Tuesday 11 February 2014

It's Finished...and my First Video!

At last, I have completed my 2013 Christmas journal! Yes, it is February (just where did the last month go?!) and I'm still talking about the December festivities which are just a distant memory at this stage, but the return to school put the brakes on my JYC for a while and it's only now that I've gotten around to completing my book. Whew!
So here's the lowdown on my documentation of Christmas 2013...

Supplies: My album is the 6x8 Simple Stories 'Sn@p' binder in red faux leather with a mixture of divided page protectors (by the way, I highly recommend this album, it's just beautiful and the quality is amazing, plus the spine is really wide to accommodate all those bulky and dimensional entries!). My other supplies came mainly from Simple Stories 'December Documented' and Echo Park 'Tis the Season' Christmas lines. I also used a pack of Freckled Fawn wood chips throughout, along with some American Crafts baker's twine, mistable stars, Papermania washi tape, sequins, Mister Huey's grey mist and some other bits and pieces from my stash. Along with the Echo Park sticker sheet, I also used two BasicGrey alphabets.

Photos: In previous Christmas albums, I've both printed my own photos at home, developed them on a machine in the local pharmacy and ordered online from Photobox. By far, the Photobox prints are my very favourite - they are just stunning quality and lovely to scrapbook with. So with that in mind, I took photos all through December and popped post it notes into my album to give me an idea of what might go where. Then I made a big order in early January, with a mixture of 4x6, 6x8 and collages of 3x4 photos.

Journalling: One thing I love about the 6x8 size, and the divided page protectors, is the freedom to journal. In this album, I have everything from lengthy tales that stretch over a couple of pages, to short anecdotes and captions popped into the little pockets.

Process: I started out December with the intention of creating a page every day, but knew that the chance of this happening was slim, what with juggling a full time job and all those Christmassy festivities. However, I did keep a little notebook in which I wrote something almost every day. I found it really helpful to just scribble down my rambling, jumbled thoughts in response to the day's prompt or whatever else came to mind. Not every one of these stories made it into my journal and many of them were edited before finally being committed to paper, but I found the notebook really helpful. Plus, having the journalling plotted out made creating pages easy even when Christmas was becoming a distant memory! I did end up making an entry for every day from December 1st to January 6th, but these varied greatly from detailed, layered, heavily embellished pages to simple and unadorned photos.

AND... While contemplating how to share this project, I photographed the entries, and I also tried something new - I made a video! I thought maybe it would be easier to see the album as a whole in video format, rather than scrolling through countless pictures. Plus it's always good to branch out and experiment! And so, I present my very first attempt at video (it's totally amateur and basic so be kind!)
I love this project. I love Shimelle's prompts and ideas. I love that different stories about Christmas bubble to the surface every year, and that each journal is a mesh of stories and photos, recent and not so recent memories, traditions and captured moments. I love seeing my family looking through the albums and remembering the little details of Christmas past and present. JYC has been part of my Christmas season for three years now, and I hope it will continue to be!

xxx