Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 29, 2024 21:39:38 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2016 3:37:31 GMT
Arghhhh! For the last week I have been trying to prep my December album, and I just can't do it. I have the title page, the intentions and the opening cover but thats it. I'm very much inspired by a photo....I just can't randomly assign cards and embellishments to pages when I don't know what pocket layouts I want to pick to fit the story.....I've looked at alis blog and SCs. 25 days (pretty useless...nice pages but not remotely helpful). Maybe I just can't prep in advance.
|
|
hutchfan
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,093 
|
Post by hutchfan on Oct 24, 2016 3:53:49 GMT
I will do my cover, my intention page and my calendar page soon and I will cut some of my paper to size that I know I will use and maybe make some tags but that is it I wait until the first of December and have that days story/picture in my hand before I will journal,add a number and decorate the page.
|
|
Chinagirl828
Drama Llama
Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 6,466
Jun 28, 2014 6:28:53 GMT
|
Post by Chinagirl828 on Oct 24, 2016 9:33:56 GMT
The only prep I do is to gather supplies into a kit I will use for the album. I tried prepping all my pages one year and although I don't hate the album it is certainly my least favourite. Like you I prefer to have the photos in hand and an idea of the page layout before I choose which papers, cards and embellishments I will include. I love the idea of being prepared in advance but it doesn't work for the way I think when I'm working on the album.
I make time to scrap in Dec, usually in a couple of longer sessions, so I'm at most a couple of weeks behind which I can knock out in a good night of scrapping.
|
|
|
|
Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Oct 24, 2016 9:47:38 GMT
I never make pages in advance.
I only gather supplies.
I don't even do anything until January 2nd of the new year. That's the day I print all my DD photos.
Around the second week of January my photos come in, and then I go to town, working on my DD until it's completed. Last year it took me a week to do.
|
|
dawnnikol
Prolific Pea
'A life without books is a life not lived.' Jay Kristoff
Posts: 7,861
Sept 21, 2015 18:39:25 GMT
|
Post by dawnnikol on Oct 24, 2016 10:43:08 GMT
This will be my 7th DD and for the first few years, I prepped the pages. However, I didn't have a 6x8 album to necessarily do it "pocket page" style at first, so it was prepping by getting "foundation pages" made, if that makes sense. Then, after swapping to 6x8 with page protectors, I prepped by doing the number pages before I added in my page protectors. So, I'd take a Hambly transparency and cut it down and put holes in it and then put whatever number and embellishment on it from 1-25. Then it became all too much and I said "screw it" and stopped prepping anything past a title page because I'd just move the cards around anyway. I try to keep a loose schedule of our December so I'm not struggling for photos that day, but getting pockets filled just doesn't work for me now. You're not alone!  |
|
|
|
Post by mom on Oct 24, 2016 11:48:38 GMT
I definitely prep my pages. It just works so much better for me.
I will move my pages around to help better tell the stories, but getting my basic pages done in advance is definitely the reason I am able to finish my album.
Since I use 6x8 pocket pages - I dont pre-fill every pocket ahead of time. But I get my numbers done and inserted and get some starting pieces done. On the day in December, I might move, say day 7 to day 2 if that goes better, but its just me moving the elements I already got ready. If that makes any sense.
|
|
|
|
Post by elegantsufficiency on Oct 24, 2016 13:52:20 GMT
I'm a non-prepper too. Like others, I've tried but just didn't find it worked for me. I set all the stuff out and then create a little something every day - not always finishing the page but at least trying to get something down as a start.
|
|
|
|
Post by katemac on Oct 24, 2016 14:11:31 GMT
I can't prep either. Almost everything I do is based off what type of photos I'm using (size, orientation, colors, story, etc).
|
|
|
|
Post by grammadee on Oct 24, 2016 14:21:09 GMT
I'm not a good person to comment here, as I have never finished a December Daily. I have prepped a couple, but never got around to putting in the photos.
Like you, @northrigg , I am inspired by the photos and find it much easier to scrap that way. When I prep--and especially with a smaller page size than 12x12--I never seem to end up with photos in the right orientation to work with a prepared page.
I have had luck with LOAD and BP challenges with selecting an album, purchasing or cutting pages to size, collecting embellies, stamps, stickers and dies I may want to use, and then keeping it all in one basket I can pull out when ready with photos &/or journaling.
I think the journaling is key. If you can find a few minutes each busy day to record your activities, insights, feelings, etc, and slip a dated journaled card into each page protector, that may make the process of finishing the book easier when you have the photos and the time.
|
|
|
|
Post by freeatlast on Oct 24, 2016 15:14:11 GMT
I'm doing my DD in a traveler's notebook this year. I plan to decorate the cover and complete the title page before Dec. 1. Other than that, most of my prep time will be devoted to developing a list of stories to tell or photos to take. If I know they will pertain to a certain date (like my sister's birthday), I'll note that. Since I don't do much for the holidays, having this list will ensure I can complete the project.
|
|
|
|
Post by elegantsufficiency on Oct 24, 2016 15:30:46 GMT
Actually, I just thought, the other reason I don't prep is that I can't bear to spend October and November focusing on Christmas! I'm the one reading here with my fingers in my ears singing "la la la" and muttering that it isn't December yet. It's not that I don't love the Christmas season as much as the next person, but I prefer to savour Advent and Christmas itself and not stretch it out.
|
|
|
|
Post by anniefb on Oct 24, 2016 17:34:16 GMT
Like mom I do some basic prepping of pages - they don't always stay in the same order but I feel more relaxed knowing I have the skeleton of the album ready and just have to print photos, do a bit of journaling and complete things as I go. This year I'm going to the UK on the 22nd so won't finish the album til I get back in early Feb, but I'll have the first part done. December is usually very busy for me at work with the last minute rush before the holidays and I have to make things as easy as possible. |
|
AmandaA
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,501
|
Post by AmandaA on Oct 24, 2016 17:54:02 GMT
I tried to prep last year and thought I had made my life so much easier. I even strategically planned out some pages when I knew what event or thing would be happening on a certain day. And then I ended up redoing at least half of it as I went.... Which wasted supplies and made me mad about doing things twice. So I am not doing that again. My plan is to organize my supplies, clean up my space, and start collecting ideas I want to lift or sketches I will use. And instead of spending the time making the foundation pages, I need to make myself get caught up on my PL... Figure that can be my incentive to get it done. I do a pretty good job of keeping up during December if I am current when the month starts. Think I might also cash out some credit card points and splurge on the new photo printer I have been eyeing as an early gift to myself  |
|
|
|
Post by nancydrew on Oct 24, 2016 21:40:46 GMT
I'm also a non-prepper. I actually love the concept of prepping ahead of time but it just doesn't work for me. I have the album and supplies bought and ready but that's as far as I get. I do work on it (time allowing) in December but usually do most of it in January and always finish by the end of January.
|
|
|
|
Post by icequeen on Oct 24, 2016 22:06:45 GMT
I've tried prepping most pockets and found that I spent more time moving them around than I did scrapping my pages. This year, I think I'm going to just do the numbers and fill the pockets once I have photos ready. Just watched KP's IG video and I'm now debating prepping the numbers as mini dividers. Not sure how I feel about them being outside of the page protectors though.
|
|
|
|
Post by carolynhasacat on Oct 24, 2016 23:49:23 GMT
I prefer to do these projects with a little distance, otherwise everything gets out of hand (I tend to try to include everything instead of just one story each day when I'm too close to it, and the book becomes huge). Also, I like to see the creative ideas people are coming up with to use the products. I'm so inspired by Ali and Marie L's books, etc. that I wait to see what they do first.
|
|
|
|
Post by crazy4scraps on Oct 25, 2016 1:10:02 GMT
I'm not the best person to ask, LOL. I've (mostly) completed two December Daily albums, 2010 and 2011. I took photos and wrote journaling for 2012-2015 and that was as much as I've done for those years. I'll probably just scrap them normally instead of trying to put a book together for each of those years.
The first year I did it, I kind of prepped pages by printing a standard page design on my computer with a spot for the date each day, and even that felt limiting when I was putting the pages together. I also pulled together stuff I wanted to use into a kit of sorts, based on the typical holiday things we do. The second year I did it, I didn't do the base pages but I did have all of my holiday stuff collected together into bins so it would all be in one place.
As much as I would love to do another one of these books, I find that it's a very overwhelming project for me because we are SO busy anyway during the holiday season. By the time it's over I'm REALLY ready for it to be over.
|
|
|
|
Post by glenys on Oct 25, 2016 2:56:32 GMT
I never prep any pages...maybe that's why my 2015 DD is still unfinished!!  |
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 29, 2024 21:39:38 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 25, 2016 3:41:01 GMT
Thanks everyone for your comments. Reading through them I feel am overwhelming sense of relief. I thought it was me, putting up a mental block. The more I tried the more overwhelmed and turned off I became.
I haven't gotten my supplies together before because my craft room is pretty well organised. I'll try the idea of creating one box of supplies so that I can pick it up and work where ever and I'll make some labels and tags in advance. Just die cutting ...nothing else. I'll leave the stamping etc to later and make more of an effort to make notes.
|
|
|
|
Post by lasteve1 on Oct 25, 2016 16:33:23 GMT
I prep my pages in advance. That being said, sometimes I move stuff around or redo it, but I like it this way because:
(1) it makes it a different process than all my other projects which don't involve premade pages;
(2) it helps me finish the album during the month of December;
(3) I look at the premade page at the end of the previous day/in the morning, and use it as a jumping off point to help think of what story to tell/what photos to take & it helps me have a direction;
(4) I like following the same process as Ali because I follow her blog closely and use it as inspiration;
(5) It helps me remember to use the products I want to use instead of just grabbing from the kit as I go because I will end up overlooking fun pieces that I wanted to include but didn't have a specific plan for; and (6) I think of it as sort of a puzzle I have to solve... to get my story in the format that I set up, and it's kinda fun. Of course, I can change things around if it doesn't work, but it's fun to try to work with the restrictions and makes the project different. |
|
|
|
Post by lauralaforest on Oct 26, 2016 0:41:03 GMT
I did my very first DD last year and I hadn't even heard of or thought of prepping pages. I found for me the most important thing was to remember to take a photo everyday and to journal about it in a notebook I kept in my purse or on hand. I was very proud of myself that I finished the album right up to New Year's Eve and really had fun doing it. I am looking forward to doing this again this year.
|
|
|
|
Post by sleepingbooty on Oct 26, 2016 19:31:00 GMT
I think your general personality and mindset comes into play greatly when you find yourself wondering whether to prep properly or not, especially if you feel you just can't do it @northrigg . Generally speaking, there are three m ain crowds when it comes to documenting the present: 1. Whatever happens, happens. You get inspiration from that exact day, the pictures you took and you work around that. AKA the go-with-the-flow-ers. 2. Prep all the way. You prep the album, you prep the overall month of December with not just intentions but probably already a solid idea of where certain events/specific photo ideas will be added to the album. It's reflected in the album prep. AKA the perfectionists. 3. Get it prepped, accept your fate. You prep the album the way you feel it, you accept that some pictures might not look the prettiest in their assigned pocket pages/layouts and might swap a few cards or embellishments around if it seems really necessary/bugs you. AKA the compromisers. I might be missing a category or two of DD preppers but overall, that's how I feel it mostly turns out. You can't force yourself to fit into one of these categories just for the sake of making it easier on you (or pushing you to be completely creative one year). It might be fun to try and do it differently but if the DD prep don't fit... Just do what feels best for you. Clearly, I'm only prepping the numbers.  Definitely a go-with-the-flow kind of person. I admire the other type of preppers but it just paralyses me to work differently. And then I get frustrated, annoyed and walk away grumpy. As long as I have a set colour scheme, embellishments and paper already set aside from the rest, I feel like I'll make it through DD. We'll see! |
|
|
|
Post by iheartpaper on Oct 27, 2016 13:00:21 GMT
The only prep work I will do is deciding what album to go with and putting a kit together from my stash. I have gotten so many new to me Christmas collections recently that it may be hard to choose!
|
|
|
|
Post by scrapcat on Oct 28, 2016 15:31:46 GMT
I can't prep either. I'm always in awe of the people who get like 100 layouts done at a crop bcz they use kit pages.
I only did DD (sort of) last year and I just gathered supplies and got familiar with it. So I knew which cards said what, and tried to keep in mind "oh that would be good for a page about music" or "that would be good for baking cookies". Just so when the story/photo came up I would kind of know where to turn.
That said, when I say "sort of" I don't actually do every day, I just had a few events and special moments in mind I wanted to document.
I enjoyed the album and had fun with the process, but I'm not doing it this year! Good luck with your project.
|
|
|
|
Post by ecvnj58 on Oct 28, 2016 23:07:46 GMT
If by prep you mean that I am going to finish last years December daily then I'm in. 😀 I kind of dropped the project. I picked it back up in September and actually am having a lot of fun completing it. Last year I did 8x8 traditional pages. This year I'm doing pocket pages. I may try to prep some inserts before December. I just saw some really nice all white with just a bit of stamping on Instagram that I want to try.
|
|
Definitely a go-with-the-flow kind of person. I admire the other type of preppers but it just paralyses me to work differently. And then I get frustrated, annoyed and walk away grumpy. 
