Journaling with ephemera

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On Christmas afternoon, I printed out some of my favorite shots of our holiday season onto 4"x6" photo paper; I also printed forty or so smaller photos onto cardstock to cut up; then, I put them all into this Christmas ephemera journal that I had for sale in my handmade Etsy shop.  Two had already sold, and this one remained so I snatched it up for myself!
The front and back covers were an accounting book in bright red that I'd embellished.
Inside, the journal was ready made with Christmas-themed ephemera pages -- like the Hallmark postcard, to which I added a birds nest and the word, Noel.
A photo of our Christmas tree fit nicely on the back of the postcard.  Then I added some photos to the sheet music pages that followed; I used a vintage gift tag as a journaling spot.

I journaled directly on the page elements, like the envelope (oops! 'just noticed it should say Littleton instead of Castle Rock!), and sometimes I just wrote right on the page itself.
Some of the pages were scrap booking paper, not ephemera...but I used pieces that had a vintage "look".
But, most of the elements are genuinely old.


Many of the pages already had journaling spaces built in...like the shipping label above.

It was super QUICK and easy to fill the book: just glue in the photos, add a few Christmas themed word stickers, and journal a bit!

I like working with the different-sized pages.
All the pages I'd added to the journal and purposely left blank made it easy to fill with photos that fit.
The different colors and textures are eye-catching.
The page on the right, above, is actually a vintage Christmas napkin!

Later I will punch holes into this card from my husband and add it in; I also glued in a favorite gift tag from one of the my presents.
I had already sold two of these Christmas journals this year; I hope the recipients had as much fun using theirs as I did!  The journals have always sold well, but I must say the holiday ones sold more quickly than the non-themed ones I have in the shop.  Now, I think I will get busy and make up a bunch for the upcoming Spring celebrations -- in Valentine and Easter themes!

Comments

Linda @ A La Carte said…
This was so much fun to see! I love scrapbooking and this looks like a fun way to do that. Hugs, Linda
December 27, 2012 at 5:52 PM
Tami Hacker said…
Love this idea... what a great idea it is!
December 27, 2012 at 6:57 PM
Peace said…
This is not only a wonderful piece of art but full of fantastic memories. what a treasure! I am so humbled to see one of my little matchbox clocks made your good memories list! ((HUGS)) May your 2013 bring you more things as beautiful as this!
December 27, 2012 at 7:45 PM
Linda Sue said…
Oh my you have done lovely work! You just don't stop do you? I would like to tap into some of your energy- what's next...oh yeah - Valentines day! Go crazy!!!
December 27, 2012 at 9:07 PM
Tammy said…
I love this album and so special that you made this memory book. Like someone else said-it's a treasure! Your work is so inspiring!
December 27, 2012 at 9:12 PM
Kathy said…
This is just SWEET - I love it!
December 27, 2012 at 10:26 PM
Linda said…
Wonderful, lovely scrapbook! Terrific art, so interesting to look thru. The way you put it together and the photos of friends and family make it so personal. Happy New Year.
December 28, 2012 at 7:32 AM
Lani Robertson said…
I love your Christmas journal, you are so very talented! :)
December 28, 2012 at 8:02 AM
Unknown said…
My gosh, what an inspiration you are. Do you sleep only 3 hours a night? How do you get all these beautiful projects done-- AND, on Christmas Day! Hope to see you soon.
December 28, 2012 at 12:28 PM
Lydia said…
And a Merry Christmas to you and yours! Thank you for sharing your family and home with your beautiful journal:)

And a Happy New Year , too!

xo
December 28, 2012 at 12:52 PM
Unknown said…
Oh my gosh Laurie - I LOVE IT! Wanted to cry to see you included a picture of my ornament ;) You did a Fabulous job! Love that you used so much vintage. The holiday themed ones sound like a great idea to sell, you may really be onto something there!
December 28, 2012 at 8:05 PM
Lisa said…
Laurie ~ this is an absolutely beautiful book! I took a look on my phone but had to come back and look on my big screen (and of course, comment!)
I'm working on creating a journal for 2013. These are fun, aren't they!?!
December 29, 2012 at 11:02 AM
Shortbread and Ginger said…
Hi Laurie, all best wishes for 2013 from Scotland!
Liz @ Shortbread & Ginger
December 31, 2012 at 3:37 PM
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