gratitude documented

Here in Australia, Thanksgiving isn’t a thing, and we’re in spring, not autumn, so harvest imagery & falling leaves & pumpkin spice really don’t have much relevance to our November experience. Every November, though, I print the Gratitude Documented prompt list, and return to a daily bible journaling habit. We may not have Thanksgiving, that inspired the prompt list, but it’s always a thought-provoking and grounding series of simple readings to inspire my art journaling, so I generally jump on board.

The printable collection generally includes titles, labels, numbers and ephemera, but of course, being an American company, working around an American holiday, the ephemera often doesn’t feel like it has much connection to the way I am inspired to journal. It’s hard to get excited about pumpkins and leaves when I’m sweltering through a 40 degree day, like we had last week (for the Fahrenheit folks, that’s heading towards 100F; high enough at the best of times, but ridiculous for the first week of November). The colours of the kit were surprisingly bright and cheery, and worked for a spring series, so I grabbed the basics, left the ephemera, and pulled out my iPad. How hard could it be to make my own?

Not hard at all, it seems. I made up three journal girls, and doodled a few other bits. Just a test sheet, to print and cut and see if it worked for me. I created a palette from the prompt sheet (simple tutorial on that coming soon!), and got to work, using my favourite watercolour brushes. Some of what I drew were fabulous – the girls in particular, so now I want to doodle an entire sheet. The mark-marking type doodles, I’m finding, aren’t something I reach for, and instead prefer to work directly onto the page with physical art supplies.

Today, I’m going to flex the screen free Sunday rules and jump on my iPad for a bit of doodling and see if I can create a full sheet of printable decorations. We’re talking about setting up the Christmas tree, and I am hoping to finish a quilt top. There’s fabric cut and macrame yarn waiting and nanowrimo to catch up on. A full, busy, fun day, best lived offline. Have a fabulous Sunday friends!