Journal your Christmas 2012 - Sign up for my favourite online scrapbooking class!
Journal your Christmas is my favourite project of every year… and next Saturday it will start again, for my ninth year! Whether you’ve joined in this project before, seen it from afar or it’s brand new to you, you can join in!
Journal your Christmas was a journey I started nine years ago now, with the first year being just a project for myself, not thinking of taking it online at all. I’d had a rough year. I was worried about the holidays becoming more drama on top of some big events that just had me feeling lost in a very big world. I could remember being head over heels in love with Christmas growing up. It was magical as a child and still amazing when I was a teenager and moved away to college and so forth… and yet I suddenly felt like I had lost every speck of sparkle from my Christmas spirit. And I wanted it back. So I kept a little book and wrote about things every day, sometimes about my Christmas present, sometimes my memories of Christmases past and sometimes my hopes for Christmases future.
That notebook changed my life.
When that new year rolled around and we got back into the normal work schedule, friends and colleagues all commented that I seemed so different – like an improved and rejuvenated version of me. They asked what I had done over Christmas to change my attitude, and the only thing I could point to was my notebook. By thinking things through, I made a more conscious effort to enjoy the good stuff in life and minimise the drama. Sometimes they laughed at the idea, but more than one nodded and said it sounded sensible. So throughout that year, the idea of how this could continue bubbled away in my head.
Journal your Christmas became an online class in 2004, and has continued every December since. That means this is our ninth year of reclaiming Christmas on our own terms, celebrating the very best of the season and taking the time to enjoy both Christmas present and our favourite memories from many Christmases past. I am so very happy to welcome those who have been writing their Christmas memories for those past eight years right along with brand new faces and everyone who has joined us between then and now. I truly look forward to this project all year long.
What is Journal your Christmas?
Journal your Christmas is an online scrapbooking class to celebrate the holiday season. It starts on the first of December and finishes on the sixth of January, with thirty-seven daily prompts sent by email.
Each prompt is a full-colour PDF file you can view on your screen (on your computer, iPad, smart phone or anything else that lets you view such files) or print onto paper. Each daily prompt follows a specific theme of the day, with the thirty-seven days covering all sorts of holiday aspects, from food and decorations to music and gifts. Every day there is something for you to consider and ideas to make the writing come easily. The topics can be applied to this year for documenting the current Christmas or you can get nostalgic with your Christmas memories – and most crafters write a bit about both.
The daily prompts are delivered to you at the same time each day by email, so you don’t have to spend any time logging into a website to download each day’s content. Should you have the time to chat with other participants or share your work, there is a private message board for class participants, and you can spend as much or as little time there chatting to other crafters enjoying the holiday season. Each prompt includes several examples of pages created by Journal your Christmas class participants, so you can see a range of crafting styles (including paper and digital pages) on the same theme. You can gather ideas from any of them or go in your own unique way entirely. There is zero pressure to make anything in the same style as any of the examples, including mine. Everyone and every style welcome!
How much time do I have to devote to this project?
You can devote as much or as little time as you like. Some participants create a entry or a page every day, and that’s a fab way to follow the class prompts. However it’s certainly not required, and it really wasn’t what I envisioned on day one. My original notebook was writing every day but not completing a full scrapbook page. That part came later. Since the class has permanent membership, I encourage scrappers who don’t have the time or the desire to create something every day to just choose the prompts that speak to you (or your schedule) most. You can make a few pages this year, a few pages next year and so on to fill a whole album. Or you can make a mini album every year. Or something that falls in between. You can blog your writing (either to the world or just to yourself) and choose later to add something crafty or not. You can take pictures and put together a photobook at the end of the project. We’ll cover many ways to make this work, and you can choose the options that work best for you.
What if I don’t scrapbook?
You are still very welcome to join us. Reading each day’s prompt, you might choose to respond in the form of a blog post or a plain written journal. My original book was nothing more than penned words and a tiny bit of colour here and there, so this can certainly be useful! Some participants follow the class from a photography angle, and use it as their inspiration to take a series of meaningful photos throughout the holidays. And still others read each day’s prompts just to be more mindful and aware of Christmas and use the class purely to keep them in the right mindset for enjoying the season for its real merits rather than letting commercial pressures and the stress of a busy calendar overtake their Christmas magic.
Truly, anyone is welcome.
What is included in Journal your Christmas?
Journal your Christmas includes permanent membership – so you sign up once and can join in as many years as you would like at no additional cost. That also means once you sign up, you can access the prompts and extras from earlier years at any time, via the class forum. Those extras include printable accents, digital kits and photography challenges.
For 2012, all the class materials have been completely refreshed. If you think you already have the 37 topics in order, there will be an entire holiday season of surprises for you! Plus there is some significant video content this year, when we’ve only had a bit of video here and there in the past.
For 2012, Journal your Christmas includes:
…thirty-seven daily PDF prompts for writing and crafting
…thirty-seven daily PDF prompts for holiday photography (like getting an online photography workshop as a bonus)
…videos to support the PDFs (there is not a video every single day but there are many, and they cover a variety of things, including writing, crafting and taking pictures)
…exclusive digital and printable designs for your pages
…private forum to chat and share your work
…online chat to start the project (of course your attendance is optional)
…bonus offers from some of my favourite websites
…£1 donation to The Girls’ Fund via Plan, helping provide education and well-being to girls in difficult circumstances around the world.
And I’m happy to say the class is the same price as last year and the year before that.
How do I join Journal your Christmas?
Easy! Just choose your currency and click the button below for your choice of UK pounds or US dollars. If neither of those is your currency, you can still join us! Choose either and the payment will convert automatically when you make your payment.
You can pay by credit/debit card or Paypal account. If you would like your prompts to come to a different email address than the one on your Paypal account, please be sure to leave a note in the message to seller section with the email address you would like to use. Orders can take up to 24 hours to process, though we are usually quicker. If you haven’t received your class registration after 24 hours, just email me and we’ll make sure your registration is completed and ready for you to get started!
If you participated last year, you don’t need to do anything to join us again. This week you will receive an email with some updated info and reminders for you. The only thing you might need to do is update your email address if it has changed over the past year. By the way, if you don’t remember your username or password for the class forum, send an email here for help with that!
Can I gift Journal your Christmas to a friend?
Yes, of course! Just use the same button to join, and leave the email address of the friend in the notes field of the payment. Or if you miss that step, send me an email. If you would like me to send a personal email to the gift recipient to reveal your gift (or keep your Secret Santa identity a secret), I am happy to do either. Just let me know.
Do I need to prepare in advance?
You don’t need to, no. Some crafters really like to prepare a book in advance. Some don’t. There are many participants already discussing this sort of thing on the forum and once you sign up you can see all sorts of completed Christmas Journals to get an idea of what style you would like best.
There are also a few archive posts here you might find useful: Preparing Christmas page numbers with a video, and a second look at JYC page numbers from a different book, and preparing pocket pages ready to keep all sorts of Christmas ephemera.
Any other questions?
If you have a question I haven’t answered, feel free to ask in the comments or send me an email.
I very much hope you’ll join me and journal your most magical Christmas yet!
Read more about: classes
Next post: 10 things :: 10 Christmas Crafting Tutorials
Previous post: Gardeners' Digest scrapbooking blog hop (November 2012)
24 November 2012, 15:29
Woo hoo, woo hoo!! Excited!! :)
24 November 2012, 15:47
I just paid for it. :) I can’t wait. Christmas has lost some of the magic due to family issues and kids getting older. I need this, I think. :)
24 November 2012, 16:03
I can’t wait!!
HERE you can see my pages from last year :)
24 November 2012, 16:20
You describe your classes so so so well it is so hard to resist joining up. What I really like is that there’s something for everyone. Like I know I probably won’t be able to craft anything during the class, but I can always write or take photos here and there.
I’ll give it a day or two of thinking before I sign up but I am really really sold to this idea already. I just don’t want to be disappointed (by myself) because I’ve signed up for classes before and didn’t really take them. So I have to assess if I’m really ready for this one. :)
24 November 2012, 16:22
So excited to be doing this class for the second year. Have my Christmas in a box all ready to go along with a few Christmas extras left over from last year.
24 November 2012, 16:38
So excited to see your post tonight! This will be my 3rd year.Myself and my special crafty friends already had a JYC prep crop booked in for tomorrow and this has just made me even more excited. Cant wait to get started with JYC 2012 :)
24 November 2012, 16:57
I am ready for this year. This is my second year doing JYC.
24 November 2012, 17:13
I can’t wait :) this really made me think about our Christmas last year, I loved it :)
24 November 2012, 17:42
YAY Can’t wait
24 November 2012, 18:00
It’s good to be back….doesn’t time fly!!!! xxxxxx
24 November 2012, 18:10
My third year, I can’t wait. I still cannot decide how I am going to do it, but that is part of the fun. Thanks Shimelle.
24 November 2012, 18:12
Oh, and I love your leg warmers…are you bringing them back? Great idea.
24 November 2012, 18:23
This class sounds so amazing! You do describe your classes so well. Money is too tight for me and the hubby to participate this year but I will keep this in mind for next year.
24 November 2012, 19:13
This is my 3rd year & can’t wait. Can’t find the link to the forum
25 November 2012, 03:42
I look forward to this every year :D
25 November 2012, 06:21
This sounds like fun. Love everything Shimelle does and can’t wait to start this great project.
25 November 2012, 06:28
My favourite class of the year!! This is my 5th year and I love it! Well done to Shimelle for getting past the IT gremlins and moving forward ready to JYC! Have fun everyone!
25 November 2012, 08:06
this is so my favourite project of the year. looking forward to joining in again x
25 November 2012, 08:50
I am so excited for this year’s JYC to start it always makes December feel so much more Christmasy :)
25 November 2012, 09:43
You can see my past JYC albums on my blog (just click on my name.) JYC entries are filed in the Labels list on the left. I’ll confess I wasn’t able to finish last year’s album—I got sick two days before Christmas! (I do my journal through December 25.) I plan to finish it up shortly.
25 November 2012, 11:44
I have signed up already for the first time – although for many years I have looked longingly at this idea. This year I have taken the leap. I am going to try hard not to put pressure on myself, but I do think I might need to have a book ready if I am going to succeed…..
25 November 2012, 12:36
I’m here for year four. I’m hoping to make my book more upbeat. Life hasn’t been the best for the past few years and I’m trying very hard to not let it drag me down. I love Christmas, but like you once had, the sparkle has dimmed. I want it back.
25 November 2012, 13:58
I can’t wait for this – I hope I can create something as beautiful as everyone else has done over the previous years!! Now where is my camera?
25 November 2012, 16:13
Already excited about it….and have my album part prepared.I like the idea of some surprises.
25 November 2012, 19:18
I just signed up, it’s my first year participating, and I am so flipping excited! Thank you,Shimelle…for giving me something to look forward to, just when I needed it most. ♥
26 November 2012, 02:41
This is my 5th year of JYC. I can’t say I’ve done a perfect job each year, but love the pages, photos and journalling that I did complete. I think it makes you more present in the day to day moments of Christmas and preparations. Thanks for the background to why you began JYC Shimelle – I had never heard that before and it was quite inspiring to see what a difference journalling and being present makes on your mood! Looking forward….
26 November 2012, 11:45
I’m looking forward to it! :)
26 November 2012, 12:13
This year #5 for me – and I never tire of doing it – I never make it a chore. For you new gals – a sticky note to write on is all you need to be able to refresh your memory and come back to the day you had to skip.
Thanks Shimelle for being a part of my holiday traditions!
26 November 2012, 18:09
Eeeeeeek! I’m so excited to finally start! I’ve been looking forward to it since last year! =P
27 November 2012, 23:38
I’m here for the first year and so excited! I am tired of Christmas being about sacrifice and obligation, with no time for joy and remembering what the season is truly for. Ready to RECLAIM JOY over here!
28 November 2012, 08:40
Only just seen this post. Been looking forward to this year’s JYC class for ages. Will be reading my old journals in the next couple of days to relive past memories. Can’t wait to start journalling this year’s memories. Grab the moment girls!!!
29 November 2012, 00:31
I have never tried this before it sounds cool. I like the idea of mixing reccords of traditions and christmases past with what is happening now. Cant wait to get stuck in :)
29 November 2012, 07:42
Hi, Shimelle. I need a little help. I signed up for the Cover to Cover self paced class and got my Paypal receipt, but I can’t find the class anywhere…can you point me in the right direction? Thanks,Rhonda H
1 December 2012, 08:10
This is my first year at this… really looking forward to it :)
1 December 2012, 09:09
so excited about this again
thank youf or making christmas even more special x
2 December 2012, 18:15
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3 December 2012, 22:27
resistance is futile. I just signed up.
6 December 2012, 07:46
Hooray! I finally got around to paying!! I have been a big fan of yours for a long time and I am so happy to finally be able to take your class. And I love looking at your London pictures and posts, we come there almost each year, it’s my favorite city!
6 December 2012, 08:36
Hi! I remember you said you had a video for each of the sock hop add on kits. I know the kits are sold out, but I would still love to watch the videos :) Btw I loved your glitter girl video this week, and I would also love to see more of your december daily…
6 December 2012, 15:22
I didn’t sign up because I’m not much of a journaller but I’m missing Shimelle so might have to! I would LOVE some sort of sneak peek of what the JYC people are up to. I so feel like I’m missing something!
15 December 2012, 10:11
If I were you, I would see the best writer job service to have a lot of supreme data about this good topic!
17 September 2013, 06:56
Excited!! TOO!
8 October 2013, 09:19
where do I go to see last years photos *
17 April 2015, 08:16
It was magical as a child and still amazing when I was a teenager and moved away to college and so forth
17 April 2015, 08:36
celebrating the very best of the season and taking the time to enjoy both Christmas present
6 January 2020, 07:52
Thanks to this article I can find out more. Expand my knowledge and abilities. Actually the article is very practical.
10 February 2021, 04:19
I love journaling. I get to customize and create something that truly speaks to me. Every time I create something that really represents my personality and my feelings is just pure joy. I hope that you enjoy making journals as much as I do. I really do love decorating and decorating. Just like how I like design home games free
4 June 2021, 08:23
Should you have time to talk to other co-workers or share your work, there is a private message board for class participants, and you can spend more time or as little time there talking to other professionals enjoying the holiday season. Hope its website will offer you much more. Each lifestyle includes several examples of pages created by Your Christmas Class Participants Magazine, so you can view many creative styles (including book and digital pages) on the same theme. You can compile ideas from any of them or go your own unique way.
1 September 2021, 03:52
Have a good day, always happy , always success”
1 September 2021, 03:53
Have a good day, always happy , always success”
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