I have completed a December Daily album in each of the past three years, and I am at it again this year. It is by far my favorite project ever. I love Christmas, and working on my December Daily album makes me happy. The best advice I have to keep the process fun and manageable is not to set unrealistic expectations for yourself. If you're a planner, then plan ahead; if you like to fly by the seat of your pants, then do that. :)
Each of my albums has been different, and I love each one in a special way. If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be my 2011 album - I really love the format, and I love that I made it entirely up from scratch.
In 2010, I had just gotten my Silhouette digital cutting machine, and I was going to be traveling for part of December, so I decided to make the entire album ahead of time with hybrid designs, and fill it in as I went. I turned out not being able to print photos and keep up with the second half of the album during my travels, but I put it together in the following months with no hassle.
The following two years I was home and able to more or less work on my albums as we progressed through December, so rather than preparing the whole album in advance, I chose to take it day by day. It worked very well for me and I love the freedom of being able to choose the design of each day based on the photos I have.
In 2011 I made the album from scratch, and bound it with my Cinch. One of my favorite parts of this album is that I included several full page photos.
In 2012, since I had a busy schedule in December with classes and exams, I decided to make things easy for me and used a pocket page system (the Martha Stewart 5.5"x8" album for Staples).
If you want to check out the completed albums, take a look on my blog.
This year, once again, I know December will be crazy for my schedule, so for the second year in a row I will use a pocket page style album (I'm using a 6"x8" Studio Calico Handbook this time).
I already cut out several hybrid cards, mostly from the Document Your December collections from The Lilypad. Last year I put together all my Christmas supplies in a tray. They don't get used very much during the year, but they will certainly get a good workout this next month. :)
I find it really helps to have everything at hand, because I have a tendency to forget about supplies that are not in plain sight. :)
And now.. I'd love to hear from you! Are you looking forward to December? What are your plans for documenting this month? Leave me a comment and let me know!
