Designing December

Hi it’s Tyra and I’m here to help you design your december journal and capture your holidays in style with these terrific finds:

• 30 Days of Lists. I joined the September 30 Days Lists and chronicled my journaling here.  This journaling adventure is great for those who want to (easily) capture a snapshot of their lives.  Amy and Kam also hosts a private blog and Facebook Group where “Listers” can share their lists.   And there is Great News! #30 Days of Lists is offering a December edition — a perfect complement to your holiday journal.  This year CraftSwag is a sponsor and will have a special treat waiting to listers who sign up! So Excited!
• Shmelle.com hosts Journal Your Christmas.  I have not yet seen any announcements as of the date of this post, but I will update as soon as more information becomes available.
• Big Picture Classes 2013 Picture The Holidays, providing 31 days of photography prompts during the month of December.

• SEI has a few beautiful kits, Chalet and Noel. Stop my my personal crafting blog laster this month as I will design with these kits.
• Studio Calico and Ali Edwards have collaborated again this year to create the 2013 December Daily.  This journaling kit is undoubtedly the premium choice for serious holiday journaling and you won’t be disappointed.  I have personally ordered kits from Studio Calico and I can speak for the quality offered.
• For a la carte options, Simple Stories features 6 x 8 binders in a variety of colors along with a coordinating collection of pocket inserts.
• Allison Kreft’s holiday line “It’s Christmas” features modern christmas colors and the coordinating accessories are sure to make any holiday journal fabulous.
• This holiday season I have been designing with the Sweet Stamp Shop latest release. Check out a peak of a holiday card I created here.  Stamps are great for creating journaling cards and accenting pictures.
• Simon Says Stamp offers a monthly card kit for an incredible value.  The supplies contained could easily be used to create a well coordinated album.
• Maybe you just need pens. Good Pens.  Great Pens.  Try JetPens.  There are pens of every style and type available at great prices. There is also free shipping over $25.00.

These tips are great when you are working with a budget, low budget or no budget at all:

• Consider focusing on a few colors.  Using color as a focus, shop your current stash for complimentary and similar colors.  You might find you have all you need to complete your December journal.  Use design seeds as inspiration.
• Transparencies. Consider using transparencies customized using your own ink jet printer and any simple word processing program.  Bonus: I will feature content on the upcoming December 30 days of lists that will make great use of your transparencies.
• Photo embellishments.  When printing photos, consider buying a few duplicates to create your own embellishments.  Click here for details.
• Sharpies. Yes, Sharpies.  Today these versatile markers come in a variety of colors, are permament, non-toxic and perfect for journaling on a variety of surfaces.
• Pinterest. Use Pinterest to find December Journaling printables.  Just be sure to check to the terms and conditions of use before downloading.

These are only but a few items for Designing your December. Please check back for even more holiday ideas as new releases become available.  Also, please visit JustTyra for additional details on what I will personally use this holiday season.