December Daily® 2014 | Day Four
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Welcome to December Daily® 2014 | Day Four.
Do you have most of your gifts purchased already? I'm moving through my list so my story today is about sitting at my desk and shopping online. I know some people love it and others hate it (shopping online) - I'm in the love camp as it seems to simplify my shopping experience overall especially when I know what I'm looking for already (and my kids are pretty specific).
PS | Brene just re-posted this great post from a few years ago that is such a great reminder of focusing on what's most important. Definitely worth reading if you feel yourself on the crazy train of more.
PSS | Remember again, small stories add up to one big December story. Don't feel like you have to re-invent the wheel. Look for one thing to include and move on with your day.
Here's a look at Day Four:
Day Four includes the back of the 4x8 inch tree photo from yesterday + 2, 4x6 pockets.
One thing I've enjoyed including in past years are a page or two cut from a holiday catalog. This one here is from Boden and it could be one of my favorites ever - the styling was just awesome throughout. It made a nice compliment to my online shopping story - you could also simply use one of the pattern papers from the kit there.
You'll also notice that I repeated another gold foil circle + a chipboard shape along the edge as a tab (repeating the same thing from Day Three).
On the right side of the spread I took a photo of myself sitting at my computer and printed it on my Epson printer.
On my computer screen was an image of some online shopping I was doing for the kids that I don't want to include so I decided to cut that part out and create a window that peeks through to the next pages in the album (you can see my finger peeking through in the image above).
Cutting out a shape from a photo is pretty easy (easier to see the hole in the image within the whole album). It took my two tries to get it right because I screwed up with the craft knife going to far on the first one.
As you can see above I used a craft knife to carefully cut out the computer screen.
Then I took a piece of transparency and added one of the small plastic red stars + a cork star + a brad through the transparent piece.
You'll also notice that I'm getting ready for tomorrow by cutting out a second window in the pattern paper I want to use tomorrow because I want the window to show through both sides.
There's the start for tomorrow.
Someone in the comments yesterday asked if I write the lines or the words first. Usually I write the words first and then underline them. You can totally do it either way.
"The story of this photo" stamp is from my Photos stamp set.
The wood veneer 4 was embossed and I stamped the heart circle using the Gray Flannel Memento Ink.
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TODAY'S POST SPONSORED BY | SIMON SAYS STAMP
We want to be your ONE STOP SHOP! At Simon Says Stamp, we care about our customers and pride ourselves on going the extra mile to make customers happy. Offering quality products that you want to use in your December projects is our priority. Our whole team is passionate about crafting & the power of sharing stories. We want to share that passion with you by getting you inspired! Please visit our blog that is updated daily and 2 weekly challenge blogs on Monday and Wednesday! Have a "click" and stay awhile!
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27 comments
Love the cutout idea!
Replies to Michelle06
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Oh my! SO much in love with this page!
Replies to me1312
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In awe with how your mind works! Once again, love this!
Oh, and I have a love/hate relationship with online shopping. I love that I can do it while I'm stuck at work - my bakery is 15-20 minutes from any good retail shopping and I really only get to town once a week. Online shopping allows me to purchase the things I need without making a special trip into town. But, I am sooooo impatient. When I decide I want to buy something - whether it be for me or as a gift - I want it in my hands. Now. Waiting for it to be shipped makes me crazy. So what I end up doing is doing the pre shopping online and then going and getting it when I'm in town. And, most sites have the option to buy online and pick it up in store, which is perfect for impatient people like me. ;)
Replies to abragg79
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Your album is already looking so great! I'm wondering if you have any idea ahead of time ito what photo your page is going to need, eg: vertical, horizontal, long thin, one with a space for an embellishment... The reason I'm asking is that I concluded the easiest way for me to do DD is to follow along with your album layout, but now I end up not having a suitable photo at the end of the day (for yesterday I have a nice vertical one etc.). Will it take all the spontaneity out of it to give some sort of idea what photo to "aim" for each day?
Replies to Lize
Hi Lize - good question. I do a combo of things that includes (1) figuring out what my story is going to be and then (2) looking at my foundation page to see what I already have there and then (3) deciding if I want to adjust/move around/etc to best be able to tell the story I'm telling for a particular day. What I'm doing is in no way to be thought of as the only way to approach this album :).
For Day 4 I had a horizontal pocket already to go from my foundation pages (I assume you've checked those out as well) so on this day I followed along with what I had originally set up, but I don't feel tied to that because I want my story to dictate what I end up doing. Does that make sense?
Also remember that you can crop vertical photos to horizontal and vice versa. For today you could definitely use a vertical photo on the back of the tall vertical I included for Day Three (vs. the page from a catalog) if that's what you had to work with and include a second horizontal photo or another pattern card above the #4 journal card.
What I want most for people is to make it work for you and your stories. They aren't all going to be the same from day to day :). Part of the fun for me is the flexibility in being able to be creative and move things around. For Day 5 that I'm working on right now I'm not planning to use a photo at all.
My hope for you is that you can take what I do and use it as a jumping off point. Some days it might work to do it exactly the same and others you might have to make adjustments based on your own story.
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Wow, the cut out computer screen window is so clever. Your photos are always great. Thanks. Michelle t
Replies to mtercha
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EVERYTHING you've done in this year's DD is AWESOME!
Replies to pmmessner
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i love the whole page, but yeah, the computer screen is mind-blowingly awesome! (i'm thinking of all the cute pics of my nieces when there turned out to be an ugly tv screen in the background... i think you've saved the day here, actually...) :) :) :) happy december 5th!
Replies to llaurenb
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Oh. My. Gosh! I adore that computer screen cut out. This whole spread is an absolute home run. Very inspirational.
Replies to YolandaL
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You are just so awesome, friend. :)
Replies to carriecolbert
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I love how you created the journaling card - I'm inspired to pull out my stamps...
Replies to toribissell
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The computer screen cutout was brilliant. I must try that. Also like the page from a holiday catalog.
This year to make it easier I did most of the foundation pages before December then I can insert photos & few embellishments and be done. However, I'm finding I'm changing most of the pages already assembled to accommodate photos. This ones horizontal but I need vertical or I need a small photo but the photo would look better larger? Or this card doesn't go with the photo. When you assemble the pages do you have an idea what photos you might take each day and then decide the sizes and layout. Or do you just make your photos work in the foundation you already created. Thanks for your guidance. :)
Replies to Untiedt
Hi! Here's an answer I just wrote up for someone above that had a similar question:
+++++
I do a combo of things that includes (1) figuring out what my story is going to be and then (2) looking at my foundation page to see what I already have there and then (3) deciding if I want to adjust/move around/etc to best be able to tell the story I'm telling for a particular day. What I'm doing is in no way to be thought of as the only way to approach this album :).
For Day 4 I had a horizontal pocket already to go from my foundation pages (I assume you've checked those out as well) so on this day I followed along with what I had originally set up, but I don't feel tied to that because I want my story to dictate what I end up doing. Does that make sense?
Also remember that you can crop vertical photos to horizontal and vice versa. For today you could definitely use a vertical photo on the back of the tall vertical I included for Day Three (vs. the page from a catalog) if that's what you had to work with and include a second horizontal photo or another pattern card above the #4 journal card.
What I want most for people is to make it work for you and your stories. They aren't all going to be the same from day to day :). Part of the fun for me is the flexibility in being able to be creative and move things around. For Day 5 that I'm working on right now I'm not planning to use a photo at all.
My hope for you is that you can take what I do and use it as a jumping off point. Some days it might work to do it exactly the same and others you might have to make adjustments based on your own story.
+++++
I start with the story, then look at my foundation pages, and then figure out how to make it work. It might work exactly how it's already arranged or I might have to mix it up - that's part of the fun for me personally is figuring out how to tell the story with what I have or adjusting it as needed :).
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Love the journaling card so much. For some reason feeling like mixing up the journaling cards more this year from the print outs. The transparency piece is awesome too. Great job!
Replies to soonermama
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Yes to the computer screen cut out. Clearly you continue to amaze :) Thanks for sharing your work and thought process.
Replies to princessmemo
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SO LOVE the cutout. What a neat idea!
Replies to momtoatoddler
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Another random question from Italy: Do you find that you have more pictures of one of your kids than of the other? We have 4 kids and I'm finding it easy to snap photos of the little ones during the day, but that my older two are rarely in them. I'm trying to go for a more natural approach to photographing them since I rarely like the "cheese" type photos but that really leaves out my big kiddos.
Replies to torysmama14
Overall I do make an effort to include both of them - at least stories of both of them even if I don't have individual shots of each. I think that's part of why I make it more about "me" and my story of the day - they are included as they appear :). Does that make sense?
It does. good point about making it more about you. I'm going for more of a "here's a story about our christmas" today. Each day is a different thing that's special about our Christmas: the tree, the decorations, baking, running around, etc....thanks for your insight.
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Love it. When I first saw that catalog piece I thought you took that photo and was so impressed! :)
Replies to mwear
I wish :). That catalog had so many awesome shots in it - really great styling.
I was momentarily very impressed as well. haha!
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Dying over the window cutout on the computer!!!
Replies to Babz510
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Love as always what you do...
Can you tell me if there is a way to get more page protectors than those included with the album?
Replies to charlou26
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Ali, Ali, Ali....your "December Daily - try this idea" is like, the best thing you've ever done. Ever. I don't want to hurt the feelings of all your other wonderful ideas but that idea is the bomb dot com. The cutout, right there behind it in awesomeness. Wow. So happy!
Replies to TracieClaiborne
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You are amazing. The cut out is so clever! I also love the idea of using an advert for a shopping page. And I have been wondering how to get a specific color pop in a page, and you sparked me to stamp around the number as you did with the appropriate color.
Can I make a suggestion? Every night I go through all the links to get inspiration-no matter how long it takes! (almost 2:00 am now) Many of them are not albums but pictures of family and children. Is there a way you could mark these? As lovely as the lives of these people are, and many are certainly talented photographers, I am only looking for album inspiration, as I suspect is the case with most. I am not saying not to include people's December blogs that aren't about albums as maybe some need photo inspiration. I'm just wondering if there is a way to mark them somehow so those who don't want to see that content can skip it? There is no way to know ahead of time and since they are approved, maybe just an asterisk would help. I know it'd save me time during this crazy season! Thanks.
Replies to justapixel
Thanks for the feedback about the link list. I'm actually okay with people linking to their words and photos for the day as I know not everyone has time to complete pages each day and many people use their blogs (like I do for Week In The Life) as a holding place for the stories that they will come back to when they have a chance to work on an album. Also, for some people, December Daily only happens on their blog - it's not just about the album - it's about the stories and the photos and that's what those people are documenting.
To clarify, we don't go in and hand-approve each of those links so I'm not looking at them before they are included on the list.
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