December Daily® 2023 | Ali's Pre-December Album Overview

Welcome back to December Daily® 2023! 

What I'm showing you in this post is what my album looks like (and the general overall flow) in the beginning of November. 

I'm someone who enjoys getting a head start on this project and doing some crafty play before December begins. Remember that there isn't a right or a wrong way to experience this project and the way you approached it last year might be different than how you go about approaching it this year. Let's all celebrate that! 

If you are just joining us for the December season make sure to check out our awesome PLAY series we ran in September featuring ideas from Linda Jordan, Pam Baldwin, Lisa Varshine and Jill Drangsholt. There are awesome ideas in those posts for planning, playing with paint, playing with paper, and working on finishing up past projects. 

Here's a walkthrough of where I'm at right now: 

And here's a look at the individual pages in my album so far: 

IDEA: Create a table of contents in the inside cover of your album using the gold rimmed circles from the Main Kit. 

IDEA: Create a fun full page shaker introduction page. Get all the details on this page here. 

Have you joined our  December Daily® Facebook Group? I've seen some really cool interpretations of this idea in there already! Love seeing how people take a concept as a jumping off point and run with it! 

For my Reason Why page this year I went with a full trail of circles.  You can see how that came together here. 

I repeated the same circle shapes on the back and added in a "this year I will" list. 

For my first story I decided to create a foundation that repeated some of the same circle shapes from my Reason Why page.  You can see how this page came together here. 

On the back I added a couple notes to myself as a jumping off point when I go to tell a story. 

IDEA: Cut out the full "O" from the vellum joy paper and create a peek-through. It could end up being another shaker element or simply a window into the next part of the album. Most likely I will do this at the same time I work on my first story. 

IDEA: Full page photo with journaling on top. Maybe use one of this year's digital layered templates. 

Next up I'm planning to use the ornament pattern paper and three of the pocket ornaments from the Main Kit. I don't know yet what story I will tell but this will be my jumping off point. 

This page might end up being an extension of my third story or it might be story four. For this one I cut up the ornament transparency and stitched it to the 6x8 page protector holding the 4x6 cards. 

I love the gold foil sentiment and may use that as a jumping off point for my storytelling. 

On the back I've tucked in a couple felt fours from past years offerings (love having a mixture of these year over year). If I use the front of this one for story four then I'll likely add photos here to support story five. 

STORY IDEA: Five things I'm loving this season. 

NOTE: I'm waiting to punch the holes on some of these papers in case I might want them to go the other way. 

Details on the construction of this one using  the chipboard frames can be found here. 

The back of the chipboard frames will be the home for story seven. 

STORY: -ing words with the black felt eight from a few years ago. Might pair this with a photo or might leave it on it's own. 

NOTE: The next page in my album is a project I put together for our $5 Prep Day coming up on Saturday, November 18th. You can get details on that fun online event here. 

NOTE: This was the project I put together for Product Play (the class includes the cut file and step by step instructions).

Story elven will happen in this fun triangle shape. I'm excited to see what I decide to build on top (and what story I'll tell). 

I love adding in some 6x8 page protectors into my album. I wanted to create a spread using some of the 4x6 journal cards from the Main Kit so right now I've just got the "loving this season" card in there as a placeholder. 

STORY: Additional -ing words to capture more of what's happening around here this season. Paper cards are from the Main Kit and vellum cards are from the Specialty Journal Card pack. 

NOTE: Circles are one of my most favorite homes for words and photos. I might cut out the centers of some of these weaths or add circles of photos or words on top. Or maybe I'll make little shaker circles to add on top (more festive fun). 

STORY: Use these two cards from the Main Kit to write about the sights and sounds of the Christmas season. 

STORY IDEA: Document five moments of delight. 

Get all the details of how I created this mini-forest  here. My initial plan is to pair this with a full page photo on the left (the back side of the "more twinkle lights" pattern paper. 

I love how the back of my tree forest turned out. I'll build the next story on top of the big page of vellum. 

Right now I'm storing punched circles from one of the pattern papers along with some circles I stamped earlier this season. Loved embossing on vellum for a couple of those circles (and mixing and matching circle stamps). 

Planning to use this  page of collaged squares in some way when I document the ornaments I've been making this year. Definitely considering creating some flip ups from my collage of squares. 

Next up I've got two of the 4x4 kraft pockets from the Main Kit. 

Currently I've got some of the 2x2 plastic tags inside of a 6x8 page projector. This might end up becoming a full page - definitely one I'm keeping very open. I love simply sticking a few in the pockets right now as a reminder that the tags are something I want to play with. 

The die cut page insert will be a jumping off point for a story in the second half of the month. 

Right now I've got the vellum tag page layered on top of the pattern paper tag page. I haven't punched holes yet to give me more freedom during the month. 

Next up I'll be using the tags from the Main Kit and the tags from one of the pattern papers to create some kind of tag booklet that will live inside the vellum striped pocket with the plastic nutcracker on top. 

A 10x8 page protector holding one of the die cuts and one of the 4x6 journal cards is next. 

When I was working on samples for the collection launch this year I created this  stamped wreath and am planning to use it for story twenty.

STORY IDEA: Use this paper as a home to document favorite gifts this year. 

That's where I'm at so far this year! I'm super excited to add to this album throughout the month and I'll be sharing my ideas and stories with you here daily during December. 

SUPPLIES

I've also created an Amazon page that includes many of the basic products I use regularly including printers, paper, etc.  You can check that out here.

• December Daily® Main Kit
• December Daily® 10x8 Album
• December Daily® Advent Calendar
• Holiday Phrases Clear Sticker Sheet
• Gold Foil Puffy Alpha Stickers
• Minc Machine
• Gold Foil for Minc
• Laser Printer Transparency (to go through the Minc machine)
• Embroidery Thread
• Diary Of Belle Rose Sequin Mixes
• Grafix Transparent Sheets
• December Daily® Paper Die Cut Inserts (digital available)
• December Daily® Variety Die Cut Bundle (digital available)
• December Daily® Specialty Paper Pack (digital available)
• Red Small Plastic Numbers
• Brother Sewing Machine
• Big Roll of Foam Adhesive