Hi everyone! It's Mandy here, and today I'd like to share some pages from my Christmas album with you! I'm just going to say straight up, that I've never done a December album before, nor have I worked in a 6x8 format before, nor have I ever done a pocket page style layout before... So this is all very new to me, but I must say, I am LOVING it!! Now in saying that, this isn't your typical 'December Daily' style album... I decided instead to use my album to document all of our Christmas's going back to 2004, the year that our first baby was born. I'm planning to just create one spread per year, so there'll just be a few photos from each each year that will give a snapshot of our Christmas celebrations. Of course I've got stacks more Christmas photos that won't go into this album, but I've created 12x12 layouts with some of these, and there's lots I still need to document. But I like the idea of having a little album that documents all of our Christmas memories in one place!
So after that long introduction to my album, here is my title page...
I included a photo of one of our Christmas baubles on the title page, as I wanted a photo that wasn't specific to a particular year. I'll be mostly using the 'Hello, Christmas!' kit throughout this album. I layered one of the beautiful acetate pages from the kit over the top of the title page, and I love the detail and dimension that this adds!
I created a little cluster on the top left hand corner of the photo using some of the stickers from the cut apart sheet. You can also see here the pretty gold star sequins that I stuck onto my photo.
The acrylic words in this kit are divine!! I wish I could have bought more, because I've already used them up! I added the word 'Christmas', and then used the black puffy alphas to complete the title.
I added a couple more of the stickers in the bottom right hand corner, as well as one of the cute little Christmas trees from the pack of Silicone Charms, and this finished off my title page!
So as I said, I'm starting my album in 2004, which was the year that we had our first baby. Here's my spread for 2004...
And here's a closeup of the left hand side...
I used one large black and white photo of the three of us, and then simply added the year using the black puffy alphas again. I also popped one of the acetate embellishments from the November kit above the alpha stickers and stuck a few of the silver star sequins around too.
I printed my journaling onto a piece of vellum and punched holes so that I could add it straight into the album. I like how you can still see through the vellum so it doesn't detract too much from the overall design.
On the right hand side of the spread I included two photos, one of my parents with my daughter, and one of my in-laws, both taken on Christmas Day. I also included one of the 3x4 cards from the kit, which I embellished with a silicone charm, silver star sequins, and a stamp from the kit.
Next is my spread for 2005...
Here's a closeup of the left hand side of the spread...
This page includes a photo of my Mum with my daughter, a photo of my mother-in-law, and a family photo that includes some of our extended family. We enjoyed Christmas Day at the beach this year! I embellished this page with the other acrylic word from the kit, a flair button, and a couple of stickers from the cut apart sheet.
I used the glassine bag from the kit to create a little pocket for this spread. I embellished it with one of the cute little doilies, the red alpha stickers, and a stamp from the kit. I used the pocket to add some fun photos that we took for our Christmas cards this year.
I typed out my journaling, cut it into strips, and then added it to the back of the glassine bag.
On the right hand side of the spread I added a family photo of the three of us. This was one of the photos that we took for our Christmas cards this year.
I used one of the Felicity Jane cut files that are available from the Silhouette Design Store to add a title to the page. I absolutely love this script font!
On the top right hand corner of the photo I added one of the cute little circular tags, which I stamped '25' onto, and finished it off with some silver ric rac from the kit. I also tucked one of the tags from the sticker sheet behind the photo. I finished the page off with some silver star sequins and some stamped stars.
So that's the first few pages in my Christmas album done, and I'm looking forward to continuing to work on it. I hope that I've inspired you to document your Christmas memories! Whether you do it daily, or whether you just include a few snapshots of Christmas Day doesn't matter, what's important is that you're documenting those precious memories!
Thanks so much for joining me on the blog today, and I'd like to wish you and your families a very blessed Christmas!
Mandy x
Supplies Used: Hello, Christmas! Kit | Red Alphabet Stickers | Hello, Christmas Solid Color Paper | Oh, Deer Acetate Shapes | Stamp - Oh, Deer | Hello, Christmas Page Protectors | Hello, Christmas Silicone Charms | Hello, Christmas Page Protectors - Variety | Stamp - Hello, Christmas! | Hello, Christmas 6x8 Album | Felicity Jane Cut File