December Daily Part 1...

so far, so good!!  I have been able to keep up with my December Daily everyday, since the 1st.  It can get a little bit dicey, the closer it gets to Christmas, because things are just so crazy.  I found that keeping all of my supplies together in one spot, makes things a lot easier and quicker.  I don't have to search all through my stuff for something to add to a page.  And I am averaging about 10-15 minutes, when working on a page, so I consider that to be an accomplishment!

I can't manage to get the pages completely pre-done, and then add just the photo, because I need the photo to visualize what I want to do with the papers and embellishments.  So I tend to set up my page bases and then add everything else as I go along each day.

I thought it would be fun to share every Thursday, during this month, instead of trying to keep up with posting a page a day.  So here is my album cover along with the first 5 days:

The album I am using, is actually a Day Planner by Recollections, that I picked up at Michael's.  The binder was $12.99 and I used the 40% coupon on the purchase.  I loved that it was 95% kraft based and it has some great pockets in the front and back of the binder...these will be great for keeping Christmas cards and storing receipts.  There was some un-needed design elements on the front of the album that I didn't want showing, so that's where my decorating came in for the front cover.  I was able to cover the parts that I didn't want to show, but I left the binder edging as is, because I thought it was kind of cute and funky.

I am using a plethora of mixed products on my album.  I have three 6x6 albums...Wonderland from Studio Calico, Peppermint from American Crafts, and Sleigh Ride by Crate Paper, and the 8x8 paper pad of Make It Merry from October Afternoon.  I also received one of the Kitschy Kristmas Kits from Paper Issues and it has so much fun stuff in it!  I am loving it!!  I also have some random bits of things that aren't necessarily Christmas related, but can be incorporated into your album.  I think the best advice for a December Daily, is to just have fun with it and let it reflect what you did for the month of December.  It doesn't even have to be a daily album!  You could do an event oriented album for the month, too.

There you have it!!  I hope you enjoyed a peek at the beginning of my album and hopefully picked up some helpful hints!  Make sure you check back each Thursday this month, for the next set of pages...and hopefully this method will keep me accountable for getting those pages done everyday!!  :)