So after some great advice from my friends on Facebook, I figured out how to deal with the 2x2" pockets.


The Story: On Sunday, my hubby dragged all of the Christmas boxes out of the shed and I set to work Christmas-ifying the house. This was extremely important to me. First, given all that's been going on, I desperately needed some cheer and twinkle in the house. Second, living in Montana, it gets dark here really early so having the extra light inside makes things a bit brighter.

I love our Christmas tree!

The Design: Given the constraints of the page protectors I had allotted for this day,  I placed the journal card and picture of the tree outside of the protectors. I cut one side off the 2x2" pocket page and used my Fuse tool to seal the pockets with the sequins.


That washi tape on the right side of the card? That was used to cover up the fact that I punched the holes in the card on the wrong side. Ooops!

Here's the back of the two inserts:


And here's my Day 7 Spread:



The Story:  I'm a substitute teacher, which can be incredibly boring. Today, I spent the entire day watching students do bookwork. It got so bad that I decided to clean out my purse.

The Design: I kept it simple for today. Just some stamping on the photo, glitter tape on the journal card, and that's about it. Easy Peasy!

Thanks again to everyone that helped me through my mind block yesterday!

One of the goals I had for December Daily this year was to complete pages daily. That way, I wouldn't get behind, get frustrated, and give up. I did what I could ahead of time to make the process easier: make foundation pages, limit and organize my supplies, etc.

One thing I did not account for: what to do when I get stuck with a design.

Included in Ali Edwards' main kit this year are several page protectors that consist of 2x2" pockets. In her plan, she dispersed these pages throughout her album. I followed her lead, assuming that I would suddenly be inspired as to know how to use them when the time came.

Guess what - that didn't happen.

I sat at my desk last night, with those stupid 2x2" squares staring at me. I didn't have any pictures that would really work cropped down to that size. I didn't want to do a page of just "fluff" (not adding to the story in any way). Not to mention, I was really tired, had a headache, and just wasn't thinking clearly.

So, I set it aside. But, I was determined not to let it deter me.

I asked for help.

The Facebook community for December Daily is a tremendous resource. I put up an SOS post last night, asking for inspiration. This morning, I had lots of replies, all with pictures, to help me get un-stuck.

And now I know how to finish that spread!

I'll post Day 6 along with Day 7 tomorrow.

Today mostly revolved around visiting my father-in-law in the hospital, so I decided to tell a story that happened in the end of November, but is still holiday related.



The Story:  The Saturday after Thanksgiving, my husband and I went to see The Nutcracker. I have loved The Nutcracker ever since I was a kid. I used to take ballet lessons and was a dancer in the iconic ballet when I was 8. I was one of the little kids who comes out of Mother Ginger - the lady with the huge skirt. As an early Christmas present, my mom got me 2 tickets to see this year's production. Rob was very patient with me, but I could tell that the ballet just wasn't his "thing." For me, however, it was a magical thing. Seeing the dancing and listening to the music brought me back to my childhood, when I would play the music in my bedroom and make up my own rudimentary choreography. And of course seeing all the little girls in the audience in their fancy dresses totally won my heart.

The Design:  This became a multi-page spread. I had quite a bit of journaling, so I wrote it out on a 3x8 sheet of lined paper and included it in its own page protector.

Here is what it looks like outside of the album.  The front:


and the back:


Here's how it looks inside the album (please forgive the glare on my photos):




As Gretchen Rubin (my favorite author) says, "onward and upward!"

Thank you, everyone, for your prayers and well-wishes regarding my father-in-law. He continues to be stable, but he's still in the ICU for the time being.

For Day 4, I decided to celebrate the little joys life offers in the face of hard times.




The Story: My kids are both adults now. One lives on his own and the other lives at home part time and in Bozeman part time, depending on her job situation. Between their crazy work schedules, it is a rare treat to have them both together, so I celebrate those moments when this mama bird has all her birdies back in the nest.

The Design: I had the "ho ho ho" paper and the "4" card already in place from my foundation pages. I decided to print the photo in black and white, partly because the photo was poorly lit (taken inside Buffalo Wild Wings with my daughter's Samsung Galaxy 6 phone) and partly to coordinate with the black-white-gold theme I had going with the foundation pages. I used the "filled with joy" card for my journaling, thinking it went well with both the theme of the page and the color scheme. I kept the embellishments simple, mostly just to spread the gold across the pages to create a sense of unity.

I also added in a transparency page from Ali's main kit. I figured it would be a good fit here, mostly because the "ho ho ho" page isn't essential to the story, so it wouldn't be like I was cutting the spread in two. I ran a strip of gold stripe washi across the center of the page and adhered one of the rubber banners from the main kit.


Here's what all three pages look like outside of the album:


And here is what they look like in the album with the transparency page added:


Thanks for taking a peek today. On to Day 5!

During December, lots of people wonder how to include those not-so-merry moments into a December Daily album. My Day 3 provides a great example of how to accomplish this.
The Design: I didn't want to take photos of my husband's family - that seemed too intrusive (but you know the scrapbooker in me considered it for a split second). I decided to take a photo of the outside of the hospital. That way, there is a visual representation of the story, but it's respectful for all those involved.

I wanted the papers and embellishments to keep with the holiday theme, but still be subdued to honor the story. The "real life" stamp on the photo is from Ali's "Black & White" Story Kit.




Here's to hoping Day 4 is a little more merry!

I've made it to Day 2! Still keeping up! Only 23 days left!

Today's story revolved around our family's Elf on the Shelf.



The Story: Please realize that both of my children are grown. My son Zack is 25 and my daughter Alyssa is 24. Both of them have a wicked sense of humor, so I thought they'd have fun being mischievous with the toy normally marketed to families with young children.

I texted both of them to ask what we should name the Elf:


Yes, our Elf is now named "Will 'Fart' Ferrell."

The Design: The title card was made using one of the papers from Ali Edwards' main kit and the paint from the Ashley Goldberg mini kit. I used a silkscreen stencil from one of Ali's previous Story Kits (I think it was the "Build" one) to apply the little gold plus signs. I figured from a distance, it would look like gold twinkles.



The journal card on the right side is one from Ali's digital files from December Daily 2014.


Aside from some random stickers and glitter tape, that's about it for today. Most of the time I spent on this spread was taken up with figuring out the placement of the photos and doing the silkscreening.

See you tomorrow!

Happy December, everyone!

This is the third year I've attempted December Daily. Note the word "attempted." I've actually only completed one year. This year, I am GOING to finish this project! I am GOING to keep up with it on a daily basis!  My blog will help keep me accountable.

I've done a few things differently this year to help set me up for success. First, I limited my supplies. I am working from Ali Edwards' main December Daily kit as well as mini-kits from Jasmine Jones and Ashley Goldberg (all kits are available here if you are interested). When I received the kits, I went through them and set aside only those items that I knew I would use. None of this "well maybe I can fit this in somewhere...." Limiting my supplies will help avoid feeling overwhelmed by choices.

Second, I actually set up foundation pages - meaning I totally plagiarized Ali's foundation pages. I have never done foundation pages before, so yeah...I copied.

Finally, I have a running list of stories to tell. On those days when I'm feeling totally brain dead, or when no other story inspires me, I'll use this list to keep me going.

So, with that in mind - here are my pages for December 1: