December Daily® 2015 | Day Nineteen & Twenty

Welcome to December Daily® 2015 | Days 19 & 20.

Happy Monday! I decided to share days 19 and 20 together because I kind of merged them together in my album because it made the most sense to me in terms of my story.

A couple thoughts today:

First, I loved this perspective from Lisa in the December Daily® Facebook Group:

"The reasons I do December Daily have a lot less to do with album and a lot more to do with what goes inside. The truth is we are so busy (life is so full with seven children from toddlers to teens), our budget is tiny, and this is yet another December with sickness. Without this project I may struggle with finding joy in the midst of it all. I might feel weighed down and overwhelmed. I might not see all of this. This is just a small peek of the December blessings around here. The blessings sneak in, especially if you are looking for them. The stories are unfolding, whether you write them down or not. The memories are made, and the intentional capturing of each of them, wrapping them up in the gift of a December Daily, is a gift that gives long after the season is done. I cannot wait to begin sharing my album tomorrow, but for today, printing these pictures is priceless."

Second, just a big hug to any of you out there who are struggling with the Christmas season. Last night I felt that familiar longing for a "traditional" family structure - it creeps up at certain times. I've felt really good about this holiday, embracing it all, up until last night when I started feeling sad for what I don't have ( or for what I was thinking would make me happy at that moment). This morning I woke up, looked around my house and at my sleeping kids and just shook my head. I don't want to be in that head space. I want to celebrate what is here right now and make some magic in these last few days before Christmas. There's lots of things I can't control, but I can control my attitude towards how I live these next few days.

All that said, and as you'll see below, I wrote myself a reminder about that so I wouldn't forget.

Here's a look at my Day 19 + Day 20:

When I finished up Day 18 I had the full-page transparency from the Main Kit with the branches and snow on it. Unfortunately I don't think we are going to get snow in the next couple of days so I went ahead and kept it in that spot. On top of it I added, first with a Martha Stewart Glue Pen and then with red embroidery floss, one of the wood veneer stars. I used a paper piercer to punch the holes next to the stars first before using a needle and the red floss (usually I've found it hard to push a needle through so it was easier to use the paper piercer to create the holes first as my guide). I just tied off the red floss on the back of the star.

The next thing I added was a 4x8 tag. This one was included in a previous Studio Calico kit (I think I mentioned possibly using it for my pocket tag back on Day 5) but a 4x8 manilla tag would work just as well.

In the video below you'll hear me talk about how at first I used spray ink on top of the chipboard letters using some red Heidi Swapp Color Shine spray ink (I did end up doing this on the back tag using Gold Color Shine). For the front of this tag I embossed using white embossing powder on top of the red chipboard letters.

I used the Crop A Dile to punch right through the tag + chipboard letter combo.

The gold spray ink worked great on a second manilla tag that I adhered to the back of the white/gold tag. I let it dry overnight before journaling on top with this pen.

I rounded out the two days with the "19" card from the Ashley G Mini Kit + a journal card (hard to see but it has a gold embossed title like I have done on previous days) + a photo of my living room + the gold chipboard "20" from the Emily Ley Mini Kit on top.

Here's a look at all the pieces outside the album:

Hope all is well with you and yours and that you too can be thankful for what you have in front of you right now.

DAY 19 + 20 OVERVIEW

SUPPLIES

• December Daily® Main Kit

• December Daily® Emily Ley Mini Kit

• December Daily® Ashley G Mini Kit

• 4x8 Tags

• Gold Color Shine

• Sweet Cherry Color Shine

• Seven Paper Gold Chipboard Stars

• Crop A Dile

• AED Precision Pen .03

• Martha Stewart Glue Pen

• Paper Piercer

SHARE YOUR DAY 19 + DAY 20

I'd love to have you share a link to your Day 19 + Day 20 album pages below. Please link directly to your post vs. a general blog link.