My Christmas Journal: Shimelle's JYC Class

I have neglected this blog for a long time...a very long time.  I don't really have any excuses for you.  Life just happened.  A lot of it.  When I start to get overwhelmed, the first things to go are the things that are just for fun.  I classed this blog as one of those things, but I have a little bit of time on my hands for the first time in forever (yes I did just sing those last 6 words in my head).  I've decided that connecting with people through scrapbooking is something that I really want in my life, and this is a good place to do it.

I'm not going to make any promises about how long I'll be back on this time.  It might just be for the JYC project, or I might find a simple way to work it back in on a more regular basis.  I'm not sure, but in any case, let's get on with it.

If you haven't heard of Journal Your Christmas, it is a class that is run by Shimelle Laine on her website.  She gives a series of prompts from the start of Advent all the way to the end of Epiphany.  She describes starting the project after a tough year, when she really desperately wanted to recapture the magic of Christmas.  She shared more about the project in this video:

I can't say that I've had a time in my life that I've lost the magical feelings that I associate with Christmas, but some years I cling to the magic a little more than others.  This year, I'll be holding on for dear life.   I was intrigued by JYC when I heard about it in 2012, but I had already started a digital project on my own, and I wasn't sure how a daily project would fit in with what I was doing.  In the end, I decided that it doesn't fit in.

Our holiday scrapbook is a single 8 x 8 inch album that has a title page and 5-10 layouts that document our activities during Advent.  I started it in 2011 for my first daughter's first Christmas, and I like that it's complete.  I like that I've done it the same way every year.  It's not that big of a project, so I've decided to keep that as it is and to do JYC separately.

To avoid letting this project get out of hand, I decided to put it in a bound mini book.  I figured that if I used a binder, I would constantly be putting more and more page protectors into it, and I really just want this to be a small-ish project.  Here are a couple of close ups of the clusters on the cover.

 I don't often put embellishment on the cover of an album, but it seemed appropriate for a mini book, but I know that I will have small children handling it, so I wanted it to be really sturdy.  I glued all the elements down with Glossy Accents, and then I covered the glitter letters with glossy accents too.  I wanted to seal in the glitter so that it won't rub off when the kids are playing with the book.

On the inside, there is a combination of different sized papers and page protectors.  I did a little video to show the inside because there really was too much to photograph.  You can see it below.

Thanks for stopping by to see what I'm up to.  Hopefully you'll be seeing a lot more over the next few weeks.

Valerie