Well I finally did it! I've had plans for making this since November. I was going to start at the first of the year and that came and went, so what better day to start it than today (March 2nd). The girls and I messed around with paper, glue, ribbon, markers, and cardboard last night for a few hours and made our own creations. Makenzie wanted to make a journal like me and Kendyl wanted to make a "shooting heart" and an "ornament". What fun. The way this "Thankful Journal" works is that every day for a year I will record a few words of what I was thankful for that day. Emily Falconbridge thought it up and made one of her own that you can check out
here and my friend Kristen made one too that you can check out
here. It's a fun simple idea and easy to keep up with. A lot easier than a painting a week I'll bet, but I'd still like to keep painting. :)
Anyway, here's how mine turned out. Here's the front and inside the cover. I just glued it all together not really knowing what I was doing, but so happy trying something new.
Here's what all of our creations look like together. Kendyl's "shooting heart" is the gold creation protruding from the top and her ornament is that paper wiggly-squiggly creation on the left. Makenzie's journal is to the very most right and I thought she was quite inventive to make a clasp to keep it shut with that cute polka-dot paper. They are resting against our "Tinkerbell lamp". It's this cool lamp that opens up and we've filled with little paper slips of "happy thought" memories. Seth and I started filling it up when we were first married so it has memories from dating all the way to our crazy kids. It's fun to look through together sometimes. 
Here's our cute Makenzie writing in hers today. She wrote last night too. She was so happy as she was making it and writing in it today. She kept telling me how fun it was to be creative and that I was being like her Aunt Kristie who always makes neat cards and sends them to us. Sweet girl.
Anyway, I'm excited about this new journal. I think it's a beautiful gift to be thankful and probably one you have to work diligently for. What a great idea to end each day thinking about how the Lord has blessed you and what you are thankful for. I feel it's very important. President Eyring gave a great talk last conference called, "Oh Remember, Remember" and I feel this journal is a spin off of his counsel. I've attached a link to his talk here. Read it. It's wonderful. Go ahead and make your own journals too. It's so fun.
They were hanging and dangling and taped all over my classroom and now I have taken them home to dangle here. (I have now put up Saint Patrick's Day decorations that I made and will put up some Easter stuff shortly in my classroom). In case you want to know how to make such splendid snowflakes, here's a guide. (The yellow snowflake isn't so pretty, but it's a good simple design to teach you how). 
Here's a fun website that you can make snowflakes with online. http://snowflakes.lookandfeel.com/ or click here. It's quicker and just as pretty, you just don't get to keep them in the end. :)
