2023 megaaa CHRISTMAS SB collections RECAP thread

I like the cross stitch papers from the paige evans' line.
I like the sweater pattern thickers, but do not love the colors.

A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS by Carta Bella, there's something about those Santas that make me feel icky. Again, I do like the stencil, oh and that album.

No to Simple Stories BOHO Christmas. It does have a Crate Paper feel, but I've never loved their Christmas lines. Just a few things here and there.

PEPPERMINT KISSES by Vicki Boutin, there's a LOT there to like, especially the diecut pack. I LOVE the album, but don't want to purchase it in a kit.

THE HOLIDAY LIFE by Simple Stories, not for me except for a couple of papers, I wouldn't mind purchasing.

SEASON'S GREETINGS by stevenduncandesigner for Carta Bella; oh my weakness! Childhood memories from this line.

SS Holiday Life has really nailed the colours for me - the taupe keeps it from being overwhelmingly red/green, and there is my fave black background floral in there. Do I need any of it? No but.

The Steve Duncan is nice but I really don't use that type of pp and will pass.

The graphic 45 - hard pass. how dreary it feels!

I am most likely going to get Photoplays stamp and die set. I bought last year's and love it. It has Reindeer as well as Santa and large areas that are easy to color with alcohol markers.

I like the Santa in this line, he looks like he's wearing leggings   

Am I the only one who gets overwhelmed with Christmas/holiday scrapbooking? I really want to make another December Daily album but there are so many choices and December is a crazy busy month for us! I usually don't end up doing any scrapbooking that month, except for my DT assignments. I should get my act together and pre-plan my pages to make it easier. This year, I really want to prioritize a DD album. My oldest son will be a senior and I want to document his last Christmas at home as a kid before he heads off to college.

Overall, I have found the Christmas collections this year a little bit underwhelming. I could pick stuff up, but nothing I really "need." I was able to grab a few sheets of each the Paige Evans and Vicki Boutin lines, but it was easy to keep it to just the few sheets I wanted. Neither collection really feels overly cohesive to me, so I think I might use them for layouts, rather than a whole album. A friend has challenged me to do a December Daily with her this year, and I am thinking I will pick some of my older stash, both to use it up, but also because I think I like it a bit better than this year's selections.

Lots of people don't create their pages in Dec, or create the base of the page and then just add photos/journaling. I usually make my album during the season, I work best on this project while everything is Christmassy around me, but I usually only get a couple of days before Christmas to actually create. I keep notes every day, even if it's just a couple of sentences, about what we did, or something I want to remember, and refer back to those when I create my pages. Remember, it also doesn't have to be a daily project, you could do 4 weekly layouts, or a collection of highlights of the season, which might ease some of the pressure.

Oh my goodness. Over the top you say?

www.acherryontop.com/shop/company/fancy_pants_designs/line/fruitcake_&_tinsel

This is there.

Wowzers! That is a lot. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I've seen some awesome retro-kitsch Christmas homes on IG that this reminds me of. Piles of Shiny Bright ornaments and kitsch Santas. 

YES! The daily element is the first thing to let go of IMO. If you like the idea of capturing all the everyday details that's cool, but the project itself really doesn't need to be daily to be hugely valuable. I'm leaning more towards loving the idea of collecting a few pages for each year because I like to be able to see the changes and contrasts from year to year without having to open multiple albums. If pre-planning works for you craftymom101 that might help, and/or completing the pages in January or July.