December Daily 2019 MEGAAA thread

So, I'd been feeling like a bit of a fraud here because I haven't really been interested in making an album this year or buying any of the things. And I know I know, all are welcome, you guys won't kick me out of the club, but I was sometimes wondering why I was still reading here...

But I just followed through on my reminder to get out the Christmas albums and look at the "notes to self" I write at the end of each season. There was some stuff I remembered, and have been planning towards. But I also paged through the last couple of albums I made, and you know what? I LOVE THEM. They were a pain in the ass to make, but I love having them.

That doesn't necessarily mean I'll make an album this year, or at least probably not in December. I'm already feeling overwhelmed by clutter and STUFF so I don't want to drive myself crazy with a big messy project. But I might sign up for ALP's list project, or make my own version using the new and improved JYC prompts (so excited for a refresh!) and I'll definitely take photos and write lots of journal entries. I do that regardless of wanting to make an album in the future. But I'm looking forward to paging through my albums again in December, maybe sharing them with the fam for a change.

BTW as I flipped through I noticed a couple of spots where a little bit of the story was missing/unclear, so I grabbed a pen and quickly added a couple of sentences to explain it (while I still remember). One spot I was able to add it to the existing journal spot, the other I just grabbed a piece of scrap white cardstock and scrawled the story and stuck it in. Perfectly imperfect ;P

I also noticed that last year was too full and my fancy cover page was bending so I moved the thick envelope page from the back and put it in the front, both as a protection for the cover and to lessen the bulk that was causing the bending. My pages are all outside of plastic so it's a bit delicate, but I love it and I'm glad I put in the effort to get crafty and to use all kinds of random bits and bobs and packaging and junk and supplies I'd been hoarding!

I ran into Joanns today to get some fabric and saw the display for DCWV pads that sleepingbooty loved so much. They also had the Pink Paislee collection (in a pad) that has the blue in it, and the Pebbles Merry Little Christmas pad. All $5.99. I think there's a coupon for an extra 20% off too.. if anyone is interested.(actually, I am not 10000% certain it was the Traditional Christmas pad I saw. I think it was called Classic Christmas, maybe?) 

So. I am still toot'n along with last years album. I have come to realize my photos that I took suck - I am assuming because I didn't think Id ever really use them for DD. But tis ok...I am still going to use them and stick them in. (mental note to self to take more photos this year). 

You've probably saw my album, cover, and intentions page on Insta so I won't bother sharing it here (unless someone hasn't found me over there...then speak up!). I am really proud with how simple it all is. It has not stressed me out one single bit. I've now finished about 6-7 pages and I am happy. I am so glad I waited to do this album vs forcing it last year. I am going super simple so I haven't gotten bored from it yet. 

Still not regretting not purchasing the Product Play class yet. All the projects are flooding insta so I don't feel like I am missing much. 

Remember the peek-a-boo doors die from AE that was shared? I got mine in and I am glad I got them, but there is zero % chance I would pay more that a few bucks for them because I don't think I will use them more than once. Fun for the price (around $2, I think?) but not any more. 

Thoughts on a 3x8 for a December Daily..... It can be hard. I haven't found a calendar in 3x8 size and many of the cool free cur files won't fix without altering them. Which is fine, things just take longer. I have learned that moving forward, I will take vertical AND horizontal of photos to make printing them for a 3x8 easier when I sit down to scrapbook. Using a 3x8 album also limits how many thick embellishments you can use (which is pretty much fine with me as I don't use a bunch). 

Ok, thats all for now I think. I am going to grab some pizza + beer (cause carbs!) with DH and hopefully I will get some more time to play later tonight. 

I stopped in to JoAnns after reading mom post. There was no Christmas scrapbooking ANYTHING. So strange. The holiday decor was 70% off and most of it was gone.🤷🏻‍♀️

That's gorgeous! I love it (except for the AE handwriting, but that's obviously not important). That design might be fun for a page about wrapping papers - I could see punching out a bunch of those ornaments from scraps of the papers I used and making a couple of strings of them.

The HSN Ali Edwards DD kits are on clearance. They are now $29.99 plus free shipping today.

It really is, I think HSN has a pretty good kickback with Ebates/Rakuten too.  I think I might order one to make an album for my mom.  I can include pictures from Christmas past.  She has a lot of our Santa pictures, and ones of my nephew (who is her very favorite person EVER), so that would be fun for her to have them in an album.  I think I just talked myself into it.  
Thanks for the heads up cheezitgirl

Bah ha ha! I am starting to wonder if they were mismarked since they are full price on the website? Im going to venture out later and go take a peak. 

It's 5% now.

Thank you. I've just been printing some of these files.

 I went to two Joanns yesterday and they had nothing! And these are the two big ones I usually go to.

Wow! This is amazing. I love Bea's mini albums. She is super creative. Plus...We share a name  Maybe some of her talent will rub off on me.

Ok everyone, very important question here. Do I display my JYC book from last year?

Last holiday season was horrible. My son's girlfriend broke up with him the day after Thanksgiving which has been a craft day for our family for the 5 years she was part of the family. Then, my stupid husband had an emotional affair with the mousy singer in his band who is the same age as my older son! Nothing physical, but it made him giddy like a middle schooler. And to top it all off, my dear friend's husband got lymphoma and spent all the holidays in the hospital. My JYC has all of this. I am pretty snarky, so it is not a "boohoo, look how sad I am" journaling. More of a "If I could I would stab you and her and all the other jerks in my life" vibe. But I really love how it looks. And it also has fun things too. Go figure that the crappiest Christmas since my first husband died has my favorite JYC book. Anyhow, would you display it? My husband says he would be fine with people seeing it.

And an update if you are interested: David (my husband and I) went to therapy and are fine now. He promised to make up for it this Christmas season. My son moved in with us because he found a job he really likes for half the salary, so he is saving up to be able to move out. My dear friend's husband passed away on January 5th. I spent the first 4 nights of the new year sleeping at the hospital. Hardest thing I've done since my own husband passed away.

Sorry for the long winded story. If you would like, I could post some of my favorite angry pages here.