I think it's interesting how just beginning something can start ideas flowing, and cause momentum to grow. It's true with writing, and most other creative endeavors. Since I've started sewing again I've been going into fabric and craft stores a lot to pick up thread and ribbons and other things, and also, since it's Christmastime, I go there for Christmas ideas and inspiration. I've also been looking at paper crafts. I probably love paper even more than I love fabric. I've never started the whole scrapbooking thing for a couple of reasons. Mostly because it's sort of twee, and also because I know I would never stick with it.
So I occasionally buy some beautiful paper, but I've only really used it as backgrounds when photographing my jewelry. Which is fine as far as it goes. But then a week or so ago I stopped in to Archiver's, which is a scrapbooking store, to look around, and fell in love with this line of paper products, particularly some snowman paper that I don't see on the site.
Also recently, I had run across this site, and loved the idea of making a Christmas mixed paper book. But again, I restrained myself because while I might actually make one, I doubt if I would really use it. But then I remembered that I had a blank book that I'd bought at the Border's closing sale (sadly, the Borders store where I go the most is closing, but "the most" is kind of an oxymoron anymore since I buy mostly digital). It's a Paperchase "multi" notebook with plain, lined and graph paper interspersed with pockets, sheet protectors and photo sleeves, and a zipper pocket at the back.
So last night I took the notebook, sheets of paper, stickers and stick-on tabs and made my own customized Christmas notebook. I used a glue roller that lays down strips of glue--much neater and gives a much more professional look than regular glue or glue sticks--and lined both sides of the first and last pages of the book with the paper. I also glued paper onto each of the divider pages, and with the scraps I made a bunch of tags and some bookmarks.
My plan is to record things like what gifts we gave, who we sent Christmas cards to, and special things we did like going down to the Plaza to see the lights. I'm going to glue in pieces of the fabric that I'm using, photographs of things I make, maybe an example of "to and from" tags; ooh---the recipe for sweet potato casserole that I made for Thanksgiving! That kind of thing. It's mostly for fun, but it's also a nice record of what happened, since my memory isn't all that reliable any more ...
