My December Daily 2015

Hello!!  Today, I thought I would share a look at the rest of my December Daily/Project Life album! This is the FINAL book in my 2015 Project Life series and I really can't believe that this project is over. Each album is truly a treasured keepsake... And just looking back through all of our photos, I am just SO shocked at how quickly my kids have grown and changed.  The days may seem long, but wow, the years are short! 

For December, I decided to combine my book to include both our daily activities, as well as our Christmas events.  The beginning of the album is more "day-to-day" stuff, and the end of the album is more Christmas-y stuff (which is basically how our month went). 

I used a 4x4 album that I had in my stash and I just LOVE this size. I know I've said it a zillion times before, but if you are on the fence about wanting to create a mini album, this size is the perfect size! Promise!  I kept the pages super simple and easy, and as you will see in the walk-through video and photos below, repetition is the key to finishing!  

I've shared pages 5-14 in another blog post, but below is a walk-through video of the entire album (excluding days 1-4 which were part of the 25 Days class at Studio Calico)!  Enjoy!!

Have I mentioned I really love this size??? :) Thank you SO much for following along with me this past year! 2015 is fully recorded and really is such peace of mind knowing that my photos are OFF of my phone and computer!  Tomorrow, I'll be back to share with you some of the things I learned this year. If you have any burning questions, just leave me a comment here and I'll be sure to answer them tomorrow!! Yay!

December Daily 2015 - Days 5-14

All of my previous December Daily albums have been the 6x8 inch size, so I was really excited to switch things up a little this year.  I've had this gorgeous 4x4 album from Jamaica Edgell for years, so I pulled it out of my stash and decided to give the smaller size a go this season.

While I do LOVE square photos, I was really really worried that I wouldn't be able to "fit" all of our photos in this book.  But, thankfully, there was nothing to worry about!!  This size is just SO fun and so very easy to work with!  As you'll see from my pages below, I've kept this album VERY simple - usually a large 4x4 photo paired with a 4x4 journaling card (the Studio Calico 25 Days class kit has been perfect for this album)!

Day 5

I've still managed to add in lots of fun extras, like envelopes, tags, journaling cards and more.  Like in all of my albums, the "extras" are my favorite.

Day 5

Day 6

Each day, I print out my photo for the day (or a photo collage), pick out a coordinating journaling card, type my journaling (or maybe handwrite it), punch my holes and add it into my album.

Day 7

The smaller size definitely makes this project manageable for me right now. Things are busy, and keeping up with a big 6x8 album isn't in the cards for me now.  This repetitive size takes out all of the guesswork about what size photos to print, how many to print, etc...

Day 8

I'm using a mix of old December Daily kits and new December kits (as well as the SC class kit too) throughout my book.  Pulling out my older Christmas supplies ranks right up there with Christmas morning to me!

Day 9

For this day, Anna "stole" some of the journaling cards from the DD mini kit and starting drawing and writing.  I thought they were the perfect addition to the album. There's just something so magical about seeing her little Christmas tree, her spelling and her list in the book.  THIS is what a December Daily is all about to me.  

Day 10

Another simple day here with a photo (and a really cute "deer") and a 4x4 journaling card. Simple and easy!

Day 11

I didn't have a photo for this past Friday, so I decided to write a little about our day and snuggling on the couch to watch The Polar Express together.  I perused google and found a good image of the movie poster and printed it out onto a 4x4 piece of photo paper.  Ironically, this page is actually my kiddos favorite page...go figure. 

Day 12

We spent most of the day on Saturday either out running errands and shopping, or out playing at the park (Christmas picnic and all), so I created a little stitched pocket using my 4x4 photo and a 4x4 journaling card. Inside of the pocket is a "12" tag with my journaling written on the back .

Day 13

Yep. Simple and easy here again.

A "Sunday best" photo and some notes about our day. 

Day 14

Day 14 would pretty much be called a "photo shoot gone wrong". Between a dog who was DETERMINED to stand in front of me and two kids who had the giggles, we ended up with more out-takes than actually "good" photos, but I'm totally ok with that.  Since I had so many, I decided to create two collages of four photos and then pair them side-by-side for this day.  Have I ever mentioned that I love collages??

And that's a look at my book so far (the first 5 days are a part of the Studio Calico 25 Days class, so if you are taking that class, hop in there and check out my lessons)!

Are you doing a December album this year??  How is your book coming along? I know it's a lot of work, but honestly, this project is priceless. We all love looking back at the memories and moments I've captured over the years. And my, oh my, how fast these little ones grow up.

xoxo

Around Here: December Edition

It has been one merry December around here!  Birthdays, parities, hot chocolate and lots of red and green!  I'm pretty sure my kids are on a constant sugar high seeing that everyday is full of sweet treats and sugary goodness.  Hoping you and your family had a magical Christmas and a very happy New Years!  Bring on 2015!

25 Days Inspiration

The 25 Days class at Studio Calico is in full swing!  The class has been full of lessons, contributors, videos and more!  And it has truly been an honor to be the instructor for the class!!

The gallery is just overflowing with amazing pages and December Daily® spreads.  Every day new projects are added, so if you are looking for inspiration be sure to hop on over to the gallery, grab a cup of coffee and peruse for a little while!!  My favorite thing about the gallery is that everyone has a different approach!  There are so many fun and new ways to approach products, pages and the like!!  It's just amazing!!

Today I wanted to share some pages that have really caught my eye during the class!  I love how each artist takes a different approach.  Some use lots of photos, some lots of words....whatever works for this album, or even that particular day!  There is no right or wrong to memory keeping!  I always try to remind myself of that when I'm beating myself up for not adding as much journaling or stories....in the end, I'm still recording memories and that's all that really matters to me!

First up is the amazing, Carly !  Carly has such a beautiful, airy style about her pages.  I love how the white makes the photos pop from her page.  I also reeeeeally love the consistency in the number cards.  It really gives the book an awesome cohesive look!!  

Carly's Blog  Carly's Gallery

Next up is Donya.  Donya's photos take center stage in her pages and they are divine.  She always has super creative ways for using journaling cards or digital brushes. She often lets her photos speak for themselves and I think the clean look is just beautiful!  

Donya's blog  Donya'a gallery

Annik's work jumped out at me right away!  She always has the most creative uses of paper and products!  This little tree is so delicate and amazing!  Her album is full of gold and white, two of my favorites!!

Annik's gallery

And last, but definitely not least is the amazing Tara Elias.  The first thing that popped out at me when looking at her book was all of her words!!!  I love the stories she tells and how each day is filled with memories!!  And her photos are just superb!

Tara's blog  Tara's gallery

Such eye candy, right??

I hope these ladies have inspired you to work on your album!  They definitely inspire me every single day!!

December Daily® Inspiration

If you've signed up for the 25 Days class at Studio Calico, you probably already know that the list of contributors is amazing!!  These sweet girls are some of my favorites in the crafty world and I am so honored to have them as a part of this class!!  Between them all, they have completed 12 December Daily® albums!  That's a ton of holiday memories documented!!  I keep telling them that THEY should be teaching the class, not me!!  Each is so truly talented and today, I wanted to highlight some of their previous albums!  You can never have too much inspiration, right?

Jen Kinkade

Jen is one of the very first people I "met" in this industry.  She's a sweetheart to her core and I just love her style and eye for design!  She has five years of December Daily® albums under her belt and I always love drooling over her pages.  She adds in a fun mix of watercolor, script and mixed media that always looks so amazing!!

Below is a little collage of some of her previous albums.  You can see more on here blog through the following links:

December Daily® 2013, 2012, 2011

Kelly Noel

Kelly is another sweetheart and has such an eye for photos.  Her style is so detailed, but so clean.  I always feel like I could look at her pages for hours!!  Her album from last year is just so awesome.  Her simple details make each page stunning!!  

Below are a few images from her album, and you read more about her process from last year over on the Studio Calico blog here.

Nicole Reaves

Nicole is the mini book master.  Seriously.  Whenever she posts a mini in the gallery, I squeal with excitement.  She thinks of the best uses for thickers, cards and embellishments, and I always have those "duh....why didn't I think of that" moments when looking at her work.  I actually stumbled across Nicole's blog back in 2011 after Ali Edwards posted a picture of her DD® cover on her blog.  Nicole's cover was the inspiration for my album that year and by looking at her sneak peek on Instagram, it's safe to say her cover this year might be my inspiration for NEXT year! 

Below is a little sampling of some of Nicole's December Daily® albums.  Like Jen, she has complete FIVE albums!!  You can see the rest of Nicole's work on her blog:

December Daily® 2013

December Daily® 2012

December Daily® 2011

Paige Evans

I loved Paige from the first second I "met" her!!  She's sweet, funny and little bit spicy...the perfect combo!!  I'm sure you all know, but, Paige is the queen of patterned papers and embellishments.  She can make magic with layers, papers and punches.  She might have only one December Daily® under her belt, but it's an amazing one!!  Her cover....gah....I just don't know what to say about it!  It's outstanding!!

You can see a pretty little collage of some her pages below, but definitely hop on over to her blog to see the full album, as well as how she approached her book!

Don't you love all of this eye candy??  I know I sure do!!  These designers truly are so talented and I am so honored they are a part of this class with us!!

 If you are joining us for the 25 Days class, then my foundation pages and a few tutorial videos are all waiting for you in the Classroom!!  I had so much fun prepping my pages, and I can't wait to see your pages start popping up in the gallery!!  See you there!

It's Beginning to Look....

....a lot like Christmas at our house.  Well....at least in my craft room, that is!  Flipping through our old December Daily® albums is priceless.  Just seeing how much my kids have changed in just the few short years I've been doing this project makes me want to continue on forever!  I love their sweet little faces and smiles.  And boy do I miss those baby days!!

I'm also in the process of getting all of my supplies ready and organized for my album.  I always tuck my Christmas goodies away, so it's kind of like Christmas day all over again when I open up my boxes and see what's inside!!  I'm mixing in my old supplies with Ali Edwards' December Daily® kit.  The kit is just amazing this year!!  And I have lots of goodies left over from her kit from last year, so it's like a double bonus (did I mention that I'm a Christmas craft hoarder??).

The registration is still open for the 25 Days class at Studio Calico and I so hope you will join us!  I've been working really hard on my pages and lots of videos, and it's going to be awesome!!  

25 Days with ME!

I so excited to fiiiiiinally be able to announce that I am teaching the 25 Days class at Studio Calico this December!!  December is my favorite month of the year and there is nothing I love more than capturing and documenting our memories!!  The class is going to be just amazing and I so so so so hope you will join me!!  

Here's a little about the class from the Studio Calico blog:

Join us for 25 Days and record all your special holiday moments with Stephanie Bryan. Stephanie will be teaching this class to coordinate with Ali Edwards' December Daily® kit, and she’ll share plenty of prompts and videos to give you that extra bit of motivation you need to make a gorgeous album during the busiest season of the year. Stephanie will share foundation pages beginning in November, and she’ll provide daily updates through December to culminate in a complete album.

While supplies last, 25 Days students will receive an exclusive class kit containing journal cards, a 4x3in stamp set, tulle ribbon, badges and die cut stars. This kit will ship for free, no matter where you live. Quantities are limited, so enroll now to reserve yours!

BY ENROLLING IN THIS CLASS YOU'LL RECEIVE :

·         7 videos from Stephanie covering getting organized, foundation pages, finished pages, and 4 techniques you can incorporate into your own pages.

·         A PDF with a detailed look at Stephanie's foundation pages.

·         Daily PDFs starting December 5th that share Stephanie's completed pages, along with her tips and tricks for keeping up with her album in the busy holiday season.

·         A peek into the albums of our 5 contributors - they'll each be sharing 5 pages during December.

·         Access to a class message board and gallery, where you can share and learn with your teacher and fellow students.

·         Weekly challenges to inspire you to use what you've learned.

Marcy designed the printables and cut files, and like always, they are amazing!  Those circles....sigh.  I can't wait to add them to my pages!

If you are looking to stock up on some Christmas goodies, Studio Calico is offering a BOGO 1/2 off special!!  Just enroll in the class, add some goodies to your cart and use the code below!  In my opinion, you can never have too many Christmas supplies!!  :)

Be sure to check out the 25 Days shop too while you are there to pick up anything you might need for your album!!

I so hope you will join me this year!!  I've been counting down the days until December (which is really nothing new), but this year it's a whole new level of excitement!!  The class message board is open, so pop on in and say hi!  Let's get chatting about our albums!!  

xoxoxo