Document Your December at The Lilypad

I wrote this post for this’ year’s Document Your December at The Lilypad. Disclaimer: this post contains some affiliate links to Amazon where I purchased many of my supplies (I purchased them all at full price, but if you use my links I’ll get a small commission towards future purchases).

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I have been making a December Daily album since 2010, and have always mixed in hybrid and physical products. Over the years, I’ve experimented with many different sizes and systems, and I’d love to share my experience with you! Of all the projects I’ve embarked in, this is definitely my favorite and that’s why I’ve kept at it for close to ten years now.

Here are the eight albums I’ve completed so far, 2010-2017.

Yes… I am a year behind! And that’s OK. Most of the years I complete my album in December / early January, but for the past couple years I’ve ended up putting together the album almost one year after the fact. But I always get it done, because of how precious these albums are to me.

Getting started…

If you haven’t done any hybrid projects, I recommend you warm yourself up to this month-long project by making some cards first. But be forewarned… it’s how I got into hybrid myself, and it’s a slippery slope! 😀

First of all, figure out if you want to outsource your printing, or if you want to print at home. The latter is what works best for me, as I like to get things done in one sitting (i.e., design on my computer, print it out, and put it together). I use a Canon Pixma printer. It has a letter sized paper tray, as well as a smaller tray that fits 4″x6″ paper, which is super handy!

Essentials supplies include: printed digital designs and photos, scissors or trimmer, a ruler, and your adhesive of choice. I use a Fiskars Procision trimmer, as well as a Tonic Studios mini guillotine, and Tonic Studios Tim Holtz scissors for cutting. My Tim Holtz ruler is my favorite since it’s clear. For adhesives, I love Gunglider pro tape for larger things, and a glue pen for small embellishments and sequins.

Gather other supplies you may want to use, which can include physical scrapbooking products, stamps, paint, washi tape, cutting machines, sequins, glitter… the sky’s the limit!

TIP #1: Find the process that works for you

There are 3 options: 1) prepare your foundation pages ahead of time; 2) work as you go, in December; 3) put together the album after the fact. I’ve done all three, and that has helped me figure out my preference.

In 2010, my first year, I made the album in advance, since I knew I’d be traveling for most of the month. I used a 6”x4” ring binder, and used my digital cutting machine to add fun borders to the pages. However, since I was traveling, I didn’t have a chance to put together the album until after my trip. This experience taught me that options 2 and 3 are more suited to my style (I like to match each page with the day’s photos).

TIP #2: Choose the format that works for you

I have tried many formats over the years, because I like to switch things up.

I have used ring albums, either by making the pages myself, or by using page protectors. And I have also made some albums from scratch.

Here are a few examples of all of these options. In 2010 I used a ring album, and made my own base pages. In 2011, I made my album from scratch (this is still a favorite out of all the albums I’ve made!), and in 2012 & 2013 I used ring albums with page protectors.

Having a set format with page protectors helps me speed things up. It is also very easy to use the 3”x4” and 4”x6” journal cards from the Document Your December products.

TIP #3: Choose the layout

Do you want to dedicate a single page to each day of December, or an entire spread, or just base it on what content you have for the day? … this brings us to my next tip.

TIP #4: Choose the content that you want to include

Everything that happens in December, or only holiday events? I have decided to only include holiday related events my albums.

TIP #5: Make it cohesive

You may want to stick to a particular color scheme throughout your album. Monochromatic albums always have a striking effect. In 2016, I made my album using a black traveler’s notebook, with metallic accents throughout, and adding a touch of color with printed digital designs.

But overall, while I admire the classic elegance of albums with a cohesive color scheme, I usually end up mixing different colors throughout the album. If you prefer to switch things up like me, you can add a common element throughout the album, such as a date element, to give continuity.

In my 2017 album, I used the December Days No 4 (Numbers) by Sahlin Studio throughout, and applied the DYD 2018 | Glitter Styles by Mommy-ish to change the color to match each page.

Whatever your preference may be, the best part is that the Document Your December products will make it possible for you to fit any theme you choose!

TIP #6: Add memorabilia!

One of my favorite aspects of making a hybrid album, in addition to the customizability, is that you can add memorabilia in your album! I’ve saved holiday themed paper supplies, gift wrap, and paper coffee cups to add into my albums.

This is an example of how I included a paper bag and pieces cut out from a coffee cup in my 2015 album.

TIP #7: Embellish!

The fun part is to add physical embellishments to add interest to your pages.

And don’t forget to decorate the cover and spine of your album!

OK, now that we’ve covered the basics, I’d like to show you what I have started putting together with the newest Document Your December supplies.

I decided to use a small 4”x4” ring binder that I purchased years ago. I also have acetate numbers to go with it, and I measured them to figure out the size of my digitals.

Since I love incorporating different textures in my albums, I printed a few designs from The First Sign – Kit by The Committed Crafter and from the Lumi Collection by Lynn Grieveson onto vellum paper. (Note: when printing onto vellum, make sure to use the vellum setting on your printer, or use the quick draft option).

I used an 8.5”x11” sheet of vellum so I also used some older DYD pieces to fill up the whole page.

Here you can see my Fiskars Procision trimmer in action. I love it! And it also folds up to half size if you are cutting smaller things, or for storage.

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New at The Lilypad

Well hello there! I haven’t been posting on my blog in a while (oops), but I have been steadily making scrapbook pages, so I thought I’d pop back in and share a couple of the latest. I also have some December Daily albums to share in preparation for this year’s Document Your December release at The Lilypad, coming this Friday!

Supplies:

Sound Waves 12×12 Template by paislee press

Wander & Explore: Bundle by Rachel Jefferies

New Orleans word art from Project Mouse (New Orleans): BUNDLE by Sahlin Studio and Britt-ish Designs

Supplies:

Autumn Stories | Kit and Autumn Stories | Journal Cards by Sahlin Studio

I was honored with a Gallery Standout for this page, which prompted me to start blogging again. 🙂 I’m excited for the holiday season to start, and the end of the year. Drop me a note if you are still reading, I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to!

Document Your December with The Lilypad!

Hello! As promised, I’m here today to share a few of the pages I made for my 2017 December Daily album using the Document Your December products from The Lilypad.

The traveler’s notebook cover is a passport size from Foxy Fix in Sugar Coconut leather, with a gold foil embossed pine tree.

And here are a few of the pages I made.

Supplies:
Home for the Holidays | PapersHome for the Holidays | ElementsDecember Days No 4 (Numbers)Home for the Holidays | Journal Cards 1 by Sahlin Studio
Deer from Alpine Bundle by Rachel Jefferies

Supplies:
Merry Everything Elements and Merry Everything Cards by Sahin Designs
December Days No 4 (Numbers) by Sahlin Studio

Depending on what happened each day, I dedicated a whole 4″x6″ page to it, or combined it with other days.

Supplies:
Fa La La La La: Bundle by Rachel Jefferies
December Days No 4 (Numbers) by Sahlin Studio

And in some case, 2 pages for one day.

Supplies:
Home for the Holidays | ElementsDecember Days No 4 (Numbers) by Sahlin Studio
Alpine Bundle by Rachel Jefferies
The snowmen are a physical stamp from Mama Elephant, which I colored with Copic Ciao markers.

Supplies:
Alpine Bundle by Rachel Jefferies
December Days No 4 (Numbers) by Sahlin Studio
DYD 2018 | Glitter Styles by Mommy-ish

I think this next spread is my favorite so far. 🙂

Supplies:
Home for the Holidays | PapersDecember Days No 4 (Numbers)Home for the Holidays | Journal Cards 2 by Sahlin Studio
DYD 2018 | Glitter Styles by Mommy-ish

So festive!

Supplies:
Fa La La La La: Bundle by Rachel Jefferies
DYD 2018 | Glitter Styles by Mommy-ish
December Days No 4 (Numbers) by Sahlin Studio

Supplies:
Fa La La La La: Bundle by Rachel Jefferies
DYD 2018 | Glitter Styles by Mommy-ish
December Days No 4 (Numbers) by Sahlin Studio

I’m a little bit over halfway through the album, so I hope to complete it soon, so I can start thinking about this year’s album! What about you, do you make a December Daily album? If so, what format are you using this year?

 

Summer’s End

It feels like summer is almost over… but I’m doing my best to squeeze as much out of it as I can! The designers at The Lilypad are on fire with some awesome new releases, so even though I was traveling most of the week I managed to squeeze in a few pages before I left.

 

 

Supplies:
Off The Grid: Bundle by Rachel Jefferies

I cannot take any credit for it, since it’s my husband who waters it, but our little garden is giving us lots of satisfaction this year!

Supplies:
Off The Grid: Bundle by Rachel Jefferies

Squash blossoms are the best!

Supplies:
Project Mouse (Wilderness): PapersProject Mouse (Wilderness): ElementsProject Mouse (Wilderness): Journal Cards and Project Mouse (Wilderness): Word Art by Sahlin Studio and Britt-ish Designs

Supplies:
August 2018 Layout TemplatesBlue Skies Papers and Blue Skies Elements by Sahin Designs

All these products are 20% off through the weekend. Have a great (almost) weekend!

Friday Fun

Hello and happy Friday! Another busy week here, but I have a couple of pages to share with the latest releases at The Lilypad.

This first one really makes me dream of going back to Hawaii!! 🙂

Supplies:
Project Mouse (Paradise): PapersProject Mouse (Paradise): ElementsProject Mouse (Paradise): Word Art and Project Mouse (Paradise): Cards by Britt-ish Designs and Sahlin Studio

The second page is with this month’s Memory Pockets Monthly collection.

Supplies:
Memory Pockets Monthly: GIGGLE from The Lilypad

I love the fun colors!

Have a great weekend!

 

EDITED to add – there’s a 50% off retirement sale going on through the end of the month, and there are some great deals to be had! Here’s what I made with a few of the products on sale.

Supplies:
Heirloom kit by Paislee Press
Gelato BrushesTrajectory Splatter Brushes (Commercial Use)Pronuncial Doodled Alpha Brushes and Storyteller 2015 :: Everyday Titles by Just Jaimee

Supplies:
Good Morning by Paislee Press
Watercolor Border Edges (Commercial Use)Ephemera Brushes 2Soft Watercolor Brushes Commercial Use and Storyteller 2015 :: Everyday Titles by Just Jaimee
Neon Mania Alpha by Paula Kesserling

Mid-week update

Hello and happy almost-Wednesday! I have a few pages to share today – mostly made with products that are 50% off in the weekly sale at The Lilypad (through Wednesday).

Supplies:
Feb. 2018 templateXoxo ephemeraJournal Graph Cards and Painted Alpha by Sahlin Studio

This page was so fun and easy to make with the lovely free template by Sahlin Studio!

Supplies:
London by Rebecca McMeen
Background paper from You & Me [Kit & Pockets] by Rebecca McMeen
Typeset Alphas No. 3 and Painted Alpha by Sahlin Studio

This next page was inspired by the Digital Art Journaling for Scaredy Cats class.

Supplies:
Crazy Love Bundle by Lynne Marie **50% off for SOSN**
“this outfit” word art from Messy Beautiful Elements by Paislee Press

EDIT: this page was selected for Gallery Standouts on Feb. 14th!

And then the last page I made just for fun.. I love how it turned out!

Supplies:
Junque Journal Love Note Collab Bundle by Etc by Danyale and Studio Basic
Photo mask from You & Me [Kit & Pockets] by Rebecca McMeen

Happy Friday! And an Art Journaling Update!

Hello and happy Friday! I am so happy that the Art Journaling for Scaredy Cats class by Tangie Baxter started this week! Are you there too?

EDITED to add the first 2 pages I made in the class:

Supplies:
Cultivate by Tangie Baxter [this kit was provided to us in the class!]
Shadows {Dressed Up} by Fiddle-dee Designs

 

I also have a few pages to share made with the new releases from The Lilypad (they are 20% off through the weekend).

Supplies:
New Year, New Stuff by Allison Pennington

I just love the bold floral pattern and the bright colors!

Supplies:
Project Mouse (Fantasy): Artsy and Project Mouse (Fantasy): Enamel PinsProject Mouse (Fantasy): PapersProject Mouse (Fantasy): Elements and Project Mouse (Fantasy): Word Snips by Sahlin Studio and Britt-ish Designs

This was a fun page to make! It uses a mix of old and new Project Mouse projects, which I combined on this travel page.

Supplies:
Amore kit by Sabrina’s Creations

This lovely kit had the perfect colors to document my latest purchase. 🙂 Not a color I use often, but I loved it for this page!

Supplies:
Smitten bundle by Lynne-Marie

I have a weakness for map backgrounds, and this one with the aqua color was one I particularly loved!

Supplies:
A Love Story – Storyteller February 2018 Add-on by Just Jaimee

This last page is an ode to our winters – we sure do get lots of snow and cold, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything. Especially after being away a couple weeks, it felt so good to be home this week!

Winter Wonder

Hello and happy Friday! Today is a big day for my husband – last day of school! And just about time to get ready for Christmas now… I am so behind this year! We did put some lovely decorations around our new house, but I am at a standstill with December Daily and my other crafting projects… no time this year! Ugh!

So digital comes to the save – I made these pages with the new releases at The Lilypad, and I love how they turned out!

Some of our neighbors go all out with Christmas lights – we only have some, but I love them!

This year we planted 3 baby spruces in our garden. They are so little and cute! 🙂

How is your holiday prep going??

Document Your December

Hello hello! I am so happy to share with you the pages I made with the new Document Your December products that were released today at The Lilypad! I seriously couldn’t stop creating this week! I took out all my photos from last year that I hadn’t scrapped (except for my December Daily album). And everything is 30% off this weekend!

Credits:

Do you have an Elf on the Shelf? We do and it’s such a lovely tradition!

 

Credits:

Last year I bought a selfie stick and it was perfect to take this picture! 🙂

Credits:

I just love these brushes and illustrations!

Credits:

Merry and Bright bundle by Lynne-Marie

This page is about one of our holiday traditions.

Credits:


I love all the pages I made with the DYD, but this one might just be my favorite! The papers are so good! I printed some out to use in my December Daily album too.

Credits:

I love how this looks like it’s an open album! These are printables for your planner but here I just used them as an extra layer on my page – so fun!

Credits:

I’m so excited also to be using these products in my hybrid December Daily album for this year!! I’ll be sharing that in December here on the blog.

Around the World

Sahlin Studio and Britt-ish Designs have put together an awesome Project Mouse: Around the World collection – 11 countries are represented! You can also purchase the countries individually if you want.

Credits:

Project Mouse (World): Italy by Sahlin Studio and Britt-ish Designs

I pulled out some of my travel photos to use with this collection.

Credits:
Project Mouse (World): Italy by Sahlin Studio and Britt-ish Designs
Project Mouse (World): Japan by Sahlin Studio and Britt-ish Designs
Project Mouse (World): Morocco by Sahlin Studio and Britt-ish Designs

Such happy memories!

Credits:

Project Mouse (World): China by Sahlin Studio and Britt-ish Designs

Here are some details:


I added some stamping too using the Asia stamp set.

Have a great weekend!