Good morning and happy December!

And, just like that, it's December. I'm all set up with supplies for my Journal Your Christmas album, especially since I made a few scrappy purchases over the holiday weekend (sales are a dangerous thing, I will tell you!). Since I have already shared my kit with you, I thought I would do a little video flip through of my album from last year. I keep up with my Journal Your Christmas prompts from Shimelle by following along with the daily prompts, and writing my stories down in a journal each day, and then going back to put them in my album whenever I have the time/feel inspired. It has worked really well for me, and I actually finished my 2014 album a few days ago (basically finished, I am waiting on a few photos that I sent to the printers). Since it is a complete album, I decided to do a video flip through, to inspire your Christmas Crafting.

I'd love for you to have a look:

Thanks for visiting with me today, happy Christmas crafting! I hope inspired you to work on a past or present Christmas journal today!
Still photos of my album:
Cover:

The first few pages:

Scrapbook Sharing: Journal Your Christmas Days 9-10

I know, I know, it's March...but I am still working on and sharing my December mini album. It is quite possible that I get finished before June...maybe...

Anyways, here is a look at the pages that I created for Days 8 and 9.

Day 8:

For my day 8 page, I printed one of my tree photos from early in the Christmas season at 5x7 size, mounted it to the cream shimmer cardstock, and embellished with one of the Pretty Little Studios houndstooth numbers, and a word strip that I actually trimmed from the bottom of a piece of cardstock from Studio Calico's Magical collection. I added a pocket on the back to hold a journaling card, which I made accessible with a couple of tabs from October Afternoon.

Day 9:

My day nine entry was a recipe that I wanted to try for one of my favorite holiday treats-alas, I never had the time to try the recipe out this year, but I fully intend to use it next holiday season, or perhaps even before that.

Supplies used were a mix of October Afternoon, Elle's Studio, and even a bit from Cosmo Cricket and Dear Lizzy.

PS-some of the tidbits and things I used are super cheap on Amazon right now!

Scrapbook Sharing: December Journal Your Christmas album, Day 7

After a week of a an icy holiday from school, the kids are back to their normal routine. Which means back to the routine for me, as well. But before I get started on my mountains of laundry, house cleaning, menu planning, and grocery list making, I thought I would drop by and share another page from my December Journal Your Christmas album. My Day 7 was quite a full and busy day, with my niece's 1st birthday party taking up a large part of the day, and then driving home from Nashville with my mom and sister. I helped make a lot of the decorations for the party, and helped set up, and then took quite a few pictures while we were actually at the party. So, my day 7 is a double page, with a pocket page of lots of photos.

Here is a look at the double page spread:

A look at the photo pocket page:

between the 2 pages, I punched a couple of holes and added the invitation to the party:

Bits of glitter have sifted out and stuck to it, but I'm ok with that! Glitter is good in my book!

The back of the invitation was blank, so I adhered one more photo:

On the right side of the spread, I added my favorite photo from the party, along with a bit of journaling about it, as well.

I am still enjoying putting this album together, and I think part of the reason is the non-traditional color palette that I went with this year. The cream and pink make it feel not quite as "Christmas-y", so I still enjoy playing with it long after the season has ended. And if I do feel like doing the more traditional colors, they're in there, too.

What about you? Do you continue working on projects that are seasonal, like December Daily or Journal Your Christmas, after the season has ended? Or do you put it away and wait for the next year?

Product Links:

Workspace Wednesday and JYC #6

Here's what's on my desk right now... my March Counterfeit Kit that still needs to be photographed (you get a little sneak peek) , treats and treat bags to put together for my daughters' class (they are in 5th grade, so it's the last year I get to make pretty pass outs, booo)- this has to be done today!, a printable questionaire from the Practically Perfect Planners class that I am taking, a bottle of paint from a project that I forgot to put away, some thread from mending my son's sports bag...

Here's a look at my day 6 page from my JYC album:

My December 6th consisted of a rather long drive, so I made my page reflect that- how nice that glass wine and relaxation was upon arrival! I have never really "gotten the hang of" pocket pages-I think this layout took the longest to complete in my whole album so far, because I embellished each little square. But, all in all, I like how it turned out, and I love the mix of page styles, shapes, and sizes in my mini album! And the tiny squares were an excellent opportunity to use up some scraps and a few embellishments. Do you struggle with pocket pages, too? Or do they make things easier for you?

I am linking up at stamping-ground.com:

Sharing more Christmas Journal pages

As promised and not forgotten, I am getting around to making and sharing more pages in my Journal Your Christmas/ December Daily album. Today, I am sharing my pages for Days 3-5. I took the pages out of the book to photograph individually, and then replaced to show the spread, because the mix of textures, sizes,and materials are all part of the appeal for me!

Day 3, single:

This page showcases my party planning fun that I indulged in on Pinterest- my plan was to have an Ugly Sweater party for my family's get together, and there are so many great ideas for creative parties on Pinterest!

Day 4, front side:

Day 4, back:

The first spread:

Day 5 was simple, I included one of our Christmas cards from this past year:

It photographed a little weird, because I had it printed on a specialty shimmer cardstock from Shutterfly. I was very pleased with them in person, they had a good weight and feel to them!

I added a tab with some of my favorite fasteners, the American Crafts mini staples, and added some sparkle with the date. Obviously, the holes I punched are imperfect, but I don't sweat the small stuff!

The second spread:

I hope you are still enjoying seeing bits of my album, as it is all pretty paper and embellishments to me! And I love seeing any project coming together! My biggest struggle with the December albums seem to be getting all of the right pictures printed. What about you? What do you struggle with when you are trying to complete projects such as December Daily?

Journal Your Christmas: Completed Cover and Day 2

As promised, I am back to share my JYC album in bits and pieces, with the hope that blogging about it will motivate me to get it finished. As promised, here is the completed cover, and a beginning look at the inside:
Cover:

Day 2:

Journal Your Christmas Day 1/Cover still under Construction

I'm still working on my cover and waiting for paint to dry, so here's a peek at it:

but, my main reason for popping by the blog today is to share my journal entry/title page for yesterday:

I have been wanting to try the sequins in the pocket idea for a while now, but my sewing machine is covered up right now. So, I just taped it with my washi tape, and the sequins are trying to escape in the photo, so, I just glued it shut with a bit of Glossy Accents and restuck the washi, and I am not going to worry about rephotographing it. You get the idea, right?

My Christmas Manifesto for this year: Rekindle the Magic- for myself and the kids. Slowly but surely add the special touches that bring the sparkle and joy to their eyes and happy smiles.

With that being said, I am going to get off the computer for a while, turn on National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and clean and work on decorating for a while! I will try to update my blog regularly as I add to my Journal Your Christmas album for this year, and I may just share some previous December minis as time allows, so be sure to check back. Have a lovely, sparkly day!

Have Yourself a Crafty Little Christmas/ Journal Your Christmas Preparations

And, just like that, November was gone in a flash. So many projects going and so little time! But, with Thanksgiving passed and the home reno projects drawing to a close (for this year anyway), I am starting to bring Christmas into my home little by little. And one of the projects that I have enjoyed for the past several years is a December Daily/ Journal Your Christmas style mini album in December. I love recording my Christmas memories, and it is a great way to use up some of that holiday stash that I always have trouble resisting. So, I make a kit of supplies from my stash. This year, I based my kit on a mood board that I made up on Pinterest, full of vintage yumminess:

I loved the whites, creams, sparkling gold and silvers, pink, forest green, red, and little touches of mint green. Crate Paper and October Afternoon make lovely vintage papers, so I knew that that would be the perfect place to start looking in my stash. Here is the kit that I came up with:

Papers and Album:

Whole kit including embellishments:

My kit is ready, as I eagerly await Shimelle's first prompt!