It's done! :-)

I am so excited that this project is done. Most of the pages are really simple, but I was able to capture the season in WORDS, which was my goal for the project. It's been so long since I finished a project for myself. Most of my projects are in a process eternally. My goal was to finish this project before returning to work. I am so proud of it! I decided to only include prompts through the 25th... that made it doable for me.

Back to work on Monday... just a few more projects that I would like to get done around here before I head back. I also have a basket full of grading... I think I will watch a pay per view movie tomorrow and get that all done. That's the plan anyway. We'll see!

More pages... :-)

So I have a few more pages done for the Christmas Journal. I have GIVEN UP with the scanner. After 45 minutes on the phone with HP, the tech told me that I needed to return the scanner as it is not able to scan any dimensional objects. Nice, huh? When I asked why my OLDER model was able to do this, I was told that the new technology does not allow for dimension on this model. Some new technology, huh? Wait till I tell Chris! YIKES!

Anyway... here are some not so great photos of some more LO's...

Two more before I head to bed...

Here are two more that I did tonight. I really need to figure out this scanner! Ugh!

Two more pages...

We had a great time at the wedding. It was nice to hang out with some friends from work. Part of me wishes that we would have thought ahead and made a weekend out of it. I really love the Grand Geneva resort. It's pricey, but it is a nice little treat once in awhile! For some reason I really wasn't in the mood for photos... so I only have one from the wedding itself. We also had quite the snow storm yesterday and I took some shots of the snow at the resort. It was really beautiful!

I did these two pages while Chris was off doing private lessons this afternoon. I don't love either one, but I am happy that they are done. I would like to get a total of 25 pages done. I know that whatever I get done before going back to school is all that will get done. Last year I stopped at Day 16... so here is to getting at least past that!

I love how this patterned paper mimics my wrapping paper this year... almost like I planned it that way! :-)

Days 13 & 14:




Chris bought me a new printer/scanner for Christmas. My old one was a pain, but this new one is also making me a little crazy. I am really not happy with the quality of the scans so far. I will have to play with it more until I get it to work the way I think it should. Oh well!

4 More pages

So I didn't get all the way caught up, but I did get four more pages done. I would have gotten more done but I realized that I didn't have anything to wear to the wedding we are going to tonight and lost 4 hours at the mall trying to find something. Everything is on sale which is great, but nothing is left in the size or style I need! Since I lost some weight when training for the 5k, I am having a really hard time finding things that fit well. I suppose that is a good problem to have, right? :-) I ended up with a new pair of palazzo pants. They are really comfortable and I think they will be great as the night wears on and I have had some beverages. :-)

Ok... back to the pages. Here are pages 9 &10:



I didn't save any wrapping paper for this page.... so this paper was actually used to wrap a present... very authentic, don't you think? (Thus the creases and "weathered" look to the page!)

Days 11 and 12:


I am not really crazy about Day 12, but hey it's done! I am hoping to work on it some more today but I don't think it will happen. I need to make a gift for the wedding we are going to and also hope to get my eyebrows done as well as maybe a manicure. All before a wedding at 4.... LOL. We'll see. It's early still.

Christmas Journal Catch Up

I had great intentions this year... but fell hopelessly behind with my journal. I am now done through day 8 and have the journaling and photos for day 9 done as well. I am planning to work on this today and see how far I get. I'd like to get father than last year... last year I made it to day 16. :-)

Here are some photos of the SIMPLE pages I did for this project. This project is more about the emotion and words than the design. I am struggling with that... but I want to get the story down and not worry so much about the design this year. We'll see how I do as the day goes on.


Days 3 and 4 are above.

Here are days 5 & 6:
And finally day 7 & 8:

Christmas Journal 2007

Last year I took part in Shimelle's Christmas Journal class. It was amazing. Once you purchase the class, you are in for life, so I was so excited to get the email from her this fall. I am also very lucky to have some of my "virtual" sisters taking the journey with me this year. I am hoping to finish this year and not stop at day 16 like last year. This year the focus is on the words... not just the creativity. So I am trying really hard to keep the pages simple. I decided to go with the 6 x 12 size. I think I will bind it all when I am done with rings like I did last year. We'll see.

So here are the first two pages:
The journaling on the first page:

This is my second Christmas Journal. The process of creating this journal will help me to embrace the joy of the season. Although we have not resolved our infertility and remain childless this Christmas, I will enjoy everything the season has to offer.

This year it will be more about journaling… more about getting my thoughts on paper. I want to remember and reflect. I will write every day, even if I don’t get to create the page. I will allow myself to be free to create, but keep the emphasis on the words.

I will write each evening after Chris heads to work. If I don’t get to my entry, I will forgive myself and move on. I will not punish myself. However, I realize that daily creative time is vital to my happiness.

I enjoyed looking back at last year’s entries and remembering what last year’s season brought. I am creating this journal to create a permanent reminder of what Christmas 2007 was like.

I am also fortunate to be sharing this journey with my “virtual” sisters, girls I had the amazing opportunity to meet this past summer. I hope that this journey will allow us to become closer and share in a “virtual” holiday season

December 1, 2007
Day 2 Journaling:
I really do love the changing seasons we have here in the Midwest. I love winter… I love the pretty snow and even the brisk air. What I don’t love is slush… and that is exactly what we have right now… a big slushy mess. YUCK! Last year we had a blizzard on December 1st. This year the snow came, but it was followed by freezing rain and then just plan rain. It has rained on and off most of the day today too. It is just a mess outside. Every time the dogs go out I just cringe at what their paws will bring in!

I love new mittens… I buy a new pair every year. This year was no different. I bought these rainbow ones on a whim last week. They are really warm and toasty. Now I just need to find a new scarf for the year. I might just have to give up on the idea of having things match, though!

I am fortunate to have a car with 4 wheel drive so I usually feel safe outside in the snow. I do love cuddling up on the couch just as much, though! As a teacher, I also look forward to having a snow day here and there. They are pretty rare, though since we are pretty accustomed to the weather. Since we had one last year, I am not holding my breath for one this year!

December 2, 2007

I am crazy busy this week... so it will be tough to get pages done. I am having my girlfriends from work over on Sunday. Still have lots to do around the house. Grades are due at 8 on Tuesday. I didn't do the grading I should have done this weekend... Oh well! Tomorrow is a new day, right?

December 12/ Day 11 Christmas Journal

I was inspired by another member's art journal to create the tree. I love the way it turned out! The photos are squares that show snippets of ornaments on our tree.

The journaling is hidden behind the photos and reads:

12-11-06
O Christmas Tree

One of my favorite things about Christmas is our tree. A few years ago we decided to go ahead and get an artificial tree after years of real ones. We had a near house fire one year when Chris decided to burn the tree in our fireplace. He forgot to open the flu… you can imagine the rest! I was adamant that I wanted a tree that looked as real as possible. I am very happy with this one. I love the fact that we can put up our tree whenever and not worry about it dying too soon. This year we put it up right after Thanksgiving!

I have a very sentimental tree. Sometimes I long for the perfectly coordinated tree, but in the end I really love the way we do ours. Maybe some day we will have room for two trees and one can be fancy and the other can have all of the important ornaments. Each year since Chris and I started dating, we have bought an ornament. There are cutesy couple ones as well as others that just have the year on them. I love taking each out of the box and remembering the year we bought it. I also have ornaments from former students, student teachers, friends, and coworkers. I love that our tree has meaning.

Chris always puts up the tree and strings the lights. He wraps the trunk with lights which makes the tree glow from within. I love to get up in the morning and just turn on the Christmas tree lights. I love the warm feeling and glow that it emits. Even as a child, I would sit with just the tree lights on.

Simba, Romeo and Patches all love the tree as well! We have to keep all breakable ornaments above tail height… otherwise Romeo’s tail manages to break them. We usually have at least one casualty each year! Simba loves the sleep under the tree. Patches doesn’t seem to care one way or another anymore!

I look forward to adding ornaments made by children in the future. I hope to be able to tell them about each ornament as we hang them on the tree.


I didn't get todays prompt started at all. Had to shop for Holiday Buddy at work as well as a secret santa gift for one of my online groups. Both of them need to be sent tomorrow! Becky is coming over tomorrow after work to work on the gifts we are making for coworkers. Not sure I will get to post at all...we'll see!

ALL CAUGHT UP! Day 8

Going to bed now! :-)

Christmas Journal Day 9

Decided to go out of order again. :-) Boy does it feel good!

Was hoping to get all caught up, but it is 9:30 and almost my bed time. I did get three days done today, though!

Here is day 9:

Pretty simple... these were the scraps that I still had on my desk! The tags hold the traditions I could think of in a random order (or as they popped into my head!)I did do the page in the wrong direction, too... but I am embracing my mistakes and using them as creative interpretations!

Cookie Exchange was fun. Came home with some great cookies and my peanut butter balls were a hit! Everyone loved my recipe cards, too!

Back to work tomorrow. Grades are due Tuesday morning. At least we have an early release tomorrow afternoon that our principal is "giving" to us for grades. Hope to get all done so I can come home and play tomorrow. Still need to do the Christmas Cards too!

Christmas Journal Day 7

Was able to crank this one out... journaling was already done and the idea was in my head. :-)



The journaling reads:
12-07-06

Christmas Shopping…

I have never been this far behind ever! As of today, I do not have a SINGLE gift bought! I do have the materials to make a few gifts for coworkers, but that is it. Strangely, I am not panicked yet. We really can’t afford to do the shopping until our next paychecks anyway. We’ll see how I feel a week from now!

For the first time, my extended family agreed to draw names. We have talked about doing it for years, but everyone was finally on board this year. I am happy with it and think that it will work out in the end. We are each to spend $50 on the person we have selected. In exchange, we are to tell that person what we would really like to get. This way we are all spending less money and getting something that we really want. Maybe the fact that I only have to buy for two people instead of everyone is helping ease my panic?

I always want to do something extra special for Chris. Somehow I want to make up for all the lousy Christmases he had as a boy. However, it’s just hard to surprise him with anything. He also limits the amount of money I can spend and then goes and spends twice as much on me! We also fill each other’s stockings. I am already thinking about some goodies that I want to put in there this year. Maybe that will be how I am able to surprise him!

Off to start the laundry and make the ornament for the cookie exchange tonight. Need to see if Chris is awake yet, too!

Day 10/ Christmas Journal DAY 10!

See... this Christmas Journal is already making me less stressed. I just did a page OUT OF ORDER! I still need to do days 7-9, but this one spoke to me and I knew it was easy. Shimelle knew just what I need to get motivated today!

Today's prompt was simple... wrap your page in your wrapping paper, add a bow and a tag. Then create a SHORT journaling section about your wrapping traditions. I haven't been short on one yet. It was hard, but I just let myself be brief!

So here it is:



The wrapping paper is from Hobby Lobby. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. Not very traditional, but that is ok with me!

The journaling reads:
12-10-06

I love wrapping presents… at first! The first few packages are usually very pretty with ribbon and bows. As it gets closer to Christmas, I usually just wrap quickly.

I try to pick a wrapping paper that reflects my personality. It is usually bright and cheerful like this paper. I use different wrapping papers for different groups of people. This helps me organize the tree and know exactly which presents to take when.

When I was a child, I remember that Mom and Dad always had a different wrapping paper from Santa. There was usually one for me and a different one for my sister. Santa never used bows! I am sure that is because mom and dad had to wrap all of those presents after we went to bed on Christmas Eve!

I am also heading out this afternoon for a cookie exchange hosted by one of the swim team moms. There is a reason I am so crafty... it makes up for my lack of cooking/baking ability! It took me over 2 hours to make these peanut butter balls. I overmelted chocolate, burned the butter... The recipe is really easy. I decided to make pretty recipe cards to go with them because I needed to restore my self esteem!



Back to work on catching up on the Christmas Journal. I might even post again today!

December 7/Journal Day 6

So I think I am going to end up a day behind at least until the weekend! I have my staff Christmas party tomorrow so I don't even think I will be able to post. I still need to bake the brownies, wrap the white elephant gifts, and make dinner.

Another late night at school... special services team meeting. One of my least favorite meetings each month. Thankfully it was not too bad today! :-) Went to Target with Becky after school to help her pick out a birthday present for a friend's daughter. By the time I got home it was almost 7:00! Where does the time go?

Ok... I know you are really here wanting to look at my journal pages. This was another tough one for me. The prompt was to remember a not so great christmas and a great christmas and contrast the two. I took a little different approach and journaled about one Christmas that was both bad and good. The left side holds my "bad" aspects of that Christmas, which included losing my grandfather and having a miscarriage. I used the BG magnetic snaps to hold it shut. Boy do those things have some staying power!



On the other side I wrote about the good of that Christmas. Chris made it extra special with many presents and the constant reminder that we have each other...



The design is inspired by Cathy Z. Much more simple than I usually do, but I played with my text a little and am happy with the way it turned out.

Starting to panic about all I need to get done tonight... better go get started!

December 6/Christmas Journal Day 5

So I am a little behind. It's already after 8:00 and I only have Day 5 done. Looks like I might end up being behind until the weekend. We'll see!

This prompt was about Advent Calendars and couting down to Christmas. Here is my journaling:

There are 20 days until Christmas Day. Christmas really starts on Christmas Eve, so really there are only 19 days! It seems so far away and yet so soon at the same time. There is still so much that I have to do and so much that I want to do.

I have fond memories of advent calendars growing up. When I was in elementary school, my mother worked for a German company. Her main responsibility was booking the travel arrangements for the many executives in the company, often for trips to Germany. She was very well liked and often received small tokens from the executives when they returned from a trip. Each Christmas, she was given two advent calendars filled with the most amazing German chocolate! There was one for my sister and one for me.

Each day had a little door that opened to reveal a picture and a piece of this amazing chocolate. Opening the day’s door was one of the highlights of each day in December. One year the calendar even had pieces that got larger the closer we got to Christmas! I can almost feel those wonderful bits of chocolate on my tongue as I type this entry!

It has been years since I received or bought an advent calendar. I don’t know why. Maybe it seemed a little too childish for grown adults to get excited about a piece of chocolate. Maybe it was the fact that I haven’t really looked forward to Christmas for the past few years.

This year is different. Although I may not have little doors to open that reveal savory bits of chocolate, I do have a treat each day leading up to Christmas. I can’t wait to see the day’s prompt from Shimelle each day. Opening my email is just as magical as those little doors on the chocolate calendar. In the end, this journal will be my advent calendar. Maybe next year I will invest in some chocolate, too!

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First day with the new hair color. You just have to love middle school boys. More than one of my students said to me today, "What happened to your hair?" :-) One even told me he didnt like it, but maybe he will get used to it. Another suggested that maybe next time I should color my hair pink.

I came home today to a clean house. Chris cleaned this morning before going to work. I am so lucky to have such an amazing man for a husband. That left me more time to play tonight. I wouldn't have even gotten one day done if he hadn't done the chores for me. :-)

Should think about making dinner soon. I accidently bought a jar of MUSHROOM spaghetti sauce. Chris and I HATE mushrooms. Looks like I will be making some from the plain tomato sauce I have in the cabinet!

December 4/Day 4

It was really tough going back to work today! The kids were still groggy from having the snow day on Friday. Had to make up all of the things I had planned to do on Friday... but on a Monday. That is tough for my kiddos who so desperately need routine! On top of that we had a staff meeting after school so I didn't leave until close to 5. I had to stop at the grocery store as well since we have NO food in the house. It was almost 7 by the time I got home.

So onto Day 4 of the Christmas Journal. I was happy to discover that the prompt was posted before school this morning. I printed it off and then had the day to think about it. That was nice. I could steal a few moments for myself throughout the day. This was a hard prompt for me. We were supposed to describe our perfect Christmas without any negative thoughts or feelings. This was tough for me since the past few years I have really not enjoyed Christmas, so every time I had a thought about a perfect Christmas a negative thought would counteract it.

In the end, I decided to do some frank journaling about how in order for me to have a perfect Christmas, I really need to have a child. This really goes against the point of this journal as I am trying to get away from the constant pangs of our infertility. But in the end, it is my hope that this journal will not only allow me to truly experience Christmas Joy, but also provide some healing.

The page is pretty simple. I even decided to make this one a single page even though all of the others (all 2 of them) have been two pages. Rebel, I know!

Ok, so here it is:

The stamps are Making Memories. The artistic challenge for today was to use a photo that shows your perfect Christmas. Shimelle even suggested getting one from a magazine. This photo is from a printer advertisement in Family Circle. She reminds me of what I imagine our daughter might look like. The journaling is hidden in the file folder. It is a little more intense, so I decided to tuck it away. The basics are that I really feel that I need to have a child in order to have the perfect Christmas. I also talked about the "magic" feeling that believing in Santa brings.

The acrylic is KI. The santa is from a christmas card that was sent to us a few years ago. I pulled those out for yesterdays challenge, so I had this one handy. I used foam dots to make the pocket stick out enough for the folder to sit in. The folder is from Rusty Pickle although I covered it in KI!

Off to read my email. It's already 8:45! Hoping to get to bed a little earlier tonight!

Cover and Day 3

This is my cover. It is a work in progress! The papers are all KI Memories. Flowers are Heidi Swapp, Doodlebug, and KI. The letter stickers are Doodlebug. The cover is sealed with Sparkle ModPodge, which adds glitter to the entire thing.

I decided to make my own book so I could adjust as needed. More ribbon will be added once the book is finished. The pages are 8 1/2×8 to allow for the binding.


This is day 3's entry. The prompt was about Christmas cards. This is the outer pages without the overlay of journaling. Here is the journaling overlay:

This is a transparency with my journaling written on it. I then painted on the back of it with a very light pink paint. Here is what the journaling says:

12~03~06

I love Christmas Cards. I love getting them in the mail and I love making them each year. They are one of my favorite parts of the holiday season.

I love getting Christmas cards in the mail. I love reading about the lives of our friends and family both near and far. I know that some people are annoyed by Christmas letters, but I really do enjoy reading them. I just recently went through all of the cards that I had saved from years past. It was fun to look at photos and see how families have grown and changed over the years. I try to send a card to everyone that we receive one from.

I love making Christmas cards. I started making our cards shortly after we were married. At the time I did much more stamping and the cards were usually embossed. One of Chris’ co-workers told me that she framed my card each year! Talk about pressure!  I used to try to outdo myself each year. Not anymore. Now I just create whatever feels good. Last year I did the cards with my digital scrapbooking tools and I enjoyed playing with those techniques. However, this year I am going back to a more traditional card. I have the design in my head, materials gathered, and photos printed. Now I just need to sit down and create them!

Over the years I have also written our own Christmas Letter. I have been able to share the joys of the past year as well as challenges we have faced. As I look back on letters from years past, I am able to see where my faith was at that time. In the beginning I was hopeful and determined that we would have a biological child of our own. In last year’s letter, I was not so hopeful. I mentioned that we may even be considering adoption. We haven’t followed through with that. Each year when I sit down to write the letter I hope that next year I will be able to include information about our child. I am making a promise to myself right now and right here. This will be the LAST letter I write without a child. We will resolve our infertility one way or another in the coming year.

Here are close-ups of the other two pages:

That is last year's card as well as some cancelled stamps from years past. Envelopes is my current address book method, so I had lots of these lying around. My next goal is to get started on this year's cards and address list!


This year's card will go in the envelope. Notice that I said will.... it isn't done yet. It is done in my mind, just need to get them created on paper!

More on the weekend later... I am in creative mode and don't want to stop!

Christmas Art Journal Day 2

I will come back and post more later, but wanted to get these images up.

This is the day 2 entry of my Art Journal. The prompt was to talk about the weather with Christmas. We were also challenged to try making paper snowflakes! Loved it! Since I am a teacher, we often make snowflakes for the Winter Dance each year. It was fun to make these minature ones to put on these pages.

All paper is pretty much KI memories. I did cover the bazzill with glitter paint and added snowflake brads that I have had forever. I have no idea where they even came from! The acrylic is from Heidi Grace.

Here is the two page spread:

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Here is the left side up close:



And the right:



I just let myself go with these... a little more "junked up" than usual. The snowflakes are actually created on the back of another paper that I printed on. You couldn't read the text... so I embraced my mistake. That is something new for me! Maybe I am already growing with this process!

Here is the text since it is so hard to read:

12~02~06

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! It is hard to believe that on the very first day of December, we end up with a blizzard that has basically paralyzed most of Chicago. It’s not unbelievable that we have snow… it is the timing! It was 60 earlier this week!

Christmas just isn’t Christmas without some snow. The blizzard outside is truly making me feel the Christmas spirit. I love the snow and can’t imagine living somewhere that doesn’t get it. I am blessed to have a car with 4-wheel drive, so I am able to get around when I need to. I have a husband who is able and willing to shovel us out if need be. But there just is nothing better than the two words I heard yesterday morning, “Snow Day!”

I remember one Christmas when I was in grade school. We had been home for a few days on break and we were making my mom crazy. I am sure my sister and I had argued most of the time! Christmas Eve arrived with a snow storm. We wanted to go out and play and I think mom wanted us out of the house just as much! Mom surprised us by allowing us to open a present before we went out. Inside the boxes were brand new snow suits. I still remember putting on my new snow pants and going out in the snow for HOURS that day. I honestly don’t remember any of the toys I got that year, but I do remember the details of that snowsuit!

As an adult, I still love new winter clothes. Each year, I treat myself to a new pair of mittens and matching scarf. Usually I try to get the warmest ones I can that still match my coat. Last year I bought a bright green coat which has made finding matching mittens a challenge! I have not bought a new pair yet this year, so that will be today’s mission. After all, the forecast for tomorrow is a high temperature of 20! Bring on the Christmas weather!


We've had a busy weekend, and I really want to post about that... will come back and do that later today!

Christmas Art Journal

In addition to blogging every day this month, I have taken on something a little more concrete. I have decided to journal about the Christmas season and create an art journal to showcase my feelings. I have wanted to try an art journal for some time, and this is the perfect time! I came across Shimelle's site, and decided that this was meant to be.

I may post some or all of my entries here. Other artists are doing this with me, and you can see their work here. Or you can even join us.

I am still working on the covers. I decided to make my own album and am pretty happy with the way it is turning out. I just need to put a few more details on. I have a feeling that the cover will be a work in progress throughout the month!

Now, here is my day one entry with my own personal manifesto and Day 1 page:



Here is what the text says:
12~01~06

This is the year. I am going to embrace the Christmas season. I am going to savor every moment and experience the joy that is all around me this time of year.

In the past, I have allowed the fact that we remain childless to take control of my holiday thoughts. I have lost the “magic” feeling that only Christmas can bring. It’s still there. I am going to find it, wrap myself with it, and spread it to everyone around me. I know I will have moments of sadness and reflection, and that is ok. However, I am not going to let it consume me. I am going to ENJOY the holiday season and the blessings that I have in my life, especially my amazing husband.

I will journal every day this December. By the time Christmas comes, I will have 24 pages that reflect the joy of the season. I will take the time each evening to write before Chris gets home from work. I know there will be days that I won’t want to write, but I will forge through it. These are the days that I need to be creative the most!

I will also allow myself to create freely. I will open myself to new ideas and try new techniques. I will not criticize my pages. I will not overanalyze each element. I want my inner artist to come out and play in the pages of this journal. It’s okay if the pages don’t match. I know that every page won’t be perfect. That is OK.

This is my Christmas gift to myself. This is the Christmas that I will stop being consumed by our infertility and embrace the spirit of the season. I will take the time to experience the moments with my husband and I will take the time to create this journal to contain those memories for years to come.

I am really excited about this. I am about to start working on Day 2's page!