december daily // a new spin and a vintage vibe

december is here and this means the beginning of my most favorite month of the year! the lights, the magic, the cold and the decorations are among the highlights of this season. it also happens to be my birthday month, which is super rad.

and i’m not the only one who feels this way, which is why so many scrapbookers and documenters are embarking on december daily. in case you aren’t familiar with the concept of december daily, check out ali edwards’ blog for more info. she came up with the concept and i’ve been grateful to document december in a more detailed way.

about a month ago, i decided on a vintage and kind of kitschy theme for this years’ album. i wanted to buy a couple collections with paper and embellishments that had a 40’s and 50’s feel. as i browsed, i decided on 3 and they all happened to be by october afternoon. silent night, eggnog and make it merry all have different feels but in my eyes, they were meant to go together! in addition, i snagged deena rutter’s december kit with digi printables for some extra cards and embellishments.

 

 

since my december daily goes into my regular PL album, most of my pages will be 12×12 but i reserve the right to toss in a few 6×8 pages when i feel like it. 🙂

as an intro to the december daily part of my album, i made this 6×8 page with some favorite pieces from my self made kit. the opposite side will be a typed opening with words to express the importance of december.

then i made a 12×12 page with all 4×4 pockets for another opening. honestly i was just having too much fun with all my goodies!

but here’s where it gets super fun! thanks to leslie ann harvey, my whole approach to this project changed. i was ready to do what i did last year and just go day by day, like my normal project life, and document chronologically. i would print 2 groups of photos, one mid-december and another after the first of the year. and the plan was to work on the days as I could.

but sunday morning, while scrolling around on facebook, she posted a wonderful idea that inspired her. i have to give credit to her for inspiring me and to her inspiration, which i will do later in this post.

the idea is to do an alphabet style december daily. yes, like A-B-C alphabet. think about it, there are so many “things” we want to document in december and they all start with a letter, right? when i saw a helpful list on lisa moorefield’s blog, (which is the awesome chick who inspired leslie) i knew this was totally do-able. although i must admit, i felt a few twinges on anxiety when i considered this approach. so i settled in with both blog posts and started formulating my own list of items i didn’t want to forget.

i’m happy to share it with you!

A – around town, advent
B – books, baking
C – candy canes, calendar, christmas lists
D – decorating, deck the halls
E – elf, enjoy
F – football, friends, family
G – games, gifts, granola, giving, gibson
H – hot chocolate, honey bakes ham
I – ice skating, instagram
J – jesus, jingle bells, jolly
K – kids, kisses
L – letters to santa, lights, laughter
M – moose, movies, music, matt, marshall
N – neighborhood lights, naughty or nice
O – ornaments, opening presents, oh holy night
P – polar express, peppermint, presents
Q – quiet nights, quilts
R – reading, reindeer, relaxing
S – snow, starbucks, school program, stockings, shopping, santa
T – train, tree, traditions, toys, thankschristmas
U – under the tree, us
V – village, vacation
W – warping, weather, warmth
X – xmas morning/day
Y – you and me
Z – zzzz (kids sleeping or everyone is jammies)

i plan to use a few from each letter if i can snag the photos but i might just use one from the list. it depends and i’m leaving that open.

but i started with A and B so far and am ready to get some photos in those pockets!

 

what i think i’ll get from this process is more intentional photos instead of just capturing what happens and printing pics that don’t get used. i can take photos out of order and not worry about making sure i know the exact day. maybe another way to think of this style is like a summary of all the wonderful and magical things about december.

no matter how you document, just do it. you don’t need the perfect kit, use your stash. take photos and enjoy the times with loved ones.

i hope to post my progress as i make some. and don’t forget to follow me on instagram where most of my shares end up! see you back here soon!

andrea 🙂