Preparing to document December

Okay, so let's just try to ignore the fact that I haven't posted anything in over a month. I'm still trying to find my blogging groove but remember, no pressure, so I blog when I want to and/or when I can. Although I do want to post more regularly so...let's see shall we?

FYI: Pixel crafting is just my clever way of saying digital scrapbooking because digital scrapbooking is such a mouthful. I figured if paper crafters play with scissors and paper then the digital equivalent would have to be playing with pixels and there you have it: pixel crafting.

I've been, ahem, pixel crafting, for well over 4 years now but I have very little to show for it. I rarely print out layouts so most of the proof that I actually do something with the dollars I spend on digi supplies is always on my computer or online somewhere. It's a big part of my life but it seems hidden because I can't walk around with my computer all day. So I decided to make a bigger effort to go hybrid. In my opinion, hybrid scrapbooking is when the pixels become real so just printing out an all digi layout is hybrid to me but then again, I was never a paper scrapper so others may have a different definition. I have tons of ideas floating around my head just waiting for me to act on them. One is Project 365. I really like the idea of documenting the everyday especially because I have a big problem taking lots of photos during big events but I have a million "everyday" photos. Back in 2008, I started but I honestly only did one month--January. I made it way too complicated. Now I realize what my mistakes were and I hope to be able to actually complete the album for 2011. To get in the habit of taking photos every day and documenting them, I'm going to do a December Daily album a la Ali Edwards. This will be a great way for me to make sure I actually photograph some of the bigger moments of the season since I'll want to include them in the album.

So here's my plan:
I'm going to create a 4x6 album that will end up being displayed in an album similar to this one I found here at Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Umbra-Portofoto-4-Inch-6-Inch-Photo/dp/B0015AFVI0

I've created a simple template to use. I know from experience that not having to worry about design is a big time saver. One of my biggest hangups about using a template used to be feeling locked in to one scheme and not having enough variety. However, I got over that after taking "Who Am I?" a class by Anna Mansfield at ScrapGirls where you use templates to build an album all about you. (I never finished that either..hmmm...gotta work on that). So the template I created is pretty simple but I think I can still change it up as needed to create variety but the album as a whole will still feel unified. So on the days when I can only drop in a photo and jot down a few words, it will still look nice and when I have more time, I can easily add cute embellies and such to dress it up.

Front

Back

I plan to put the album on display next year during Christmas so we can look back and see how much has changed over the year. Since it will be hanging from binder rings, I want it to look nice from the front and back which is why I have 2 templates. I'm not sure if my album will be 2-up like the one pictured; I've only planned for 1-up. The front will be a photo from the day plus a smattering of journaling. The back will just be a holiday quote (I love quotes.) Another great thing about the 4x6 size is that after being on display for Christmas, it can go in a pretty little 4x6 album on its own.

Thanks to Amanda McGee, I've already found the perfect kit to use for my album. It's her December Days Collection. Isn't it lovely?!

Can't wait to get my hot little hands on that! So that's pretty much it. This album feels so much more doable since I've already chosen a design and a kit to use. All I have to do is take photos throughout the days which is something I already do. I'm going to set aside 15 minutes a day to actually drop my photos + papers/embs + journaling into the template. I'll share a few of my finished pages about mid December and of course when I get it printed out and assembled, I'll share that too.

That's it in a nutshell. Until next time..Happy Holidays!