All this month, we are excited to bring you ideas for using the October Afternoon Very Merry December 2012 mini-book kit!
The album itself is a Make It Merry Here & Now book, which can be easily personalized.
Both Mou and I (Jill) got started with our albums by getting painterly. Mou removed the chipboard letters from the album cover and painted the cover dark green. She then adhered the letters above the word "Merry."
"I I After staining the letters blue, Mou stamped them with the 'Fa la la" stamp from the exclusive stamp. She also stamped "December 2012' on a strip of "Make A List" paper.
The final touches include a stitched die-cut star and an exclusive "Very Merry" tin pin. Next week, Mou will share a peek inside this festive album. I can't wait to see more!
My approach to the album cover was similar to Mou's. I, too, ended up with green fingers.
I added a coat of gesso, and once it was dry, I sprayed it with mist. I then used a paper towel to smooth the color vertically across the cover. I used a die-cut machine to create the title, and opted to trim around the negative space and adhere the resulting strips to the cover.
I may add a few accents to the cover, but since I'll be opening and closing the album quite a bit over the next few weeks, I'll wait until the end of the month to add anything else.
The hints of red and yellow behind the word "Merry" are peeks at the first page of the album:
I like the idea of beginning the album with a holiday "greeting" of sorts. The colors on this page are repeated throughout the album, offering a sense of unity.
Since keeping up with a daily album can be tricky at this time of year, I decided to organize mine by weeks. I defined a "week" loosely, dividing the month into four parts rather than into specific seven-day increments. The tabbed inserts in the Here & Now book serve as dividers for each week.
Within each section I record how the holidays are taking shape in our daily lives. Each page focuses on a different day or event. The journaling is simple -- not to mention handwritten. The goal is capturing snapshots and snippets that reflect the spirit of the month, and a natural, organic approach works best for me.
We would love to see what you are doing with your own Very Merry December mini-book kit! Simply email photos of your pages, along with your name and the state in which you reside to [email protected]. We’ll add them to a Very Merry December Mini-Book Kit photo album that will appear on the October Afternoon Facebook page.