December Daily 2009 Q&A and Holidays In Hand
Tags:
Album cover in progress.
In the comments yesterday I received this series of questions from Jennifer. I thought it might be helpful if I addressed them in a new post today:
The first thing I want to say is that THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG WAY TO APPROACH THIS ALBUM. It can be anything you want it to be. I have been reading in the comments that some people are holding off adding the numbers until the actual day comes together to give themselves more freedom to move the pages around - I think that is a great idea!
I am one of those people that likes having a certain structure to work within and around - it's one of my favorite puzzles to solve (a design puzzle). I go with what works for me - go with what works for you (but don't be afraid to try something new too).
There's really nothing inherently special about what I have put together as the foundation.
1. How do you determine the size of the pages when you are making them?
There is really no rhyme or reason. I go for a balance of full page size and smaller sizes (and when I say "balance" I don't mean that I count them out - I go more by how it looks to my eye).
2. Do you have a general idea of what you want it to look like before you start?
I do have a general idea: I want it to be a mixture of textures and sizes. I want some pages to have photos adhered on the outside and some to be slipped into a pocket. I want to use white and red and green and beige/kraft as my color scheme. I wanted to include more vintage Santa elements this year. I also know that I want to include more full-page photos this time around. Is it mapped out? No.
3. I LOVE yours and like the style but don't know how to determine which pages to put where. For instance, I always visit Santa with my kids. However I won't know what day I will actually do this so don't know what day to use the Santa paper on. Does this matter to you?
The quick and easy answer is no. Here's the longer answer: I included Santa paper (and Santas) because they are a part of the season of celebration. It's likely that whatever day we do go visit Santa may not be a day that has a Santa already included on the page and I am totally ok with that. I am also ok with moving things around and making adjustments as I am working on the actual daily documentation. Maybe the Santa tag I used on Day 14 just doesn't end up making sense with what I chose to write about that day - I have no problem taking it out and substituting a different number and using the Santa tag somewhere else (and covering up the 14 with a word sticker). I try to be flexible and go with the flow.
Comments
Sign in or sign up to comment.
47 comments
Happy Birthday to you too Sarah :).
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Ali, thank you for being such an inspiration. I love that you continually encourage us to embrace imperfection and to be flexible. This has been very freeing for me.
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Last night I just made a list of all the things that I want to take a photo of that I want to use for my December Daily album. For example: I am planning on taking some photos of some of our Christmas decorations that we hang in the tree. I could take these photos all ready. There are also some special things that we eat here in the Netherlands around the hollidays, and some of them are already available in the stories too. So I am planning on buying that food already and just to take photos now, and use these photos in December. Not every photo in the album has to be taken on the actual day, right? :)
And making a list of the things that I want to have a photo of will hopefully really help me as a reminder on days that I don't have time/or forget to take a photo
Francisca
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Hi Ali,
van harte gefeliciteerd met je verjaardag! (Happy Birthday, in Dutch).
Thanks for being such an inspiration and for sharing all your wonderful ideas. You have really inspired me!
Francisca
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
I am going to try and go with the flow. I have a lot of hangups related to "wanting to make it perfect." This year, I think I'm going to go with your approach of not following any certain journaling prompts but just documenting whatever comes each day. I probably will look at the journaling prompts from some other classes (Shimelle's and Jessica's) to give me some ideas of things I'd like to document. Thanks for all the helpful hints and tips related to enjoying the season.
And on a totally unrelated note: Happy Birthday!!
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Happy Birthday!!!
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Happy Birthday Ali!! You are SUCH a blessing to so many!!!! xoxo
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
THANK YOU Ali! I got started (somewhat) last year and didn't get it done before December and got TOTALLY stressed out. I'm ahead of the game and want to play with it this year, I even think I'm gonna have my kiddos help me! Hope "your day" is FANTASTIC!!
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Happy Birthday!
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Didn't know about it... ¡¡Feliz Cumpleaños!!
Have a great day and thanks for the inspiration :)
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
A. Happy birthday
B. I just found a red 8x8 album this week in my scrapbook stash. Apparently, I have been holding on to it for "someday". I think my "someday" has arrived!!! Totally doing a December Daily album!!! Thanks for the inspiration, the freedom to JUST DO IT...the encouragement!
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Happy Birthday. Hope you have a wonderful day!
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Thank you, thank you for all the time you've spent showing us pictures, giving us product lists, giving tips and tricks, and answering our questions. You are one in a million! (And I understand it's you're birthday, so have a good one!!)
Also, thank so much for that info about the Jessica Sprague class. I've heard so much about her classes, but spending the money is sometimes hard to do. I'm so glad to have caught one of her freebies thanks to you!
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Love the templates. :D
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
I just ran out and got a BoBunny 9x9 bare naked binder for my first December Daily. I am going to use a lot from my stash but while as was at my local scrapbook store there was a couple of products and a couple sheets of paper I couldn't resist. ; ) Tonight I am going to re-read all the posts and gather my supplies and thoughts. I have been wanting to scrapbook our Christmas season in a unique way and this fits so well. Thanks so much for the inspiration!
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
happy b-day! do you use gromments on each of your pages?
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Thank you for this post! It seems I'm not alone in delaying starting this project due to wanting it to be perfect. I know that's not what it's about, and certainly not why I want to document my December. I'm sure that the more December Daily albums I complete the more I will get to know my own style and what does and doesn't work for me, so just do it, right?!!?
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Hey! I might steal your CD idea...very cool!!
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Yes :)
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
This is the first year adding grommets - and yes, I did it to each page (or will have by the time it is done). If the pages of the album had not already had them I may have skipped it.
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.