Countdown

The theme for todays JYC was about how you count the days down the Christmas. Last year i took a photo of my advent calendar for a quick and easy page, this year i decided to make a page that looked like an advent calendar. Great idea, but half way through i really wished i hadn't started... it took ages!

Although now it's done i'm really pleased with another interactive page.

Each number is a Nestability Label 1 die cut with a fold, so they can be lifters for the 25 reasons Katie and I came up with for loving Christmas. Katie also helped me with the journalling. Another really useful thing abut the page is that it used up many of those Thickers numbers i've been loath to throw away!

Eagle eyed viewers will notice that the date on the page is the 6th of Dec, when today is only the 5th. That's because once i had started i realised i needed to make a double LO, but today's date falls on the right hand side of the album, hence swapping them over so that my two pages will face each other.

I have another page to make for this weeks SLYMI challenge, I can't believe i've made nearly 50 LOs thanks to this weekly challenge on UKS.

Hannah is at her first day of proper work today at Argos, she is hoping they take on some of the temporary staff after Christmas too.. my big girl is growing up :)

A White Christmas?

Not likely, but this is what my page for today is all about!

The prompt was to consider perfection, i talked about family last year, so this year i went with a different theme, especially as i had some lovely snowy photos taken in February.

After my plea for gromlets on UKS (and a kind offer from a regular reader of my blog) i will have enough gromlets to finish all the dates for my journal, crafters are so generous!

I called one of the bigger teaching agencies today, and have an appointment on Monday, so am hoping for more work to come my way. I have a horrible feeling it will be secondary science they offer me, but beggars can't be choosers.

Can't believe it's only 3 weeks till Christmas, more decorations to go up this weekend!!!

Christmas Cards

The theme for day 3 of JYC is Christmas cards, so i chose one of the cards Hannah made a couple of weeks ago and used it on my page.

I made an envelope out of patterned paper, put a journalling block and some ric rac inside, and used a Basic Grey magnetic closure on the flap ( i love these, and as the pages won't be in page protectors this interactive bit of the LO is great to play with!)

The title is stamped onto a Nestability Label 1, cut, embossed and hand stitched, the stamps are Banana Frog Pharmacy. Also BF stamp is the postmark, that's been a really useful kit in the 2 years i've had it. I also used a Martha Stewart punch to make the border, and doodled around the edge a little.

Calendar stamp is by Unity (sadly i've had to cancel my subscription today as money is so tight, and another job doesn't seem to be around the corner yet) with Gromlets to mark the date.

I've just realised i will run out of gromlets before the journal is complete, so have advertised on UKS to see if anyone is willing to sell me some.

Thanks for looking, see you tomorrow!

First Frost

So to day 2 of my JYC. It was a beautiful frosty morning yesterday, and i went out into the garden to take a few photos first thing. One of these is the inspiration for todays page.

I think that here in the UK we have to make the most of frosty days, as snow is so rare, only a few inches are enough to make everything grind to a halt, as we simply don't have the infrastructure to deal with such an unusual occurance. But we all love a snow day anyway!!!!

My Peppermint Twist snowflakes decorate this page, and i drew on my own swirls in glue pen, and added gems...much more cost effective than the premade ones.

The title is cut from DCWV glitter card using Rat a Tat Sizzix alphabet.

Now i've played, i need to complete a couple of job applications this afternoon.

JYC Day 1

First the news.. i didn't get the job (again) i'm sure it's a result of me applying for primary teaching jobs (which are the only ones about at the moment) when i am trained and have experience teaching in secondary schools.

Enough of that now, here's my first page for Journal Your Christmas.

Didn't take too long, but i think this size of 6x12 will take some getting used to!

I get the feeling my loopy punch might be a repeated item on these pages, and the kit has lots of very handy embellishments to add to the pages.

Christmas is coming....

... as I'm making my first post about Journal Your Christmas (JYC). I completed my journal last year, and thought i would have a year off, but as December got closer i just couldn't resist having another go.

I've made my own 6x12" album this year, and being very green am using some chipboard from the back of a K&Co pad, covered in K&Co Peppermint Twist papers. I know this line is around 2 years old, but with this company it really doesn't matter, as their designs really do not date.

I added a label (Nestabilities) cut, embossed and hand stitched, a tag, die cut letters (Sizzix Playground) and i made some paper beads using paper scraps. The jingle bells were from Paperchase last year. I have ordered some 3" book rings to bind the album and pages together, and will add these once they arrive from the US.

Other preparation includes

Making date blocks, using Unity Stamps

making Journalling blocks (again Unity stamps)

Die cut shapes, some stitched (Nestabilities label 1)
And pre cutting my cardstock and papersRoll on December!

More cards

Here are some cards made last weekend using freebies and bits of stash that's been hanging about for ages. The embellishments and papers are mainly from the Brenda Pinnick Christmas kit (still going strong after 2 years of use!) and i have no idea where the embossed cards came from, they really aren't 'me', but i was quite pleased with how the cards turned out in the end.

The first one is almost all BP, with an added Sizzix diecut and some bling.

Next is BP again, with bling gems (Anitas and... is that a peel off greeting!!!!! :o

Another BP card, with an added felt snowflake (very cute, bought these last year from Paperchase) a die cut star, and heavens above... another peel off!!!

Spent last night making the album for my JYC project (see last years in the slide show on the right ) Fewer pennies have meant i have made my own book using offcuts of chipboard, and stash bought a while back. Looking forward to scrapping at a different size though, as I'm trying 6x12 for a change. The good thing about this size is that there is very little waste, as all i have needed to do is cut a 12x12 in half. More about this tomorrow!