December Daily® 2015 │ Days 21 to 25 and the end

It's done! A bit later than I would have liked but its done. I sat myself down yesterday and finished the last three days and the ending and I couldn't be happier with the way it all turned out.  This is going to be long with lots of pictures so lets just get to it.

Day 21

We tend to wrap gifts all at once in one day and I find it easier to do it that way than to start and stop and start and stop. I like to crank up the Christmas tunes and have at it.

I added two journaling cards from In a Creative Bubble and two photos and it was done. Super easy!

Day 21b

This isn't dated and it didn't really happen on the 21st but I wanted to get this Starbucks cup, bag and two photos in there somewhere so I just added it in here. I trimmed the bag down and sewed the photos down similarly to a layout that I just finished that I will post shortly. The stamps I used are from Kelly Purkey its called My Daily Grind and they are currently on sale. If you are a holiday Starbucks lover, this stamp set is for you.

Day 22

I shared this in my last post but I wanted it also in this post for consistency sake. The Metropolitan alpha stamps are from Kelly Purkey as are the numbers. They are super, super cool.

I used one of Ali's 3x8 inserts for this and just covered up the holes with washi tape and re punched the holes to match my album. I love these protectors, they are a super fun size.

I added a photo to the back and love the height it gives the photo.

I embossed the wood snowflakes with white embossing powder that I added some silver glitter too. It turned out really pretty. I used the Tim Holtz Tonic scissors with the red handle to cut the veneer in half. They worked really well for that. I did file down the edge with a nail file to smooth out any rough bits before embossing them just to make sure there weren't any sharp edges.

Day 23

Baking day is always something to look forward too. We make the same type of cookies every year for Santa and paint them with an egg wash paint. Its something I did as a kid with my Mom so its fun to carry on that tradition.

This year I remembered to get a nice clean shot of the cookies laid out when they were done and added in one of my husband and daughter painting. I added in a journaling card of the gingerbread man from Kelly Purkey's mini kit and one from Ali's main kit.

Day 24

Christmas Eve is always busy so I added a bit more than I normally do. The protector on the left is about our evening at church and the journaling card is one that I made using an older piece of Ali's word art.

I really wanted to use that Merry and Bright card from Kelly Purkey's mini kit so I added it in here as a transition from the church portion of the night to the getting ready for bed portion of the night.

On the back side is a photo of my daughter in her new jammies. Another tradition my Mom started with us when we were kids that I carry over. And of course a photo of leaving the cookies and milk out before bed. I really had to edit this one because she was not having it with me taking lots of photos that night so I had to go with the best of the best and make it work.

Day 24B

Another filler space because I really wanted to add in that letterpress December calendar from Studio Calico and was quickly running out of days to get it in. I also wanted to use that transparency sheet so in it goes. I trimmed off the original holes and re punched my own to match the album. I added in one of the tabs and I'm so glad that I bought two sets of these. They are one of my favorite things this year. For the photo on the left I added in an old piece of word art from Ali and just printed it out.

Day 25

I backed the other side of the December calendar with a photo that I actually took after Christmas, but it was one that I loved and it really works here so in it goes. I pretty much followed the same formula that I used in last years album. I added in a 3.5" x 8" inch piece of heavy weight vellum that I typed my journaling on to. I always need lots of space to get the whole story of the day down and it never fits on one journaling card so this has become my go to solution for telling the full story of the day. I added in another tab and my number and it was done. The Merry Christmas word art at the bottom is from In A Creative Bubble.

I even used the same template as last year. Its a template from Ali Edwards and it just seems to have the right amount of spaces for the day. I don't worry too much about getting every photo in so this works for me. As long as I get the high points and at least one photo of the whole family I'm happy.

My album ends are always different. Sometimes its a photo from Day 26 or some journaling or something, it varies. This year because I didn't include any of the photos of our Elf Twinkle I wanted to make sure I got them in somehow. Last year I added collages every week that you can see here, here and here. I loved that and thought about doing it again this year but we went out of town and my Elf days weren't as consistent as last year so I just decided to wait and do one big thing instead. While I was gathering my photos I realized I missed snapping a shot one day which really bugs me but I can't go back and redo it so it is what it is.

Here is the front of the little fold out that I made to hold all of the photos. Its just over 4" wide and 8" tall. I used my new Minc machine that I got for Christmas to decorate the front and man do I love it!! I added a tab on the top but cut it in half so I could have a different tab on the backside.

Here you can see how amazing the Minc looks. I opted to use the red foil and I love it. The file that I used was a brush set from Ali Edwards and there was also a stamp set of many of the words in this set. How lucky for us that our Elf's name just so happens to be Twinkle.

When you open it up you see all 20 images that I have of our Elf. I also added in the Twinkle tab to the backside of the Moments tab on the front. To make this I set up a template to hold the 20 images that I needed and just ran them across and down the template. The two columns on the left that fold out are printed separate from the 12 photos on the right. I did this so I could easily fold the piece and photo paper doesn't really fold that well. I added in the circle numbers that I made so the days would be labeled. I made the fold out but creating a hinge out of a piece of cardstock that was about 1.5" x 8" and that is underneath the photos but on top of two pieces of cardstock, one that is 6'x8' and the other is the cover that is 4"x 8". I plan to add in envelope at the very end where where I save all of my gift receipts and all of the little notes that Twinkle leaves for my daughter. Its fun to save that kind of stuff each year and look back on it.

To finish off the album I created a label for the spine, super simple just like last years. The year and a little star. I did decide to leave the cover plain and let the shiny gold take center stage.

Another year, another completed December Daily. It was so much fun as always even though I felt like I was floating thru this month. It really was a total blur.

I'm excited to put this away and get started on my Project Life for 2016. I'll be back soon to share more on that for sure.

Take care,