31 Days of December - Smash Book Type Journal

Mini book created with Silhouette Cameo

This little journal/scrapbook is for my seven year old daughter to record her December activities.  If she isn't sure what she wants to write about she can copy the corresponding item from the list at the bottom of this post for that particular day. Or she can write about something from her Countdown to Christmas/Advent Calendar. (Post with that list is here.)  Or she can write about something entirely different. It is hers to do as she wants.  She loves paper crafting and will do a job for which she will be proud.

We do "homeschooling light" in December. This gives us the opportunity to really enjoy this time of year and not feel so stressed about all the the things we want to do versus the things we Need To Do.

It is important for my dd to continue with some subjects, but we change it up a bit to make it fun and tie in with what we are doing.  This year she wants to celebrate Hanukkah.  Since we are not Jewish, we will spend some time learning about the holiday. We'll enjoy making crafts and foods to correspond with the holiday, too.

In a previous post I showed an activity board that I made.  We are using the board for this project.  Here is a picture of some of the little bags hanging with clothespins on baker's twine.

Original post explaining the bags here

Each little bag was filled with one of the following activities for my dd to do on the corresponding date.  For numbers 26-31, the suggested activity was placed in a box that corresponds to a day of the week. These are boxes that we have and sporadically use for homeschooling.

Day 1 = Assemble 31 Days of December Book

Day 2 = Paint a menorah (using handprints on paper)

Day 3 - Choose a recipe and make shopping list for the ingredients

Day 4 - Make and address Christmas cards

Day 5 - Paper craft

Day 6 - Make an apron

Day 7 - Glitter a pine cone

Day 8 - Make snowballs

Day 9 - Observe weather changes

Day 10 - Make a packing list
Day 11 - Find license plates from different places (we are going on a road trip)
Day 12 - Visit a wild animal (one in captivity, as we are going to the zoo - not the wild)
Day 13 - See a whale (Sea World)
Day 14 - Go on a safari (make believe at the safari park)
Day 15 - Hangout at the beach
What is the difference between Southern California and Southern Arizona
 
Day 17 - Alphabetical Order Game on the road

Family Time
Day 19 - Make a dreidel
Day 20 - Light the menorah
Day 21 - Make latkes
Day 22- Make a Hanukkah craft
Day 23 - Draw a self-portrait
Day 24 - Make Mandelbrot
Day 25 - Merry Christmas!
Day 26 - Play a Hanukkah song
Day 27 - Read Hanukkah stories
Day 28 - Sew something
Day 29 - Paint
Day 30 - Craft
Day 31 - Make something in the Babycakes book
 

Thanks for stopping by.  If you have any questions, please leave a comment.

Beverly

How to Make Your Own Smash Book Video.wmv

This is my very first video.  For the blog post that has the links to the calendar makers please go here.  Thank you for watching.  :-)

In the Style of Smash Book.... My Way

The Smash Pen ribbon loop holder was glued onto the front cover of this book

I've heard a lot about Smash Books, but haven't actually seen them.  A couple of the online scrapbook supply stores that I shop with mention the components as being "In Stock" periodically.  Apparently, these are popular items and aren't in stock all the time.  I snooped around and realized it is basically an old-fashioned scrapbook. Mine is going to be more of a journal/vision type book with a nod to my scrapbook from the 7th Grade.

Some of the contents including a zentangle attempt

My 6 year old dd wanted me to make one for her.  Which got me motivated to make ones for my older dd and niece.  And then, so I didn't feel left out, I made one for me, too.

Components prior to assembling with Cinch

There are a few free internet sights that I used for various printables:

http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/   Free Graph Paper, I love the circle one!

http://www.calendarlabs.com/ and http://www.redcastle.com/software/fw/printcal.htm  Both of these sights have free calendars.

A pocket page originally 6" x 12" before cutting and folding

Chip board covers are 6" x 9"
Dividers are 5 3/4" x 8 3/4"
Pages are 5 1/2" x 8 1/2"

Pocket Pages are made from 6" x 12" cardstock with a 1/2" cut off 8 1/2" from one side. Fold up the bottom 3 1/2" x 6". Fold in the 1/2" flap and adhere it to the side that will be on the outside of the book.  The side that is bound into the book isn't glued.   The finished pocket page will be 5 1/2" x 8 1/2".

I typed the tabs on the computer, printed on cardstock and then used a tab punch to cut them out.  They were adhered to white cardboard dividers.  The cardboard is the backing of 12 x 12 paper packages from SU! cut to 5 3/4" x 8 3/4"

Some CTMH journaling tags were adhered and some were bound into the book

There are a lot of different envelope sizes and types.  The one adhered on the left is from the 3 x 3 package shown.  The plastic envelope with the snap is a Close To My Heart stamp package container that was bound into the book.  This is on the thick side, so not as many regular pages could be included.  However, for the six year old, having a sturdy pocket like this seemed like a good idea. She loves to collect stuff!

Inside front cover has an envelope glued to it

Ribbon loop for the Smash Pen is adhered to inside back cover

Back cover is then covered with red vellum envelope
On the left is one of the calendar pages

I decided to use the school year calendar months because I'm hopeful that if the Smash Book is somewhat time sensitive, the girls will use them to record some of their daily life and events this year.

These were all bound with a Cinch using 1 1/4" wire coils.  It could be made with a BIA or binder rings, just as easily.  All inside pages are cardstock.  It's a great stash user.  This makes for a very sturdy book!    Regular weight paper can be used for inserts for most pages.

This cute video from EK Success shows their Smash Book being used in a variety of ways.  Enjoy the fun music.