Week 1, CHAPTER 21: Gratitude

'You ought to return thanks in a neat speech,' the Red Queen said, frowning at Alice as she spoke. . . .In fact it was rather difficult for her to keep in her place while she made her speech: the two Queens pushed her so, one on each side, that they nearly lifted her up into the air:
'I rise to return thanks--' Alice began: and she really DID rise as she spoke, several inches; but she got hold of the edge of the table, and managed to pull herself down again.-- Chapter 9, Through the Looking Glass

The US Thanksgiving holiday is this month, and many people are dedicating the month to a spirit of gratitude; after all there is nothing like counting your blessings to make you realize how many blessings there are! Our theme this month is GRATITUDE, and you can interpret that any way you like as long as you explain it in your post. Enter by Friday, Nov. 23; all entries are welcome but those that feature Wonderland will have two chances instead of one. Multiple entries are encouraged, but each must be on a separate post to have additional chances at the prize, which is quite wonderful!

The theme ties in nicely with this month's sponsor, Nature's Blessings, who have offered a $30 shopping spree to the randomly chosen winner! Nature's Blessings stamps were the beginning of my love affair with Alice in Wonderland stamping, as they have beautiful rubber versions of the original Tenniel illustrations of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland AND Through the Looking Glass. Without Nature's Blessings, The Altered Alice might not exist! In their words:

As avid readers and bibliophiles, we fell in love with the beautiful line drawings in the books in our family library. Our antiquarian stamps are a collection of our favorite images. If your tastes range from the classically elegant to the quirky and fun, then we make stamps for you! We also offer a variety of original art: be sure to visit John Wagner's page of Calligraphy and Art Lettering, and Laura Ann's pages of stamps for holidays and special occasions.

Your Weekly Inspiration:

Tracy Evans created this beautifully layered autumnal card, featuring the Tweedles stamp from Nature's Blessings. These stamps are incredibly detailed and stamp beautifully. Clipped words express the theme.

I love the sense of depth she has created by using the negative of the die cuts to stencil leaves in the background, then creating a paper leaf pile of sponged and stamped leaves!

The jute bow and script button add rustic texture for the perfect finishing touch. Please visit Tracy's blog to read her description and to leave a comment!

Bonnie McLain of Love Light and Peace created this lovely chipboard Thanks mini-album. Each page includes things or which Bonnie is grateful, starting with the appropriate letter of the word T-H-A-N-K-S.

Bonnie used Ranger alcohol inks to get these incredibly saturated shades on the images and the seam binding ribbon.

Be sure to visit Bonnie's blog; she gives instructions on a wonderful method for using a refillable Ranger marker and alcohol ink palette to get this intensely colored effect.

Be sure to visit Bonnie's blog for more photos of the various pages and the alcohol ink tutorial, and leave a comment while you are there!

We have another project from Tracy Evans; this altered Altoids tin featuring the Queen Alice stamp is absolutely charming! I love the tree growing up from the center, and the leaf pile that has collected in the bottom of the tin.

You can see how Tracy has used layers to add a sense of depth.

You can see how much detail the Nature's Blessings stamps contain, and how beautifully they stamp.  Please visit Tracy's blog to read her description and to leave a comment!

We look forward to seeing your interpretation of our gratitude theme! Enter your projects in the Linky list below by November 23, and PLEASE include your name or blog name in the TITLE. This helps me enormously when it comes time to had out the honorable mentions! (Note: if you are viewing this post in a reader or email, please click on the title of the post to go to the blog to see the entries or submit a project.)

Please leave a comment before you go!