Going Going Gone

I really wanted to do a snowy layout whilst the snow was actually still here, even though the photos I chose to scrap were taken a couple of years ago!

I used some of my left over October Afternoon "Holiday Style" papers which I am still loving (and missing just a little bit!)  I was delighted to be able to use my lovely snowflake punches and die on this layout since they didn't get much of an outing in my Christmas Journal due to the lack of snow!  I was also really brave and stamped on this layout - OK, not much stamping, but it is still there!  A bit of bling and it was done :)

Carole x

All But One

After over a month of Christmas crafting, including my Christmas Journal, I thought I might have forgotten how to do a proper 12 x 12 scrapbook page!  Indeed it turns out that the last one I did was way back in October (how bad is that?!)  Turns out that it is a bit like riding a bike, you never really forget ...

This layout came about because I was challenged to do a layout using strips.  I took it to the extreme, and created the whole background paper out of strips of all my different different stripey papers which I sewed together onto an unwanted piece of 12 x 12 paper.  With all that colour going on I didn't feel like it needed an awful lot more so apart from the doily just popped on some stars and left it at that!

Thanks for looking!

Carole x

Project Life 2013

I have been thinking about doing Project Life for a while now.  Quite a long while to be honest.  I kept talking myself out of it, but the niggle never really went away.  I think it has something to do with those scrummy little pockets that really appeals to me!  I also love the idea of having a visual diary along with a little bit of story telling thrown in for good measure.  However I am realistic.  I know that I wouldn't keep up with doing it every week, no matter how appealing those little pockets are.  So, I aim to do a double page layout every month.  I figure that that should be achievable - around the first of each month, check all the photos on my computer and go from there.  Feel free to give me a shove if I haven't done it by, say the 10th of the month!!!

So, my title page is done!  Project Life has begun!  I haven't opted to purchase the proper kit but intend to use my own stash and do my own thing.  With this in mind, I was delighted to stumble across a lovely tutorial  for making your own journalling cards here (thanks Miss Smith, love them!) and made a few to fill some of those little pockets:

I am really excited to get going now, and so hope that I will be able to see this project through to the end of 2013 at least :)  Watch this space!!!

Carole x

A Christmas Carol(e) - The Final Installment

Ta - Da!!!

Here it is at long last ... my completed 2012 Christmas Journal.  It wasn't easy.  It took a long time.  But ... I LOVE it, as I always do, this being my third complete Christmas Journal :)

The last few pages:

a double page layout for Christmas Day.  So many photos not much room for the patterned paper, so just a little bit of bunting!

I considered doing a double page for Boxing day, but when I worked out which side of the page the journal would end on, I stuck with a single page :)

Having loved my earlier pocket pages, I couldn't resist including some more!  (I am SO looking forward to starting my own version of Project Life with all of those lovely pockets to fill!!!)

It wouldn't have been right to complete a journal without including all our pets, so here is Pickle's page.

A really simple page, again for a day when I failed to take a photo :/

Tilly's page (even though she has actually appeared in the journal previously!)

New Years Eve.  I don't like New Years Eve.  Never have.  Having said that, it hasn't been too bad in recent years, so therefore even though we didn't have plans I wasn't dreading it like I have done previously.  However, this New Years Eve had the potential to be the worst ever when we had a health scare with our lovely old dog Ollie.  Luckily, although the problem is still unexplained, he seems fine for now.  Well, as fine as a nearly 14 year old large dog can be.

Not really a page about New Years Day, more a page of reflection and hopes for 2013.

So, that is it for the pages of my journal.  I had a little bit more to do, namely the inside front and back covers:

A very simple inside front cover, from a poster art pin on Pinterest (love this).

Another simple layout for the back cover, including a photo taken on New Years Day 2013.

Thank you for looking and for bearing with me!  I am so glad that I stuck with it and kept my determination to finish my favourite project of the year.

Right!  How do I do 12 x 12 scrapbook layouts again?!?!?!  It seems like so long ago that I last did one I may have forgotten how to :(

Carole x

A Christmas Carol(e) - Days 22, 23 and 24

A few more pages of my journal ...

Another page without a photo, but I was extremely busy!  Love the little heart charm which was on the bow round one of those delicious Lindt chocolate teddies :)

A couple of new things tried on this page - a full size (6x4) photo and writing on the photo itself (done in Picasa) - quite like both!

Christmas Eve.  My Mum and stepdad arrived to spend Christmas with us, and very importantly, they brought with them, their cute new puppy - Holly.  She is so cute, but we discovered that it is extremely difficult to get a good photo of a black puppy!  She does have eyes in there somewhere I promise!

Carole x

A Christmas Carol(e) - Days 18, 19, 20 & 21

The next installment of my Christmas Journal!!!

Quite like how this one turned out (isn't it funny how some pages are like that and others that you start off with high hopes for don't turn out to be your favourites?)

A little Christmas baking (and not before time!)

Life all got a little bit busy and very tiring and I found that I had forgotten to take any photos, so had no choice but to try a page with no picture ... and it isn't as bad as I feared!

This page might just be my favourite of my journal so far!  I have resisted using snowflakes throughout my album because we simply haven't had any snow, but since I was featuring my wooden snowmen I went for it!

Carole x

A Christmas Carol(e) - Days 14, 15, 16 & 17

I'm not quite sure what is different this year to previous years, as in the past I have managed to more or less keep up to date with my Christmas Journal.  Not this year.  Not a chance!  I don't know why.  What I do know is that I WILL finish this album.  I have to.  I LOVE this project.

I apologise for the quality of the photos, but if I wait for good light to take photos of my pages then it could be months!  So I took them on my desk in my lovely new craft room which hasn't been used nearly enough recently!

I love Yankee candles!  Not just at Christmas either ... and luckily for me, we have started stocking them at work too YAY!

Since we haven't even seen a single snowflake during December, I found a way of including a snowscene on this page!

It was such a good feeling to get all my wrapping done (and I had so many rolls left from previous years that I decided to mix and match this year and use them up!)

I started early with my Christmas preparations, and still somehow got late (especially with sending out my Christmas cards, although I was still in time to catch the last posting date for 2nd class).

Today, I did sneak into my craft room again, but had to make some cards as January and February are very busy months for me.  I used to love making cards.  Then I discovered scrapping!  Enough said?  I made 6 ladies birthday cards all of the same style, two important male cards (my new brother in law and my father in law), my 10 year old nephew and a congratulations card for my cousin who got engaged at Christmas :)  Hopefully todays card making session will see me through until the middle of February then I will have to make some more!

Back soon with more pages from my journal (currently I am up to Christmas Eve).

Carole x