December Daily Album 2014

  
December Daily has become one of my favorite holiday traditions. I love documenting the special and ordinary moments each Christmas season. (Here are my past albums: 2013, 2012, 2010.)

Sometimes, though, pulling it all together--the words + photos + papers + embellishments--into an album takes time.

For me, it rarely happens in January, much less the end of December. And this year, it was Valentine's Day before I completed my album. But hey, it's finally done...and I'm pleased with it!

Before I share photos + snippets from my album, let me tell you a little bit about the products I used.

I fell in love with Simple Stories in the fall of 2014, so it's probably no surprise that I used a Simple Stories album and the Cozy Christmas paper line, also by Simple Stories. (I bought the album at Michael's--with a 40% off coupon--and I purchased the supplies online here.)

In addition to using a whole new product line, I also tried something totally different (and completely out-of-character for me): I didn't fuss about the dates.

Now, I realize it's kind of odd to call it a daily album and not see any evidence of dates--that is except December 25th. But as I was flipping through my past December Daily albums in late November, I noticed something: It didn't matter to me whether we went to the library on Dec 6th or Dec 12th. It didn't matter whether we attended Polar Express earlier in the month or later in the month.

In the same vein, it didn't matter whether I told one or two or five different stories each day. It didn't matter whether I took one photo or ten.


What mattered most to me was the whole: A record (in photos + words) of our everyday activities, our holiday traditions, the funny things Noah said, the adorable things Noah did, and the people we spent time with. 

There's no way I could share the whole album here--it's over 25 pages long--but here are some of my favorite features:


1 | "Around Here"
Basically, I just sat down during the fourth week of December, grabbed a piece of card stock, and listed out whatever I could think of that was going on in or around our home. As you can see, it's a smattering of everyday moments like frolicking at the park, painting with watercolors, playing at BusyKidz, and jumping in puddles--as well as special holiday moments and memories like drinking eggnog, opening up another door on the Advent calendar, decorating the top half of our tree with ornaments, and enjoying the lights with friends.


2 | "Counting Down"  
Here, I went into more detail about how we counted down the days until Christmas, and mentioned the outdoor decorations. 



3 | "Funny Moments"
I made a point to capture some funny moments with my iPhone or DSLR--like when I discovered that Noah had taken some of the lights off our tree (see photo above--bottom of the right page).
 
Photo caption: "Busted! I walked into the family room and there was Noah, lying on the floor, playing with the lights he had taken off the tree."


4 | "Overheard"
On this page, I wrote down anything funny or insightful or interesting that Noah uttered in the month of December. (Many of these were taken from an iPhone note I kept adding to during the month.)


5 | A Note to Noah
Dear Noah, 
One morning, as I was standing in the kitchen by the sink, I looked up to see you flipping through my December Daily album from last year. I sneaked over with my iPhone and snapped this photo of you. 
 Why? Because I was so excited to see you looking at the photos. This is why I take so many pics, why I journal, why I scrapbook. So you and Daddy and I can remember all the wonderful times we've shared together. 
Love, 
Mama
 

6 | Favorite Stories

A. "The Stockings"

When I look at this photo, I don't just see three stockings. I see three stockings, which I bought with a gift card and two coupons at Pottery Barn. Stockings that I waited to buy until we had a child. Stockings that all match and look oh-so-grown-up. Stockings that have our names embroidered on them, just like my family did growing up. I also see a fourth hook with no stocking hanging from it. One day, there will be another stocking--a matching one--with a baby girl's name on it, hanging there. I just know it. That's what I see when I look at this image.


B. "The Balloon"

"Brian and Noah went to the market one afternoon. While they were waiting in the checkout line, N spotted this "Somebody Loves You!" balloon. He asked Brian if he could have it and B said, "No."
Seconds later, N said, "For Mommy?" Of course, Brian caved and bought the balloon. 
When N presented me with the balloon, I was so touched. I gave him a big hug and said, "Thank you!" Later on, Brian told me the back story and I was laughing so hard. Apparently, N really wanted that balloon!"

7 | Noah's Wish List
One morning, I nonchalantly asked Noah what he wanted for Christmas and then quickly jotted down his response on a pad of paper in the kitchen. Later on, I transferred the three items (a train, a tunnel, a track) to a cute tag and included it in my album.


8 | Letter from Santa
I found a Santa spiral-bound notebook at a rummage sale last fall and thought it would work perfectly for notes to Santa and notes from Santa. Since Noah is only three, I wrote the note to Santa (with help from Noah) on Christmas Eve, and on Christmas morning, we were delighted to read Santa's response. The notebook is now packed away with all of our Christmas gear, but rest assured, it will make another appearance on Christmas Eve 2015.

The majority of the photos above were taken with my iPhone 5S, while a handful were shot with my Canon 5D Mark III and edited in Lightroom and Photoshop. 

Your turn: Did you make a 2014 December Daily album? What gems did you collect? Please leave a link in the comments, so I can see what you created!

P.S. Want to learn more about December Daily? Check out Ali Edwards' website.

Week in the Life 2014

Welcome, December. You are quite possibly my favorite month of the year.

Today begins December Daily, an annual practice I've come to love, in which I snap at least one photo a day from now until December 25th. 

It's all about documenting the stories of my life leading up to Christmas.

Today, Brian, Noah and I unpacked all of our Christmas decorations, and I had so much fun flipping through my previous December Daily albums, reminiscing and laughing and reflecting and "awwing" at how little Noah was (in 2012 & 2013).   

Usually by now, I have a December Daily album started, but not this year.

The good news is that I've ordered bits and pieces from Simple Stories' Snapbooking Christmas Cozy line, and I'm super excited to bring it all together later on in the month. (Simple Stories also has a December Daily kit available in case you're interested.)

Before I embark on my December Daily, though, I want to share my Week in the Life album.

In this album, I used Simple Stories' SN@P everyday collection, which I serendipitously discovered at Michael's recently.

Seriously, it was love at first sight. 

I was drooling over the bright colors, the hearts, the stripes, the polka dots, and the chevron patterns. They are SO me.  And of course, the camera graphics are awesome, too.  

SN@Pbooking is similar to using Project Life, but on a much smaller scale. You buy the divided page protectors (they come in a variety of sizes), stuff them full of photos + journaling cards + ephemera, and place them in an album.

Scrapbooking simplified. #totallyrad 

Here's a look at my Week in the Life 2014 album:

I learned a really quick and easy way to create a 4x6 layout that includes (1) 4x4 photo and (2) 2x2 photos without using Photoshop.  

Using the PicFrame app (which costs 99 cents), I was able to quickly create 4x6 layouts, fill them with photos from my camera roll, save them to my iPhone, and then upload them to Costco's website for printing. 

(If you need step-by-step instructions, check out this awesome tutorial!)

This process was so much faster than PS, and I loved that I could do it all on my smartphone.   

 As you can see, I kept the journaling pages super simple. I didn't want to spend extra time decorating them; for me, it's all about the words.

About one-third of the photos were taken with my Canon 5D (examples: the four 4x4 photos above) and two-thirds with my iPhone 5S.

 I adore that "winking" photo of Noah.

That jack-o-lantern photo above is just screaming for some word art down the left side. Definitely want to add that in and reprint.  

Again, a super simple journaling page with lots of words.  I used the "some days" prompt to include a look at our daily activities.

 Celebrating Halloween with two toddlers: In a word, magical.


I wrote this letter to Zoey (above) detailing the happenings of her birthday party (since she won't remember it), and I'm also planning to print out this blog post and slip it into the album.   

Another week in my life lived and documented.  Feels good.

Completed December Daily Album | 2013

I finally finished my December Daily album.  Woohoo!

Here's a look at the cover.  The photo of Noah and me was taken by Mindy Newton Photography.

This album size (6x12) worked well for me. (For more info on the album and insert pages, click here.)

As you'll see below, I used photo pages that hold 3-4x6s on each side.  Most days, I included an Ali Edwards' journaling card and two 4x6 photos, but some days I had additional photos I wanted to showcase.

I also included two 6x12 photos like the one of Noah (below) in his blue car.

In Photoshop, I created a 12x12 canvas and then dropped the two 6x12 photos onto it.  I ordered the 12x12 print from Costco (for $2.99), cut it in half, and slipped each photo into a 6x12 photo sleeve.


On the back of the 6x12 insert, I placed a drawing by our godson Tyler, who is quite the artist.  

I wrote my journaling out each December night using two black Project Life pens, which I received at the Click Retreat. In mid-January, I went back and added a piece of patterned paper as well as a sentiment sticker to the bottom left corner of each journaling card.

Here's a look at some of my journaling:

Dec. 15 | Two really cool things happened today: 1) We attended church , only to discover that the baby room speakers have been fixed. It's a Christmas miracle, I tell ya! 2) Our friends joined us for dinner tonight. It was so fun to see Noah play with Avery (20 months) and Chase (3.5 years old) and Tyler (7.5 years old). I feel really lucky to have good friends from high school living nearby who like to chat and play and eat.

Dec. 16 | I woke up this morning with the urge to go somewhere! Brian was at work, so Noah and I headed off to BusyKidz. We played for 2+ hours. Noah's favorite things to do? Ride a scooter, push the grocery cart, sing into the microphone (karaoke style), play with the hammer and drill and type on the typewriter. I loved watching Noah play! I also loved taking photographs with my Nikon and iPhone. Being a stay-at-home mom is the best.

Dec. 20 |  Earlier tonight, we had dinner (Pizza Factory pizza) with Scot and Jessie Yearwood at their home. They, along with Jen, gave Noah a cute blue car and firefighter jacket. Noah loves both, but is especially enamored with the car. After dinner and presents, we drove to a big lights neighborhood in Rocklin. Noah loved seeing all the inflatables and lights from his stroller. Snapping pics of lights and kids in the dark is tricky, but I did the best I could.

In the 6x12 photo, Noah is sitting on Adam Fink's bike.  (Adam is a motocross racer who lives in Oakley, just down the street from my aunt and uncle.)


Adam is currently racing on the 2014 Arenacross series, and he was kind enough to autograph a flyer for Noah, as well as let him sit on his bike.  Watching Adam make such high jumps was exciting!    

Dec. 22 | Confession: I'm cranky today. I'm feeling tired from two long (and social) days. So tired that when Noah went down for a nap, I took a (short) nap, too. That doesn't happen much anymore.  Still have a few more errands to run before Christmas and cleaning to do. I hope Noah's cold goes away before Christmas. He's been cranky today, too. Not only because of the cold, but also, I believe, because he's tired and inching closer and closer to two. Oy vey! 

Dec. 23 | Looking around the family room tonight, I see many things I treasure--most especially the scrapbooks and layouts I've made over the years. I see something that makes me laugh--our tree with ornaments on the top half only. I see something that I want to work on for next year--where, oh where, should we hang our stockings? And I see something that makes me smile--the baby Jesus, who was once lost (in the hamper), but is now found.

Dec. 24 | Noah and I spent the morning outside (it was beautiful with temp around 65 degrees and sunny) playing in the yard. After Noah's nap, we drove to the station for dinner with Brian, eight other firefighters, and their families. We brought Noah's trike, but he was more interested in riding the scooters and a bike (with the helmet, of course). Around and around the tables all the kids went, riding bikes, trikes, and scooters. It was a zoo, but a highly entertaining one at that.

Dec. 25 | Santa surprised Noah with a workbench, complete with hammer, hand saw, table saw, etc. We bought Noah a dog guitar, a book, and some pajamas. It was fun to hang out just the three of us in the morning and then later on, my mom and Brian's family joined us for more presents and lunch. Noah now has a kitchen (thanks to Mike and Kathleen), which he LOVES! We didn't make it to church this year (boo!), but I'm so thankful that God sent his son to Earth. Happy Birthday, Jesus! Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

As I typed up the words on these journaling cards just now, I cringed a few times. Why?  Because this writing is so unpolished, so rough draft material; it's surely not my best work. But I'm going to let it go. It's what I could come up with in the five or ten minutes I had each night. And even though it's not pretty in some spots, it captures what I was thinking at that moment. Best of all, though, it's done. Smile.  

Thanks for letting me share my December days with you!

Sneak Peek | December Daily 2013

Looking for our family Christmas letter?  Click here.
____________________________________________

Wow, there are just five days until Christmas!

A few of you have asked about my December Daily album, and while I'm not ready to share it just yet (it's still a work-in-progress), I thought I'd give you a sneak peek at some of my photos. (If you follow me on Instagram (jharless), you'll recognize some of these pics.)  

December 1 | A photo walk in the park, just me and my Nikon.

December 2 | Eggnog shakes after picking out our tree. (Nikon)

December 3 | A trip to the mailbox. (Nikon)

December 4 | Spotting new items on the Life box at breakfast. 

December 5 | Showing Lucy his guitar (gee-tar) ornament.  (iPhone 4)

 

 December 6 | Screenshot of the weather forecast. (iPhone 5S)

 December 7 | Playing in the snow. (iPhone 5S)


December 8 | Snow-laden branches and blue skies. (Nikon)

December 9 | Shopping for a special 7-year-old whose Christmas wish was a pair of shoes.  I bought him some Legos, too. (iPhone 5S)

December 10 | Hot apple cider. Yum! (Nikon)

December 11| A quick trim at Supercuts. (iPhone 5S)

Although I've taken photos since December 11, I've yet to go through them and decide which ones I want to include in my album.  

After Christmas, I'm planning to carve out some time to sort through all of my photos, edit some of them, send an order into Costco, and then add embellishments to the journaling cards. 

In January, I'll share my completed December Daily album.

Are any of you working on a December Daily album? If so, how's it going?

Hello December Daily 2013

Welcome December!

And hello December Daily!

It's my third year participating in Ali Edwards' December Daily album project.

The first year (2010), I created a 6x8 album.  

Last year, I chose a 4x6 album.

And this year, I'm going with this 6x12 album.

 

It was not easy finding a 6x12 album.  I started by looking online, and had a dreadful time locating one.  Then, when I finally found a suitable album, the shipping was more than the item.

Luckily, I remembered I had a Hobby Lobby gift card in my wallet.  I called the store, and lo and behold, they had three different 6x12 albums.

Score!

Even better, all their albums (and plastic photo pages) were 50% off.

Double score! 

Here's a look at the inside of the album:



I purchased Ali Edwards' December Daily 4x6 journal cards, printed them out, and trimmed them down to size.

My goal is to write a little each day on a journal card, and then take at least two photos. 

But I'm sure there will be days where I snap a ton of photos, but don't have much to say, or don't have the energy or time to write.  On those days, I think I'll just place an overlay (with the date) right on my photo and then print it out.  

I can't wait to document our holiday and non-holiday stories in this album. 

Here's to snapping and writing and enjoying the magic of the Christmas season. 

December Daily: Days 18-26

Woohoo!

I just finished my 2012 December Daily album.

Before I share the remaining pages of my album, here's a look at the title page: 


This photo, taken at Picture People last week, works perfectly as the first page in my album.  I just pulled the photo into Photoshop Elements, added a few words, and printed it at Costco.  (Yes, we had our holiday photos taken AFTER Christmas!  Initially, I was just going to get Noah's first birthday photos taken, but then thought, Why not do holiday photos, too?)

And now, here are days 18-26:

December 18: I made grasshopper mint chocolate bark for the first time, and it was SO easy and SO delicious!  Here's the recipe, in case you're interested in whipping up a batch. 

December 19: We're lucky to have a persimmon tree in our front yard, which produces fruit every December.  This year, Brian picked 20 persimmons off the tree!

December 20: The three of us drove to Nevada City for the day.  There, we browsed some shops, bought three Christmas books for Noah, and feasted on a slice of pizza and a calzone at Pete's Pizza.  Noah ate a bit of the pizza AND some of the calzone, too!

December 21: Our cousin, Christa, treated us to lunch at her place.  It's always fun spending time with her, and her enchiladas were awesome.  Even Noah thought so!  

December 22: We celebrated Christmas today with my dad's side of the family.  Noah loved playing with all of his cousins!

December 23: I actually took this picture on another day, but wanted to include it in my album.  Although they are rare--especially during the holiday season--low-key days, where we stay in our pajamas, play with toys, read books, and listen to Christmas music, are so much fun.   

December 24:We celebrated with Brian's family on Christmas Eve, exchanging gifts, eating, chatting, and just enjoying being together.    

December 25: After 8:00 am mass, we drove down to my parents' house where we opened presents and ate brunch before my dad left for work.


I just love this picture of McKayla in her Santa hat.  Can't believe she's in the fifth grade!  

Unfortunately, Katie and Preston couldn't be with us this Christmas.  We wanted to let them know we were thinking of them, though, so we snapped the picture above and sent it to them via text message.

Later on that day, we opened gifts with Brian's family and then headed home for dinner and more present opening!  Noah loved ripping open his gifts--once he got the hang of it.  And now, he loves ripping paper of any kind.  

December 26: Although I started brainstorming ideas for Noah's birthday party early on in December, I kicked my planning into high gear the day after Christmas.  I found so many cool ideas for the party on --where else?-- Pinterest.  There, I created a "secret" board, where I pinned my finds.  I'm planning to write a separate blog post on Noah's party soon.

I'm really happy with this super simple album.  I love that it's small.  I love that it contains lots of photos and some journaling.  I love that it documents our December days as well as Noah's first Christmas.

Here's hoping you had a magical December, and that your new year is off to a wonderful start!