Write It Out Project

I am writing this post with a heavy heart. As soon as I heard about this project I knew that I had to share it with you fantastic readers so that you could make some too. If each of you made one we would be able to add 46 more of these books to this wonderful project. This brings tears to my eyes at the thought of ever having to go through this but this is a wonderful way to help. What Alida @I Make Stuff is doing is making grief journals for widowed military wives. This is a very easy thing to make and she also has shown you how to make it.

As a military wife myself I went through 3 deployments, 2 to Iraq (my daughter was born during the second one) and many time spent apart from each other. Even with the heartache and lonliness that I experienced, nothing comes close to what these women go through with their husbands never coming home. These journals, even though small, will help the women just a little bit to get through these rough times. Here is what Alida has to say:

"I am about to share something deeply personal with you my crafty friends. I am an Iraq War widow. My first husband, Sgt. Daniel Woodcock, was killed in Iraq March 11, 2007.

The reason I am sharing this with you is that the 3 year anniversary of his death is steadily approaching and I have been feeling this enormous sense that I need to do something to commemorate it. Then last month a good friend's husband was killed in Afghanistan and it became clear. I need to help comfort these women.

The reason this blog is called "I Make Stuff" is that making stuff is my reaction to the world around me. When my friends are sick, having a baby, or just having a hard time I Make Stuff. When I am feeling the grief particularly strongly, I Make Stuff. It makes me feel as if I have some control. This year instead of spending the day with my heart in the fetal position, I want to make stuff. Not only do I want to make stuff but I want to SEND stuff.

I am starting what I'd like to call the Write It Out Project, handmade journals for grieving military widows. I read somewhere (and now I CANNOT find it!) that people who journal through times of grief are less likely to need depression medications as people who don't. I know that I found it extremely helpful.

So, to make a very long story short, I am posting this tutorial and asking my crafty friends a favor. Would you be willing to make one of these for a military widow? Composition notebooks only cost a dollar and I bet you have all of the other materials in your stash.

If you make one of these please contact me at alidanicolelee@gmail.com and I will tell you what to do next. Thank you so much my crafty friends! This will be a wonderful project!"

I do hope you can each make at least one of these so that we can all help at least 46 fellow military wives during this hard time. If any of you make them I would love for you to e-mail me your pictures and I will do a feature post with each picture along with your blog site address. Thank you.

**Edited to add...For those of you who do not sew, or do not own a sewing machine, there is another way for you to decorate these. Here is a tutorial on how to cover them in a no sew fashion. No matter how your book comes out it does not matter, all that matters is that we are touching the lives of military widows. I bought 3 books today to start on and am hoping to buy more. I think I am going to do some in fabric and some in scrapbook paper! Thanks.