A Day of Thanks

I think celebrating Thanksgiving is a wonderful thing. We start off the long, dark season by gathering with those we love, and being grateful for whatever we may be blessed with.
This year, for my family, we will be at my parents house sharing an abundant dinner with many relatives, and even a neighbor family who are strangers to most of the people coming. I love that about my parents- they have always been generous with everything they have. I remember the year I was 6, my dad invited a co-worker, a single man, to join us for Thanksgiving. I don't remember much about him, but he had on a cowboy hat and my then-4 year old brother was amazed and overjoyed a cowboy came to dinner!

So what am I thankful for this year?
First and always I am thankful for my family. My children, my husband, my parents, my in-laws, all of our siblings and nieces and nephews and the characters they are and the personality and color they bring to our world.
I am grateful for my testimony of my Savior Jesus Christ, and for the strength I find in Him and in His gospel.
I am thankful for my friends, as I mentioned yesterday. My life has changed over the last few months and I don't see my friends as much as I would like, so right now I am missing them rather a lot. But thanks to facebook and text, we all check in on each other and that helps. And the fact that they do check up on me, proves their worth as truly good friends. I am also thankful that my children have good friends who love them too!
This year we are comfortable. No, we're not in a house, no, we don't have a garage...(or a craft room- giggle!) our cars are getting older and our computer is too... But this year we are not stressing about how to pay for the every day things. We just had some unexpected car repairs and it didn't send us into a panic. I am extremely grateful for that.
I am thankful for my kids schools and teachers who love them. I am thankful my children are learning to play instruments. I am thankful for neighbors who keep an eye out for us. I am thankful for autumn and the beauty that literally surrounds us, and the sunsets we have been enjoying.
I am thankful I have multiple cameras with which to capture the beautiful world, my family and friends, any time, anywhere! I am thankful for the creative outlets I have discovered and for the joy that my scrapbooks and cards bring to others. I am thankful for my small business that keeps me creating and for this blog that makes me feel obligated to create (in a good way!) and for each of your comments!!
Truly. I feel so lucky this thanksgiving season, and so full of gratitude!
I sincerely hope that you too are surrounded by loved ones, wherever you are today.

Today I am sharing a Thanksgiving-y card with you. I used the latest sketch from the Nacho Average Challenge blog, and I turned it, and added a spot for a greeting. I loved the collagey look of the first sample and more or less replicated it for my own design. I also used the October Paper Pumpkin stamps for my collage.

Supplies:
Stamps: October 2015 Paper Pumpkin
Ink: Soft Suede, Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze, Mossy Meadow
Paper: Mossy Meadow, Crushed Curry, Soft Suede & Very Vanilla card stocks
Accessories: Big Shot, Woodland Embossing Folder, Oval Punch, Dimensionals

And!!! I tried something new with the embossing folder...!! I smashed the Soft Suede ink pad right against one side til it was sufficiently brown, then I ran the card stock thru and look- a colored background!!! I gotta try this some more before the Holiday Mini ends...!