April Yamasaki

The Gratitude Gift That Keeps on Giving

In July of this year, I decided to cut back on writing in this space from weekly to every second week. By doing so, I hoped to make more writing room for my new book project and to ease what sometimes felt like a relentless pace of blogging.

Today I’m making an exception with this extra post, because–well, first of all–I’ve missed all of you!

And now that I’ve cut back, the weekly pace of blogging doesn’t seem so relentless, so I’d love to get back to that some time. For now though, and at least until February 1st, my current book manuscript takes writing priority.

At the same time, I just couldn’t wait to tell you about The Greatest Gift, which is a gratitude journal, scrapbooking kit, and writing guide rolled into one. What makes this so different from other gratitude journals is that The Greatest Gift is a gratitude journal that you make for someone else.

First you think of someone close to you, then you use the kit to design a journal that expresses your gratitude. Everything is included from the hard-cover journal to the gift box and card for your special person, story-telling prompts, border frames, photo corners, stickers, special notes, and more. Just add your own pictures, journal entries, doodles, and creativity to create a uniquely personal gift that’s fun to make and fun to give.

I’m still slowly creating The Greatest Gift for my Special Someone, and savouring the time I spend on it. In that way, it’s really a gift for me too.

For more about The Greatest Gift and to order your gratitude journal kit, see it now at The Greatest Gift–Scrapbooking Gratitude Journal Kit.

As always, my opinions and the choice to review are my own. Thanks to Amir at Habit Nest for sending me a copy.

Writing/Reflection Prompt: Who would you want to create a gratitude journal for and why?

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8 responses

  1. Elfrieda Neufeld Schroeder Avatar
    Elfrieda Neufeld Schroeder

    It sounds a bit overwhelming, April, although I love that kind of activity. I have a shelf full of journals I created in the past, but they are personal, just for me. My question at this stage of my life is “what should I do with them? “

    Reply
    1. April Yamasaki Avatar
      April Yamasaki

      I’m working at it slowly here and there, so it’s not quite so overwhelming that way, Elfrieda. And the great thing about the gratitude journal is that it’s something I plan to give away. It makes a great birthday gift or to celebrate an engagement, anniversary, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, or other special occasion. Like you, I have personal journals, although mine are in a box in a closet–I might need to write another blog post sometime on what to do with them!

      Reply
  2. Michele Morin Avatar
    Michele Morin

    You’ve inspired me. I have a book about journaling that I’m supposed to be reading and reviewing, and keep moving it one more down in the pile because it seems kind of overwhelming. If you can test drive this elaborate (and lovely) system, I need to be fiercehearted and get a move on.

    Reply
    1. April Yamasaki Avatar
      April Yamasaki

      I’d love to see your review, Michele! And I love your comment about being “fiercehearted”–that’s something I need for my book manuscript that’s due February 1. Hmmm, maybe we should see which gets done first–your review or my book project!

      Reply
  3. Sherrey Avatar
    Sherrey

    Hello April and greetings of the Season! This is a wonderful gift idea and unique way of sharing your gratitude for another. I’m impressed you have the time to do this right now, this moment, this time of year. Maybe because I’m just beginning to feel more like me, I feel behind this December and not catching up fast enough. However, I wanted to let you know I’ve tucked this idea away for future gift giving.

    Also, wanted to let you know I’m returning my site to WordPress from Squarespace. Perhaps I didn’t vet all issues before making the move, and perhaps I was frustrated enough with self-hosting to make it seem better. At any rate, I’ve found the loss of followers because of frustrating commenting to readers dropping from my newsletter enough to make me rethink the whole thing over again. I’ll be up and running on WordPress.com as of January 1, 2018, and happy to have learned (from you) of the security offered even on this side of the WordPress line. Thank you!

    Reply
    1. April Yamasaki Avatar
      April Yamasaki

      Wonderful to see you here, Sherrey! Let me hasten to add that I’m taking my time with this gratitude project just a few moments at a time–I’m not rushing to make it for Christmas which would definitely be too much–so I can relax into it.

      I’m sorry for the frustration you’ve been experiencing with your site, and hope that returning to WordPress will be a good move for you. I’d love to do some re-design and updating here, but so far I’m just keeping a list of ideas with an eye to following up in spring when I hope to set aside some time for that.

      Reply
  4. Patricia Avatar
    Patricia

    April, this looks like a lovely project and it’s right up my wannabe crafty alley. Of course sometimes that just means it’s yet another way to be #notwriting and honestly, I have enough of those already. But what a fun gift to work on during the winter months when I tend to hunker down even more than usual.

    Reply
    1. April Yamasaki Avatar
      April Yamasaki

      Oh Patricia, like you, I don’t need another way of #notwriting! But the gratitude journal kit is a beautiful way to take a break, and I think you’ll enjoy creating and giving it away.

      Reply

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Faith and Hope with April Yamasaki

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