I have been inspired by the IACW posts these last few days. The ladies over there have been showing Christmas stuff and on 12th October, Claireliz showed her mini book that she has prepared ready for the festive season.
Like me, she doesn’t have time to take part in any big classes in December, she does her own thing. I was missing the advent calender in our house so I came up with this.

Advent 2009

I use 28 of my favourite Christmas cards from the previous year. I cut the card and use just the side with the picture. I cover over any writing that I don’t want to see, with plain card leaving me a clean white space to journal and decorate. The journaling is now on the left hand side of the book and the lovely festive scene is on the right hand side. You can leave it as it is, put the date or day number on, or what ever rings your Christmas bell!
I start with a cover and journal 25 days about the preparation for our Christmas. I like to do a reflection page and a page for extra photos. If you bind the back cover facing ‘the other way’ you will gain the extra page and your back cover will be done.
If you would like to see the rest of my project it is here

30th September 2010

Finished!

Shimelle’s class has finished now and I am up to date. All the pages are finished and put together. It feels like a huge achievement; pages done, photos taken, posted to the forum and even posted here and most amazingly, on time!
I have loved taking this class again. Thank you to all the ladies on the forum for posting such beautiful pages.

Shimelle has a new class coming up (details next week) and there is an existing one I want to do, Oh and I want to take a photo every day during October plus my advent journal.

It doesn’t sound as if I’ll be twiddling my thumbs or indeed anything during the long winter nights ahead.

24th September 2010

In my Garden Septembr

September arrived in a blaze of sunshine; it felt so good to be having coffee in the garden again even though the weeds are taking over! We had a little rain yesterday in Barry but the drive home was through a torrential storm. Today the rain came again later in the afternoon. The garden looks neglected, the lawn needs mowing and the courtyard looks a sorry state having taken everything down to the ground. The Clematis, honeysuckle and roses had no bottom growth left and the tops were very sparse this year. We decided to start again. We want to put a trellis roof across the back to support the new plants, which I will plant into large tubs this time. Fingers are crossed for a dry weekend. Mums rose, Irish Eyes has sent up a few more blooms and the Weigela is flowering again! The apples whose name I have temporarily forgotten look wonderful and along with the Pyracantha tell me autumn is on the way.                                                                           6^th September 2010

Loving Shimelle’s class, the pages posted on the forum are beautiful! I have been keeping up with my pages, just behind with the photo’s & posting!

Here is the cover which I have only settled on today!  

picture taken in the garden on 1st September, it was the most beautiful September morning.

and my page for 22nd September.

22nd September 2010

the rest of the project is here.

I forgot to show you my August page!

25th August 2010

It is still raining so much here, I had forgotten that we had a nice day on 14th and I got out to take some pictures for my book.

I have discovered I can put text on my collage pages!

In my garden August 2010

the rest of the book is here