December Journal Swap

My lovely friend Kerry hosted her first-ever swap last month - a December journal swap. Eight of us made pages and Kerry made the covers, put the books together, and packaged them in cute striped boxes.

I love how she combined the elements for the front cover - so cute! It's a bright shiny red that looks much better in actuality than it does in this photo. For some reason all the photos I took make it look like there's a haze on the upper right corner.

There's a handy calendar on the inside front cover.

This is the front of the page I made. The sweet Santa came from a vintage Christmas card. That wonderful diagonal stripe vintage crepe paper came from a pre-Christmas swap with Laurie (I posted about the swap here .)

And the back of my page. I used a bell image clipped from another vintage Christmas card and added vintage ribbon. My use of the Wish ticket was inspired by one Laurie used on a snippet roll she made for me. 

This cute page was made by Teresa. I haven't added my favorite Christmas recipe yet, but plan to do that.

Teresa left lots of room on the back of her page to add photos or other items. I love this green polka dot paper and the holly sticker.

Leann made this lovely page. She's one of those people who can take anything and make something amazing from it in no time at all. 

And the back of Leann's page. So pretty!

Lisa made this precious page above and below. I love her style! There's a pocket and a tag to pull out for journaling, photos or ephemera.

Lisa also left room on the back for photos or other items. 

Chris used several techniques on her awesome page. Embossing, stencils and embellishments - and there's space under the flap for journaling. That blue is one my favorite shades.

She used chartreuse - another of my favorite colors - on the back of her page. There's a card tucked in for photos, etc.

Jeanne used a vintage Christmas card as a pocket for two tags.  I love this pretty scene and the poinsettias.

The back of Jeanne's page is ready for photos or memorabilia.

Tammy's page has lots of pretty papers, layers, and techniques. There are two other flaps besides the one shown above - lots of spaces for photos, etc.

The back of her page has a pocket with "The Real Meaning of The Twelve Days of Christmas, plus two tags.

Jeanne was in creative mode and made an extra page.  This one has a cute red/white chevron sack with a tag and a chenille candy cane.

The back of Jeanne's second page has lots of room, highlighted by the metallic starburst - love that!

Sheryl's page includes lots of layering, pom poms, and a photo of her adorable grandbaby - something to make us all smile!

The back of Sheryl's page is plaid - one of my holiday favorites - with a cute banner and snowman.

Kerry used a chalkboard tag, flower and doily to embellish the inside back cover. I added the cute tags from the box.

And the back cover - as cute as the front!

Thanks, Kerry, for organizing this fun swap, and thank you to the other participants. I just love having these sweet books of art from others.

Click on any of the photos to see a larger view.

Seasons Greetings

Wishing everyone

peace,

love,

and goodwill

for the holiday season

and throughout

the coming year.

Jake, Henry and Georgia

A Christmas Eve Anniversary

Wishing a very happy 60th Anniversary to my cute and wonderful parents, who were married on December 24, 1954. They're amazing, and beloved by many.

Much love to you both!

December Daily Book

My friend Kerry organized a December Journal swap (her first swap ever!) and I'll be posting about that right after Christmas. Making my pages for that swap inspired me to make a December Daily-type journal for a family Dirty Santa exchange. I'm sharing the cover and a few of the pages.

This journal does have 31 pages, but I didn't number them in case the recipient just wants to use it for a general December or Christmas journal, and I didn't go overboard decorating most of the pages. Instead, I'll be including a tape runner and lots of embellishments that can be added as desired. Click any photo to see a larger image.

I love the cover. I can't remember what line the chalkboard paper is from, but it was sold out when I went back for more to keep in my stash. The Santa is from a vintage Christmas card, and has a bit of Mica snow on his hat and beard.

The calendar was found on Pinterest. Other papers and elements are from current lines as well as years past.

 The bingo card is from Jenni Bowlin.

 The house chipboard is also Jenni Bowlin.

 I love the string-tied envelopes.

 I added lots of fun things to this tag so it would peek out at the top.

 Plain pages, but with a cute clipped-on label.

This pre-made tiny banner is another favorite. The package included six, with different designs on each side.

 Another bit of chalkboard paper.

This envelope came from our Christmas cards from a few years ago. I just sealed it and cut a slit at one side so it would open at the top of the book, then added a cute postcard-style embellishment.

Here's hoping whoever gets this enjoys it!

Gifts and Finds

Just a bit of catching up today. My birthday was Thanksgiving day, and I received gifts from a couple of my artsy friends. Laurie sent me a box full of handmade and vintage goodness.

I love the pretty pumpkin she made and the velvety letters. The tiny vintage tinsel is silver and green, and there's a lovely vintage card, a star wand and a fabric image to use in a future project.

She sent wonderful vintage wallpaper, seals, the sweetest vintage felt Santa tag, tiny glass cherries, and a card of wonderful French General trim.

Isn't this a pretty little pennant? The heart is stamped clay. She sent along a cute card, too. Thanks, Laurie!

My friend Jeanne gave me the cutest notecarts with a pop-up design inside, holiday cupcake toppers, and these pretty rose soaps. I might have to just keep them to look at, but they do make me crave frosting roses. Thank you, Jeanne!

We took a quick trip to Texas early in the month. We didn't have much time for shopping but on the trip home I did manage to find this glove box, old plastic pin, and a bit of rusty goodness.

Everything above came from a nearby estate sale. The dogwood tablecloth came with four napkins. The keys are kind of unusual with their heart-shaped holes. The bar piece on the one key turns.

I love these green record and journal books. They came from another sale last weekend.

Today's sale was at a home in one of OKC's beautiful historic districts. Most everything there was from the 1950s or before. I scored this trio of cute Santas with their tags still intact. Although they're probably post-1950s, they're still vintage and cute.

This pretty little box will probably be used for a swap at some point. Two of the millinery bunches are pins - the red and the pink/purple.

I found lots of vintage paper doilies to add to my stash, including some in silver and gold, but the creamy aged ones are my favorites.

The lace is wrapped around an old letter. The compact is cream plastic and in excellent condition. One of the Cowboy crayons (or colored pencils) is missing, but I bought it for the box which is in great shape. The little Oilwell pocket calendar is unused. The orange and black make it perfect for a tiny Halloween book.

That's all for today! I do still have a couple of December journals to show in the next few days.

Hope you're enjoying the holiday season!

Nature's Blessings Journal - My Book, Part Two

My last post showed half of the pages in my book from Karla's Nature's Blessings Journal Swap. Today I'll share the remaining pages. If you missed the last post, you can find it here.

The beautiful pages below were created by Robin at onceuponapinkmoon.blogspot.com.

These stunning pages were made by Lisa P. from Texas.

And last but certainly not least, these gorgeous pages were created by Nora N. (no blog.)

Karla created a doodle page for the swap, and sent everything along with a sweet little blessing.

Hope you've enjoyed seeing all the beauty created by these talented ladies. Books seem to be what I've been doing for the last few months, and I'll have a couple of Christmas journals to show soon.

Happy creating!