, even those that may initially seem neutral or challenging. Deep gratitude involves embracing each moment and circumstance as part of a larger, interconnected experience. It’s about recognizing that both joys and hardships can contribute to personal growth, resilience, and a fuller understanding of life.

In essence, gratitude at its core fosters a sense of connection to others and to the world, inviting a mindset that sees beyond individual needs to appreciate the web of support, love, and experiences that shape us. It becomes a sustaining practice that can lead to greater empathy, presence, and contentment.

Here are some synonyms for gratitude:

- Appreciation
- Thankfulness
- Recognition
- Gratefulness
- Acknowledgment
- Obligation
- Praise
- Honor
- Regard
- Respect
- Thanking

Each of these words captures aspects of gratitude, though some—like "thankfulness" or "appreciation"—are closer in meaning, while others convey a sense of respect or honor related to feeling grateful.

Here are ten inspiring quotes about gratitude:

1. “Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” — Anonymous
2. “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all the others.” — Cicero
3. “When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out, and the tide of love rushes in.” — Kristin Armstrong
4. “The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see.” — Mary Davis
5. “Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.” — John Milton
6. “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” — Marcel Proust
7. “Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” — Melody Beattie
8. “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.” — John F. Kennedy
9. “Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.” — Henry Ward Beecher
10. “Wear gratitude like a cloak, and it will feed every corner of your life.” — Rumi

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Here is my first page for this month.
20241101.jpg

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You can choose to do a single page/tag/TN each week, or do a divided template - one part for each week. If you don't have the Divided Template and would like to have it, you can get it here at Dropbox. Thank you to Ona @wombat146 for providing the template choices for us! If you do the template, we would love it if you would post it incrementally. Post one done in the first week, post an image of the two together on the second, and three on the third, and then the finished page on the fourth week.
Again - the template is NEVER a requirement to use, just something fun and different if you want to use it.
Everyone who participates in any of this month's challenges will be entered into a drawing for a $5 gift certificate to Oscraps. You can receive up to four entries into this month's drawing.
I can't wait to see what you have to share about the prompt GRATITUDE


Challenge Rules:

You have until 11:59 p.m. CST on NOVEMBER 30 to complete your pages for this challenge.

  1. To qualify for the drawing, you need to use 80% Oscraps products that are currently in the store (non-Oscraps products or retired O designer products can be used whether the designer is selling elsewhere or not).
  2. You need to credit all the products used on your page.
  3. You cannot use a page you create for this challenge for another Oscraps challenge.
  4. Upload your page to the Art Journal Gallery and then add your layout to the challenge thread. (Below you will find instructions on adding your page to this thread.)

Adding a linked layout from the Gallery to a thread:
Upload your layout to the gallery first. In your forum post click the Gallery Embed icon (little camera).
This will open your gallery, simply click on the layout you require, then scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click the Continue button.
Your linked layout is now in your post, the image will appear once you have clicked the Post Reply button
 
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Oh the ideas bouncing in my mind that I cant get on paper. I've thought of the gratitude I have for all my dad taught me. Gratitude my hubby picks me every time and shown me so much I didn't know. My daughter that were friends again. My family. UGH! I want this to land so I can scrap it. Darn AJ and causing so many ideas to land at once and yet not land firm enough to scrap!!! Who's idea was AJ anyway? :giggle4: Im pretty sure they said I would have fun with it! o_O:pokestick:
 
Oh the ideas bouncing in my mind that I cant get on paper. I've thought of the gratitude I have for all my dad taught me. Gratitude my hubby picks me every time and shown me so much I didn't know. My daughter that were friends again. My family. UGH! I want this to land so I can scrap it. Darn AJ and causing so many ideas to land at once and yet not land firm enough to scrap!!! Who's idea was AJ anyway? :giggle4: Im pretty sure they said I would have fun with it! o_O:pokestick:
I'm going through the same thing, Tracy. I'm so grateful for SO many things and for SO many people - the ideas are whirling around in my head, too.
 
Mine seems dark at the moment but I think (hope!) it will be lighter by the end of the month :D
 
So, bear with me here. You may be wondering how gratitude is shown by a Dia de los Muertos kit.

I went to the San Antonio Art Museum and saw an art exhibition by a Latina Artist named Amalia Mesa-Bains. It was called "Archaeology of Memory" and I was so intrigued. It was many different scenes that she had displayed and they all had to do with the Dia de los Muertos. One in particular was about her sister and her premature death, and another was about different family members in her past and their history.

Here's where the gratitude comes in: I have always felt that Dia de los Muertos was a very macabre holiday, and it was creepy to me. I didn't understand it. As I sat and read her words and watched the video where she explained her exhibitions, I had an epiphany: it was NOT macabre!! I was so GRATEFUL to be educated about the day, and the symbolism of the altars and the sugar skulls. Her comment that really touched me was this:

"No space is empty. It is filled with ghosts and memories of those who came before."

The altars were filled with memories and tributes to her sister. It is a way of "filling those spaces" that loved ones leave behind in our dimension of life.

This page is in homage and gratefulness for now understanding the day!
 

Thank you for the challenge, Art Journaling is way out of my comfort zone, and week one is a little late, but I hate things to beat me, so I figured I had nothing to loose, I would give it a go, and see what happens right or wrong, probably more wrong but here is my first take – everything is from Best of Times – Manu Designs – Photo – mine – fonts – PT Mono – DJB About a Boy
 
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