oneplusoneequalsfive: post Chistmas scrapping

Anyone else in that post-Christmas funk? I am fighting re-entry into real life hard. It's easier to do since I don't have to go back to work (a stay-at-home mom never goes on vacation, huh?!) and the kids are still off of school for another week.

So, while I haven't gone as far as to get scrap stuff out...I did put the office back together after having guests and flip through a box of Jillibean goodies I'm dying to use. Stop by soon to see a layout or two with that stuff. My friend Brenda will be a guest designer for them in January so I'll link you there when her stuff is up...it's super cute!

So to put myself back in the scrapping mood I thought I'd share how I scrap the holidays. I keep a separate Christmas album (or three). I like having it separate because the albums become part of my holiday decor at this time and the layouts of holiday fun don't get lost in my regular albums. Here's what my albums contain (excuse the poor photos...in a hurry to get this posted before the new year...no time to play with my trusty Photoshop):

Christmas Album

I use a Making Memories leather 12x12 album. This is actually the second album in a series. My first one was an old Creative Memories Christmas album...back in the day when I was a CM die hard! Anyway, for the cover square I used some Basic Grey papers, letter stickers and some Making Memories Christmas word stickers. Simple but to the point!

(Worden Christmas card, 2007...my own take on a Becky Higgins design)

In this album I keep a layout for each Christmas card I send out, the layouts of Christmas cards we receive, and layouts of our actual Christmas celebrations.

(another Becky Higgins sketch...Worden Christmas 2008)

Layouts about the preparations leading up to Christmas end up housed in our family album. Don't ask me why, that's how I started it and how I'm continuing it. I guess at the beginning I thought it would be too many layouts in the album and fill it up fast? Who knows.

I used to put layouts with the boys' Santa photos in there too. But then I decided to create a smaller album just for them. I'm going to do a separate post for Santa photos tomorrow...so stay tuned.

(Worden boy Santa letters from 2006, I think)

But I do include their Santa letter each year...so fun to watch them grow through their writing and content of the letters!

The last Christmas album I have is one where I document our Christmas ornaments each year. This album is the 9x9 version of the Making Memories in leather.

I started by coming up with a simple layout and then creating a template for the journaling. Now each year I just photograph our newest ornaments and journal about what they mean to us this year. You can see that I went back and documented the oldest ornaments on our tree.

When I was growing up, my mom made sure that my brother and I got a new ornament each year...either from them or a family member. The Christmas before I got married, as we were taking down the ornaments, she packed away all of mine in a box labeled Kristen. When I moved into my own place after our wedding, she brought over my box. Our first Christmas together, Dave and I had a good start to our ornament collection. I loved it so much that I now do it for my boys. Each year I get them an ornament (at the after Christmas sales...shhhh, don't tell them) that has to do with what they like that year, or something important in their lives. Can't wait to hand a full box of ornaments to them on their first Christmas in their own place!