It's a Creative World

Seasonal A - Z

You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town

 

Ooops – sorry. Dolly here,  feeling a little bit Christmassy.

 

And …. I have something for you to think about in readiness for the big build up.

 

 

 

I love making a Christmas journal each year and try and have a different spin on it each time. I try and make a page each day and upload it to my blog as it keeps me sane in those mad weeks leading up to THE DAY.

 

Last year I made an A – Z album – a great way to record the traditions of Christmas, scrap some more of those never ending Christmas photos and an album with a definite limit. There are only 26 letters, right, so just 26 pages.

 

For the album itself I decided that, for once, I was NOT going to reinvent the wheel and make my own album or mini book cover. I just altered a purchased album. I bought an inexpensive Papermania 8 x 8 album in a bright Christmassy red. I also needed to buy an extra pack of page protectors as the standard albums only come with room for 20 pages …. Clearly not a whole alphabet-full.

 

I put a Christmas sticker inside the aperture, added two covered and sanded chipboard letters, some rub-ons and stickers and voila, a quick and simple bespoke album.

 

 

 

I found it really useful to sit down first and plan what I was going to do for each letter. Just a simple list worked with several ideas for each letter in case I wanted to change my mind. It meant that I had something allocated for each letter and didn’t run the risk of getting to Q for example and wishing I hadn’t used the perfect idea on an easier letter.

 

 

When I make themed albums I often use a limited range of papers to make it all coordinate, but as I had so many Christmas papers I didn’t want to do that. So, to make the album have some sort of cohesion and unity I used the same set of letter stamps for all the title letters throughout and kept the colours traditional.

 

 

 

Some letters were very easy with obvious things to scrap, others were a little more challenging.

 

 

But it did make me scrap things that were important about the holiday season which might otherwise have been missed.

You can see the entire album on my blog at http://dollysdreamings.typepad.com

 

 

 

 

 

Before the madness starts, sit down with a pen and paper and ream of Christmas, past present and future, match your thoughts to a letter of the alphabet and have a go at a Christmas A – Z this year.

 

 

 

 

A-Z Round up

In 2008 we took a journey through the alphabet, and it was so awesome that so many of our cool readers took the journey with us. At times it was a tiring task, keeping up with the fortnightly pages and prompts but having a completed book certainly made it all worth while.

Today we are looking back at that journey...

Karen aka Scrapdolly

I have to say how much I enjoyed the whole experience of the year long A – Z album. I had long toyed with the idea of an A – Z album of the cats but, like so many things, the motivation to get going and keep going wasn’t there. With IACW giving me the impetus and also keeping that impetus going with fortnightly prompts, I actually managed the album. 

 

I know I was doing something a little different to everyone else and not using your actual word prompts, but being reminded every fortnight to get my act together and complete a page and also being inspired by what the team had produced really did motivate me. If it hadn’t been for that I fear it would not be languishing in a cupboard with perhaps at best A – E completed. 

 

In most cases I completed the page for that fortnight during the two week period. There was the occasional week when I felt extra motivated and did two letters. The only time I deviated from this was with the last 4  letters. I needed to get my desk super clear in readiness for Christmas journals etc and so I did W-Z in one foul swoop!

 

I started doing double pages but quickly realised that as I am quite a ‘lumpy’ scrapper (in every sense I guess) this was not going to work. I did sprinkle a few double pages through when they were absolutely necessary, but I tried to stick to singles so the album didn’t burst completely.

 

Some of my favourite pages – for a host of reasons – were the double K page with Kira and kittens. I don’t tend to get as many pictures of Kira and so that page was important, plus they were sooooooo cute as kittens.

 

 

 

 

I loved my O and my Y pages as the two photos just summed up what I was trying to say about the cats.

 

 

 

 

And my S page was very special as I have few pictures of our brave little Simba who was our double amputee cat.

 

To see the completed album and all Karens pages you can visit her A-Z gallery here.

Eleanor

Unlike Karen, I haven't yet completed my A - Z, but I am still working on it. Mine was a real departure for me, an art activity I had always thought was beyond me, drawing. Suddenly I found that illustrating my life was fun, and  not as hard as I'd thought. Had I known more about it, I would have chosen decent looseleaf paper, and not a tightly bound book of rather thin stuff which I have now had to slice apart with a scalpel. But you live and learn, and I certainly have, this last year with the girls on this A - Z creative journal. It's a series of little snapshots of things that are important to me.

My favourites are probably the letter A, although my geocaching venture never got beyond 2 failed expeditions,

and the letter C as it documents my eldest son leaving home for the first time,

and the letter H, as the last year has also seen me improve my piano playing beyond anything I thought possible,

and finally, my letter E because I never thought I could do this and I feel so proud of myself:

Thanks for the journal journey girls, I WILL finish mine, I promise.
Eleanor
xx

Caz

 

I loved this project, although I must admit to having made a huge mistake with my format. A double page when you are just learning to art journal, is intimidating and I think in future I must stick to single pages. But this will not be my last art journal!

As part of the creative team I had to keep up with the pages as we were showing ours on the fortnightly prompt. Sometimes I felt this was hard, as the two weeks flew by so quickly. But it kept me on track and I have finished my journal.

I had no clue what art journalling involved and actually i;m not sure I do now. But as with all crafting, you need to practice and practice develops your art. So I will keep practicing!

Here are just a couple of my favourite pages.

 

And Hi from Di

What an incredible journey this was. I discovered so much about me, the things that make me happy and my life. My journal ended up soooo fat!

 

This is one of my favourite pages:

And a final thanks to everyone who took part in the A-Z project!

IACW girls.
xx

The last page of our A to Z Journal....

Can you believe we have actually finished this project? It just seems like yesterday that we launched the A to Z Art Journal project and a whole year has passed. We hope you have enjoyed it as much as we have.

And what have we learnt from this year long adventure?

Caz says - "I will NEVER do double pages again"

Lemon says - " I have learnt a lot about my daughter, she contributed a lot to the journal and changed quite a few things."

Di says - "I will not bind the journal up front - it is so much easier to work with a single page rather than a book! And its easier to photograph or scan"

Here are our pages:

Lemon book of growing up

After browsing all two pages of the dictionary this seemed the most appropiate for my daughter....I hope she never looses her ZING

Di Book of my life

The dictionary tells me that zany means - "Comical because of incongruity or strangeness; biZarre." Well I guess that's me! biZarre so my life must be Zany... And my DD caZ is Zany too!

A message from Di:

As we arrive at the end of the alphabet, I must confess that I have enjoyed the journey so much that I commit to making an Art Journal for my dear sister Linda. Maybe I can share bits and pieces of this new journey next year. X

Caz

For some reason or another I can't seem to upload my page. I will try again tomorrow (saturday). This is what happens when you leave everything till the last minute!!

And finally Karen Leahy (AKA Scrapdolly) has sent her Z page already!

Finally, Z is NOT an easy letter so here are just a few suggestions:

• Zealous
• Zeal
• Zoo
• Zip
• Zany
• ZZZ's
• Zesty
• Zippy
• Zutter

And if you want to see loads of strange words starting with the letter Z - try here

http://www.crosswordsolver.org/definition/Z

Thank you for joining us on this wonderful journey.  To mark the end of this project the fabulous Kate Hadfield has created some rather festive digi goodies for you to download absolutely FREE.

     

Simply click on this linkie dink and help yourself.  Not only can you snaffle the doodles but there is a discount voucher for you to use in her shoppie shop . 

The cReative giRls XXX

Our Jakey had some problems with the link on Mozilla.  If you can't get it to download drop us a line at acreativeworld@hotmail.co.uk and I'll whizz it over to you this evening - Maria x
 

A to Z Journal - the Y page

The second to last letter of the alphabet! And the festive season has started.

It's another difficult one so here are the words we have come up with:

• You
• Youth
• Youthful
• Young
• Yech!
• Yesterday
• Yarn
• Yearn
• Yabbadabbado
• Yummy
• Yap
• Yuppie

Lemons book of growing up

My daughter never stops Yawning if only she would sleep then maybe she would stop...well maybe not!

Caz

 

I aim to be Young at Heart....forever!

Di - Book of my life

What would mY life be without You - You are my reason for being.

 

And we have only one letter left. So lets see those Y pages

Love from the cReative giRls XXX

A to Z Journal - the X page

Woo Hoo and this is a difficult letter so all we are giving you are a few words and cheats

• Xmas
• eXtraordinary
• eXtravagant
• eXcellent
• eXemplary
• XXX

Caz

 

lol, no I don't think I am exceptional, although I would like to be :D

Lemons book of growing up

My daughter has not had the best year regarding health and I have documented all the different type of xrays that she has had.

Di's Book of my life

Hi from Maddi and it's confession time; My life is 'eXtraordinary. How 'eXtraordinary is it that after all this time I discover that I do like ONE cat - Josh. From the first day I met him I just loved him - he is affectionate, cuddly and the only cat I have ever liked.

 

Lets see those eXciting, Xtraordinary X pages.

Love from the cReative giRls

A to Z - the letter W

Here are a few ideas for the letter W:

Book of me/you: Willful, Who, Wonderful, Wise, Whine, Winner, Wrinkles, Weak, Writer, Wife, Wild, Witty Wierd...

Book of baby: Wet Wipes, Wonderful, Winsome ...

Book of everyday: What!!!!, Wednesday, When, Weather, Weary, Wander, Wonder, Windy, Washing, Warm, Waitress, Whenever, Where ...

Occasions/ Life: Why, WOW, World, Weekend, Woe, Wisdom, Wedding, Winter, Wisdom, Wonderful, WooHoo...

Tools and Techniques: Wet Wipes, Words ...

Knitting: Wool, Wind...

Caz

 

We have one life, you must make it wonderful :)

Lemon Book of growing up

For this page i didnt want my daughter to forget the wonders of growing up

Di Book of my life

Who, What, Where, When, When  and Why guided my work and my life unitil I discovered the Serenity prayer and what Wisdom really is. It is NOT about age it's about making decisions. My life is Wonderfull because I have finally understood Wisdom:

 

And what would wisdom be without knowing that it is a Wonderful World! Listen to the magical Louis Armstrong here. 

Have a wonderful weekend and lets see your wonderful work!!!

the cReative giRls

A to Z Journal - the V page

We are approaching the end of our A to Z journal with only a few more letters to go! Wow this year has passed soooo quickly!

Here are a few ideas for the letter V:

Book of me/you: Vivacious, Virtuous, Veritable, Vigourous, Visionary, Voracious, Voluminous, Vices, Volatile...

Book of baby: Vaccination ...

Book of everyday:  Vacuuming, Viscious, Violence, Vindictive...

Occasions/ Life: Valentine, Vacation ...

Tools and Techniques: ...

Knitting: Vibrant...

Lemon's Book of growing up

Vegetables are the bain of my life.  My daughter, like most children, does not like most of them. Hopefully when she gets older she will come to enjoy them...just like I have done!

Caz:

 

To see, both into the future and life right now.

Di : Book of my life

How do I feel about me? Well after all this time my life is surrounded by Very Vintage stuff but I still feel Vibrant!

Lets see your Very Vibrant V pages.

love from the cReative giRls XXXX

A to Z Journal - the U page

Where has the year gone that we are already on the letter U???

Here are a few ideas for the letter U:

Book of me/you: Us, Uncanny, Unkind, Unique, Uptight...

Book of baby: Unhappy...

Book of everyday:  Us, Unadorned, Unpredictable, Under the weather...

Occasions/ Life:  Unhappy, Uptight, Uncle...

Tools and Techniques: Undo, Utee

Knitting: Undo...

Caz

In my life, all I do is Unique. It's different.

Lemon Book of growing up

 

My daughter is unwell again!.This page documents the fact that she is now on crutches!

Di Book of my life

Woo Hoo I had fUn with this one!!!. Inspired by Billy Joel! Yes, my life started as a downtown girl but I grew up to be an Uptown girl, and I still am an Uptown Girl!

 

(... and yes I did have a downtown guy LOL)

That's it for U and its now over to U - so lets see those fabUlous U pages!

Love from the cReatve giRls X

A to Z Journal - the T page

Tea for Two and Two for Tea... So what does T mean in your A to Z Journal????

Here are a few of our ideas for the letter T:

Book of me/you: Trendy, Tattoo, Thin, Thinker, Trusting, True, Tipsy, Tired, Tiresome, Temperamental, Tidy ...

Book of baby: Tiny, Tot, Teething, Tired, Toddler, Toys, Toes, Tootsies, Tummy, Tantrum, Twins, Triplets...

Book of everyday:  Tasty, Tatty, Tea time, Today, Tease, Tiresome, Trouble...

Occasions/ Life:  Treat, Tragedy, Travel, Trip, Triumphant, Tremendous...

Tools and Techniques: Tags, Tools...

Knitting:  Tantrum!!!, Tension, Too Tight,  ...

Caz

I think we all Dream about Travelling the world, and going to far off magical places. My Dreams will one day become reality!

Lemon's Book of Growing Up

 

My daughter fought me for weeks about going to her prom night but as you can see she won ....as her Temper got the better of her and she just sat there all night with a face like Thunder...when you could see it!

Di Book of my life:

To Travel To Tibet; to visiT Lhasa and the PoTala Palace, the ancienT and TradiTional home of the Dalai Lama. I have booked my Trip several times but my dream has been destoyed by troubles in the area. I will still achieve this Trip. I have kept a journal for this Trip since 2001 so my page is siTTing on my Tibet journal. My GREAT news is that I have decided to travel to Tibet in September 2009  Woo Hoo.

 

(BTW believe me that Caz and I created our pages months ago when we were housands of miles apart....)

So what does T mean to you??? Lets see you great work.

Love from the Creative Girls X

A to Z Journal - S Pages

Hi all and it's S for September and Sunshine LOL

Here are a few ideas for the letter S:

Book of me/you: Soppy, Staid, Stylish, Sassy, Spouse, Sincere, Studious, Shy, Sexy, Silly, Suave, Smart, Soft, Stupid (LOL), Spendthrift (Hee Hee ME) ...

Book of baby: Smooth, Sleep, Spoilt, Sweet, Surly, Sticky, Sleep, Soothe, Son, Sick...

Book of everyday:  Supper, Soup, Shopping, Sunshine, Smile, School, Swimming, Snow, Sleet, Smoothie, So So, Sublime, Share, Space...

Occasions/ Life:  Sunshine, Summer, Spring, Sister, Splendid, Serendipity, Serenity, Salvation...

Tools and Techniques: Scrapping, Stamping, Stash, Scissors, Stables, Sew, Space, Scraps...

Knitting: Sew it together, Stitches, Sample...

Caz

 

heehee, yes that's me lively & spirited :)

Lemon's Book of Growing Up

S is for School and documents one of the trials of a first day at a new School.

Di - Book of my Life

Oh how I remember when I was a like a Sunflower in full bloom. But now I am in the last phaSe (Stage) -  a withering Sunflower. And yeS this phaSe (Stage) is the moSt gloriouS...

 

Thnks for visiting us and lets see your A to Z journal pages

Love from the cReative giRls X