This is the End!

My tenth Christmas Journal! Finished!  I chose to just end it with a large photo of the three kids looking so happy to fill most of the page.

It left little room for embellishments, the date, some word strips and a short line of journalling.
I completed my journal by covering the kraft cover with Brenda Walton papers both front and back, and a strip 1" wide of stripe paper.

The journal -as ever- is full, but I tried not to use any 3D foam pads to keep it from being too bulky.

It should fit fairly well onto the shelf with the ten predecessors, although I might need to start a new shelf soon!

 I do have a few larger photos left, along with what is remaining of the kit I put together, so I plan to make a few 12x12" pages to use them up and empty out my JYC Really Useful Box before I refill it, ready to make my journal again next year.

A Resolution?

Looking back through previous journals I know that I rarely -if ever- make a New Year resolution.  This January on Facebook a friend sent me a copy of this postcard about reducing our use of plastics. 

I have had my concerns about the amount of plastic waste in landfill and that much is finding its way into the sea. In addition, plastic is made from the precious non-renewable resource crude oil, what a waste to simply throw it away.

So I decided to make a resolution this year to waste a little plastic as possible by using these top tips, I do need to print a copy and stick to the fridge as a reminder.

Mother's Ruin

Gin has always been a favourite tipple of mine, even before last year's urge in its popularity.

As there are so many types of gin available now (and we seemed to have a range of examples!) I decided to make a page about them for my journal.

Back to Jolly Holly papers, a 6x4" card, embellishments and Thickers for this page.

Harry Potter Gifts

Katie received many gifts from the world of Harry Potter this year: a wooden box for storing quiddich kit (she could use if for wool!), a wand, Hogwarts pyjamas and a lovely glittery Slytherin clutch bag.

We saved some of  the tags that came with this year's gifts, so I used them on this page.  I also included Graphic 45 Halloween papers, as they have green on them along with the purple and orange they do not stand out too much within the journal. 

Tim Holtz embellishments and the Holly Jolly date tie the page in with earlier layouts.

Christmas Visitors

Good friends of ours came to visit between Christmas and New Year, it was nice to have the time to see them.

We had lunch together, my friend's children range in age from 27 to 4, and the youngest four came with her. I took many photos on the day, her youngest enjoyed playing with my daughter's hamster and we made real inroads into the post Christmas leftovers at lunchtime.

The 4 pocket page was ideal for 3 little photos and a quick page as the space for embellishment was limited.

Happy New Year!

A set of 3x4" pockets for my New Year's Day page, but only one photo.

We had brunch after a long lie in, I used the rest of the page for the journalling and date.

The 'hello' die is by Pete Hughes for Sizzix; I used a gold striped card inside another pocket and added striped Thickers on the outside for a change.

Just 5 days to go!

New Year's Eve

My sister contacted me on New Year's Eve asking me me if our 'famous New Year party' was on; of course it was!

We had a full house with my sister's family, all my kids along with Hannah's boyfriend and a night of fun planned.

We started with takeaway food; after a week of cold cuts it made a welcome change.  Then cocktails and singing of karaoke, and just after midnight a firework display courtesy of my son.

Three photos on this page and layered tags for the journalling, I tried to use up as many of the die cuts as I was getting so close to the end of the journal, so I also used two of the Tom Holtz die cuts too. End of December, not far to go!

Review of 2017

I always enjoy making this page, looking back through my photos from the year and choosing 12 to sum up what we have been doing. I used Photoshop to add the dates and adjust the sizes (every year I forget how to do this!) before printing.

To fit on all the photos I made a double page layout, giving me room for the journalling too.

On the first page, I summed up the year overall, the stamp and rubber embellishment are by Ali Edwards 'Review' set.

 
On the right hand page, I used a dated journalling card from the set to make a brief comment about the photos. The tiny word stickers are also from the Ali Edwards set, ideal for this page

Yankee Candles

Every year, Yankee candles bring out a new range of Christmas candles.  I love the beginning of December when I can bring out the candles and light them, filling the house with festive smells.

Thickers for the title and date, and sword strips embellish the page, along with a cute gingerbread man and bauble die cut.

So Cheesy

My eldest daughter flew the nest a couple of years ago, but still comes home for Christmas.

As she is of independent means now, she wanted to contribute to the celebrations, so ordered a cheese box to share with the family.

The chevron background is from the Simple Stories binder I have been using, and the stamped title is from a set of Stamp Stories by Ali Edwards.

Thirty Years Together

I met my husband in the summer of 1987, so the Christmas of that year was our first together.
My son had taken this picture of the two of us earlier on in the season so I had saved it to use on this page.

Holly Jolly papers and embellishments, as I had run out of the die-cut numbers I had to get creative from the 25th onwards, just using Thickers here.

Another of the acetate overlays makes an appearance (about time!)  ideal for the theme of this layout. I'm also glad to see my favourite new dress of the season in the picture.

Cards

Card playing is a tradition in our family, both over the festive season and during many other  family gatherings, so I thought it fitting that the game we play had a page to itself.

I was taught this game of many rounds around 30 years ago by my husband's family, even my family play it now too.
We use to bet with pennies from a jar, but now have  sets of chips for the purpose.

Boxing Day evening was spent playing 'will the clock strike?'  I have never heard of anyone else playing this game, has anyone else?

Christmas Day!

Apologies for failing to post of late, I have been quite poorly for about over a week now (and have been unable to get an appointment with my GP 😞, so have only just put photos of further pages onto my computer.
It is over three weeks since term ended, and it seems as though Christmas was an age away.

I do plan to make a few 12x12 pages using photos from the 25th, so only one page for Christmas Day in my journal.

I do like this photo of the kids together next to the tree, it seems like a traditional picture  taken each year. The tree is that of my sister's  as we spent Christmas Day at hers house this year.
More Holly Jolly papers die cuts and cut aparts along with an acetate over the top section (I found these when I started the journal this year but have only just got around to using one on a page.

Christmas Eve

I buy the kids new pyjamas to open every Christmas Eve (even though they are all adults now!) and this year was no exception.

I took a photo of the bags under the tree, they will make wrapping in the future as I will only need to put them inside the bags in future years.

I will just need to remember where I put them for next year!

The Panto

My brother has his birthday just before Christmas, and we all celebrated together this year as it was his 50th. 

We booked lots of surprises during the day including cocktails, a meal and a trip to the Panto for all 15 of the family and had a fabulous day out together.

A passer-by took the picture of all of us in front of the tree at our local theatre, and I grabbed a shot of us in our seats just before the performance began.  It has been well over 10 years since we went to the panto, and it was as funny as I remember!

Ladies day out.

Just before Christmas every year we go out with my Mum's side of the family, but ladies only!

On the day after the end of term we went out into town with Mum and her sister, my sister, and four of the next generation down...all out with their sisters!

jycThe 3x2" card made for an ideal title, especially  we had a few cocktails, including the shared one shown above!

The Solstice

Radio 4 has marked the seasons this year with poetry during the day of the two equinoxes and solstices. The 21st being the shortest day, there were lots of poems read during the day.

I looked for a cold looking landscape on the internet and found this lovely one of the low sun shining through the trees at sunset.  Blues and aquas along with snowflakes made for a wintery background on this simple page.

The Coat

My son only wanted one thing for Christmas this year: a camel coat. We managed to get him one, but my husband had to try it on before we wrapped it, to make sure it fit.

We did tease Harry that the coat was for Kevin, even showing a snap on his phone, but he  did receive the coat in the end!
I used a hand written title, along with an Ali Edwards stamp with the usual embellishments.

Santa's Little Helpers

On the last day of term two of the TAs in school manned a grotto along with a visit from Father Christmas.  They dressed up, the children were so excited to see them it made for a great end to the term.

I used a square photo on this page, along with a journalling blocks.  The strip along the side made the perfect home for the Thickers title...

...along with a little Santa head, a word strip and a tag as decoration

The Gingerbread Village

Back to my journal again now after Christmas, I hope all my readers had a lovely time, we were busy seeing lots of our family and eating far too much!
This page is a catch up as the girls didn't manage to decorate the village until Christmas Eve, so I only got a photo on that day.

They weren't too happy with the final result, but I thought it looks great.

I used Thickers that came from a doughnut style set, choosing only the brown coloured ones for my title. Of course, I added a little gingerbread man as an embellishment along with a tag, candy cane and a few word strips.