journal my christmas, take two

i'm going to cheat a little on todays post. so if you're reading this and it sounds or looks a little familiar, you're not having a deja'vu kind of moment. i really did blog this same post exactly one year ago. lol! but figured it was worth sharing again. there are a few new thoughts mixed in there too :)

today is december 1st. not even sure how that happened. lol! but that means that it's the first day of journal your christmas, and i'm totally up for this again this year. 

definately check out this class if you havn't already. i had heard of it before. but it wasn't until two years ago that i actually signed up for it. and i can totally thank nichol for inspiring me to do it. i had watched her album from the previous year ... and loved seeing what she did last year too. she has her albums linked on her blog. and here is some of my album from two years ago. and the nice thing, is that once you take the class, you get it free every year after. so it's something you can do every christmas if you want.

this year, i'm all about making this simple. which was my thought last year, when i put this entire album together. but last year, i just never got around to journaling in this, or taking photos. i had taken my 4 day trip to utah at the beginning of december last year, and just never caught up. lol! and this year i sort of feel the same. just very overwhelmed, with everything going on in life. i knew that if i wanted to keep up with this journal, i would have to keep it simple. so i came up with this idea, using a regular 2-up photo album. these are the papers i picked out. a ton of making memories pattern papers (from about 6 different collections) and background papers from scenic route. i cut them all down to 4x6, and already have them all arranged in the album.

this is basically what each day will look like. this is NOT the prompt for december 12th necessarily. i was just tossing one in there to get a feel for how i was going to do it. this was my planning page, to see how it turned out. but it gives you the idea of what i'm doing. each day will have the 4 spots. one for the date, one for my journaling prompt, one for a photo, and one for the journaling.

i have all the tags in the album, along with the "december". i just have to finish adding the numbers, which i'm creating using the slice with the falala design card. i have all the daily prompts typed up, and printed on transparencies. then i just added kraft cardstock strips with a scalloped punched edge, and tied on some string. super simple.

then i'll add a photo pertaining to that day's prompt. i didn't use a single photo last year in my album. so this year, i want to include the photos too. for this one, i just printed 2 photos (3x4 each) together on a 4x6 size photo. for the journaling, i'm just going to use my own handwriting. it's quick and easy, so i know it won't take much to get it done. each spot also has a half circle cut from cardstock, and i'll add a stamped image, diecut, rubon, or whatever i happen to have on hand.

so i probably won't be sharing these every day, since they're all going to look very similiar. lol! but i'll share them in groups maybe once a week, and will start an album on the sidebar. i have to admit, that it felt good to pull this album out last night. it's 90% done. so it really shouldn't be that hard to snap a photo each day, write a few sentences, and maybe add a few embellishments as i go. we'll see how it goes ;)

Comments

[krolski (kathy)]

I love this idea - keeping it simple is always good! Good luck!

[Sierra]

Hey I'm so glad you posted on this! Mine is ready to go and I wanted to peek at yours for inspiration. Thanks!

[Sara Rossi]

I love looking back on my album from last year...despite actually finishing it in Feb of this year!! LOL!! Love seeing your albums each year!

[Lynn]

Looks good, I really like you ideas :)

[Carla]

I'm glad I did this album last year and I totally copied yours so I wouldn't have to think about it. LOL!! I have a few pics I still need to put in but this is a great project!

[Diana]

I did my first day of my December daily today, woohoo! Think next year I'll make it more simple like yours with the two up photos. Looks great!

[Heather Jordan]

Very cute album! I am not doing a December album, but am looking forward to the new Project Life kit by Becky Higgins. Any chance you are getting it? I know you are doing the 365 project this year. How is that coming along? Haven't seen any posts about that in a while....or shouldn't I ask??

[Sandi N.]

Laura

I love your desings and look forward to
seeing your Countdown to Christmas.

I started taking photo's today and last night. We put the tree up.

Sandi N.

[Susy]

I love the idea of using a premade album, makes things so much quicker, thanks for the inspiration.

[Grace Collopy]

Laura,

You did it again. LOVE this idea. Not using it for xmas journal this year cuz I'm doing P365 but for a weekend trip i just did. Thanks for sharing another wonderful project.

[Julie]

Laura - I did the same thing last year - had the whole album done and only did 2 days and just got too stressed so I pulled out my album and am determined to get it done this year! Yesterdays is finished! I love the idea of the 2-up and will keep that in mind for next year. Please do post your pages weekly! I love seeing them!

[Suzanne]

Typepad does not like me! LOL sorry if you are getting this twice! I wanted to thank you for sharing your album! I am trying to get my December Album completed by the weekend! We shall see! LOL Thanks for great ideas!

[ruth]

what an awesome idea for the album. i will consider for my december daily for 2010 since i've created one for 2009.

[susan d.]

love it love it love it! i've opted out of the dec.album this year. i think i still have lots to finish up last year...i know, *GASP*!! but since i tweet...i figured i'll go back a do a little mini-album that way. i'm pretty good about taking pics daily anyways, so this will be a little less pressure for me this year. now if you wanted to do one for me...;0)

[ana roat]

Hi Laura-I'm doing JYC for the 2nd year and love it. Funny how there is more to talk about (on the same subject) when your more comfortable about journaling. Love how you used the tags for the date. I'm using 6x12 this year and am liking it quite well. Look for my stuff on the board thread....
ana

[Krista]

i am already behind!! but i am taking photos everyday in december. there just isn't enough time!