Creative Escape & Finding Good

Jason and I are busy getting all of the last minute preparations ready for Creative Escape in Arizona next week.  For those of you that going - LUCKY!  For those of you not - I have learned already that it is an event like no other and if you have any desire to attend next year then I encourage you to go for it!Heidi Swapp and Bazzill Basics Paper are the ones who make this event possible and I am flattered that Heidi would include me in her list of teachers presenting this year.  Then to make it even more fun, she shared our vision of "The Jason and Kolette Hall Team" and is utilizing Jason's skills for the keynote speech on the final evening.  Over the years, Jason has proved to be amazing with all the scrapbookers out there so I think it is fitting that we do this event together - and don't worry, we'll have his DVD and Quote Cards available for purchase for anyone interested.As I put together the project for the class I really wanted to focus on something meaningful to me.  I figured that if it had made an impact on my life then it would have a better chance of impacting those in the class.  A couple of years ago I was given an assignment by BPS to do something interesting with the new "MyBook" calendar by Per Annum. I decided to create a gratitude journal because I am not a very good journal writer and I wanted to take the time each day to find something to write down - just a sentence or two was all I wanted and the calendar's small daily spaces gave me "permission" to not have to write more than that.

I kept that gratitude journal all year and added photos in the photo page inserts that came with the book.  The experience had such an impact on me that I count it as one of the major growing times in my life.  Because of that, I like to share the idea as much as I can.  I have already used the actual gratitude journal in my BPS classes but my project for Creative Escape was founded on this same concept - with a twist.Here is a sneak peek at one part of the project - I don't want to give anything away to all of you Creative Escape goers out there!  I'm very grateful for the generosity of Crate Paper, Hampton Art, Making Memories and Bazzill for making the project possible.  I am looking forward to creating the project with all of you who will be at the event because I know that you will catch the vision of what is possible with a project like this.Just do me a favor, and this goes for everyone reading this post.  Start thinking about the good things in your life each day.  The little things.  The things that might not seem big to others but make a difference to you.  Think about becoming an expert at noticing the good and ignoring the negative.Here's a little challenge: for the next week, think about the good in your life, in others and in yourself.  I want to know what happens to you when you make a concentrated effort to find the good.  For those of you that we will see at Creative Escape - I would like you to share your experience with us during class.  For those of you who won't be there, share what you find here on my blog.  I'll mention this again in my next post and you can comment there.  I might even rustle up a give-away for a random comment-leaver so watch for that post!Finding Good.  That's what gratitude is all about and that is what is on my mind this week before Creative Escape.  Let's face it - it's not possible to find too much good in our lives.And now's the time to start looking.  Happy Good Hunting!