The second half of this album is harder to finish - at least for me. It's harder to stay focused and interested and excited.
That's why I like to have a plan. It's the trick to finishing a big project like December Daily. My plan is pretty simple: put pictures in pockets, fill in the gaps with pattern paper, add journaling and embellish.
I just have to stick with the plan.
"The Plan" helps me bring stories and ephemera together - like the notes I left in the boys' advent calendars.
I love advent calendars - I loved having them as a kid and I love sharing this tradition with my kids. This year, I tried some new ideas and I wanted to record it. Instead of 25 days of candy, I added notes that let them stay up past bedtime or have extra electronics time. Some treats were extra special - way too big to fit in it the calendar so I hid them. I put clues in the calendar that would help the boys find these special treats.
I knew that I wanted to tell that story so I kept the notes in empty pockets in my December Daily album. I have found that putting things in the empty pocket pages in the album for my project is a great way to store ephemera until I'm ready to use it.
I'm also a big fan of task batching when I'm working on a big project. I find that putting all the photos in pockets at once, writing all the journaling at one time, embellishing all at once - it's easier and faster to focus on one task at a time. It's the only way I can put it all in there and get it finished.
I put in cards that Ben made - like the one with the train.
I punch holes in Christmas cards so I can add them to the album.
By the way, the best punch for adding ephemera to albums is the We R Memory Keepers Power Punch. It punches through just about everything. I like the 1/4" but it comes in other sizes.
Yep, I put it all in there. On a day when I didn't have pictures or a story to tell, I added To-Do lists.
I did manage to get some of my mixed media art into my December Daily. I made this tag for The Paperie's blog and put it in. Just because.
Of course, I had to note that this was our first Christmas without Mac. She's been gone a year now but I still miss her. I will always think of her at Christmas. Years ago, I bought an ornament with her name on it. I still put it on the tree. I think I always will.
And there it is...done!
I am always telling my scrappy friends how great it is to have December Daily albums and I am always encouraging them to try it. A December Daily album is an amazing thing but you don't have to finish it. Having just the journaling or just the photos to look back on would be amazing. At least, I think so.
Right now, I'm happy to put it away. December will be here soon enough and then I'll be happy to take it out and enjoy it.
Thanks for stopping by!
Cathie
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