Grateful for Normal | Lisa-Jane Johnson | Festive Scrapbooking

Merry Christmas Eve to you all! 

I hope your festive season has been wonderful so far and that you either getting lots of crafting time or lots of photos to scrap in the coming weeks.  I was all set to share my progress on my Journal Your Christmas album which I started at the end of November but I'm afraid I only got to day 3.  My December has been a little, erm, difficult.  I will be very grateful for the lull between Christmas and New Year when my girl and I can catch up on our December journals (she's on day 7 as she only likes to scrap when I do).  I've been taking photos and of course I have my trusty planner to remind me of what was happening and as long as I can get some journalling down soon I won't forget the things I want to record about this season.

Various things have happened this month that have added chaos to an already busy time.  My Dad ended up in hospital for nearly a week and had to have an emergency pacemaker fitted after collapsing at home, we had to alter dates of everything we had planned including celebrating my mother in law's 80th birthday, I was told I'd have to have my achilles operation re-done, and then I managed to break my front tooth and I've not had the time or mental energy to get it fixed.  A couple of good friends had very poorly parents too so we were constantly waiting for updates.  I just couldn't bring myself to scrap all the great stuff that was happening. 

Then, last Wednesday, 20th, I finally had a day that was oddly normal.  No Christmas activities / concerts / shows / fayres / visits from relatives / no rushing to and fro from the hospital / no waiting for updates because everyone was through the worst.  I sat in Costa (other coffee shops are available) and took a breather.  I sat with my planner and decided what I had to do and what would have to be shelved.  And I caught up with some design work.  I took a picture for Instagram and decided that I would use this photo for a normal 12x12 layout about how grateful I was to have a day of normality after all the ups and downs of the month so far.  It was like therapy!

This year I am using a Simple Stories collection from last year called Classic Christmas and I'm mixing it with a bit of Shimelle's Christmas collection from the year before as they work really well together.  I like to use one kit through my December Journal.  I take a couple of the bigger stories and events and make 12x12 pages for my normal chronological albums so that there is a bit of Christmas in those albums too.

Having that bit of normal and then scrapping about it really helped me to take a breath and then get back on the roller coaster of festivities.  It was also a perfect time to use one of the stamps from Shimelle's Christmas range - Rekindle the Magic.

Scrap booking is certainly great therapy for me and I hope you can find a few minutes for some creative therapy this season too.  I also hope that you will continue to join us in 2018 for more great projects and inspiration.  But we are not finished in 2017 yet, so from me, have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.