December Daily done

I love to make a December Daily journal each year.  Even more than that, I love to look back over those I’ve made in previous years which contain a wealth of memories, family traditions and stories.  But of course, it’s the busiest month of the year too and I frequently find myself completely behind with it all and need to catch up from time to time.

This year, in particular, I was never up to speed with it all.

Usually, I find a pack of Christmas paper I like and buy one or two bits and pieces which go with it.  I’ve got a stack of ribbon and other shiny things and I create my own journal as I go along.  I read the blog and admire the work of Ali Edwards, so when I saw she was having some input to a 25 Days online workshop via Studio Calico, I thought I’d sign up and see what I could learn from her.

Enrolling for that class opened up the chance to buy a December Daily kit, too, and though I felt it was an expensive option, I weighed up the cost of buying all those bits and pieces and went for it.  If I say the photo shows what was left over, then you’ll guess, there was quite a bit in that kit!  Not only did it contain printed papers, rubber stamps and all the usual embellishments, there were also many files online to download, including cut files for the Silhouette.  Whilst most of it was well coordinated and worked well together, there were some anomalies and a couple of really strange inclusions, so I felt no pressure to use every bit of it.  The other downside was that none of this was available until December 1st.

When we were in Philadelphia.

As a result, I didn’t even begin until the 6th December and ever since then, I’ve been days and days behind.  Still, once I did get going on it, I found it all came together fairly easily. even if I do have to spend ages fiddling about with each page arrangement until I’m happy.

Actually, what took most time was looking through the wealth of goodies I had to choose from, deciding what I wanted to use where and what I wanted to save for another day.  The online “class” wasn’t really anything of the sort but a mere series of pdfs with ideas from a group of people to show how they used the papers and ephemera in their December Daily journals – and the Ali Edwards input which had attracted me in the first place was minimal.  Still, it was interesting to see how differently people interpreted the brief and used the components.  Being me, I couldn’t simply “lift” their ideas but had to do my own thing (though of course, at times I found I liked what I saw there and did something rather similar).

I liked many of the items included in the kit and was pleased to try out for myself some of the things I see mentioned from time to time.  I now see why people use their sewing machine to fix Thickers letters on their pages – because the adhesive on them is so poor they fall straight off the page!  They do look good, though.

I especially like the sheet of little glossy dots, three of which can be seen on the page above.  I’ve no idea what they are but I’d look for them again. Enamel dots!

Normally with a December Daily journal, the challenge is to find a set of numbers with enough ones and twos to cover the whole month.  Because this set had been put together with the express purpose of creating such a book, this was no problem at all – in fact, as you can see, there was a wealth of choices, especially for the big day!

My favourite was the set of little wood veneer tree shapes and I’ll look out for those again.  I can’t be alone in liking those, because I see they’re out of stock in most places but they will surely return.

Am I pleased with the end result?  Well, yes I am.  Was it worth the price of the kit and the class?  Hmmm… 

Five years ago, I signed up for Shimelle’s Journal Your Christmas.  It’s a once and for ever enrolment and each day in December, Shimelle delivers a set of prompts and ideas to my email inbox every day.  I don’t have to go to a website, log in or do anything else…it’s just there.  Because I’ve followed her prompts and suggestions for five years, I felt I was getting a little stale and needed a new challenge.  But guess what I’ll be doing next December?  Ultimately, I felt that this year’s December Daily journal has been very product driven.  Each page has got way more “stuff” on it than I’d usually include and though I’ve tried to use it carefully, it’s not really my style.  Actually, there’s more journalling than it appears in the photographs because I’ve hidden most of it behind flaps and in pockets.  But I prefer my pages to be more than a single photograph and an abundance of “stuff”, so next year, I’ll be back to my usual story telling style with a bit of this and that to adorn the content rather than vice versa.

But oh my, have I got a collection of resources on which to draw when next December comes around!

Finished!

The last pages of my journal tell the story of the last few days quite well.  I’ve learned quite a bit and it turned out to be easy to identify a clear focus each day.  Samuel’s visit on Wednesday revealed what we all know already, but forget: How fast babies grow!  My visit to the dentist on Thursday was a rare reminder of how it feels to leave needing no further treatment…for now.

Friday and Saturday provided the last double page spread of the book and the greenish brown collaged surface was perfect for the photograph of Martin, which featured on the order of service for his funeral.  I was able to tuck the details behind the photo, because at some point in the future, I might look at the picture and wonder who?  what?  why?   But as I recorded in my previous blog post, the service taught me to take every opportunity to listen to the stories people tell of their lives – as well as to make the most of every day we have. 

The large purple splodge on the facing page might have been formidable, had I not created a purple card during a demonstration in the class I taught on Saturday.  Pure coincidence, serendipity, whatever, but with a clear message not to forget to have fun in the middle of all the form filling and administration that’s required in any adult learning situation these days.

The final page records our friend’s birthday party.  She will be ten this week and I provided the craft activity for her friends at her party yesterday afternoon.  When I was first married, I taught in a girls’ school and had a class of thirty ten year olds, so sitting at a table chatting to a couple of them about dragons took me right back to those happy days. 

I completed the journal with a list of the events which prompted the journalling.  I know that at some point I’ll need just that bit of extra information to put the page into perspective, so added a short sentence for each day.  I printed it out in my handwriting font…good fun and just a bit spooky, because although it looks just like my writing, at the same time it doesn’t really look as though I wrote it.  Hmmm.

So that completes the Learn Something New Journal for another year.  Tomorrow, as well as beetling down to Exeter to work for three days, I am going to begin a new project.    I have observed (and indeed, been a little bored by) so many blog posts recording their everyday life in this way, but ultimately, my curiosity has been piqued too.  So, I’m giving it a try between now and the end of the year and if it proves a comfortable and effective alternative to my photo a day, then perhaps it’s something I’ll continue.  Though I bought the “kit” to use during this first stage, I envisage including all kinds of things and will probably break free of the formula at some point.  We’ll see.

In the meantime, I’ve put everything away from the four bags full of things I took to my class on Saturday and now need to begin to pack for the next one.  I really am coming back as a French teacher in my next life.

Day 2 – and I’m keeping up

One of the advantages of binding those pages into a book before I began was that they are in a fixed order…each day, I simply have to work with what’s there.  I know what I’d do otherwise.  I’d spend ages dithering over which page to choose, which colours to work with and all of that.  As it was, I dithered for quite some time anyway.

The next page in the book was blues and peachy colours.  I thought there was too much white space and wanted to perk it up a bit.  The theme for the day was teaching, and though it was really supposed to be a reflection on the events of Sunday, after a day at work, teaching and learning was very much on my mind.  As a result, it refers more to Monday…but it’s my book and I can do what I want!

I added the date in a brick red, punched a star and coloured that with the same stamp pad as I used for the word “teach”.  I used the same denim blue paint for a few dots to fill that space too.  The thought for the day reflects on the discussions in my meeting; I had a good opportunity to watch, to listen and to observe – and to learn, of course.

Off we go

It’s the start of September and time to begin Learning Something New Every Day.  I know, it’s the second of September today, but come on, I’ve got to live the day before I can know what I’ve learned and write it down, haven’t I?

Of course, I was champing at the bit, raring to get going because I knew that I’m working almost every day next week and getting ahead of myself is one way of keeping up.  So, yesterday afternoon, in between getting a few things ready to make a paella for friends last night, I bound those pages I painted into a concertina binding.  Exactly the same method I showed here, but the more pages there are to manage, the trickier it is to keep the whole thing straight.  But hey, I was trying not to be too neat on this one, wasn’t I?

The end result wasn’t half bad, the pages opened flat and gluing them back to back strengthened the pages too.  OK, there were one or two wobbles here and there but once the glue dried, the whole thing hung together rather better than I had dared hope.

Of course, it needed covers though.  Sticking to my principle of keeping this thing all hand made and “unplugged” I pulled out a sheet of random painting I’d done earlier in the year, following a free online class.  I know, it was exactly this kind of instructor-driven stuff I’m trying to avoid, but the painted sheets were there and this seemed a good use for them.  I glued them to stiff cardboard covers and left the thing to dry.

It wasn’t without the occasional minor disaster.  The bottle of glue I’d been using was somewhat fragile; the plastic had become brittle over time and it was already bandaged up with duct tape.  Nevertheless, when it was still half full, I couldn’t bear to throw it away so I was happily squeezing the bottle to get every bit of it out when SPLAT!  The bottom of the bottle burst open and the contents oozed everywhere.  aaagh!   Fortunately, my paint palette was on hand and I dumped the lot in there (yes, still couldn’t throw good glue away…sad, isn’t it?)  Using an old credit card I used every last drop to bind the book and even had the unexpected but very enjoyable experience of peeling all the dried up glue from my palette this morning!

The bound pages are pretty secure and now it’s all dry, it’s pulled together well.  I used a couple of pieces of Japanese linen tape to hold it together – I have a roll of wider, lime green linen tape somewhere but until I track it down, the plum check will have to do!

I used some of the denim blue acrylic paint to colour the edges of the cardboard, too.

So, what about the inside, then?  Time for the first observation and the entry for September 1, 2012.

The paella.  I have never made it before but fancied having a go when friends were coming for supper this weekend. I didn’t think our shallow pans were big enough, so had looked in a couple of shops in Gloucester Quays (Le Creuset outlet and similar) on Friday afternoon after work, but nearly fainted at the price – I was not prepared to spend £100 on a new pan just to make a paella in!  But shopping in Cirencester yesterday, the kitchen shop had a window display featuring…paella pans!!  (The real McCoy too)   One was perfectly sized and at £9.99 a rather more affordable purchase.  My hero and I got all the ingredients prepped in good time and were able to enjoy the company of our friends as I cooked Jamie Oliver’s Paella and ate a few tapas at the same time!

So, the Paella adventure prompts the first observation of the project.  Easy peasy!

No safety net needed

Yesterday, I cut 32 pieces of paper, got out a few colours, the mod podge, the gesso and a big brush.  I spent a slap-happy couple of hours not really thinking about what I was doing, trying not to be too neat and tidy but just going for it and hoping for the best.

I tried not to be too precious, but of course, a few favourites appeared.

In just a couple of hours, a long row of pages were laid out on the floor to dry overnight.  Some need a bit more of a tweak, others are ripe enough and ready to become the pages of my Learn Something New Every Day journal.

It felt good to stand back and admire an afternoon’s work.  I used the panorama function on my camera to record the whole lot and giggled to myself when I saw a few pairs of feet: Memories of those old school photographs when some little oik would run around the back and get himself into the photo twice!