2023 megaaa DECEMBER DAILY thread (ALL December projects)

After seeing the commentary here yesterday I opened mine up.

Front cover speckled with dried lumpy glue (?) splatter. The dots picked off with my finger nail easily without any marks left behind. However, there’s also black smudges, most not too noticeable, but one is near the bookplate and fairly obvious imo.

I sent a message with a photo. Response was 20% refund.

I’m not super mad about this, but it does irk me. If I saw this album on the shelf of a craft store and it was priced at $30, marked down to $26, I’d leave it there. It’s just not worth the price.

Citrus Twist albums, if deemed imperfect, are deeply discounted. And almost every time I can’t even find the imperfection.

I’m really going to try to avoid Ali’s albums going forward (for all projects!) unless they do something to correct this quality control problem.

I wonder if some of the drinks are offered regionally only. I can get gingerbread latte and the gingerbread chai here but not the olive oil version.

This was kind of my thoughts as well. For the price these albums cost, the quality was not sufficient this year. My first album was bad enough that I sent pictures, and they sent me a replacement. The replacement was better than the first one by far, but not near as good of quality as my album from last year still. I just think it’s really strange that they don’t have some sort of quality control like most other businesses where they sell imperfect albums for a reduced price like you mentioned. I was happy with the customer service experience I had this year, but I really feel like they need to change something for next year.

I don't have it either, but these posts are giving me some FOMO..

Please come back and let us know how you like this class. I’m very tempted but the free stamp set is holding me back. I have zero use for it living in Minnesota and generally disliking summer, lol. I’m also curious if her classes are a little more put together than her lines. She is a hot ADHD mess on those, I can only take that in small amounts.

Haven’t purchased product play yet, still not sure if I will. The photos I’ve seen from it haven’t really appealed to me yet (tree with canvas circles, paper wreath), but still fomo is real.

They sent me three new albums after I sent feedback. I didn’t ask for replacements so it was a surprise. Haven’t opened them yet so idk if they are any better. I wonder if this is the new norm or if they used a different manufacturer for DD albums. Hoping future albums aren’t all like this. What the heck am I going to do with all these albums lol.

I’m enjoying Product Play. Shu-Wen is amazing. I could watch her stuff all day.

Totally agree about Heidi’s lives. She’s very scattered and they are toooooo long. I like her and her products and innovations but her presentation is exhausting.

Especially with albums that are expensive to mail! How many replacement albums have they had to ship out to people this year? And how many people are not going to unwrap their albums until they start working on, or finish, their project? The lack of quality control on the most expensive element of the kit blows my mind. Until I remember it’s Inked we’re talking about. 

I figured out why we don't like the Hybrid class.

It's because they are using the computer as a tool to do stuff.

I do not like watching people use stamps or scissors as a tool. I know how to use stamps. I know how to use scissors.

Now, if someone is teaching a new technique, cool. I'm here for that. For example, last year Laura Wonsik was doing some techniques with stamps that I had never tried so it was interesting and informative for me.

But if she were just cutting out stars from a sheet of paper, I'd be like, Hard pass.

There are things that you skip over when you're making videos and that's what these hybrid videos are focusing on.
Again, those of us who know how to use photoshop are bored.

Also, what they're doing with the digitals is not very different than what you can do with the actual product. And that's not why I buy digitals. I know some people do it to save money but I get them to manipulate them (mostly). Like last year I made some shrinky dink embellishments from the digital files and they are very cool.

Anyway, that's what I was thinking today.

I think Jennie does some cool stuff with digitals.

Agreed!

I just finished the class and thought Kim was super nice and I liked what she did with the TN. I had never thought to make a pocket in a TN before. I will do that with my next Disney trip TN.

And then I did not watch the videos for the last two projects because I could figure that out just from looking at the pics.

I just don't see how either of those were hybrid.

I will do the banner thing with regular pattern paper. Love the idea but I don't need a computer at all for that.
And I also love the wreath project in the last lesson (although I know someone already did that in one of the earlier blog posts - it was different and this way actually seems easier).

My supplies are organized! Everything is ready. I got my silhouette out and cut out the tree from Product Play. I cut out the numbers from an alphabet that I liked, and I cut out stuff for my swap.

I have to go through my numbers and organize them. I had originally taken out anything I could use for October Daily. Now it seems that all the numbers, no matter what, should go together. Maybe later.

I started my advent calendar. I like to open one a day so that I'm done opening it by Dec. 1. That way I can use all the stuff.

I am going to do an ornament making class with friends and I'm super excited about that. The kid is in a ballet and that will be fun. Looking forward to this holiday.

Any other ideas for those 25 circle embellishments?

I like them and the look of them all on one page or the inside cover but table of contents is not for me.

After the debacle I had last year,I didn't order this year. So I don't have the circles but seeing them in videos here's the ideas I have (they're kinda lame,you've been warned lol):

table of contents

daily gratitude list

daily xyz documenting(mini pic or description of the same whatever for 25 days)

a mini calendar(a tiny pic representing each day's activity)

used as my number for the day with a word to represent the day

Christmas morning layout(full size pic on one side of the aftermath...opened gifts,tired kids etc and the other side top of the page "Christmas was,in a word..." then all the circles each with a word such as fun,chaotic,merry etc (so 25 individual words which is a lot but I think it would be really cute)

At the end of the album,December by the numbers..circle 2 for example 2 exhausted parents or circle 15 baked 15 types of cookies etc

I did the wreath paper thing from Product Play. I like the way it turned out but it took some tweaking. So happy with it.
I covered the center with a 2" cardstock circle then put a Santa on it. It was one of the new Bella pops. I hadn't bought one before but the santa was so retro and cute.

st nick

I might buy a couple more of those pops.

I'll take a pic later. I finished it after dark last night.

I can't wait to see what you did. I also worked on this project yesterday.  So far I have the wreath and think I will put on a background paper that is the same as one of the wreath strips.  Still debating what to put in the middle....

also - I love Yin's project today with the plastic tags.  It is a very reusable and adaptable idea.  I feel like this year's product play  6 days in is already more my jam than all of last year's.