I’ve completed four Christmas journals and although each one is different, I love them all. Only the first one followed the prompts in Shimelle’s Journal Your Christmas class, and it’s the only one with a page for each day of December. After that I combined a variety of prompts or made up my own. Looking back at them, I’m so glad I kept track of the little things that made each holiday season a bit different. Each of my albums have been a different size and a different format, and I like that, too.
Every year I try to decide how I want to proceed. I’ve never really followed Ali Edward’s December Daily process, but her initial post really inspired me. Combined with Shimelle’s class (free every year after the first one), Jessica Sprague‘s notebook “Holidays in Hand” which I completed last year, and Tracey Clark’s upcoming class Picture the Holidays, I think I’m going with a December Daily format this year.
I’m also going to use the same set-up Ali showed on her blog: transparencies followed by a journaling and photo page. I downloaded the journaling/photo pages over the weekend from Designer Digitals and will use them either digitally or print them out; probably a combination of both. I went through my Christmas stash and found a few transparencies as well as a few in other collections that should work well. Now I have my eye out for the rest I will need to purchase. A few years ago I purchased some lovely red chipboard which will be perfect for the cover. I need to get all of this put together so when we return from California (arriving here a few minutes after midnight on December 1) I’ll be ready to go.
I’ve decided how I’m going to do my JYC as well….a completely different size and format to last year….and I loved how Ali made her cover.
Your albums all look gorgeous Karen! I still haven’t decided what to do this year. I know it has to be simple or it won’t get done.
Sounds like a plan Karen! Your albums do all look so lovely grouped together like that, you’ve inspired me to start thinking about getting mine together
I’m doing a hipstamatic December journal this year. Shimelle had a great post on hipstamatic scrapbooking, and I’ve got a minialbum which is just the right size for it.
Next month I’ll start designing the structure of the pages.
Rinda
What a wonderful idea! Something to keep in the back of my head in case I ever have kids.
They all look different, but they all look gorgeous xx
I’m going very much with the journaling aspect this year – last year was a mix of JYC and December Daily, but I didn’t do much actual writing in response to the prompts, and I’d like to give that a go this time round 🙂
I was contemplating leaving a DD or JYC on the back burner this year. However, when I saw Ali’s overlays and templates I caved in and I’m now working out how to put this all together.
I have decided to go with a 8×8 digital format and I will put the pages in with my 8.5×11 album from last year … I may change my mind a make a photobook – not sure on those details!
What I have learnt from, as recently as September with LSNED, is that I cannot only do a photo of the day concept. I found that the project had very little emotional pull for me. This is all about the journaling as far as I’m concerned so no doubt, like last year, I will approach this as a visual diary …. I suppose that is like all of my scrapping.
Well, I have done exactly the same as you! I have done Shimelle’s class for 3 years and this year AE really did inspire me with her journal and mine is sitting on my desk ready to go! I love the idea of a transparency before each day, but I couldn’t afford to buy that many, so I have made some myself, stamping and using Stickles on acetate – I am really pleased with the result. Looking forward to seeing your journal as it develops 🙂
Found your terrific blog and your lovely Christmas journals! It was such a nice surprise to get your email… neighbors meeting through an on-line class from England! Love being retired (this is my 4th year… was a home economics, then 5th grade teacher in Greece) and having time to PLAY, while recording all the memories for my family. Wish I’d had time to do it while teaching. Still playing catch-up as I’m organizing and uncluttering (but now with scrapbooking, something either gets photographed, included as embellishment or tossed… simple enough). Since I’m taking a Christmas art journal course along with this one, my format this year will be very different from Ali Edwards’ or Shimelle’s, but I’m excited to record the season, none the less. I do feel like you do, though about retirement… when did we have time to teach? BTW, when do you find time to blog?
Hi Becky, I had over half of the transparencies I needed and I, too, have made a bunch of my own. I’m not done yet, and would like to find a couple of the Teresa Collins ones, but am pretty happy with how it is beginning.
I really enjoying blogging and have found quite a nice international community through it, so blogging has become more of a priority in the last couple of years than it was in the beginning. It’s just another part of the card making, scrapbooking hobby for me.
glad you are organised! ive been working on my JYC/DD this past weekend too
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