I looked back at 2010's December Daily this morning and wow....what a difference a year makes! I did a lot more writing a year ago, but this year I have a lot more stuff glued in. :-)
[If you want to see how 2011's album looked before I started, check out July in the archives over there on the right side of this page.]
Three big lessons learned this year.
Number One: Writing on dark or busily-patterned paper is hard to see. I loved loved the paper I used this year, but I really need to watch which colors and patterns I use for 2012. I also loved that the papers were all from the same paper line and not so mismatched as 2010 looked.
Number Two: Picket Fence Distress Stain is a miracle product. The pages that were too busy or too darkly colored to write on...I just swiped with Picket Fence (which pales the colors) and the writing is totally readable. Yay.
Number 3: 2010's album was actually smaller and contained many (handmade) pockets for tucking in ephemera or journal cards. I skipped the pockets this time and used an 8x8 album. The album, from American Crafts, included 8x8 top-loading page protectors. I feel like I spent lots of time just moving pages in and out of the protectors each day. On the other hand, I really liked the other page protectors which included the little 2x3 pockets--perfect for Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas. So win some, lose some on that.
OVERALL:
I feel like this year's album looks TONS better than last year's...you know...when I didn't know what the heck I was doing. ;-) With that said, I miss the handmade look I had going on then. This year's is more professional looking. A little colder, less personal. Part of that is just how December went...it was kind of a weird year. I did buy another album--in green--for next year. I will definitely use it, I'm just not sure how to make it more handmade looking.
I love doing the December Daily . Even though is was a strange Christmas, I really do believe it's important to record the events and I think this is a perfect way to achieve that. If you don't do a Dec Daily, consider it. It's not a lot of work, but it gives you a sense of accomplishment when you're done and it serves as a great reminder of what the month entailed.
Happy New Year to all of you! Thanks so much for following along with me this year and allowing me to hang out on your blogs too!
~Cynthia
[If you want to see how 2011's album looked before I started, check out July in the archives over there on the right side of this page.]
Three big lessons learned this year.
Number One: Writing on dark or busily-patterned paper is hard to see. I loved loved the paper I used this year, but I really need to watch which colors and patterns I use for 2012. I also loved that the papers were all from the same paper line and not so mismatched as 2010 looked.
Number Two: Picket Fence Distress Stain is a miracle product. The pages that were too busy or too darkly colored to write on...I just swiped with Picket Fence (which pales the colors) and the writing is totally readable. Yay.
Number 3: 2010's album was actually smaller and contained many (handmade) pockets for tucking in ephemera or journal cards. I skipped the pockets this time and used an 8x8 album. The album, from American Crafts, included 8x8 top-loading page protectors. I feel like I spent lots of time just moving pages in and out of the protectors each day. On the other hand, I really liked the other page protectors which included the little 2x3 pockets--perfect for Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas. So win some, lose some on that.
OVERALL:
I feel like this year's album looks TONS better than last year's...you know...when I didn't know what the heck I was doing. ;-) With that said, I miss the handmade look I had going on then. This year's is more professional looking. A little colder, less personal. Part of that is just how December went...it was kind of a weird year. I did buy another album--in green--for next year. I will definitely use it, I'm just not sure how to make it more handmade looking.
I love doing the December Daily . Even though is was a strange Christmas, I really do believe it's important to record the events and I think this is a perfect way to achieve that. If you don't do a Dec Daily, consider it. It's not a lot of work, but it gives you a sense of accomplishment when you're done and it serves as a great reminder of what the month entailed.
Happy New Year to all of you! Thanks so much for following along with me this year and allowing me to hang out on your blogs too!
~Cynthia
2 comments:
Hi Cynthia
It must be lovely to be able to look back and compare your work.
I do the same when I look back over my blog and see what I was doing this time last year (or even the year before) .. .. and of course I cringe sometimes!! LOL!! But that is all part of the learning process isn't it. Perfecting techniques and learning new ones.
I am pleased you feel positive about your project this year.
I look forward to seeing what you produce next year and wish you a very happy and creative 2012.
Thank you for all your lovely comments on my blog. Not sure if Anice popped the heart on especially for me .. .. but I like to think so. LOL!!!
Love Jules xx
How cool that you are able to look at the years through Dec. daily! I may have to think more seriously about it next year. I second that Picket Fence rocks!
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