Friday 16 November 2012

Frosty Festivities Blog Hop

I absolutely love Christmas!  I love all the preparations and the excitement building and all the rushing around, shopping, baking and wrapping.  I love the sights, the sounds, the smells and yes the tastes too, so when Jennifer asked if I would like to join in with her Frosty Festivities blog hop of course I said yes!  Like Jennifer's previous blog hop, there is a wonderful prize to enter for (details at the end) and there are lots of challenges and giveaways and fun frosty posts throughout the whole weekend.



So how are your Christmas preparations coming along?  Are you one of those who plans all year or are you a leave it all to the last minute kinda person? I'm a planner... I've almost completed all of my Christmas shopping, I've got the wrapping paper and tags, I've got LOTS of beads that need to be made into presents, the house smells amazing with the first of many Christmas cakes in the oven and Management is being sent up into the loft this weekend to retrieve the Advent envelopes which we fill with festive activities as part of our Christmas countdown.  

The other preparations that I normally make (but won't be this year because of my writing course) is for Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas project.  I've done it a couple of times in the past and preparation definitely helps.  I'm still working on last year's album in bits and pieces but I thought I would share some ideas from some of the finished pages from 2011 and a few of the things I did to help me along the way.  

I've used a variety of sizes and shapes in my Christmas albums in the past but this 8.5x11 was my favourite to work with.  I used standard A4 plastic pockets and cardstock which helped to reduce the costs considerably.  I also cut some patterned papers to A4 and varied between a cardstock or a paper background.


In the run up to December I pre-made all my date / number tags in a sort of production line affair.  I used a selection of different papers from a My Mind's Eye Collection and layered up a star shaped nesting die, then an E K Success label punch, a flower nesting die which was embossed with swiss dots, a Martha Stewart pinked circle punch and then smaller punches in a Christmas tree, snow flake and heart shape.  I ended up not putting the number on many of them because I found I wanted to move them around to fit my own story better.  Each tag was slightly different with the different papers used and then a button or a gem added to finish them off.



The date tags help the album to flow and give a sense of cohesion, as does using only a select few products for the whole project.  I kept to the same collection for the papers and chose one border punch to use throughout.  I pre-made some pockets and tags and I embellished them using that border punch, even using the punch waste for minimal effort and  to really stretch my stash.


I also prepared a few pages that I knew would be coming up such as using vellum on this page to make a pocket for a couple of important cards.  Its nice to see vellum becoming "on trend" again (although I have always loved it and used it!)


Here is another tag that I made prior to December by layering a snowflake punch over the negative.  The cardstock in this layout is actually the reverse side of some photographic paper from the pound shop!  It makes a great base and saves those all important pennies again.


As well as the papers and the preprepared tags and embellishments, I picked out a handful of alphabets in coordinating colours in several different sizes so that I didn't have to go through my entire stash every time.  I have this particular alphabet in the red and the green and it is very pretty but there are no "W"s!


Working with A4 can mean that it is tricky to use more than one 6x4 photo so I made a flap for this layout.  I always keep  the tear off bits from the calendars to use on my layouts and I love the effect it gives for important dates.


The 2 slightly hidden photos are not great but they are still part of the story so they need to be in the album.  This is an ideal placement for including a concertina book for 3 or more photos.


So are you doing any kind of December project this year?  How about some yummy new stash to help you on your way?  If you comment on all the blogs in the hop, finishing at Jennifer to let her know that you've been all the way around, then you'll be in with a chance to win a spectacular seasonal prize of Basic Grey Aspen Frost and Carta Bella Winter Fun items, worth over £25! All entries must be received by Monday the 19th of November at 10.59pm GMT. Your next stop along the hop is Lizzie.



Here's a list of all the blogs in the hop, in the correct order in case you get lost.  

Abi
Lisa-Jane <====== That's me!
Jennifer

I hope you have fun with all your preparations and taking part in the blog hop.  I can smell burning so I think I'd better go and check my cake!

Bye for now
xx

41 comments:

  1. you put me to shame. I only started my Christmas shopping today! I love JYC and hope to join in this year. Loved the size of your one...x

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  2. Love your pages. I've complete 2.5 Xmas journals and have learnt that I'm not really that sort of project girl! However I loved what i've done and glad to have some memories down on paper.

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  3. I followed JYc last year but didnt really put it into practice, this year I'm going to try my hardest to play along :)

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  4. I'm between organised and last minute - I try to be organised but it doesn't always work out... Being stuck at home with a broken foot has put me behind with some things but at least helped me get ahead with some of the online gift shopping!

    I'm doing JYC again this year, so it was interesting and helpful to read your tips, thank you :)

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  5. I've never scrapped Christmas, but there's always a first time for everything...
    Thanks for the inspiration

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  6. Yes I have my bit and bobs ready in a pack for JYC 2012. My ooh over 5 years of doing it now I think,
    Jo xxx

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  7. I have never completed JYC as something always seems to get in the way! I am hoping that I might manage it this year and I think doing some preparation may help!Thanks for sharing your ideas

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  8. I've made several JYC albums and I'm looking forward to it again this year.

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  9. This will be my fourth JYC and I hope to make a start on getting it ready next week. Your lovely pages have given me plenty to think about - I like that size very much!

    As for other Christmas preparations - I like to leave as much as I can to December and then throw myself into it

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  10. Wow, I'm impressed you're so prepared for Christmas! I've made quite a few pressies and cards (the Frosty Festivities event helped me get a move on!), but I haven't bought anything from shops yet.

    Your JYC looks great. I'm attempting it again this year after failing last year! I especially love your page with the vellum pocket for cards.

    Thanks so much for joining in with the blog hop! x

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  11. I prepared all my pages for last year's Journal Your Christmas in advance.....and found it so much easier to complete each page each day....I'll definately be doing the same this year.

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  12. I like the idea of an A4 JYC

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  13. Love all your pages...thank you for the inspiration!

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  14. I'm impressed by your organisation, in preparing so much in advance.
    Love the way you stuck with a single collection of papers, so it all "goes".
    Some great pages there - I hope you enjoy your JYC this year.

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  15. I overdid my prep last year and was bored by it when December started! My most successful JYC was done on brown envelopes - with one small stamp set, red & green ink , scraps of PP and pre-prepared date spots. Simples!

    Love how your pages coordinate yet look totally different!

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  16. Wow - you've got ALL your presents...sighs...I've got about 4!! LOL Way to go for being organised!
    Love all your Christmassy LOs, great memories there. And be brave, tackle the manual, it'll sort your tension out :D
    Hugs, LLJ #xx

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  17. Wow! You are super organised. I've bought one present so far. I love the layered embellishment that goes on all your pages. Lovely x

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  18. You are super organised.... every year Christmas leaps up and bites me and every year I plan to start early next time. I never do!!

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  19. I'm having a year off from JYC this year - I tend to do it alternate years. My Christmas crafting this year is mainly making my own cards.

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  20. You've documented lots of lovely Christmas memories there! Awesome!

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  21. I like that idea of using the tear away calendar for scrapping. Cool idea. Very pretty layouts and your organization puts me to shame.

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  22. Wow, you are so organized. Love that size and all your layered bits.

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  23. This hop is finally starting to get me in the Christmas mood!
    Rinda

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  24. Yay, this blog hop is getting me excited about JYC - as if I needed any help!

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  25. Thanks for sharing your inspiration - looks like you have a lot of fun at Christmas! :o)

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  26. I am looking forward to JYC this year, hope I get further than last year!

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  27. How organised are you?!! I'm sorta getting there, slowly!! Have never managed to complete JYC yet!! I love your Christmas morning page! xx

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  28. I loved your peek into JYC-I think I will be joining you this year, as well!

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  29. I'm a planner, too, but due to various circumstances, I am woefully behind this year. Once we get through the Thanksgiving holiday I must get down to business! Love your pages.

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  30. It's so nice to see pages this size as it s the size I prefer to scrap too - though more usually landscape for me
    Lovely projects

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  31. I keep hearing about JYC but think I'll resist - I'm doing Cheryl's photography class, my own advent small album project with the family and plan on working through a couple of Big Picture Classes too to finish them off. Should be enough to keep me busy!

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  32. I used your 2011 papers in my 2010 JYC! Also very reassured to know I'm not the only one with unfinished 2011 pages!

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  33. I am usually organised but because I'm going to Scotland on Dec 10 for a week I'm leaving most of it till then...though Kirsty and I are having a few days in Barcelona before that, so I may pick some things up there..love your pages...I was seriously thinking of NOT doing JYC this year but am seeing so much inspiration am changing my mind!
    Alison xx

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  34. Great to get some tips. I always intend to start but never complete. I guess preparation is the key. There are some lovely pages.

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  35. I used to be so organised and then I grew up and can't seem to get a grip of it at all. I plan and write lists for months and nothing ever goes to plan! ;-/

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  36. I leave everything to the last minute at Christmas, I love the pressure! Your pages look great. I'm ready to do JYC this year and I can't wait :) x

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  37. Your pages are really cute.
    I'm going to make an Advent calendar (with activities, inspired by Jennifer) and gift tags are definitely on the menu too. I'm not sure if I'll have time for too many cards but I hope so!

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  38. Beautiful, this is definitely getting me in the holiday spirit. Thanks

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  39. holy moley, you have been busy, love the felt tree!

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  40. Waiting for my Christmas kit to arrive so I can start JYC preparations

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  41. Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

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