Book Review: A Simple Act of Gratitude by John Kralik

One Word Book Review: ADMIRABLE

Title: A Simple Act of Gratitude

Author: John Kralik

Publisher: Hyperion

Publication Date: December 27, 2011

Length: 243 Pages


About The Author
John Kralik practiced law for thirty years before he was appointed a judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court. He lives in the Los Angeles area.

365 Thank-You Notes
John Kralik, at the age of 53, found his life in a mess. 

At the end of 2007:

• his small law firm was failing;
• he was struggling through a painful second divorce;
• he had grown distant from his two older children and was afraid he might lose contact with his young daughter;
• he was living in a tiny apartment where he froze in the winter and baked in the summer;
• he was 40 pounds overweight;
• his girlfriend had just broken up with him;
• and his dream of becoming a judge seemed to have slipped beyond his reach.

Inspired by a handwritten thank-you note that he received from his former girlfriend for a Christmas gift, John decided to write 365 thank-you notes in 2008.

This memoir describes how the act of expressing gratitude can change a person's thinking and his circumstances.

My Thoughts
This book is not a new release, but it has been on my "wish list" for quite some time. It is a good book to read while you are thinking about goals for a new year.

I believe a focus on gratitude can be a life-changing experience. Mr. Kralik found his circumstances changing when he focused on the blessings in his life instead of the problems.

I chose the word "admirable" to describe this book because I admire a person who takes time to write and send a thank-you note. It displays a certain kind of class that is sorely lacking in our modern society.

The wonderful thing about this is that it benefits the sender of the thank-you note just as much (or perhaps more) as it benefits the recipient. This turned out to be a win-win journey for Mr. Kralik and all who have followed his path of expressing gratitude.

My Rating: 5 Stars Out of 5

FYI ~ I purchased this ebook from Amazon.Com with my own funds. The price is $1.99 at this time (prices are subject to change at any time.)

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Clean and Simple Thank-You Card

 

This week the theme of Mo's Challenge #184 is "Clean and Simple". A clean and simple greeting card has lots of "white space" and a limited amount of embellishments.

I really like this style and most of the cards I make are clean and simple. I learned the hard way that simple is the the way to go if you want to send your card through the US Postal Service.

I made the background for this card with the Cuddlebug "Thank You" dry embossing folder.

I used the digital stamp "Thanks" from Mo's Digital Pencil Shop. This is a brand new image that Ms. Manning gave away over Mothers Day weekend.

I colored the image with Copic sketch markers and cut it out with a Spellbinders die.

Thank you for taking a look at my card. Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Autumn Fun Challenge

Today I made a thank-you card that features a group of autumn pumpkins. I will enter this card in Mo's Challenge #157 ~ Autumn Fun. This is a clean and simple card that features a digital stamp from Mo's Digital Pencil Shop.

 

This is how I made the card;

(1.) I started with a blank Strathmore Drawing Card that measures 5" by 7".

(2.) I used the "Thank You" Cuddlebug folder to dry emboss the pale orange cardstock with words of gratitude.

(3.) I wrapped a piece of Harvest Crafts ribbon (from Hobby Lobby) around the embossed cardstock and fastened it with glue dots. I then used glue dots to attach the background to the card.

(4.) I printed the digital image "Pumpkins" on a piece of Strathmore Mixed Media paper. I colored the image with Copic sketch markers and highlighted the pumpkins with a white Prismacolor pencil.

(5.) I used the Nestabilities Large Deckled Rectangles die to cut out the pumpkins and emboss around the edges.

(6.) I attached the pumpkin image to the background with foam squares.

 

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Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

A Bit Of Green

I made this thank-you card this week for Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge.  The theme of the challenge is "A Bit of Green" ~ The card must have some green on it. 
This is how I made the card;
1. I used a pre-made blank light green card.  The card measures 4 1/2" X 5 1/2".
2. The background paper is a distressed striped design from K & Company.
3. I cut a large triangle from a piece of "Cool Cantalope" Bazzille Basics cardstock. I used a rubber stamp from Stampin' Up! to stamp the work "thanks".
4. I used the digital image "Chickies" from Mo's Digital Pencil Shop. I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils and a blender pen.
5. I embellished the card with light green polka-dot ribbon. I punched a button from green cardstock with a Martha Stewart punch. I tied a piece of white ribbon through the holes on the button.

A Big Thank You

Friday was my birthday and I was overwhelmed by all the birthday greetings that I received on Facebook. I had a great day and then was treated to a birthday dinner at Olive Garden with my husband.
On Saturday, we had another birthday dinner with our children.  My daughter surprised me with a stack of handmade cards that her kindergarten class made for me.  These cards are so cute.  One of the students wrote "I love you, Mom" on the card.
Today I made this card to send to my daughter's kindergaren class at LaPorte Elementary.
This image is a digital stamp called "Milton's Good Book" from Sweet 'N Sassy Stamps. I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils and markers. I used a rubber stamp to print the word "Thanks" below the image.
I embellished the card with two cream colored paper flowers and some fronds die cuts.
I am getting this card in the mail tomorrow and I hope the students enjoy my card as much as I enjoyed the ones they made for me.

PuzzleGrams

I am always watching for unique notecards, stationary and greeting cards when I go to estate sales, flea markets and thrift shops.  I recently found some "PuzzleGrams" at a local thrift shop.  These cards were new and in their original packages.  Some of the cards were rectangular and some were heart-shaped.  I decided to buy some of these cards to make thank-you notes for the Christmas gifts that I received. The retangular Puzzlegrams are cut into twelve puzzle pieces.  You write a personal message on the card, take the puzzle pieces apart, put them in an envelope and mail them.  The person who receives this card will be very surprised when they discover a puzzle in the envelope.  When they put the pieces together, they will be able to read the message.

Here are some pictures that I took while I made a PuzzleGram:



This is what the PuzzleGram
 looked like when I took it
 out of the package.





I wrote a thank-you note on the
PuzzleGram with a permanent
marker.




I took the pieces apart and put them in
 an envelope.



I have one PuzzleGram card that I would like to give to the first reader who posts a comment on this blog post.  Please leave an email address so that I can contact you.  I will mail this item to any address in the world for NO CHARGE.

Thank you for visiting my blog.  Do you have ideas for unique or unusual notecards? I would like to hear from you.