Journal your Christmas 2023: The Supply List
We’ll talk about this in more detail in today’s livestream on YouTube!
A reminder of #advertising: all these products are linked with affiliate links. Thanks so much for your support!
Albums
I love the 6×8 format for this project and have stuck with it happily for many years, so these are all 6×8 recommendations. Of course you can choose another size if you like!
I’m using that first album from Paige’s Sugarplum Wishes collection. It has the widest spine of any of the 6×8 albums I’ve found! It comes with some page protectors but you will need more – the Vicki Boutin page protectors listed third there also fit Paige’s binder without punching new holes. Other brands will require punching holes. Vicki’s album also adds in some papers for the page protectors (Paige’s album does not) so if you opt for Vicki’s Christmas binder, you can decrease the number of papers you add. You probably won’t, because decreasing the number of papers in a scrapper’s shopping is just torture. But you can, if you so wish.
The remaining 6×8 albums here will fit the Simple Stories and Scrapbookcom page protectors listed. SS and SBcom albums and page protectors are totally compatible and I have used both together in the past. (Be careful if ordering off list that the Simple Stories Snap Flip Book is different! Those are not compatible with the ring binders.) I haven’t seen the Echo Park / Carta Bella albums in person but I believe they fit the SS and SBcom protectors. If I find this to be inaccurate, I will come back and update!
At the end of this list, there is also a kit option with album, page protectors, and pocket cards for a ready to go, quick to create option that can be your entire purchase and then just add photos and writing to document your memories. If you have tried in previous years to make something fancy and given up by day four, TRY THIS OPTION. It counts and it will feel good to get to the end and have everything documented that you want to document! Stop overdoing it in December and take the route that can make it quick and easy. You can always go back to giving fancy a try another time.
Patterned Paper
Just like you don’t need all of those albums, you don’t need all of these papers! Hear me out on the method to my madness in helping you curate the supplies that will bring you joy in your crafting.
First of all: do you have a winter Christmas or not? Decide now if you want things like snowflakes and snowmen in your album and choose your supplies to suit. Just ignore any of the collections that are wintry if you have a tropical Christmas and the snowflakes make no sense to you.
Second: what kind of Christmas colours do you want to work with this year? I prefer the bright and colourful Christmas rainbow, so I’ve listed those options first. I’m going with the picks at the beginning of this list. But I respect the traditional green and red options, so those are here too. And in the middle, there are some papers that take the traditional red and green but also add a little something extra, like some pink or baby blue.
Once you have evaluated your decision on snow or no snow AND your preferred colour palette, pick two or three 6×8 paper pads and you will be good to go! 6×6 papers work well too (the Doodlebug option only comes in 6×6 or 12×12, for example) as lots of the pages are 3×4 and 4×6 pockets, so you only need the full 6×8 page for the full size page protector. You can also go with individual 12×12 sheets rather than a paper pad, of course. I’ve also added a few cut apart papers to this list and I liked the idea of adding some Christmas florals in but I didn’t want a full kit of those papers, so I just added them individually here.
At the end of this list I have also included some papers from my Main Character Energy collection that are certainly not Christmas papers but have at least one side that will work really well in my Christmas scrapping. Bonus that if you don’t use them up in December, they will be a-okay to keep using throughout the calendar.
Embellishments
Once you have picked your papers with your weather and colours in mind, then go to this list to choose some embellishments to suit. One pack of die cuts, one or two sticker books or sticker sheets, some confetti elements (enamel dots, tiny puffy stickers, or gems), and some lettering will give you lots of options. There’s also a little section in the middle of embellishments that are just something different – wooden stickers and paperclips with charms. May or may not be your cup of tea!
Mixed Media
Basics if you want to add ink! You can skip these entirely if you don’t. Number and letter stamps can help with custom titles and dates if you’re not a fan of letter stickers. Distress Oxides are my favourite inks and these are the colours I use at Christmas. Plus some things like stencils and sparkles that you can use over and over in your stash.
Any questions, come ask them in the YouTube comments and we can chat it through!
Read more about:
Previous post: 2023 Christmas Stamps available for preorder
