Here's hoping that you have been having a wonderful December thus far. If you have been keeping up with your holiday album, then you have another reason for being very merry, and you also have the awe and admiration of the entire October Afternoon design team! In the midst of this busy and bustling and festive and family-oriented season, it can be a real challenge to keep the album page momentum going. In today's post, the team will share some of our tips and tricks for how we have been keeping the spirit alive, page by page, with some help from the Very Merry December kit.
Jill Sprott's Very Merry December Album
Rather than add a page a day to my album, I usually complete a few pages in one sitting. I try not to overthink them, insisting only upon a few basics per layout -- a focal word, which guides my journaling, a photo or piece of holiday ephemera or memorabilia, and accents, some of which I modify before inserting in the album.
At the beginning of the month, I created a bunch of die-cut Christmas trees of varying sizes, and now and then, I include them in the album spreds, as I did above. I ran a green ink dauber over a series of trees, and lined them up on a page about our as-yet undecorated tree.
The multiple pockets on the album pages never leave me wondering, "Where am I going to put the journaling?" There is always room. The journaling cards in the kit make for the perfect backdrops for journaling.
For me, the holidays are all about color and energy, and the Very Merry December kit has not let me down in helping me to integrate both in my album.
Danni Reid's Very Merry December Album
The following pages from Danni's album place the focus on the photos, with wintery accents complementing them and helping to create a festive feel.
According to Danni, these pages depict "the annual tree lighting and fireworks display to kick off the holiday season. It is a gorgeous display with lots of music, hot chocolate, carolers, fireworks, Santa and fun."
"I wanted to share a page about our elf, Buddy. My children, especially the youngest, LOVE him -- another annual tradition and such a fun one in our house."
Laura Craigie's Very Merry December Album
The holidays have been in full swing in the Craigie household, but amidst the craziness, Laura was still able to make some progress in her album. As Laura explains, "Christmas was a busy week for us over here, and house guests meant I didn't get a whole bunch done. I'm hoping to catch up this weekend like I'm sure a lot of people are! :) I did get this spread done, and I'm so happy to have it recorded in my album."
"I'm still keeping things simple, but adding touches of 'me' with machine stitching like I usually do on all my projects. I also really love the alphabets that come in this kit, and was happy to have three different ones to accentuate the different parts of the nickname on the right side of my page."
Mou Saha's Very Merry December Album
Mou, like so many of us, has been swept up in the joy and the rush of the season. This doesn't mean that she has been neglecting her album, however. Instead, she's found a practical way to adapt:
"This week, I only have photos lined up. No journaling on my pages yet... as you can imagine this week was devoted to family and every last-second thing possible. But having the photos in place will help me document the story eventually."
May you enjoy every moment of the holiday season, and may your album pages reflect this as well!