As with others, I made a simple book out of cardstock and ribbon. I used coordinating scrapbook paper and embellishments to make it cute. It took little time and money, but makes a much bigger impact!

This last section looks at Disney’s whimsy, animals, fun, and romance!!! Enjoy! (Is it time to go back yet?)

In this section, we look at six more parts of my scrapbook.

Not to toot my own horn, but I think that this most recent scrapbook is awesome. Definitely my best work. I attribute this to the fact that I took notes to journal during the trip and also completed the book within a year of the vacation. In addition, I tried to go outside of my normal chronological sequencing. I wanted to group photos in certain ways that described the Disney experience. So, I came up with a list of adjectives (and some nouns) and sequenced my photos that way. This also allowed me to use several photos of the same subject but in different places in the book. I really tried to focus on journaling as well.

This trip took place early in my scrapbooking days, and now that I look at the pages, I’m amazed how far I have come. There is some technique and creativity in this book, such as using color and patterns to bring the page together. However, I think that the 7x7 format and the fact that I accumulated so much embellishment “stuff” hindered me a bit. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t take a peek and maybe steal an idea or two though!

Keep reading for ideas. It’s been over a year, but hopefully I can remember a number of them to get you started on planning your own event.

Last Christmas, we gave Dan's grandmother another gift certificate to Schwans, a company that she uses a lot to stock her freezer with yummy dinners. But, we didn't want to just give her a piece of paper. So, I made a cardboard card and Dan wrote a poem for the inside. It took little effort, but made the gift a little more extra special!

The poem read:

Rudolph's nose is bright red,
   An undecorated Christmas tree is green.
It’s hard to say--you may have liked this gift
   A little more when you were a teen.
(At least, I remember adolescent Jim
   As the one who licked the stroganoff pot clean.)

We know this gift isn’t too original--
   For a while now, we’ve given you one each year.
But it’s something that you can use
   When your stomach screams at you, “Hey! Down here!”
With a gift card to Schwann’s
   You don’t even need to be a great budgeteer!

We know you like the Chicken Cordon Bleu,
   though Gourmet Pretzel Twists look so very fine.
Fajitas are tasty and meatloaf is good...
   There’s so many choices that we’d probably whine!
But what are we saying, this isn’t right!
   With a catalog full of yummy food, you can yell out “mine all mine!”

This past year I wanted to give my dad a gift card to eat in one of the restaurants at Disney World because it is something that he never does for himself when he is there. So, I decided to make a little book with a story to hold the gift certificate.

Since our first year as a couple, we have been saving a chunk off the bottom of our Christmas tree stump to make an ornament out of it. Originally I wanted to write special notes on the back of each one such as vacations or events. But, that is now kept in all of the scrapbooks!

Of course this year, as in last year, my very little free time is tied up with school -- papers, observations, portfolios, and the such. I know most of you out there are just as busy. So, if you are looking for your head start on Christmas crafts, find some ideas here! I will do several postings over the next few weeks of things that I have done or seen. Hope it inspires you!