Sunday, December 20, 2015

December Daily 2015

Hey dudes. Here's my DD for this year, if you're into that kind of thing. If you're looking at this thinking, ain't nobody got time fo dat, it's ok! Apparently I do. Here's the thing though.. this is my fourth year doing this and every time it gets easier. I've figured out a process that works and keeps it from feeling like a chore. 

I'll give you a quick run down of how I do... sometime after Thanksgiving I start to gather my favorite Christmas supplies. Usually this is a fun start because I'm starting to get into the spirit. I figure out my album and page protectors (typically whatever I have on hand). Then I fill them up with base pages.. very basic. just patterned papers I think look nice together. Sometimes I make a title page which helps me establish the theme of the album.. Then I organize all of the supplies and put them aside in one area to be easily accessed. 


I find that filling in the weeks activities every Sunday works for me. Sure, it's a "daily" project but that doesn't mean I have to work on it that way. I try to remember to take a photo each day of whatever holiday-ish happenings are going on.. then on Sunday I edit them all quickly and print them out on my Canon Selphy. (read about that here if you like.)


Since I have page protectors and stuff picked out already I can easily choose which photos and what sizes to print them... I grab those organized supplies and fill in embellishments here and there. This is the fun part, in my opinion.


My advice would be to stay flexible. The reason I keep the base pages so basic is so I can move them around and switch things out easily once I have actual photos to fill in. I wonder if some scrappers make the pages and then take photos that will work with them? maybe. That's not really the way my brain or time works.. but hey, do what makes sense to you, right?


I like to think about layering, texture, color, and preservation of the actual memories while putting the pages together.


Another tip for making things easy: make a list. I have one of things I want to include but might not end up photographing.. such as our top 10 movie list. favorite holiday books. elf spottings. notes to Santa, etc. There will likely be a handful of days where you really didn't get your holiday on. (or maybe that's just me and my mostly empty social calendar.) You can use this list to fill in spots that were otherwise "blank".


. ...that being said. Who says you can't skip a day here and there? It's your album. If you were Grinching like a boss and didn't do a darn Christmas thing on the 15, 10, or 6th then just don't document. No biggie! Or go ahead and include how you wore a big fat invisible Grinch suit. I feel like people steer clear of this project because they think they have to include every little thing.. and the holidays aren't always shiny and fun for anyone everyone... but don't shy away and don't make it harder than it needs to be. Make what you want of it. (or maybe just keep pointing and laughing at those of us who put these together each year. totally understandable.)


I'm a fan of the see-through pages, as you can tell.


So that's it for now. You can find me working happily away like Santa's little elf later tonight to "catch up" with the last week. And for the record.. I have totally done a December Daily start to finish after the holidays were over. (wha? shock! awe! dramatics.) Yes, you can do that too.. and I would argue it might be even easier because you'll have all of your photos already... 

but a small warning: most of us are totally over the holidays once they are over, so it might not be as fun to be ho ho ho-ing your way through the pages while dieting your heart out in January. (don't say I didn't warn you.)
 (You'll be so mad at yourself for eating want to eat all of those cookies.)

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