December journal

Can you believe we are in the middle of November already. Soon one of my favorite months will come. Can't wait for December! Love love love the month December with all the lights, preparations for Christmas, all the joy, time spent together, warm cozy indoor activities, maybe some skating or skiing, all the secrets, the making, baking, the lovely scent of Christmas in the house, the sparkle in the eyes of the kids, the preparing of gifts to the people we care for ... So many things that bring love and joy and meaning and reasons to be thankful into my life. 

As a part of my Christmas traditions is making of my December album a thing I really love and look forward to. 

This year all my scrapbooking is put away in different places around the house, but I enjoyed the process of digging trough my old paper and stash and find all things Christmas related. :-)

This years album is solely made of things I already had on hand and I enjoy bringing new life to old papers and stash. :-) 

Here are some of the premade pages I have made so far:

Thanks for stopping by. 

sometings brewing.....

To be honest I'm not really sure how to start this post.

It has been a really looooong time since I wrote or posted anything here.

I never forgot my good ol' blog, but it was, for a while, far far away from me. I didn't have the inspiraton, the creativity, the energy to write or create. 

However, at a certain point I started to miss it all. 

I missed my paper-stuff, my scrapbooking, my cardmaking and my little messy world of creativity and "art".

And yesterday was a really great day. It was one of those really really happy days. A day that gives you energy, and makes you smile for days.  

:-)

First I went to the city centre of Oslo to by myself some canvas. At the craft store I found this little ringbound album and it all started to ticle inside me. I bought the album and a few tags, decided to do something I have done for years, and really want to do ....

:-)

SO I hope I can go for it and share the journey with you.

HERE is a hint - or two - what this is all about.

;-)

Yes, and so on to the canvases I bought at the craft store...
My friends, Lene and Heike had invited me to join them in a painting class with the wonderful artist Lise Larsen Kjelstrup.
It was really the most wonderful, creative, happy, artful day I have had for a very long time.
Thank you Girls!! 
You filled me up with so much joy and happiness and energy and....love ....and....

here are some little glimpses from the class:

So, all this lead to even more creativity and happiness ...
Today my girls asled me if I wanted to scrap or make some papercrafts with them. We havent done it for ages, and it made me so very very happy. We went to the storage and gathered paper and stuff and put it all on the kitchen table. Sol created some wonderful cards, and then we all created some paper-stars. Very easy, very simple, but SO much fun!!
:-)
We had a really great time creating, and now we just want to do more!! Thank you Eirun and Sol for dusting off my scrapbooking-stuff and getting us started.
:-)

Well, this was all, for now.

Hope you will pop by some other day....I think I have something more brewing....

:-)

Thanks for your patience, thanks for all your support and for all kind and heartwarming words along the way. Thanks for not giving up on me. 

It's time to start over ...

better this time.

:-)

December daily

Hi.

Today is a cold and grey day in Oslo, but it is all good and we are starting to come in to the right christmas mood.

Yesterday I attended The most fun christmas concert " the source of Christmas" at Cosmopolite in Oslo.

We go to this concert every year to hear lots of talented artists: "the source";

Mats Eilertsen, Per Oddvar Johansen, Trygve Seim og Øyvind Brække, and all their international guests.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSO7hDJhNOU

Yes, and it is finally time to share some more of the pages in my december daily album.

I really do enjoy this december journey along with Ali Edwards.

My pages are pretty simple, but this year I have tried to focus on the little stories, and the little everyday memories.
Even if our days have been crazy and busy It is always some little things to remember.



on december 10th and 11th we made my hubbys favorite Christmas cookies. "kongen av danmark" ( english: the king of denmark cookies)
(recipe inside the tiny brown paperbag on the right page )
This is always a fun and happy happening in our family.
The dough have to be made one day ahead, and then, the second day we have to roll the little cookies.
We use to gather around the table to make the cookies, and it is a great way to spend time together, relax, talk, laugh and make plans for what we want to do at Christmas.
I devided my two day pages with a little piece of hambly overlay with the number 10 on one side and 11 on the other.



Here is my page for des. 13th.
We celebrate St Lucia that day, with special buns baked with safron.
At school and in all kindergardens they celebrate with a lucia parade, singing the special songs and eating buns.
This page are made on white cardstock and slip in to a pageprotector.
Recipe for the buns is printed on the back of the white cardstock.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaJbR4a5Afc

December daily

Hi.

Even if last week was extremely busy I still enjoy making my December Daily album.

If you haven't been in to Ali Edwards blog yet, make sure you do. Her projects and all the inspiration she shares is amazing.

Today I'm sharing my day 3, 4 and 5.

These days were filled with so many things. Music, concerts, waldorf marked, doing things at home ...

I needed more than one or two pages for each day.

As our life is filled with so many things it is hard to make a foundation for a album like this in beforehand ... and I'm still happy for my blank pages to be filled in.
Last week was crazy. Hubby and I had concerts ( Händel, Messiah) every day, so that week will be a "short chapter" in this album. But the most important is: I will have a complete album from this december - our life: busy days and cozy days...good stories, and just plain everyday.

:)

Pictures from the Waldorf Marked.
Last sunday was one of these wonderful, cosy days with lots of time just hanging around the house.
It was new, pure white snow outside, and we had so much fun playing, having this little photo shoot, drinking hot cocoa, eating ginger bread and just enjoying the day off.

-------------

All this being said, this has been the most busy and exhausting december (and actually the whole year ) ever.
I feel totally flat.
No batteries left at all.
I want to enjoy creating, I have so many projects i want to start, I have so many ideas..., but when it gets too much it is hard to enjoy the little things.
This weekend I Took all my scrapbooking stuff in to large garbage bags, and decided to "clean my desk" and shut down scrapbooking, papercrafting and creating.
However
it is probably impossible for a person of my kind to quit creating.
I have to create, no matter how tired and exhausted i am or how busy life gets.
It gives my life joy, and I love to create. It keeps me going.
So don't worry! I'll hang in, and still enjoy my creating.

Now the bags are back in my room, Things are in a mess, and I need to clean it all out.
Please be patient.

December daily

I have been looking forward to start my "December Daily" for a long time now.

I really enjoy following this project by Ali Edwards every year.

You can read more about it, and see all Alis wonderful, premade pages on her blog.

My album just consists of blank pages, other than my cover, the very simple front page, des. 1st and des. 2nd.

No premade pages, but the pages will be made as I go.

I love the idea of premade pages that Ali does, just to fill in the picture and the story of today.

But my time ran away .... and - to be honest I think I fit best to make things as I go.... ;)

Here is my day one.

We had so much going on that day.

Putting up stars in the windows, decorating outdoors, baking traditional "knekkebrød" ( a crispy bread ).

Edvin brought home a little bird that had broke his wing, and that was a story to tell as well ....

So, lots of things...

I made this photo-collage to cover it all.

One whole page for journaling was good for this day.

On the next page I added a brown envelope with the recipe for the "knekkebrød" inside. :)

Here is the premade page for my day two.

I knew this day would be über busy. Me working, having a class in ski, hubby working, kids practising at the kids marching band, hubby working at the waldorf christmas marked ....

No pictures was taken this day.... so I'll have to sort out what to do...

This december album-project is really one of my favorite projects of the year.

It feels good to capture the little moments of everyday during this busy, wonderful season.

So many wonderful, talented people are joining alis DD2010, and I have the best time browsing trough the flickr-album.

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a great weekend.

- gudrun -