December Daily 2009 : Step One • Gather Your Materials
Yes, it really is getting to be that time of year again soon.
And yes, I know that we haven't even hit Halloween yet.
And yes, what you see here in my office is my December Daily pile.
And yes, that's my progress so far.
WELCOME TO DECEMBER DAILY 2009.
You are invited to join me in what has become a favorite holiday tradition: December Daily.
December Daily is an album project that documents the 25 days leading up to Christmas. Many people start their documentation earlier and many people go longer. I have found that 25 days is just right for me.
One of the keys to success in this project is getting an album structure set-up in advance of December so that during December you can enjoy the season & enjoy the process of documenting your days without having to be putting the entire thing together at the same time. It is not meant to be stressful. It is meant to be a way to creatively celebrate the season and document you special holiday memories in one album.
If this is your first time reading about December Daily I highly recommend you read my 2008 welcome post. It will give you a run-down of the basics and give you a better understanding of what's happening. There's also a Question & Answer post that my clarify things for you even more.
For the rest of you, let's get started!
STEP ONE: GATHER & ORGANIZE YOUR MATERIALS
Easy enough. Get all your holiday stuff in one location. Having it all in one spot and accessible makes the entire process that much easier. As you can see from my photo above I have it all in one place just not really in any order. My organizing for this project is usually just a box or basket - judging from the photo I might need a bigger box.
While you are gathering your supplies it's also a good opportunity to purge things you might be ready to pass along to someone else (think school, church, retirement home, shelter, etc).
Here's a look at my album before any December documentation was added last year: December Daily 2008. As soon as I have the bare bones structure for this year I will post it. Working on it a little bit at a time right now.
There are so many different ways to approach this project:
- Some people make it a game to use what they have on hand (all those years of stocking up on holiday products and then making one layout is paying off). If this is you, your goal over the next week is to get all your stuff in one place.
- Some people mix old products with new products (this is me).
- Some people do all digital albums.
- Some people do a mixture of digital and paper (this is me too)
- Some people do big albums and some people do really small ones.
You're also invited to join the 2009 Flickr group which can be accessed here: December Daily 2009.
A couple other things to note:
- Katie Pertiet has a great digital album coming out this weekend at Designer Digitals if you are looking to do all digital this year.
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Cocoa Daisy will have a December Daily kit available on November 1. I coordinated products that I have been collecting with Tricia, including the Prima fabric album I will be using as my base.
I'm here to encourage, celebrate and cheer you on along the way. I can't wait to see how mine turns out - I'm trying a couple different things this year (including incorporating some fabric for my cover) and still trying to keep it simple overall.
It's totally possible that you are already making this more complicated than it needs to be in your head. Take a deep breath and do one little thing at a time.
Thanks! I'm making good headway on mine.
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I didn't know about December Daily Albums until I saw the kit from Cocoa Daisy last year. It and your 2007 album inspired me last year to get back into memory keeping after a few years' absense. Can't wait to get started for this year, and may make them for my two sisters as well. =]
Thanks for the inspiration, and can't wait to see what you do!
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Yippeee!!! I've been waiting for this. Product assembly in process...
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Oh I am SO READY to attack this year's DD. I still have a little work to do on my 2008 DD but it's all there in my PROJECT folder. I did find that last year my album was too small. By the time I placed my photos there wasn't much room for anything else. This year, I have chosen an A4 sized 4 ringed album so when I complete a page it will be easy to slip it into the album. I also have a fair amount of old supplies so I am going to choose a neutral colour as a base.
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hi ali! last year...i made the mistake of starting it late, so i did not get a chance to finish it. this year, i am ready! i am going to a scrapbook retreat in a week, so i am going to work on my DD there. i have my supplies ready to go.
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I'm thrilled that I found this idea of yours on the first day that you posted it for this year! I missed out last year, but I'm definitely trying it this time! After reading the ideas about your project, I actually don't feel too overwhelmed (but extremely excited!!!)thinking about what I'm going to do with all those Christmas pics for this year! Thank you!!!!!
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Hi Chelsea - have you had a chance to take a look at the December albums I have done in the past? Neither 2007 or 2008 were page protector based albums - they are albums built with cardstock and chipboard pages and transparencies (lots of texture and variety). Take a look here at last year's before I added the content: /2008/10/december-daily.html
As for the Prima album - I totally know what you mean about the ties and I am actually playing around with something different for that part. As of right now I am planning more page protector pages than I have done in the past (just working out that way this time) because of the ones already in this album and I will be adding additional pages.
I think for me one of the things I have loved about it is the playful nature - the mix and match of different page sizes and textures (this is my personal preference for this album - at least right now :)).
I will be sewing in mine but there are so many different things you can do - staple, use brads, etc.
There's also a really nice Making Memories page protector album package available this year that you might be interested in (or you might already have an album in your stash that can be used for this project). Here's a link to that album: http://store.scrapbook.com/mm-33330.html
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I am a newbie to the December Daily album, but I am thinking I will give it a go. I am sad to say I dropped off my Project 365 train a few months back, but documenting only 25 days is doable. I have an ongoing family Christmas album, but it tends to house the more formal layouts, so I am looking forward to capturing the day to day preparations. I guess I'll be shopping tomorrow for an album and starting to go through the masses of Christmas product to see what I have. Thanks for the inspiration!
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I would LOVE to do it for the first time this year, but.... is it possible to make this album if do not have printer at home???!!
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I am doing one for the first time this year. I wanted to do it last year, but didn't start early enough. Going back to read the 2008 entry now. Thanks for all your inspiration!
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So doing this this year. I'm -um- actually organised from last year !!! (aka yup, I didn't dismantle the box I set up then abandoned....)
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i can't wait to get started. what a cool idea. i'm getting my things together.
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I gathered all my stuff this past weekend. Can't wait to get started! Love this project.
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I'm ahead of the game this year...my DDA is ready and awaiting december.. I decided to go all the way to december 31st.
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Hi Ali, hope you don't mind my jumping in here with a reply ...
Thanks, Michelle. This year my album will be a bookcloth covered (6x8) 3-ring binder, vertically oriented, pine green. I'm still in the gathering-materials-stage myself, but will certainly share when it's ready.
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My house is decorated for Halloween except for my scrap/dining room...it's Christmas in there!!! My scrap group started getting ready for this year's December Daily a couple of weeks ago...we've even been listening to Christmas music as we work. Such a great project...I am hoping to get some of our work on Flickr. Can't wait for the Cocoa Daisy kit!!!
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You are always welcome to comment & respond :).
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I am finally going to join in the fun this year! I'm getting everything together and sooo excited to start!
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I am so excited to tackle this project. I have found that I do much better with "project oriented" scrapbooking rather than scrapbooking as a whole. Picked up an 8x8 acrylic album this afternoon at lunch and I am looking forward to filling it up with all of the Christmas stash that I have been collecting for years. Luckily, I have a crop day and a half coming up the first weekend in November where I am planning to get a good start on this project.
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I haven't' decided if I'm going to participate this year.... I did one last year and the kids love it... I might wait and do one a few years from now to show how things have changed.
Found this on Etsy that would probably help get the album started ;o)
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=31660647&ref=sr_gallery_7&&ga_search_query=december+daily&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=date_desc&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title
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I can't believe it's that time again!!! I finished mine from lat year while in India in the month of January 09! And, yup, I took my scrap, load there to do it!!! So glad I did so now I can proudly display it this year! This is my new favorite tradition!
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Thanks so much, Ali for organizing this again. I am definitely making one, because I am pregnant with our first child and want to document life during my pregnancy to contrast how different it will be next year :-)
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last year i just watched! i think this year im finally joinning! :D
love this time of year!
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I got my album made this weekend and it makes my world go round.
Thank you for introducing me to this idea. It makes my holidays special.
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Thank you! We know how busy everyone is, esp you! I made my first one last year with you and I have to say, it's one of my favorites! For those of you who don't think they have time, surprisingly, you get inspired and motivated and Ali keeps it simple! Go for it!
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