December Daily - To Do or Not To Do ....and a Giveaway

 Holiday giveaway is extended til midnight on Thanksgiving!  Keep commenting on my daily blog posts for extra entries.

I love the idea of a December Daily album.  But I tried it once, made all my pages and never printed any pictures.  Plus I chose a 6x6 size and used so many layers and embellishments that it didn't come close to closing - even without those photos.  But it was beautiful and it was fun to do.

So at the beginning of the month, I waffled back and forth about the project.  I signed up for the 25 Days class at Studio Calico, but still wasn't sure.  We just don't do fun holiday things that I would put in an album everyday.  But then I realized - it doesn't have to be a December daily to be a special holiday album.  So I am approaching the project as an album to document our 2014 holidays.  I am starting with Thanksgiving and ending with the new year.  And there won't be pictures and/or journaling everyday. 

I looked at all the kits out there - Ali Edwards, Gossamer Blue, and Freckled Fawn to name a few.  Then My Scraps and More put out both an album kit and an embellishment kit.  All of these kits seemed to be a good value, but some of them required a pretty big investment.  And I didn't love every single thing about any of them.  And I have a lot of supplies.  So if I am going to do this, it is going to be with a homegrown kit.

In my first attempt I learned that choosing an album was critical to the project's success.  I knew I wanted a 6x8 album, but which one.  I ultimately chose a kraft Snap album with a black spine.  The size and price were good, it was neutral and easily customizable, there is a large variety of page protectors and it was readily accessible. I got mine at JoAnns.

 

But what about the kit.  I started with choosing a color palette by pulling out my cardstock and pulling sheets til I had colors I like.  I had done some Christmas layouts lately and think those color choices influenced the colors I chose for my album.. I ended up with pale blue, soft red, lime green, black and pink.

 

Once I had my color palette, I couldn't wait to get started with the cover.  I knew I wanted to paint it, a pale blue but couldn't find a color that was just what I wanted.  So I mixed a blue, a mint, and white paint til I got just the color I wanted.  I also pulled out my gesso and the Martha Stewart liquid gilding in gold for my cover.

I started by taping off the black fabric spine with washi tape - I'm a messy crafter.  Then I primed the album inside and out with gesso.  I painted the inside with the gold liquid gilding and a foam brush.  aIt looks amazing.  It is shiny and smooth and will provide a perfect backdrop to all my pages. (This picture doesn't really do it justice.)

Then I took on the outside of the cover.  I painted it with the pale blue paint color I had mixed and a foam brush.  I used just one coat because I really like the look (hint - I used an extra piece of chipboard and treated it just like the album cover - that way I could see how it would look with a second coat of blue paint.

The wood veneer tree was from Elle's Studio last year.  The red sequin star is from the Studio Calico Magical sequin pack.  And then a wide line green grosgrain ribbon tied in a bow finished off my cover.

I loved the end result.  It reflects the colors and feel of the products I chose for my kit.  (I'm still thinking about adding the year to the bottom branch of the tree>

Giveway:  While I was making my December Daily kit, I pulled some things that might fit right in with your holiday crafting plans.  Leave a comment on any post this week and be entered to win.  Giveaway closes at midnight on November 23rd.

Here are some of the goodies I pulled.  (This isn't a kit - its an assortment of holiday themed supplies that might fit in with your Christmas supplies,)

I'd love to know what ideas you have for adding the year to my cover - or if you think I should stop where it is.  (I know I will put the year on the spine.)

I'm going to share more about my December Daily kit building and organization later this week.  Hope you stop back. 

Non Traditional Pages About Places I Want To Visit

A while back, I did two non traditional pages for my This Is Me project, and last week I realized that I never shared them.  They were both simple and could be adapted for a lot of themes.  Today I'm sharing my page about travel dreams. 

The first was for a class challenge.  I chose to do a page about all the places I wanted to visit.  But I wanted to do more than a list - I wanted to document why I wanted to go visit those places.  I started with a glassine bag, printed a world map on blue handmade paper to put in the bag, and added pockets on the front and back to create the base of my page.  And then I added embellishments to make a bright, fun page.

The front

The back

To finish I used individual Project Life cards to document the places I wanted to go and the reasons why I wanted to visit those place.

Now the truth is, there are more than 10 places I would like to see, but this is a great start.  And I ended up loving this approach because it's so flexible.I can easily add other cards in the future for different places.

• If (hopefully when) I visit some of these places, I can create a similar page for places I have visit and I can use the back of the same cards as a brief documentation of taking the trip (at least when and a brief summary.)

•  I can easily add more cards to the page as other places make my priority list of places to visit.

Hope you're having a great Tuesday!

This Is Me (Still)

Last month I took a great class at Studio Calico - This is Me.  The class was intended to help you put together an album about yourself.  I loved the idea, loved the class -- and got almost nothing done during the month. But I found even thinking about what to include a really rewarding way to think about where I am and where I want to go in the future.

I decided to use a SNAP binder for my album, but turned it on its side so it had a landscape orientation.  I shared the cover and my title page here.  I also did a couple of non-traditional pages about places I want to visit and how things change last month.  But mostly I didn't get past the cover.

The dividers I did broke my album up into a section on the basics (sort of just the facts), The Good (things I feel good about), Needs Work (things I want to improve on in the short run) and Goals and Dreams (big wishes, bucket list, and long term goals).   I don't think I shared these when I did them.

I used gesso, spray inks, washi tape, wood veneer and my favorite Amy Tangerine alphas on these.  And let me admit now that I love picking colors and patterns that appeal to me without considering the personality of people I'm scrapping about.  It is so fun!

Since I didn't get very far in April, I did promise myself that I would work on doing a few pages each month til I felt like I had a finished project.  Because the pages are small (6x8) they really go together quickly.  So yesterday I did two pages about things I feel good about - baking and my nook.

Dear Lizzie, Heidi Swapp, Studio Calico, Freckled Fawn, Simple Stories, Elles Studio - and inspired by the color challenge at Life Paper Scrapbook

Simple Stories, Heidi Swapp, American Crafts, Dear Lizzy, Elle's Studio, Basic Grey, Studio Calico.

Both of these projects started with Planetarium kits and add-ons which I supplemented to finish my pages.  And I have to admit that I am currently addicted to those Heidi Swapp arrows that resist spray inks. 

I have lots more to do in this album and will share as I get pages done.  I'm working hard to keep it fun and not become a task, so you never know when I'll have more to share.

Hope you had a chance to play today.  Enjoy the rest of your Saturday.