December Daily® 2016 | Beginning Preparations
Here are some of the things I'm doing right now as I get ready to begin working on my
December Daily® foundation pages (the way I like to get ahead a bit with my album before December):
This is generally the time of year that I want to do a full clean up and clean out of most of my supplies - not just for December Daily® but for
everything. Doing that helps me find things that I might have stashed away that would be great for my December Daily® album (you'll see a couple of those things below).
My November and December are going to be a little different this year because there will be a construction project happening here in my house in the room right outside my office (we are creating another bedroom from some of my office space + another room). That means that my office is going to be more of a mess than usual and things won't be where they normally would be. Keeping that in mind it's even more important for me to clean up and out before that starts.
I also like to create space on my table in my office just for working on my
December Daily® pages. Your set up might be a little different depending on the space you have available. I like to fit my main supplies into a small box/basket even if I'm keeping it out on my table - this makes it easy if I want to work on my album in another part of my house.
Take a look at your
inks + adhesives (including glue pens) + embossing powders + pens + paints + ink cartridges + printer paper. Are they in working order? Nothing is more annoying when you finally carve out time to work on your stories than finding out you are our of adhesive.
Scotch Dot Roller Adhesive | My favorite rolling adhesive. Martha Stewart Glue Pen | Great for small pieces including Silhouette cuts, die cuts, chipboard, etc. Versamark | Clear embossing ink for stamping. Use this and then use some embossing powder on top and heat with a heat gun. Zing Silver Metallic Embossing Powder | Love this. Ranger Super Fine Gold Embossing Powder | Love this one too. AED Slick Writer Pen | The bolder version of my favorite pen. AED Gold Metallic Marker | Great directly on your photos. AED Precision Pen | Favorite pen for journaling. AED Silver Metallic Marker | Awesome + smooth on photos.
Is there a new technique you might want to try this year and what do you need for that? Think embossing, think transparencies, think paint and silkscreens.
After I made up that list Katie added a few more things that she knows I like to use:
Avery Index Tabs | I love adding these to the edge of pages in my albums. Phrases Roller Stamp | These stamps fit right onto the Avery Index Tabs Time Roller Stamp | A staple that would be great for documenting holiday activities. Holiday Ink Colors | Black Butte, St. Helens, and Pendleton
Here's a look at how I used the Index Tabs in my album last year:
In addition to the products included in
my kits, I also usually have a few things I've stashed away over the course of the last year that I might end up including in my album. I also always like to check out other products available this season and see if there are any pieces I want to pick up for my own project. I definitely like to limit my supplies for this project so I don't have a ton of extra things - just a few things I know I would love to play with in my album.
Here are a few things I've purchased and set aside:
Tim Holtz Remnant Rubs Gilded Christmastime | Because I can never have enough word + phrase stickers. Includes one sheet of silver rub ons and one sheet of gold rub ons. Tim Holtz Metallic Stickers Holiday Talk | These ones come with two sheets of black (silver + gold type) and two sheets of white (silver + gold type). Tim Holtz Adornments Pinecones | Not sure exactly how I'll use these yet but I like the idea of them. Maybe hanging off a tag? Large numbers from a couple past Studio Calico kits. The large cork numbers from the Young At Heart kit and the white plastic numbers from the Young At Heart Documenter Kit. 04 | START THINKING ABOUT STORIES + DESIGN IDEAS + FOUNDATION PAGES
Stories are the heart of all my projects and
December Daily® is no exception.
Start thinking about your reason why/intentions for this year. You can see my own reasons why & intentions (and download printables for both) for 2014 and 2105. Start thinking of design ideas and ways to communicate your stories. I don't know every story I'll tell in advance (because I let life dictate a lot of that) but it's likely I'll tell the story of putting up our tree, of getting out the decorations, of Advent calendars, of twinkle lights, etc. While browsing around for ideas online, keep track of them when you come across ones that resonate with you and your intentions for this year. I usually just write these on yellow sticky notes or on a pad of paper. If you are new to December Daily® or if you've been doing it for awhile but are looking for a more intentional approach this year I recommend checking out my Storytelling With December Daily® Workshop (class begins November 1). The bonus stamp set is still available at the time of this posting. Full details on this popular class can be found here. Put your page protectors in order. I'm following essentially the same design map as last year (the only difference is that there are two more 6x8 full page protectors and two less of the three pocket design). As I got about documenting my stories some of the page protectors get moved around, but I like the process of thinking though the products + the stories in advance of the month. A flexible attitude with this project is totally the way to go. Start putting stuff in the pockets. That's where I'm at right now and plan to share more with you soon!
