Getting Ahead For Christmas

“Stop the year I wanna get off!!”…… just kidding! Seriously though, does it feel like being on a very long slide with Christmas at the bottom and you just keep on getting faster? Maybe it’s just me or maybe it’s because of the insanely gorgeous Autumn weather we’ve been having that it became difficult to visualize Christmas.  Or maybe it’s the crazy routine in publishing when you’re planning December in July and by November it’s already Spring! 

Anyway, this was a discussion of sorts way back in July with my fellow teammates from Paper Pen and Plan. We were wondering why we never get to finish up our December Journals/planners even though at the beginning we always seem to be so focused. We came to the conclusion that if we planned things earlier and in a more organized way it should make the rest fall into place. So we’ve each taken a topic and week to showcase what we’re using and how we’re using it. I was up last week and I was talking about Inserts.

I decided to make myself a felt notebook cover in a standard size and of course I made my own inserts to go with it using a Simple Stories collection called Cozy Christmas which you can find at Paper Pen and Plan on Etsy.

To go with my theme I made a little video tutorial which you can find below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhkXI8gS1Vc

If you want to join us then head over to Facebook and join the Paperpenandplan group where we’ll be more than happy to help inspire you. I’ll be showing inside my planner and memory book as I add to it and I’d love to hear if you make one of your own or have your own ideas for December planning.

Have a good weekend

Jaine xx

Christmas Journal And Mini Albums

I’m still keeping up with my December daily journal although I might not exactly be to the day. It’s that busy time of the year don’t you know (smiley face).

I did wonder how using a junk journal with some very thin pages would work out but so far it’s not been too much of a problem if at all.

If anything shows through from the other side I’ve just covered it up with a picture or paper.

I’ve been working flat out to make mini books and albums for an artists Christmas event coming up in a weeks time. I’ll be showing and selling various different types of mini album including these accordion books. They’re just the right size for a few photos and messages for a last minute gift idea. I’m hoping they’ll go down well on the stand.

Looking at them here maybe I need to make a few not pink ones, I think my girly side took over.

Have a good weekend and if you have snow, stay safe and warm.

Jaine x

Happy December And Hello Daily Journal 2017

The madness has really started with shops heaving and roads full of traffic. I think this is why I prefer to do alot of my shopping on line to be honest. If I’m off to the shopping centre it’s to look at the pretty lights and get ideas not shop like a headless chicken for something I’ve no idea what.

Anyway that said, the best bits of the season have kicked off and that includes the first page in my daily journal for December which I’m doing in colaboration with Paper Pen and Plan. Day 1 is “One Happy Moment” which was most definitely going out with Cooper in the morning in the first real snow fall of the season. He loves it.

So far I’m not sure how it’s going to pan out using a junk journal for my daily with some of the pages being made out of thinner paper. This might restrict me from using too many wet media like paints and sprays. I’ll have to play it by ear and just see how it goes. If I have to use gesso or glue in extra pages then so be it. That’s just how it goes.

Have a good first weekend of advent everyone and I’ll speak soon.

Jaine x

Friday In The Studio – December Daily

This is where I was a couple of weeks or so ago, all happy happy and totally prepared to fill my December Daily with lots of mixed media goodness and Christmas cheer but after filling only the first 3 pages I left it and pushed it to one side.

dd-day-1

The reason was hard for me to admit to but I simply didn’t like it. I really didn’t like anything about it. After all that work and all that expectation that my tea dyed pages would look aged and wonderful, in fact they left me feeling disappointed and let down. The pages were too stiff being water colour paper, the look I was going for wasn’t an antique one but bright white and clean like the robin paper on the left. I just pushed it to one side and left it not knowing whether to go on with it or not. Several times I opened my travelers notebook and wondered whether I should carry on in that instead.  The more I thought about it the more I liked the idea sooooooo…..

tn-dd-16

last weekend I started to deconstruct my original DD and use the photos and some of the stickers I could rescue and start from scratch in my TN.

day-1

Now I feel so much better. I love how the pages which have been painted on go all crinkly once they’re dry and I love the size and format of the whole thing.

day-3

I’m now up to date with it and much more content.

latest

Have a good weekend everyone.

Jaine x