Journal Your Christmas 2013 Introduction & Part 1

{Title Page 2013}

This past holiday season I joined Shimelle's yearly class Journal Your Christmas, which is really wonderful in that you pay once and can play along each year for long as she continues runs it, 2013 was it's tenth anniversary, and for as long as you wish.  You also get access to past years materials and a private forum.  I really enjoyed it, as she gives very in depth prompts each day, full of narrative, suggestions, and ways to spark your memory for past stories.  Getting her emails each day really motivated me, put me in the right holiday frame of mind, and kept me on track all month long.

This year's JYC included fairly lengthy writing on my part, which is certainly not necessary or required.  In fact, nothing is required at all.  While plenty of material is provided I definitely think you can pick and choose what you want to do.  For example, since I did fairly detailed journaling each day, I decided the photo prompts were too much for me to deal with this year.  Next year I may base my entire JYC around the photo prompts, something I think would be quite fun to do.

Set Up & Daily Entries:

I made my purchasing choices based on my idea that this was a journal so I envisioned a blank lined book kind of thing.  Clearly I wasn't thinking along the lines of a Daily December but once I got into the forum I saw these two projects can go hand in hand very nicely. When I saw the Misc. Me Elf Magic Notepaper set with lined, pre-hole punched papers, and pre-cut lined 3X4 cards I thought how perfect and much snazzier than a memo pad and purchased coordinating supplies to streamline assembly for myself.

Um yeah, I totally had the wrong initial impression of what this project could be and how most participants do it.  I had wanted this class to be like a month long Christmas present to myself and didn't want to unwrap it ahead of time and waited to really explore the forum, supplies, and examples until after Shimelle's emails began to arrive on December 1st.  I will plan to do things differently next year, but I didn't quite know what to expect and the surprise each day and I opened the PDFs was part of the fun for me.

Now, I should mention that initially I did truly start out writing on the lined notebook paper, but after the first week I found I was a little frustrated by how it turned out because I was needed more than one side of paper to complete my thoughts and I was often making mistakes trying to get everything down.  The fact is, I am better able to write on the computer, where it's easy to make corrections, additions, and proofread.  JYC was much less stressful and more enjoyable when I put aside a little bit of time each night to reflect on the prompt and add to a Word document.

Core Supplies:

Bo Bunny Misc. Me:  As seen on Bo Bunny's company blog, I used several pieces from their Elf Magic line as the main foundation for this project.  Specifically I used the Elf Magic Binder, Elf Magic Notepaper, Elf Magic Journal Contents, and their Elf Magic Dividers.  I also cut apart a sheet of the Elf Magic Characters 12X12 paper, using them as extra filler cards, and a package of Elf Magic Noteworthy die cut pieces.

Partial Supplemental Supply List:

This does not include all additional supplies, as some are older, unknown, or bits & pieces that are leftovers but I also used various washi tapes, inks, and stickers, alphabet stamps as well as Making Memories rub-ons, Glitz Designs Teeny Alphas Red Scrabble & Gray, American Crafts Sequins, Stickers, & Washi Tape - unknown collections but from Target this year & an AC gold Precision Pen, MAMBI Christmas Pebbles, Happy Holiday Pebbles, Dear Santa Papers, & Avant Garde - Gold Glitter Chipboard Alphas, Twine, WRMK Tab Punch: File, and Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher & Staples.  Most of the handwritten journaling is done with a black SMASH stick.

Finishing:

At the end of the month I had all my daily entries in one document on my computer and then it was just a matter of printing them out onto the Elf Magic Notepaper sheet.  I organized the sheets in the order I wanted to use them and then I formatted one entry at a time and printed it out.  Each one was a little different to accommodate the designs printed on the notepaper.  Ideally I would've printed them on a test sheet first and adjusted for perfect spacing but I just didn't have the time for all that, or really the desire to over complicate things.

Printing went fairly smoothly, with only one big mishap that was easily fixed.  Now it was time for embellishing and adding all the pretty touches.  I am really happy with how it turned out, full of stories and supported by pictures with room for all of the fun supplies I've collected over the years.  My Journal Your Christmas album is the perfect companion book to the separate Merry Memories book I also made using Misc. Me Elf Magic supplies that is more photo heavy and shows our activities and family Christmas celebrations in more depth.  Next year I hope to combine the two a little better into one volume, which I think will be possible because I'll be ready to capture snippets rather than feeling like I have to tell the whole story at length.  Not every year has to be that!

Pages:

After all that intro discussion, I'm sure that for most, seeing the actual pages will be the most interesting part of this post, but I really did feel I wouldn't be giving a complete picture of this project without giving some of the back story first.  Below is a selection, but not all, of the pages from the first potion of my JYC book.

Click on a photo to see an enlarged version.

Holiday Manifesto - Not added because I spent a long time figuring it out, wrote it on my original sheets, and then misplaced it.  I have yet to uncover it and if I don't soon I will have to recreate as best I can.

Signs of Christmas - I had several pictures that would work with this topic but upon reflection decided they didn't illustrate what I really wanted to write about.  I included some here.

Signs of Christmas Continued - What I really wanted to say about how the signs show up all too early each year and how the real indication the season has begun for me is when the neighborhood lights come on.

Planning for Christmas - I could have included pictures from each of the activities I was involved in planning for here but decided to keep most for the Merry Memories album.  I briefly mentioned some and included one special activity, unique to this year within JYC.  More pictures from the ornament making afternoon with our neighbor are on the other side of the page protector.

Written Communication - Two views of one entry, one with a copy of our Christmas card inserted.

O Christmas Tree - This entry is shown in the photo above and below.  I have a little bit of hand journaling to add to the "Trim the Tree" card.  That poorly stamped title is going to drive me nuts, but I wasn't going to go back and change it.  Wonky stamping just adds to the handmade feel...that's what I always tell myself after a stamping mishap.

Sweet Treats - We had a baking day at my mom's that takes up several pages.  On the other side of the right page there are more pictures and then a notepaper sheet with the recipes for two of the cookies we made on it.

Sweet Treats Continued - After the recipes comes this page with one of the Elf Magic Characters cut from the 12X12 sheet.  Isn't he cute?  I saved him specifically for this story.  He fit's perfectly into the Misc. Me divided page protector.

Making a List - One of my favorite entries has no pictures to go with it but I love because of the messy stitching I did to make this circle border.  I think it looks really cool!

That is as much as I was able to photograph and edit during the little guy's nap.  I'm really excited by how the pages turned out.  At times it seemed like it was taking forever to compile everything into a finished book but I mean that in a good way.  It was an enjoyable process!

Part 2 will have a lot more photos of entries as I won't have have to repeat the introduction.  It will be coming soon!



Shared at: The Memory Nest, The Crafty Blog Stalker, and the community show & tell over at Simple Scrapper.

30 Days of Thankful: Week 3

Hello!  I can't believe we're already onto our third week of  30 Days of Thankful month long project!  I you haven't caught Week 1 and Week 2, this is a project I am joining in with through Cathy Zielske and using her 6X4 templates, as well as linking to her latest Gratitude Friday.

I used to have a monthly scrapbook date at Archiver's with friend Jill, that I met through our sorority's alumnae group.  Any other Kappa Delta's out there?  She moved with her husband to Boston and we've been missing our time together.  We finally tried out using Skype to video chat and scrapbook together.  It worked out great and now we plan to restart our monthly dedicated scrapbook time!

My husband and I got two kitties the year we moved to Santa Fe, NM and they've now been part of our family for eight years.  Both are quite loveable, but one is a lap cat and I can't tell you how handy it is when you have a kiddo who wants to love on and hold that kitty and the kitty actually likes it!

Last year our town had a tornado come through and it did a lot of damage to the neighborhood just across the street from ours.  That was truly a close call!  Even though our home was unaffected, my daughter has vivid memories of it and loud bad storms scare her.  The conditions were right for one again but there weren't any in our area, thank goodness!  Now that I can get over being thankful for that, I am also thankful that we didn't have to deal with the inconvenience of a power outage.  Several of our friends did loose for a day or more.

My daughter has always been very snugly and loves hugs and holding my hand.  My toddler, not so much.  But within the last month or so he has really taken to wanting to sit on my lap for stories, playing, and watching his preschool videos.  My heart melts when he pulls my arms around him and when he calls me for his goodnight.

There are definitely days when having to plan and coordinate Daisy and now Brownie meetings for my daughter's Girl Scout troop is something I'd really like to give up!  But once we are at meetings I am always reminded how wonderful this time really is.  Not only do I get a special activity with my daughter but I also am enthused and reinvigorated by the girls seeing how they create and interpret our badge activities.

My son started speech therapy last spring and has really taken off this fall.  He met all his first round of goals and has doubled his vocabulary since September and now has 100 words.  Our speech therapist has been a wonderful resource for us too, she has lots of suggestions for how to work with him that have been very helpful. 

Day 21 will be a picture of my friends at a Mom's Night Out.  I just haven't taken it yet at the time of writing this post.  Headed out the door any minute!  Grateful for friendship, aren't we all :)

See you next week!

30 Days of Thankful: Week 2

Hello!  I'm back with the second installment of my 30 Days of Thankful month long project.  I am joining in with Cathy Zielske's and using her 6X4 templates, as well as linking to her second Gratitude Friday.  Thank you to the ladies who came by last week, it was really a wonderful experience to read your heartfelt comments and I hope you know how much I appreciated them! 

Day 8: I took E to a family night at her school.  They have several a year but this one is her favorite because it's art themed.  They provide several activities to choose from and we never have enough time to do all of them. 

Day 9: Slowly but surely our basement project is moving along.  Getting the drywall done professionally really moved it along and now Brad has finished another step.  I am beginning to think it might actually get finished!  It feels like we've been working on it forever!

Day 10: I've had my iPhone for almost a year now.  It totally increased our bill significantly and I could definitely live without it but oh do I love it!  We normally go quite a long time between changing phones and my husband's looks like it's from the stone age, because he only wants a phone that makes phone calls but I think he's been glad to have Internet access when out and about too.

This was Sunday, and my daughter was using the app Facetime to visit with her Papa, aka my Dad, and Uncle Dave, aka my brother, who have not seen the kids in several weeks.  We are working very hard on improving our reading and she spent some of her daily 20, reading to them via the app.  I thought that was kinda a neat thing!  My MIL just got an iPad so soon she'll be able to read to her this way too.

I did not mention this in the last 30 Days post but I was actually quite sick most of the week, but I was not going to be thankful for a nasty ear infection!  But by Day 11 or the beginning of this week I was beginning to finally feel better, just a little tired.  I had a lot of housework to do, to catch up from being sick.  But the sound of the rain was just making this already tired lady even more sleepy and when my son went down for his nap...I gave in and curled up too.  It was actually quite nice!

(Unfortunately I have to add that, that rain turned into this stuff later that night.  But since it's only the beginning of November I refuse to be overly thankful for seeing the white stuff this early!)

I started this blog to share my crafty stuff in addition to my scrapbooking, and I bought all sorts of stuff to make a fall wreath on clearance last year, but with my 2 year old being a ball of nonstop energy I just haven't had the time or the will to make one.  So while at one point I considered this a crafty blog, sometimes you have to wave the white flag, give in, and just buy one.  It was 60% off and I decided I couldn't make one myself for the same price - about $8, but still since I love looking at handmade wreaths it felt like a little bit of a cop out.  However, I really love the combination of colors and the arrangement so I've allowed myself to just let go, enjoy, and feel thankful we have money for extras like this.  Plus I can always make the stuff sitting in storage to make a really great wreath for indoors, next year.

I hired a neighbor boy to walk my oldest home from the bus stop after school last year and he's continuing to do it this one too.  It really has been a lifesaver, really great to not have to worry getting the little guy up, bundled up against bad weather, and out the door to get her.  Plus he is young enough, that he's thrilled with $5 a month for walking her the block down from his house to ours.  I also give him extra tips for each holiday and an end of the year gift so he makes out pretty well :)  His little brother is one of E's best friends and my friend, his mom, watches them so it's nice to know if anything went awry and for some reason she didn't get off when expected someone would know right away.  I can see the bus stop from our upstairs window so it's not like they have to go far.  She could probably walk without an escort but this gives me more peace of mind.

Last night Brad and I had our first date night since back in August, when we went out for our 13th wedding anniversary.  It was really nice that it worked out for his mother to come over our house after dropping off a friend at the airport.  A night out on our side of town, just the two of us is almost unheard of!  Thankful that we now live closer to family and these kinds of things can happen once in awhile.  Plus it's so much better that the kids can see their grandma more than just a couple times a year and really bond with her.

30 Days of Thankful: Week 1

The Project:

This year I am joining in with Cathy Zielske's yearly project and capturing 30 things I am grateful for, one each day for the month of November.   I am also linking up with her first Gratitude Friday.  It goes without saying that I am thankful for my family, friends, faith, etc. and that I am thankful every day of the year.  My hope is that this will capture small moments of gratitude during this month, which is especially geared toward remembering to be thankful.

The Plan:

I have decided to use Cathy's Thirty Days of Thankful Layered Templates No. 02, because they are designs to be 6X4 and can easily be developed in a standard photo size and slipped into my Project Life Album.  I am debating between doing that and using a green S.E.I. preservation album to make a mini.  I was actually more inspired by the 6X6 sized templates but then decided that for practicality and ease I really should stick to 6X4 so it's more likely I'll actually do something with these when November is over.

My plan is to do a trial print at Costco, but due to previous experiences with them, I think I'll probably end up sending these off to Persnickety Prints.  Costco is okay for every day prints but Cathy's templates have a nice white border, and I want it to be even on each side. I've found that when I try printing digital elements on my photos and send them to Costco they aren't aligned properly.  I haven't actually used Persnickety before but have heard really good things about them.

The Photos + Words, Week 1:

Going to at least one FELD production each fall has become a tradition for my family ever since I joined their local blogger promotion team.  We've seen ice, stage, and the circus - each has been a fantastic experience!  My daughter has wonderful memories of seeing all her favorite Disney characters and this year we took the little guy for the first time. 

Day 2 coincided with our dating anniversary, it's been 19 years together and over 13 years of marriage.  I am truly blessed to have found my soul mate so early in life and to have the benefit of his love and support every day!

Last Sunday we had our much postponed photo session with a local photographer and friend.  The weather has been finicky around here and we finally had a nice sunny day.  It's been a real challenge to capture a good portrait quality photo of the little guy.  He is SO busy ALL the time!  I can't get him to stand still and smile at the same time.  I was thankful to have the opportunity to call in professional back up.  We had our session and I'll pop in one of the photos into this template when our photo CD arrives, I can't wait!  I'm excited to get it, I saw the previews on her camera and she got some great ones.

We are having to wash LB's crib sheet and pajamas every day.  I often find him wet when he gets up and again after nap.  He's discovered how to unzip his sleeper and it's been a frustrating time for me every since.  I can't get him to leave it alone, and you know what I mean by "it", don't you?  Other moms of little boys tell me this shall pass, and as far as I am concerned it can't go by fast enough!

As the second load was going in on Day 4 and I was grumbling about it, I remembered how awful it was when we had to use the laundry mat for awhile when subletting in Berkeley and then use coin operated community laundry facilities at our second apartment in CA.  Instantly I was a lot more thankful to have our own washer and dryer!

I've begun dabbling into art journaling, it's just a freeing form of expression for me and who doesn't love to get a little messy?  I was prepping some pages with gesso when LB became very interested in what I was doing.  He wanted to paint too, and even though the thought of the mess and hassle passed through my mind I decided to let him give it a try.  I was surprised by how neatly he painted, and love his first little painting.  He has been such a physical child that most of my friends have been cautioning me that he probably won't be into all the art projects I did when E was little.  This gave me hope that he might slow down to cut & paste with me once in awhile.  I love to share my interests with my kids.

We eat out way too much and one reason why is that we're just tired of eating the same old thing over and over.  In an effort to mix things up we made a French Toast Casserole from The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays.  It's good and makes a big dish so for a family of four, like us, I'd cut the recipe in half.  We're already planning what kind of fruit to mix in the next time we make it.

Yesterday, I went to help E with her daily Math Links homework sheet and the way they have the kids counting up to figure out change completely threw me for a loop.  I am glad we've got Mr. Math Guy aka Brad to come to the rescue and figure things out.  I'm equally if not more glad he'll be around to help her as math gets harder and harder.  Math has never been my strong suit.

Reflection:

And there you go, as quick as that, I have a week of moments to be thankful for.  It's been great having Cathy's handy templates to use.  I'm so glad I got those.  They definitely streamline being able to put together my daily page.  I was tempted to fiddle with things and change the font color or maybe even drop in a solid color for the background.  Then I decided to just let myself be thankful for resources and time savers.  Keeping everything basic makes this doable so I have more time to go enjoy doing the things and being with the people I have to be thankful for.  Not complicating things is a good thing as we approach the holiday season, don't you think?

Tutorial: DIY Fabric Wrapped Iron On Photo Canvas

I am an avid photographer and I take many, many photos.  I like to incorporate favorites into our decor so we can be surround by happy memories in our home.  I am a huge fan of canvas prints and awhile ago I saw some that were 5"X7" and thought it was a cool size and option.

On Monday I reviewed an HP® Officejet 7500A Wide Format e-All-in-One Printer from Staples.  When I first got it, I was eager to try and figure out several ways to use it.  I had some printable iron on transfer sheets leftover from another project and decided to try making my own version of a wrapped canvas with them.  I shared these at the end of my review post with a brief description and today I have a more detailed tutorial with pictures to help you make your own.

Start with a blank 5"X7" pre-wrapped artist canvas.  Mine was purchased at Joann's while 40% off for a few dollars.

Print your photos onto the transfer sheets following the direction for your particular brand.  Mine were Jolee's Boutique Easy Image Iron On Transfer Paper for White Fabrics and I have no idea where I purchased them.  These have red lines on one side so you know which side to iron on.

Cut out each image on the transfer paper and follow the instructions for your brand.

I waited until cooled to peel off for a gloss finish.  I like how you can still see some of the texture of the fabric underneath the image, which mimics the look of photo canvases.

Trim your fabric leaving enough border to wrap around the sides of your stretched canvas.  Sorry for the color change in this photo, I had to take this one at night with my flash.  Note that jagged edges on your fabric are fine as you'll be stapling it to the canvas and no one will see them.  Carefully place your image over your canvas.  Fold over edges of fabric and staple into place.

Now you have your own little canvases to show off favorite pictures and add some interest and variety to your home decor.  They can be used as table top displays or hung on the wall without needing a frame.  I purposely left "empty" space in both of my DIY photo canvases so I can add some fun dimensional embellishments right on top of the photo.  I might be as simple as each child's name in chipboard letters or AC Thickers but I haven't decided.  I am kinda liking the minimalist look for now.

I love this picture I took of my kiddo in Traverse City next to this free print from Jones Design Company, which was also printed on the HP® Officejet 7500A Wide Format e-All-in-One Printer from Staples I reviewed.

Freebie: Chid's Art Poster Print Template

On Monday I reviewed an HP® Officejet 7500A Wide Format e-All-in-One Printer from Staples and in that post I shared a Child's Art Work Poster Print I created using a template I made in Photoshop Elements.  I'd like to share the template with you, click here to download the file at Dropbox.

This is the first time I've tried sharing a PSD file and using Dropbox so let me know if there are any problems or issues and leave your feedback as to whether or not you like this method.  I am currently using the free version but I might upgrade if this freebie is well received and there is an interest in more.

When you open template in Photoshop Elements it should look something like this.  Each photo space has been labeled and is in it's own layer.  The text has been added for placement and you can easily switch it to whatever you'd like.  A font substitution may occur if you do not have Nadine 2 loaded on your computer.  If you'd like the exact same one I used, you can download it for free at the Font Palace.

My template has been sized to fit in a NYTTJA frame from Ikea that are only $3.99, doesn't get much more affordable than that!  Since it's an odd size at 11.75"X15.75" you can resize the template to fit your frame.  To do this, I suggest choosing all of the layers, except for Layer 1.  The simply drag all of them at once onto a new blank file that has been sized for the frame you'd like to use.  While all the layers are still chosen, drag the corner to resize for your new blank file.

If you have not used clipping mask before, here is a tutorial I like, but a quick online search will yield many options for you to check out.  You may be able to use this template with other programs that use layers but I only have experience with Photoshop Elements so I am not sure.  But since the template if free to download, it's worth a try!  If you do try using it on another program please let me know the results.

In no time at all you will have your own version of this cool poster print.  Click image above for a better preview.  I printed my poster print with the HP® Officejet 7500A Wide Format e-All-in-One Printer from Staples I reviewed and onto HP Advanced Photo Paper, 13" x 19", Glossy.

If you do not have a wide format printer, you can have it done commercially, I suggest the Costco Photo Center for well priced enlargements.  The 12"X18" prints are $2.99 at my location, which will fit the template as it's originally sized.

After finishing adding your images to the template, flatten the layers and then drag onto a new blank 12'X18" file, flatten again and save as a JPEG file.  Send off to print.  You will just need to trim it down to fit the frame.  To make it easier, I laid the plastic insert over my print, traced, and cut.

This might all sound confusing but it really is easy with a little practice!