reflections on my December Daily 2009

For the record, we didn't get any snow last night :( But we did have school closed due to some ice this morning.

(Link to all of the posts for this year's December Daily)

I love the concept of doing a December Daily and it will certainly be something I do every year. And every year it seems like I learn a little something about what I like and don't like. I saw Ali Edwards share her likes & dislikes so I thought I'd share mine.

I really liked using the American Crafts album this year (last year I used an acrylic cover for my album). The cover is sturdy and I can decorate it however I want (or leave it plain). And it's sturdy enough for little fingers looking through it. The D-rings make it easy to add pages and the album was just thick enough for all of my pages. However, I think next year I may choose the 8x8 instead of the 6x6. It will make it easier to add the "extras" like papers from school, tickets (like my Polar Express ticket) & letters to Santa. I found the 6x6 a little small for some of the items I wanted to add.


I liked adding the digital pages mixed in with traditional pages. I still like to keep the album more traditional but with a time constraint this year with Olivia being sick it sure helped being able to Photoshop some of my pages.

Having everything in one storage container to pull items from helped. Next year I will get a 2nd box for smaller embellishments that seemed to get lost in my 12x12 box.

Having the album done ahead of time is a must. That didn't happen with mine this year with Olivia being sick for a month & a half. I found myself scrambling more this year than I did last year. I plan on putting an album together this summer so that won't happen again!

Purchasing items ahead of time is a must, too. Since the closest really good scrapbook store (other than the obvious chains) is about 2 hrs away I have to either buy my stuff when I'm in Atlanta or buy online. And it's usually the latter. This year I started keeping an eye out for cute embellishments & tags (like the ones from Elle's Studio, Shabby Chic Crafts, etc) and purchased them back in October. 

It's a lot easier (and you're less likely to fall behind) if you work on this album either every day or every couple of days. Last year I did that...this year not so much. I was good in the beginning but then fell behind. But I still was determined to finish it. I made sure to jot down anything I wanted to remember so I could go back and journal about it. 


Have extra ink cartridges on hand if you're printing photos at home. Mine are about **empty**.



Next year I would like to add more about my thoughts about the holidays and not just the "documenting" part of the album. I did a little of that this year but not as much as I would've liked to.


I love looking through the pages of this year's album, and last year's, and seeing what we did from day to day, what changed, what stayed the same. Some things we do the same year to year. But it's fun to see the kids doing them as they get older. 

**It's so worth the time to do this album**

Did you do a December Daily this year??

waiting for snow...& the last 2 days of my December Daily

Yep, we're waiting for snow. It doesn't happen much in the south...not this far south anyway. We've lived here 4 years and got a big snow last year and one other time we got some flakes that didn't stick at all. Other than that, that's it. We're supposed to get maybe up to an inch this evening. I know, not much. But when you have kids who never get to play in it, it's a big deal. So we're hoping, hoping, hoping to get a little of that white powdery stuff!!! (And I've already gotten my scrappy delivery from the UPS man so the snow can come at any time now!! ha!)



So, while we're patiently waiting for Mother Nature to do her thing, I'll show you the last 2 days of my December Daily.


Christmas Eve and Christmas day always have a couple pages in my December Daily album for obvious reasons. I don't include every single photo from those days and I will still do a layout, probably a couple of them. But there's still more than a couple photos I want to be sure to include in this album that wrap up the holiday season for us.

Day 24 ~ This first page I used another one of Ali Edwards' templates (I'm sure getting my money's worth out of these!) I added a cute little tree from some KI Memories lace cardstock.

On the backside is another template. This time I left one of the photo spots blank so I could add some embellishments.

The next page is some journaling about our Christmas Eve traditions. They're not really "traditions" in the traditional sense, just stuff we seem to do every year. Like making my homemade meatballs & going to Christmas Eve Mass.

The backside has some photos of the kiddos after they fell asleep...both of them in my room. That's another thing that's become a "tradition" in our house...the kids having a slumber party in our room on Christmas Eve.

The next page is just a cute pic of the kids in their Christmas pjs. I realize that photo is before they fell asleep (like shown in the previous page) but I don't care if it's a little out of sequence. The paper is a Making Memories shaped paper that I cut in half, then folded in half.

Day 25 ~ I started with another journaling page, just like on Christmas Eve.

Then another template of a couple Christmas morning photos. 

On the last page I included some of the wrapping paper that Santa wrapped the kids' presents in. Ever year Santa wraps the kids' presents in unique wrapping paper for each child. Like, one year Ben had TMNT paper and I think Olivia had Littlest Pet Shop (or was it princesses that year??) 

Anyway, I saw that Ali had used wrapping paper on one of her pages and I thought that was really neat. I've never saved any wrapping paper before. Won't that be fun to look at in 30 years?!
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Well, that's it!! I have a couple things to add. Like, I want to add some journaling around the outside of 2nd to last page with the Christmas morning photos. And I need to add in the kids' letters to Santa, probably next to the page where they went to see him. 

December Daily finished! ~ days 17.5 - 23

Other than a few little things I want to add to my album, my December Daily is done!! Woo hoo!! It always feels so good to finish a project like this.

In my last December Daily post, I shared the front part of day 17 which you can see here. And here is the backside of day 17.

I bought the flower on Etsy. Day 18 was a visit with Santa. I used an Ali Edwards template and used this digital paper.

On the backside, a simple layout of us having a slumber party in the living room to kick off our Christmas vacation :)

Day 19 is a piece of dotted felt. I added journaling on the photo and stapled it right to the felt. 

Day 20 ~ I added the photo to the patterned paper & added a decorative border along the side with the Fiskars apron lace border punch. The backside I left blank because the opposite side had a pattern on it.

Day 21 ~ We saw the Polar Express in IMAX 3D and it was *super* cool. If you ever have the chance to do that, be sure to go and do it. I hope they play it again next year. That movie isn't necessarily one of my faves but it was so cool. We got that gold ticket from the theater so I trimmed it a bit and slipped in our tickets behind it.

On the backside I used a simple shipping tag for journaling and used a Heidi Swapp rhinestone circle to highlight the 21 on the page.

Day 22 ~ I had to run to the store for some last minute things...something I never do. But things got behind for me this season so I, of course, had to include it in my album.

Day 23 ~ Not much going on that day so I used this day for pics of decorations that I hadn't added to the album yet. On the front side I used another Ali Edwards template. 

The backside of this page might seem familiar from this post.

Days 24 & 25 have multiple pages so I'll share those in a separate post. Happy Wednesday friends!

December Daily ~ days 15-17

Before we ring in the new year I thought I'd share a couple more December Daily pics. Still working on that last week...

Day 15 ~ I made this envelope with one of my Kreate-a-lopes (bought on QVC years back). They're neat for making your own envelopes out of whatever paper you want (they work much better with thinner paper rather than the thick cardstock I used). That day I had a cookie swap at my house. So I put a picture of the cookies I made on the front along with some journaling in photoshop (font is CK Block).

Inside the envelope I put all the recipes (including my own). 

Something to note ~ I found that keeping recipes in these December Daily albums prove very valuable. This year I wanted to make one of my fave cookie recipes and couldn't find it. Guess where I found a copy of it? In my DD from last year!

Day 16 ~ Polar Express day at my son's school. I took the little ticket they handed out at school, scanned it & made it smaller in photoshop, then added it to the page. 

I made this page a flip-open page so I could add the ticket, photo & journaling. 

On the backside a photo of my daughter getting one of her many xrays to make sure her lungs continue to improve. That was certainly an important part of this month so I wanted to make sure to include it.

Day 17 ~ School parties. I used an Ali Edwards template, added journaling around the outside & a Making Memories felt embellishment.

I have more for Day 17 but I haven't finished that yet. 

I also added a little December Daily '09 icon on the right ----->>>>
so if you want to see all my posts from my DD this year click on that.


Oh, and check out the yummy fabric I got the other day...

Can fabric be yummy?? I think so ;) I found it at local store in town. Most are Amy Butler and the 3 on top are Michael Miller which remind me a lot of Heather Bailey stuff. I can't wait to play with them!! My first project is going to be a a couple camera straps for my new camera :)

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe New Year's Eve!! We'll be staying home as usual. Last year was the first year the kids both stayed up til midnight so I'm sure tonight will be the same! 

December Daily ~ days 6-14

I'm still working on finishing my December Daily...I'm determined to have it finished before Jan 1st. Because if it's not done by then, it'll never get done. Not with my daughter's birthday fast approaching. It's amazing how much you can get done with a massive head cold that keeps you from sleeping. Either that or the medicine I took had me wired. 

Anyhoo, I managed to finish up through part of day 17. Woo hoo!! I can see the finish line...it's in my sights!! Don't get me wrong, I'm not getting it done "just to get it done". That defeats the whole point of scrapbooking. But this project is something that's important to me. I love looking at the previous year and seeing how we celebrated the holidays...and how we manage to keep adding doctor visits to the mix. Remember my son broke his leg last year and was in a full leg cast through Xmas...

So here goes...starting with Day 6.

Just a simple photo collage. "Notes" tag is from Elle's Studio.The backside is another tag from Elle's and a cute little rhinestone Xmas tree. Day 7 is a kraft envelope that I stamped with snowflakes. The number 7 is from Shabby Chic Crafts.

Inside the envelope I just put some of my favorite Xmas movies. I think it'll be funny to see if any of those change in the next 20yrs. I'm guessing not... Day 8 is the first batch of Xmas cookies. No explanation necessary... :)

Day 9 I added an Ali Edwards overlay with some journaling right on my front door. 

Journaling reads: Finding packages at our front door during the month of December is a common occurance at our house. the kids love to check out who it's from and put the presents under the tree. Then Olivia tries to figure out just what is inside. She loves a surprise but the suspense gets to her!

The opposite side ~ a simple picture of the wreath on our door along with a Making Memories embellishment. 

Days 10 & 11 ~ I simply used a 4x6 photo on a Making Memories snowflake transparency and another AE overlay. We didn't really do anything those days worth documenting so I use these days to show pics of our holiday decor.

Day 12 ~ the day after we got Bugsy :) This pg is using one of the album's page protectors. The front is simple, Scenic Route & Basic Grey paper & border sticker, number is from Elle's. 

On the backside a simple digital layout. Day 13 is a corrugated cardboard die-cut page. Scallop tag is from Shabby Chic Crafts. Photo has an Ali Edwards overlay and I stitched the photo to help keep it on the page and for an accent.

The backside is a simple Hambly rub-on with an Elle's Studio tag. I like that you can see the stitching from the opposite side. Day 14 is another page protector. I created the photo & journaling in Photoshop, then printed it and added the strip of patterned paper & ribbon. 

The backside is the weather for that day along with an October Afternoon card & number stickers. I liked the idea to use the weather report from Ali Edwards. I thought it was fitting to put it in mine since we had a ton of rain that week.

Are you (or did you) create a December Daily?? If so, I'd love to see it. My friend Tami did her digitally, you can check it out on her blog. And if you're behind, don't worry about it. Remember, scrapbooking isn't meant to be stressful! It doesn't matter if you don't get it done "on time". What matters are the memories you are preserving!!

December Daily ~ days 1-5

Ok, it's still bugging me that my daughter is more ahead on her December Daily than I am! hehe I'm catching up though. Normally I would add photos to my album on a daily or semi-daily basis. That makes it much easier to keep up with. But as I've already said, I'm a bit behind this year. Never fear, I'll be caught up by this weekend!

So here's the cover...

I used a 6x6 American Crafts album that has the chipboard covers w/the red spine. I'm hoping to use these albums every year. Won't that look pretty on a bookshelf?? Anyway, I cut circles with Making Memories paper, added some AC shiny red thickers (looove those) and some lace along the side. I could've painted the cover but I really like the look of raw chipboard. BTW, I used a hot glue gun to keep that lace in place. It's not going anywhere! Oh, and I used some Martha Stewart decoupage glue on the cover so those cute little circles don't start peeling off. I've said it before, my albums get looked at....a lot. So I try to make them a bit durable. Oh, those thickers are hot glue gunned on, too :)

Day 1 ~ there's gingy:) Used a Ali Edwards holiday word art to the photo along with some ribbon & Fiskars border punch.

On the backside, a journaling card from Elle's Studio. Day 2 ~ Jenni Bowlin bingo card, trees cut from Making Memories paper, red rick rack & a Heidi Swapp crystal circle.

On the backside, another one of those Elle's Studio journaling cards & AE holiday word art.

Day 3, Ali Edwards December overlays, buttons & rick rack.

On the backside, photobooth frames with some ribbon.

Day 4, I used one of the page protectors that came with the album and created a photo collage.

On the backside, the journaling & accents.

The next page is actually a 3rd page of Day 4 because I had more photos to include.

Day 5 ~ I only made one page for this day because it was a lazy Saturday at home! I added some Christmas cut ups to the photo.