Getting ready to journal Christmas 2024!
Don’t worry, I don’t even put my pumpkins out until October so I’m definitely not rushing into Christmas around here, but I do have one thing that needs to come before the season arrives every year, and that’s supplies for Christmas Journal season! This year I have a shopping list and a set of stamps. The stamps are only available here, but the shopping list is the same format I use for my monthly scrapbooking. You can use it as a literal shopping list and add one of everything to your cart and have a full set of supplies to follow along with me as closely as you’d like, you can take it to your local store if you have one and go shopping there, or you can choose similar items from your existing collection of supplies to make your own kit from the stash you’ve bought over the years. All strategies and styles welcome! Journal your Christmas is a project that encourages all styles and making things work for you, so you can follow me step by step if you want or you can go entirely out on your own and both are equally welcome.
First up, the stamps. These will be open for preorders for one week – this closes next Wednesday the 2nd of October so they can be on their way to you in time for Christmas crafting! This year’s designs have plenty of circles which are all separate stamps, plus a separate topper that lets you turn any of the circles into an ornament. There is a mix of handwritten words and a clean retro font that I’m excited to add to the supplies on this year’s shopping list!
It’s a single sheet of stamps this year and there is one difference to ordering for 2024. In previous years, the price has included worldwide shipping. But there is now a much bigger difference in postage cost for domestic and overseas mail, so there are two options. Stamps with UK shipping for £13, or stamps with worldwide shipping for $18. The stamps about 4×6 inches or A6 format, made here in the UK from high quality photo polymer, and sent directly from me to you. Please make sure your shipping address is complete and correct and if you spot a mistake or are planning to move before December, drop me an email with those details.
£13 UK ADDRESS ONLY (pounds sterling)
$18 WORLDWIDE SHIPPING (US dollars)
Then there are the other supplies I’ll be using this December! This is what you’ll see me use in my videos throughout the Journal your Christmas online class. If you are ordering through these affiliate links (thank you!) don’t forget to check the coupons page. Today there is 9 to 11 percent off your order depending on the total with code SMILE, plus a free stencil to add to your cart. Below the list you’ll find my chat through everything that’s here and why, so you can make the choices that will work best for your style. There are just a couple items still marked as Coming Soon so I’ve placed my order today and will add those once they arrive – I’ve clicked the notify button in hopes I can be quick enough!
I love the number element of my Christmas journals so I started there first to get a feel for the style I plan to create this year, and the red stencil numbers mixed with my stamp numbers are putting me in a retro but fresh vibe that I think will be really fun to create. I’m using a colour palette of traditional red and green plus turquoise, and I do have winter (but not a lot of snow) at Christmas time, so some of my supplies are winter themed. Leave those off if your Christmas is far more tropical! Always pick the things that will work for your stories – that’s why I post a shopping list rather than a specific kit.
I’ve created Christmas journals in a range of sizes – 8×8, 9×9, 12×12, 6×12, and 6×8. I’ve stuck with 6×8 for many years now because it’s a beautiful balance for me in terms of room to write, room for photos, and just enough space to embellish in a way that brings me joy in a shorter time frame than a 12×12 page. This year I’m using a red velvet 6×8 ring binder. I’ve used the same brand in pink previously. While I wish there was an album out this year that had the same supersized binder rings as the album I used last year (designed by Paige Evans), sadly they are all smaller this time around. I know I can make this size work because I have before, but I also know I shouldn’t aim to use heaps of dimensional embellishments as I like to include plenty of pages in my journal and it’s best when it will still close.
I then start with a stack of 6×8 paper pads. I’m going with three 6×8 collection pads that are patterned and artwork based, one that is just tonal polka dots in colours I will use alongside, one in woodgrains, and one pack of plain journaling line papers. I’ve listed two tonal sets here because you might prefer the darker or brighter shades. I will be using the brighter option. Then I add in a few 12×12 sheets that I’ll cut down to smaller sizes, including some woodgrains and cut apart designs for quick pockets or embellishments.
I use my Christmas journal to journal, so I lean heavily into products that help me write down those stories. That means there are several sets of letter stickers in my basket. You might prefer letter stamps or another title product to stickers, but letter stickers are my bread and butter!
Next I pick packs of embellishments and I don’t tend to go for the fanciest kinds because then I find I spend a lot on that pack and never use it! Instead I go for what I know I will use without fear, and that’s die cut packs and sticker books. I’ve put a couple of packs of Christmas florals in for me this year but there are more shapes in those same collections if Christmas flower isn’t a concept that works for you.
Nothing looks done to me until it has enamel dots and gold mist, and you might totally disagree with that one! No problem. I have lined up my reds, greens, turquoises, and gold for this final step.
Along side my stamp set and all of the above supplies for this year, I keep things to my basics really. I’ll have black dye ink plus my Distress Oxide inks in reds, greens, and blue-greens, a set of basic letter stamps, a stamping block, some simple punches like a circle and a border, and probably a roll or two of twine to put through the tops of tags. I haven’t listed those on the shopping list but if you’re just getting started and would like advice, just shout and I can help with that!
Speaking of just getting started – if you’re new to scrapbooking or you’re new to this project and you just want a really simple and affordable way to make a Christmas journal with a kit that allows you to add your photos and writing to tell everything, then this set in either red or green is your answer. It includes an album with lots of page protectors, a journaling pen, and a set of Christmas themed journal and accent cards. You can follow the writing prompts in Journal your Christmas with this and not worry about the embellishment at all! Just the writing and the photos and then drop the odd title card into a pocket here or three. And this kit is actually a bargain because the same album without all the kit and pen stuff is the same price? So might as well go for it! This is totally a way to scrapbook with limited time and budget and don’t let anyone (including me) running away with our embellishments and stamping make you feel like it’s not proper scrapbooking. It most definitely is and it will get your stories told in a book you can hold and bring out every year. It’s a brilliant plan really! Find that here in red or green.
That’s everything to get you through until our class starts as usual on the first of December! Have a wonderful autumn or spring until then and I’ll see you when it’s properly time to talk all things Christmassy!
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