Journal Your Christmas Week 1

Good evening all.

A bit of a late one from me today. And not entirely Stampin' Up! either. For those that have been regular followers of my blog you will know I take part in an annual scrapbooking class called Journal Your Christmas. Each day I get sent prompts to reflect on for the days journaling or photo taking. Normally I stick quick strictly to the prompts. But this year I have decided to make a guilt free, no pressure December journal without the frills and over the top embellishments. I am just going with the flow and enjoying the prompts for a creative kick start but doing my own thing with my pictures and pages.

This year I have simplified. I purchased an album kit which I had shipped over from the US complete with album, inserts, embellishments and divided page protectors. I decided that not every day in December will be entirely journal worthy so I'll make the most of the days I do have things to share and just capture the fun of the festivities. I wanted to keep my supplies very limited so I didn't get overwhelmed with pretty sparkly things. I have been beating myself up about the simplicity a bit. But actually I am enjoying the process and know i will love the result in years to come when I reflect back on it.

So here is the album cover. I couldn't resist a bit of extra sparkle in the form of some lovely gold sequin trim. To be seen in a Stampin' Up! catalogue near you very soon!

Each December diary starts with a Day 1 Manifesto. This year I didn't really write a manifesto just more of a reflection on what I hope to achieve through the creative process. I used My Digital Studio to create my opening 8"x8" mini scrapbook page. I loved the ease of using the digital design software to put this together and get such a professional result. I simply saved it to a SD card and printed it off an instant printing machine in Boots to include in my journal on the same day!

Page 1: A simple calendar intro to my journal ;0)

Day 1:

Quick and simple pages capturing a walk on the beach last weekend to welcome in December on an unseasonably warm December 1st. I love the happy pictures we captured of Summer enjoying running around picking up stones and chasing the tide.

 Day 2:

Capturing my handmade Advent Calendar (hopefully I can add to this year on year to show my calendars development).

 Simple page to include the years postage stamps. It is a bit of a tradition now to pop along to the Post Office to buy some single stamps to include in my journal. I also included a handmade card between these two pages to journal about my week as I didn't have too many photos to share. The second page captures Summer enjoying a trip to Mothercare (her own personal playground it seems).

Day 7:

Festive treats and another walk on the beach.

I love the simplicity of the divided page protectors and how easily I can put my very simple pages together. Summer doesn't allow me much free time for scrapbooking on a daily basis so its lovely still being able to produce my pages in a time efficient way.

 Thank you for popping by today and visiting Stampin' Sarah. Normal Stampin' Up! service will resume tomorrow ;0)

Please get in touch if you have any questions or queries about Stampin' Up! or My Digital Studio, I'd be only too happy to help: poulton_sarah@yahoo.co.uk or 01983 609249.

Happy Festive Crafting ;0)
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