WOYWW - It's Starting to Feel A lot Like Christmas ....

Hi fellow WOYWW's - hope all well with you this week !
Last weekend I had a "home alone" weekend as his nibs went to footie in Manchester on Saturday & then at Swansea on Sunday (didn't even come home in between !!) - I was very much surplus to requirements !
So I made a determined assault on Christmas !
Saturday was Christmas shopping - hardly found anything I wanted in the shops in Carmarthen & ended up soaked & fed up after 3 hours trudging from shop to shop in the rain!
So I headed home & did an Amazon order online instead !
I tried on posh frocks for a Ball I have in London next month - nothing within my budget looked right and I wasn't going to pay out a fortune for something I would only ever wear for a few hours ! So looks like I am rummaging at the back of the wardrobe to recycle an old frock !!
Anyway once home I wrapped up all the presents I have bought so far & wrote 30 cards.
I am ashamed to admit to all you card-makers out there that they are bought ones not hand made ! But they are to support the Meniere's Society and as my DH suffers from Meniere's Disease, I have placated myself with that thought !

Then I tackled some Christmas crafting - so on my desk this week you can see a few bits & bobs .. this is my Project Box all ready to start this year's Journal Your Christmas - which is the daily journal project that runs from December 1st until 12th Night on Shimelle Laine's website.

This is my 5th year (you pay once & then are joined up for life!) and experience has taught me to be organised in order to keep up making a page every day in what is usually a busy month !
So I set up a temporary craft table in front of the telly in the lounge & watched slushy Christmas films whilst I made my covers  & cut all my pages to size ready - I like to work on an 8"x 8" sized page as I find this just right for the photos & journalling I like to include.

This is my front cover - I love the whole Nordic/ Scandinavian Christmas that is everywhere this year - but it doesn't suit any other decorations I have for the house - so I am going to enjoy it in my journal instead !
This is mount board (cadged as a freebie from the framing shop !) wrapped in one of the papers I have chosen. I am using (Papermania's "Home For Christmas" collection and the tag is what I made at the "let's get inky" night at our Scrapbook club last week - the tree stamp matches the papers.

Thought you might like to see what a work-desk can look like when 6 girls get inky !
So here's us in action ..

We all agreed it was a great fun night & declared we must have play-dates more often !!
And yes we did clear all that mess up !!

The final bit of Christmas on my desk is my last "Book of Days" page for the year - a Christmas-y December page - and Nordic again - can you tell I like the look - with wrapping paper & a scrap strip of scrapbook paper too !!

I have enjoyed doing the Book of Days this year - and have written one of those 2" squares each & every day ! But I don't think I shall do it next year as it's been a big project - I might have a go at a Smash Book or just do more art journalling & normal scrapbooking -or some of all three !
But I am glad I have done it & that in years to come I'll have a day by day snapshot of my life in 2012 to look back on !

Anyway enough of my ramblings - several of you asked me last week what the tag on the Friendship Bag that my friend Lynda gave me for my birthday said - so I have tried a close up - hope it's a bit more readable !

Hope you all have a good week - and have avoided the floods that are taking their toll across the UK in the past week !
Looking forward to seeing what you have all been up to !
Take care Ali xx