It's hard to believe that this project is complete. December has flown by. 2012 was my second year in keeping a December Daily album and just like last December, I am so happy I took this project on during such a busy time of year. I totally forgot to review my thoughts about this project from last year. But after taking some time this morning and looking back at what I wrote about last year's album, I found that I gave myself some pretty good advice and followed through on things without even having to review it! :)
{I did make a mistake in that post though! For some reason I was thinking that Ali Edwards' 2011 December Daily Kit was available through Cocoa Daisy. I purchased it from Studio Calico this year. I don't know, maybe it was with one company last year and another this year...not sure! I apologize for any confusion!}
So here are my thoughts on the December Daily 2012 album:
1. December Daily Kit from Studio Calico. Last year I told myself to make a point of watching the internet and social media for an announcement of when Ali's December Daily Kit would be available for purchase. Believing that it would be available through Cocoa Daisy, I even signed up for their 6-month kit subscription so I wouldn't miss any emails with information on how to order a DD Kit when the time comes. Turns out I saw an announcement on Facebook that the kit was available for pre-order from Studio Calico! Happily I pre-ordered and couldn't wait to get the kit in the mail. It was a pricey kit-$90. And to be honest, I don't if I will be purchasing the kit next year. Please don't get me wrong! There were parts of the kit that I absolutely loved: Ali's Stamp set and the 6x6 paper pad, the wood veneer trees, snowflakes and alphabets and washi tape. I also liked the rhinestones and little colored adhesive dots. There were other parts of the kit that weren't my favorite such as the package of die-cuts, the vellum quote bubbles/arrows and I'm still undecided whether or not I liked the size of the album (more on that later). But I do have to say that I was thrilled with the variety of product that was included in the kit. Having product from a range of companies at my fingertips gave me the opportunity to experiment with things that I probably would not have picked myself if I was at a scrapbook store. If you are wondering if I regret signing up for a kit subscription through Cocoa Daisy, absolutley not! I am soooo happy I did that because, again, having someone else coordinate a variety of scrapbook products from different companies saves me a lot of time and gives me the chance to try out a wide range of products that I may not have thought to put together myself. I ended up pulling several products from the Cocoa Daisy kits and using them in my DD album. I highly recommend signing up for a 6-month subscription!
2. Album size. I was pretty excited to see that Ali chose the smaller album this year. It kept kept things simple. Being empty nesters, I knew I wouldn't have the huge amount of photos to choose from that those with children would have. So I was really happy with the 4x6. However, in the end, there were days that I did have more photos than I had anticipated and not enough room for all of them (Ali's 4x6 Layered Templates helped ALOT though!). Adding extra pages and a few of the thicker chipboard pages that were included in the album really made it bulky. Too bulky. I originally planned to complete the entire month, but decided that there really wasn't enough room in the album so I stopped at Day 25. Last year I used an 8x8 album. I would have to say that a size in between the two would be good for this project. I believe Ali used a 6x8 album for her 2011 December Daily album. I think I will look for that size for my 2013 December Daily.
3. Digital Elements. Hands down these were my favorite product I used in the album. I loved them. Whatever digital product Ali had available for December Daily on Designer Digitals, I downloaded it. Even though I may not have used all of them, I am glad I have them to use in future albums. Her digital products are versatile and economical. I used them all the time! I even made a few of my own digital products during December that were (and still are) available as free downloads! I will definitely be creating digital product that can be used for December Daily albums in the future!
4. Work on your album at the same time each day. It kind of becomes a habit. This is something I mentioned in last years' wrap-up post, still feel it is a good piece of advice and is worth mentioning again. My work flow went something like this: During the day I would take photos. In the evening I would upload the photos to my computer and choose the ones I was to include in the book. I would also do a draft of my blog post in the evening as well. Around 8am the following morning I would print the photos, mount them in the book, add the journaling and then photograph the pages for my blog post. Finally I upload those photos to my computer and add the pictures to the blog entry I drafted the night before and then publish the post. It was a process that really worked well for me!
A few things I would do differently:
1. Album size. I know I mentioned it already, but I will look for a different size. Hopefully something with divided page protectors. Hmmm....December Daily in the Project Life format...
2. More vellum and transparencies. I really like the way Ali used vellum and transparencies in her album. I will make a point of using more of these items in next year's album.
3. More digital elements/graphics. Make for less bulk!
Two more album pics! I finally got around to putting my front page and inside cover of my album together. They are simple, but I am happy to say that December Daily 2012 is complete:
Love those veneer trees covered in glitter.
Trees, again! The "joy" flair was included in the December Daily kit.
Thank you so much for reading an commenting on my December Daily posts throughout the Christmas season! I hope you will continue to visit throughout the coming year as I will be taking on more projects!
