Skip to main content

Christmas Card Journal and Facing Fears

Happy New Year!

I haven't felt much like doing anything the past few days, but this morning I woke up feeling a bit happier and more like making something.  

I was inspired by these five things:

1.  A lovely pile of Christmas cards.

2.  Some fun Christmas pictures.

3. Erika's**Art*Journal*Journey* theme - Favorite Things.

4. Scrapacat's MIX challenge on Splitcoaststampers.com: Snowy Day with at least two mediums.

5.  Kandie's Messy, Mixed and Joyful Challenge  on Splitcoatstampers.com:  Journal cards made with Christmas cards.

I decided to make a little Junk Journal with some of the Christmas cards, gift card holders, and envelops I received.  I filled it with pictures from this Christmas Season.

I started with a large handmade card sent to me by my blogging buddy, Jill.  I reinforced the "spine" with some packing tape, gesso, card stock, and Modge Podge.  I added on some crinkled tissue paper,  few die cuts, paper dolls and some gold paint.  I finished it off with some SnowTex. 

Here are some more pictures of the inside:


I have enough cards to make a few other ones so I may do more.  Even my hubby loved it.

As for my favorite things:  my family, playing with paper and mediums, cards, and friends.  

One more page that also fits **Art*Journal*Journey* deals with drawing - I love to do it but faces really get me and I avoid them.  I bought myself Jane Davenport's Beautiful Faces book and I have been practicing.  I like how my faces came out after the first couple of practice sessions even though they have a lot of flaws.  I decided to make them into a journal page about our fears of our our own faces (real and drawn).

Thanks so much for visiting!  Hope you are staying safe!

Hugz,

Nancy








Comments

  1. sheila 77January 1, 2021 at 2:55 PM

    This is a great idea to use pretty Christmas cards. Some of them are too attractive to throw away.
    I like your list of favourite things too. I’m going to make a list tomorrow.
    Your faces are really good. My favourite is the one with the grey hair at the bottom of the page, she looks all ready for a party.
    Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AZTKJanuary 1, 2021 at 3:03 PM

    Hi Nancy, LOVE the card junk journal! : ) and i think your face page is wonderful... you are very talented, even on your first try. Teresa

    ReplyDelete
  3. JD/ JillJanuary 1, 2021 at 4:03 PM

    This is a wonderful Journnal. What a great job (AGAIN) Always! You have inspired me...many years ago..I made myself an altered book. I always wanted to make more but never did. I should try again because it turned out to be a treasured book. I also feel honored that one of the Christmas cards you used for this precious Journal was mine. I didn't know what to send you...and that one just jumped out at me as a card for you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. My name is Erika.January 1, 2021 at 5:16 PM

    Your junk journal is amazing Nancy. That is a great idea and way to keep those Christmas cards. I should do the same. I still have my pile from last year as well as this years and it seems a waste to just throw them away. And you drew some fabulous faces. I am playing with hands lately, and they are difficult to do. I think you had a fun art time from the looks of it, and I'm glad you joined us at Art Journal Journey. Thanks. And happy start to the new year! I hope you have a happy 2021. Hugs-Erika

    ReplyDelete
  5. Christine AlexanderJanuary 1, 2021 at 8:16 PM

    such a special journal and the perfect place to hold all those wonderful photos :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Bleubeard and ElizabethJanuary 2, 2021 at 2:45 AM

    I had planned to be here earlier, but my electricity went off early in the day. Wichita got SLAMMED with ice and snow, making 2021’s first day seem more like 2020 revisited than the start of a new year.

    I was really impressed with your Christmas card junk journal. I save all my old Christmas cards, so I might look into making one of those journals. You are certainly inspiring and your journal is amazing. So, too, are your faces. You do great work, even if you aren't sure of yourself. I think your faces are brilliantly created. Thanks so very much for sharing these gorgeous pages with us at Art Journal Journey using Erika's theme.

    ReplyDelete
  7. cotnobJanuary 2, 2021 at 3:54 AM

    A fabulous Junk Journal Nancy, full of lots of lovely memories. I really like your faces, we are always our own worst critics - I can assure you they are a lot better than anything I could ever achieve.
    Wishing you a Happy New Year.
    Pauline - Crafting with Cotnob
    x

    ReplyDelete
  8. Mrs.BJanuary 2, 2021 at 9:21 AM

    Fabulous junk journal Nancy and a great way of recycling the lovely Christmas cards. The faces page in your journal looks fabulous and I loved reading the little criticisms.
    Avril xx

    ReplyDelete
  9. Shelly SchmidtJanuary 2, 2021 at 10:38 AM

    I love the idea of using Christmas cards to journal! May have to try it...... lol wonderful to add pictures in as well. Wow, your faces are great! Faces are difficult for me, need lots more practice! Happy New Year!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. craftytrogJanuary 3, 2021 at 4:38 AM

    I love your fabulous junk journal Nancy, and the faces page is wonderful!
    Alison xx

    ReplyDelete
  11. pearshapedcraftingJanuary 5, 2021 at 8:33 AM

    What a fabulous junk journal and such great idea to use christmas cards! I have phases of wanting to draw faces, haven't done any for a while! Yours are fabulous, I love the wistful looking girl top left! Hugs, Chrisx

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Brotherhood Wishes, a Paper Purse, and a Special Mug

Hello friends. No more fun travel or parade pictures - back to every day normal life.  On a positive note, I have been able to fit in some art. Hereis an art journal spread I finished this weekend. I am adding it to Alison's Summer Landscape challenge theme at **Art*Journal*Journey* .   I started the pages in my journal around July 4th after seeing Dina's stripes inspired Mixed Media challenge on Splitcoaststampers.com and got as far as stamping some foliage at the bottom.  I was stuck after that, and I wasn't sure where to go with it next.  A few days later, I was clearing out some things in the craft room and ran across a Thomas Kinkade book I cut up and use in my Bible Journaling.  There was a picture of  the San Francisco Bridge and another of some mountains so I tore them out and added them to my page with Gesso representing some of the beautiful things in America and also Alison's countryside theme.  They did not blend in very well and I needed to alter them to wo
25 comments
Read more

My Favorite Parade

Hello Friends! Hope you had a good weekend.  I look forward to this weekend every year because I love the Fourth of July Parade in Prattville.  It makes me feel like things are right with the world - it is a bit old fashioned, a bit innocent, a bit quirky (actually a whole lot quirky), and a lot of fun.  Anyone can be in the parade as long as you remotely look patriotic.  My kids used to ride their bikes in the parade when they were younger. I thought I would share a few pictures. The mayor and City Council had one of the first floats (by the way all the floats and cars throw candy, necklaces, and toys so the people watching are all paying close attention so they can catch the good stuff). Notice how the floats are really just trailers with a few decorations. This was one of my favorites - it was the sanitation department and they had all their candy in a toilet on the top of the truck - lol!  I am pretty sure it was tootsie rolls - lol again! The local judge - isn't she pretty?  
21 comments
Read more

Hot Air Balloons, Santa Fe, and Watermelon

Hello friends. Posting Day Three from our New Mexico Trip.   When  I was 26, I was on a hot air baloon team.  Our lead pilot back then was awesome and was asked to do a lot of commercial flights and invitationals. My favorite experience was at an invitational in Telluride, Colorado.  Flying down the middle of that city was amazing, but flying around Albuquerque was always wonderful as well.  Anyway, I wanted my daughter to experience the special feeling of being in a hot air balloon in Albuquerque (the balloon capital of the world).  Her son was a bit afraid so he stayed with me. Allie was lucky to have the owner of Rainbow Ryders as her pilot and she met a wonderful woman who is an established travel blogger (I will try to get her contact info and share it because she was very interesting and I bet her blog is interesting too).  They hit it off really well, and she was so encouraging to Allie who wants to get into Social Media Marketing.  For the travel blog video they got to go insid
22 comments
Read more