Gratitude

I have been challenged to choose a word this year. Actually a close friend picked a word and it got me thinking- "what would my word be?" The word should describe my feelings or goals. I really have spent quite a bit of time thinking about this and then after I stopped it came to me. My word is GRATITUDE! It recently occurred to me that time passes by me so quickly that I often don't acknowledge it. I lack thoughtfulness. I want to strive to first show more gratitude for those around me. And well, being the mother of 4 and a wife, most often they get ALL my time. I suppose that is how it is should be but along the way I have forgotten to show some very important people some most needed GRATITUDE- my FRIENDS! I would like to show them how important they are by sharing some of my time and being more thoughtful! Lets face it, my friends offer me more than I can put into words- support in the good and bad, a chance to let my hair down, someone who takes care of me, a chance to let it all out, an opportunity for adult educated discussions, great wisdom and advice and on and on... I hope to show them more gratitude. And if any of them are reading this- you know who you are- and I want all of you to know that even if I don't say it I appreciate you every second of every day and you are so LOVED and admired by me!

Ok, so lets begin already- my first DIY project is something I did for a friend. A bit of a birthday surprise (but mostly a chance for me to honor her and brag about her). She recently did a bathroom reno. She has it all done but needed some accessories. I tried several different things but here is what I came up with!

Ok, here is my chance to brag. First I must say that she is quite an amazing friend. She inspires me in ways I can't begin to tell. She is amazingly creative and just about the smartest person I know (really). She is currently in school- her chance to get a college education- one I don't think she ever thought she would get. But after being home with her little girl until school she set her goals high and she IS ACHIEVING them! She is in her 6th semester at Shippensburg University working on her Degree is Elementary Education. She has a 4.0- brag, brag- she is amazing:) Anyway- I choose these words cause she will inspire her students everyday. Trust me- if you live in south central PA and you have kids entering elementary school you should be praying that she is their teacher!! So every morning while she is starting her day, I want to give her a gentle reminder that she is doing what she believes in and that she is IMPORTANT to so many! (no pressure) but in the morning I think she may need to be reminded- she's not a morning person;)

I bought these picture frames at the dollar tree- they were black. I used Rustoleum Espresso spray paint to paint them brown (she used this color quite a bit in her bathroom).

Then I took card stock and cut a mat, using my exacto knife and ruler, in this blue/gray color (her walls are a gray/blue) and then put a shimmery white card stock behind them. I then used glue dots cut into little strips to attach these silver inspirational words that I bought in the scrapbooking section at Michaels.

Hopefully soon she will give me permission to post some of her after pictures with these hanging so you can get a better picture of the whole scene. Thanks for letting me lift up a friend in gratitude:)