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Post by mom on Sept 3, 2019 22:08:16 GMT
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Deleted
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Sept 28, 2024 20:15:35 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2019 22:21:41 GMT
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Post by mom on Sept 3, 2019 22:30:30 GMT
I have not done a December daily. I have tried but messed up each year. 2017 - I have notes up to Dec 23. I lost most of the daily pictures. They were on my cell phone and I messed up copying them. I have pictures from my big camera for the big events (birthdays, Christmases and boxing Day). It was my daughter's first Christmas. I cried a bunch when I realize I lost pictures. 2018 - My mom was so sick we didn't do many activities together. I have pictures of random holiday stuff and the events but no plan for sorting it into days. 2019 - This will be the first Christmas without my Mom (she died last month). I still want to do some Christmas things for my daughter, niece and nephew. It will all be difficult though. I can't decide what to do? - Do internet searches for pictures to go with my notes in 2017. Like get a stock photo of the cake I had for my birthday. Pair them with the pictures from my big camera. - Work on 2018 starting with the important days and drop in the random pictures on the remaining days. - Do a December memories for 2018 and not worry about days. - Leave everything till next year. When it might feel easier. Im really sorry about your mom, burnbright . I know me, and I would leave it til next year if I didnt feel like doing it. IF I felt like doing it, I would probably find stock photos for 2017 and use them when I needed to. And also do some pages without any photos, just telling the story. For 2018 I would just do the important stuff and let the rest go. And for 2019, I would do a small album so you dont feel like you have to have something holiday every single day in case it becomes overwhelming.
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Post by cristelina on Sept 3, 2019 22:31:43 GMT
burnbright, I am so sorry about your mom. The first Christmas without someone you love is so so tough. As for your what to do with your album, have you thought about Journal Your Christmas? I think It is much more focused on memories than a December Daily. Shimelle gives you prompts to think about each day. So you have the option of doing a page using one of the prompts or doing page featuring what you actually did that day. It might be a lovely memory to your mom that can be totally private. Then you can make a super cute small album for your daughter. The used to sell 4x4 albums. That would be the perfect size for wee little hands. You would still be able to use cute christmas papers, enjoy your daughter looking through it, and have a lovely remembrance journal about your mom.
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Post by hop2 on Sept 4, 2019 3:23:41 GMT
I got my paper smooches Kibitzing stamps & dies today. This is a great set. There are greetings for several holidays. I did the apple & honey for Rosh Hashanah in my planner. Made the menorah for Hanukkah. Learned that “L’shana Tovah” is possibly grammatically incorrect, and possibly should be “Shana Tovah”. But since I suck at grammar in my natural language, who cares. I’m very happy with this set I can think of many uses for it.
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Post by marie on Sept 4, 2019 3:27:41 GMT
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cbscrapper
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,465
Sept 5, 2015 18:24:10 GMT
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Post by cbscrapper on Sept 4, 2019 4:28:22 GMT
Maybe I have too much Christmas stuff, but I'm not digging the KP sneaks. 😭 I'm sure her stamp sets will rope me in. And maybe the B&W kit. I’m not a fan of this sneak either. I always appreciate KP’s sentiments and fun snark, but this sneak doesn’t fit my aesthetic or life situation. I’m hoping FJ has some nice things, although I really need nothing. I have an album from FJ (actually a few albums to pick from including old AE ones I got for $5 back when she had real sales) and an unused kit plus lots of past kits and leftovers and manufacturer collections. But new stuff is fun and energizing. I need to focus on JOMO not FOMO!
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Post by joblackford on Sept 4, 2019 4:42:58 GMT
burnbright , I am so sorry about your mom. The first Christmas without someone you love is so so tough. As for your what to do with your album, have you thought about Journal Your Christmas? I think It is much more focused on memories than a December Daily. Shimelle gives you prompts to think about each day. So you have the option of doing a page using one of the prompts or doing page featuring what you actually did that day. It might be a lovely memory to your mom that can be totally private. Then you can make a super cute small album for your daughter. The used to sell 4x4 albums. That would be the perfect size for wee little hands. You would still be able to use cute christmas papers, enjoy your daughter looking through it, and have a lovely remembrance journal about your mom. burnbright I agree about JYC. That's what I was going to suggest too. Shimelle started that project when she was going through hard times that made her struggle to love Christmas, and it's perfect for a more flexible project that looks to both the recent or distant past and the present, and even the future, depending on what you want to do. It can be a journal or an album or whatever you want it to be, and you can do it any time. You could use the JYC prompts to create a personal journal for this year, or you could use it as a framework to organize the last few years into an album. I would suggest, like others did, that you work with what you have from the previous incomplete years. Create some highlight pages from each year, include what you have. If you feel motivated you could certainly use stock photos or alternative ways to illustrate your memories, but I would throw out the DAILY part of the project. Something is always better than nothing. But now might not be the time to tackle it. Allow yourself the space to do nothing this year, if that's what feels best. It will be very difficult this year, I'm sure, and it sounds like you still have grief over losing photos in 2017 too. That might just be too much to handle this December. Or working through a project may be a healing process. I'm sorry for your loss.
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cbscrapper
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,465
Sept 5, 2015 18:24:10 GMT
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Post by cbscrapper on Sept 4, 2019 4:51:20 GMT
burnbright, I am so sorry about your mom. The first Christmas without someone you love is so so tough. As for your what to do with your album, have you thought about Journal Your Christmas? I think It is much more focused on memories than a December Daily. Shimelle gives you prompts to think about each day. So you have the option of doing a page using one of the prompts or doing page featuring what you actually did that day. It might be a lovely memory to your mom that can be totally private. Then you can make a super cute small album for your daughter. The used to sell 4x4 albums. That would be the perfect size for wee little hands. You would still be able to use cute christmas papers, enjoy your daughter looking through it, and have a lovely remembrance journal about your mom. burnbright I’m sorry for your loss of your mom. I was thinking the same thing, that Shimelle’s Journal Your Christmas may be a better fit; it doesn’t have the pressure of documenting a story of what you did every day, but rather you get daily prompts, that can be applied to current or past Christmas seasons. Going back, if it were me, for 2017 I would fill in with stock photos from the internet or even generic photos of your home or of people from close to that timeframe. For 2018, I would follow the JYC format and document Christmas stories, no daily required.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Sept 28, 2024 20:15:35 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2019 5:20:04 GMT
Can we talk about approaches? Who does a full December DAILY - as in, a story/spread for each day? Who does more of a December Memories approach where your album includes a selection of stories from the month in no particular sequence? Who does something else entirely?
I have four completed albums using a daily approach. In those albums there are always a handful of "filler" days. And I also find that I go out of my way to schedule our activities throughout the month so that I have a holiday-related story for most days. For as long as my kids are still too young for school, and I haven't started working full time (in a few years I graduate and become a teacher), the daily format will work well enough for me. But I am considering switching to a looser format. In part to take the pressure off from having to find stories for each day and the project as a whole. I also want to do some more traditional 12x12 / 8.5x11 layouts for our holiday/Christmas stories. I've not really done much of that because I put so much into the DD album.
I would love to see how others approach the project. If you have photos or videos to share I would love to see those!
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Post by joblackford on Sept 4, 2019 5:34:57 GMT
sleepingbooty do you remember that discussion we had last year about the Scandinavian artist who designed the Nordstrom Christmas stuff? I've forgotten her name but I feel like KP's kit is inspired by those colors and shapes. As much as I like the Nordies stuff, I don't care for the KP interpretation. Messy writing, those specific colors, pass for me. Not that I'm buying physical product anyway. I like the new IACB/FYC sneak though.
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Post by joblackford on Sept 4, 2019 6:00:28 GMT
Can we talk about approaches? Who does a full December DAILY - as in, a story/spread for each day? Who does more of a December Memories approach where your album includes a selection of stories from the month in no particular sequence? Who does something else entirely? I've tried a few different approaches and landed on my own hybrid. In the past I did DD pocket pages, an album I bound myself, a paper journal, and now I'm planning for a digital book printed through blurb for 2019. I follow along with the JYC prompts in my written journal (in Day One app, currently, but previously in a notebook). I write about whatever the prompt sparks that day. Often a LOT. I take pictures of all the Christmasy stuff and events, usually something holiday related every day. It may just be decorations in a shop window. When I come to making my album, usually a few days behind the actual date, I start with the photos and what we did that day. I like chronology but I try not to be too strict about it, documenting what happened each day. But mostly I love photos. If the photo and event happen to match up with something from JYC I may include parts of what I wrote. If I have something more specific to say about the photos I'll go with that. If I have a gap I can add in something general from JYC like a list of favorite treats or songs or movies, but wherever possible I try to match it up with a day. My favorite album was actually the least chronological and the most minimal, even though I usually feel like I need to include ALL the details. So I'm trying to remember that. I have everything recorded in my daily journal and JYC anyway so I don't need to put it all in the album. And I do repeat myself a lot, year after year, complaining about certain things in my journaling. I have gotten into the habit of writing myself a memo at the end of the JYC project with advice and reminders for next year. I'm usually most frustrated right before I finish so it's a good time to tell myself "never again!" about some aspect or other. I can link to some pictures of past projects if anyone is interested. ETA: I usually cover the whole Christmas season so whenever we start doing Christmasy things (sometimes a concert in late Nov until the tree comes down around Epiphany in Jan.)
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Chinagirl828
Drama Llama
Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 6,637
Jun 28, 2014 6:28:53 GMT
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Post by Chinagirl828 on Sept 4, 2019 10:33:48 GMT
Can we talk about approaches? Who does a full December DAILY - as in, a story/spread for each day? Who does more of a December Memories approach where your album includes a selection of stories from the month in no particular sequence? Who does something else entirely? I do a daily approach from Dec 1 - 25 (sometimes Dec 26 if we have plans for Boxing Day that I want to include). My album is usually stuffed full at this point and I've run out of steam which is largely why I stop here. I document every day but sometimes I'll use a filler prompt from JYC if I don't have a particular story I want to record. I also include stuff that's happening in my life in Dec that is not Christmas related, I have four birthday celebrations in Dec that often appear in my album, and I sometimes include work (although I've just realised I've never taken any photos of the office decorated - this year for sure!). For the last few years I've done a month in review or PL style album in addition to my Dec album. I usually include the highlights or some of the stories that don't make my Dec album in those. I don't have a lot of pages online but here's a couple from last year's album that I shared: And here's a couple of pages from my 2015 album (apparently I didn't share any pages from the other years)
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Post by mrsshampoo on Sept 4, 2019 11:04:13 GMT
We called it. Price increases for AE all around. Main kit up to $54.99 on sale for normal price $49.99, mini kit $24.99.....
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Sept 28, 2024 20:15:35 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2019 11:12:40 GMT
burnbright I'm sorry to hear about your mom. Nicole Reaves lost her mother and was struggling too about whether to document december - so she focused on finding one moment of joy each day. nicolereaves.com/blog/2018/2/2/my-completed-december-2017-albumI've struggled this past year as my son has been sick and off school for the whole year. It helped to try and find one thing each day to be thankful for. Hope this helps
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Post by elegantsufficiency on Sept 4, 2019 11:24:36 GMT
burnbright adding my condolences too and seconding everything that's been said here. Some great advice and a lot of love too. The thing is, if all of that Christmas memory stuff is on your mind, like the elephant in the room, perhaps relieving yourself of a bit of it could be cathartic? Might be helpful/comforting to sit and write a bit about what you remember, even if it's just the frustration of losing all those photos. I find that I need to work through things that are on my mind like that, or I simply dwell on them forever. My first Christmas without my Mum was tough, but I remember some quote I found which went along the lines of "sitting in a comfy chair and wrapping my memories around me like a hug" - and that seemed to sum it all up. @northrigg thanks for that link.
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Post by mom on Sept 4, 2019 11:34:25 GMT
Ali has her blog post up. At the first 630am glance, there isn't anything I have to absolutely have.
OK I watched the videos - here's what I think.
Main Kit: 1. doesn't look very coordinated to me. Looks like they threw some of it in at the last minuet. (those green glitter trees?) 2. I like the acetate alphabet, gold alphabet, xl tags (wouldn't need that many of them though) and the 3x4 cards.
Liz's Kit: 1. I feel like the heart + star embellishments were throw in, last second. 2. I like the 3x4 cards, dimensional stickers, chipboard + bag.
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pancakes
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,002
Feb 4, 2015 6:49:53 GMT
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Post by pancakes on Sept 4, 2019 12:08:46 GMT
I think the only things I’m seriously considering are the 3x8 paper pack and some of the chipboard. The 3x8 pack isn’t terrible for 31 (I think I counted right) pieces for $9.99.
As much as I love that green linen 3x8, I think i’m going to roll the dice and see what others have this year. Worse comes to worse I still have the 3x8 with the star pattern from last year sitting unused on my shelf.
P.S. Is anyone doing Product Play this year
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Post by sunny1016 on Sept 4, 2019 12:11:59 GMT
Yeah nothing sticking out to me. I did notice some items were not on the price list. Not sure if maybe they are already on her site. I didn't double check. Does anyone know what the star page finder is? Is it a divider? Is there just one?
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pancakes
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,002
Feb 4, 2015 6:49:53 GMT
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Post by pancakes on Sept 4, 2019 12:14:38 GMT
Yeah nothing sticking out to me. I did notice some items were not on the price list. Not sure if maybe they are already on her site. I didn't double check. Does anyone know what the star page finder is? Is it a divider? Is there just one? I think it’s for the journal/planner.
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Post by mom on Sept 4, 2019 12:14:50 GMT
Yeah nothing sticking out to me. I did notice some items were not on the price list. Not sure if maybe they are already on her site. I didn't double check. Does anyone know what the star page finder is? Is it a divider? Is there just one? It looks like the same one from last year. LINK
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Post by mom on Sept 4, 2019 12:16:01 GMT
I think the only things I’m seriously considering are the 3x8 paper pack and some of the chipboard. The 3x8 pack isn’t terrible for 31 (I think I counted right) pieces for $9.99. As much as I love that green linen 3x8, I think i’m going to roll the dice and see what others have this year. Worse comes to worse I still have the 3x8 with the star pattern from last year sitting unused on my shelf. P.S. Is anyone doing Product Play this yearMy initial reaction is no. I don't feel like the way its been described as 'product play' is necessarily correct. It seems like 'shape play' and I don't need that. And 1/3 of the class will be on Ali's blog so why bother?
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Post by songbird on Sept 4, 2019 12:17:34 GMT
I’m passing completely on AE DD products this year. This is a huge step for me, as I normally go overboard ordering from her. I’m just over the hype, the prices, the same aesthetic year after year (and I feel the same about the Paislee Press mini kit).
Plenty of options for those who do love it though!
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Post by sunny1016 on Sept 4, 2019 12:22:23 GMT
I think the only things I’m seriously considering are the 3x8 paper pack and some of the chipboard. The 3x8 pack isn’t terrible for 31 (I think I counted right) pieces for $9.99. As much as I love that green linen 3x8, I think i’m going to roll the dice and see what others have this year. Worse comes to worse I still have the 3x8 with the star pattern from last year sitting unused on my shelf. P.S. Is anyone doing Product Play this yearMy initial reaction is no. I don't feel like the way its been described as 'product play' is necessarily correct. It seems like 'shape play' and I don't need that. And 1/3 of the class will be on Ali's blog so why bother? I agree!
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pancakes
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,002
Feb 4, 2015 6:49:53 GMT
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Post by pancakes on Sept 4, 2019 12:32:51 GMT
Ok, just watched the videos.
At the end of the day, I do like some of the components — I just don’t like/want all of them to justify the purchase.
For example, I really like those tiny paper flags. I use things like that all the time on my photos, and it’s be nice to not have to create them.
I do like the fabric stars from the mini kit.
Did anyone notice Ali said Christmas Love for one of the chipboard in the mini kit when it actually says Christmas Eve? It took me a few seconds to stare at that chipboard because it DOES look like LVE, as in someone forgot the O in love. But I think it’s supposed to say eve.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Sept 28, 2024 20:15:35 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2019 13:18:20 GMT
I’m passing completely on AE DD products this year. This is a huge step for me, as I normally go overboard ordering from her. I’m just over the hype, the prices, the same aesthetic year after year (and I feel the same about the Paislee Press mini kit). I'm really comfortable passing on everything. The cost + shipping + exchange rate really killed any desires I may have had though. With four albums that have a really similar aesthetic, I'm looking forward to something different for this year.
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Deleted
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Sept 28, 2024 20:15:35 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2019 13:52:38 GMT
I really envy people know exactly what they want! For sure I want to get the green linen album. I may not use it for Xmas but its my sons favorite color and I could easily use this to make a school album for him. So then if I am buying I might as well get PP 3 by 8 cards.....will have to spend the day thinking about this. Of course I don't need any of it.
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Deleted
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Sept 28, 2024 20:15:35 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2019 14:01:22 GMT
Watching the vidoes - I'm definitely getting one of the 6x8 albums but that's probably it. Want to see what Kelly Purkey has in store this season!
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Post by mom on Sept 4, 2019 14:07:24 GMT
Ok, just watched the videos. At the end of the day, I do like some of the components — I just don’t like/want all of them to justify the purchase.
For example, I really like those tiny paper flags. I use things like that all the time on my photos, and it’s be nice to not have to create them. I do like the fabric stars from the mini kit. Did anyone notice Ali said Christmas Love for one of the chipboard in the mini kit when it actually says Christmas Eve? It took me a few seconds to stare at that chipboard because it DOES look like LVE, as in someone forgot the O in love. But I think it’s supposed to say eve. Thats where I am. Trying to decide if its worth buying it, keeping what I want and selling the rest. Kind of a hassle. I did realize I have last years red album unused so that is making it easier to say no to all the albums.
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nicolep
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,156
Member is Online
Jan 26, 2016 16:10:43 GMT
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Post by nicolep on Sept 4, 2019 14:16:33 GMT
Nothing I have to have for sure.
$12.99 for die cuts? Good grief.
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