Crafty Improv

I skipped it last year ... I wasn't prepared to do one this year .... but I can't resist! That's right, December 1st is the official kick-off day for those December Daily, Days of December, Countdown to Christmas, Holidays in Hand projects! What??? you say! These little gems are known by many names and are usually a mini album based project that entails taking at least one photo a day and jotting down a few thoughts about your holiday season.

For example, here's a link to my 2009 digital book I did using Jessica Sprague's Holidays in Hand ideas"

http://www.shutterfly.com/photobook/viewPreview.sfly?fid=36f21167d34d859b6276141d224b0f78

Here's a link to a recent blog post at Ella Publishing that shows a super cute December mini album, all ready to place daily photos and journaling into:
http://www.ellapublishing.com/blog/lisamrs/december-daily-minibook-using-christmas-list-it

Lisa Ottosson

There's tons of great examples out there.....just Google / Yahoo / Bing any of the above listed terms and you're bound to find a version that suits you. I know a few folks who create mini albums that focus on the Twelve Days of Christmas or the Week of Christmas. These are links to some gals who really rock the whole December album thing ..... Check these out!

http://aliedwards.com/projects/december-daily

http://www.paperclipping.com/thirty-six-merry-days-december-daily-christmas-mini-book/

http://kissandtellscrapbooking.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/12/december-daily-album-base-december-daily-number-tabs-why-the-cropodile-is-the-most-awesome-scrapbook.html

http://missfancypants.typepad.com/little_miss_fancy_pants/2011/11/fancy-friday-challenge-december-daily-albums.html


As for me .... well, I'm going to fly by the seat of my pants this year. I've pretty much been doing that with most things in 2011 anyway! My project is based on a fun little workshop I participated in (I use that term loosely) this past summer called The Big Idea Festival. Basically, we took one word a day, wrote a quick blip about how that word applied to us. Then we used a photo or piece of artwork to compliment or depict the word.

Here's my December plan: I'm going to take one photo each day, give it a word, then jot down a few thoughts about how it applies to my personal holiday traditions and beliefs, people and places, or daily life leading up to Christmas and the New Year. Sort of  "crafty improv" if you will ... unplanned, unrehearsed, totally off the top of my head and fun! .... stay tuned to see how I do!!!!