December Daily, my way
October 31, 2010
Creativity begets creativity ... finding time to do something that's not about professional work, household chores or the care and feeding of family isn't easy but it is necessary for mental health. At least it is for me. As I begin the process of putting myself back together I've come up with a few projects that make me happy to think about. For someone else it might feel like just another thing to do but for me, what I'm about to describe brings me joy and puts me in a place where I feel creative ... and happy. These are good things.
It's a little thing called December Daily created by one of my favorite scrapbooker/writer/inspirational/crafty goddess - Ali Edwards. I've thought it looked like a cool thing since the first time I saw it in 2008. Last year, I gathered a few things while I thought about making it and this year ... I'm in.
It's an organic process, a little bit of this, a little bit of that ... easy, fun, perfect! It's something I hope to make an annual tradition because I think it's one of those things that's fun to do now but also a treasure to look back on the present, documented with photos and stories. When I think of the holidays this year - even today, Halloween - I get excited instead of overwhelmed. I think that's a good sign. Part of that is because I've learned I'm learning to really just relax and celebrate the way that works for us instead of trying to match a picture in my head.
So, what is December Daily? For Ali's explanation and images click here. To read an article in Scrapbooks, Etc click here.For me this year, factoring in real life and budget, I'm using what I have around here plus one specific thing I'm on a treasure hunt for: a vintage children's Christmas story book. So far, I've assembled an album with square pages, a bunch of holiday-themed magazine cut outs from over the years, paint chips, pictures from Christmas past, holiday-themed scrapbooking supplies and my red and green bins (ala Stacy Julian, another favorite source of inspirationand ideas). My goal here is to honor the original meaning of scrapbooking - key word being: scrap.
The essence of December Daily is to pre-make an album for 25-31 days of December and document some aspect of your daily life/holiday festivities as you experience them. As someone who has put off scrapbooking for far too long, I can attest to the fact that journaling in real life reads differently than in retrospect. Both are important, just different - and it's ideal to have a mix of both. This project is intended to be recorded in real time. Designing the pages ahead of time is the key, I think, to being able to keep up with it during such a busy time. Also: do it however works for you. For me, that means, I'm not going to do day-by-day exactly. My December Daily is going to be 31 pages dedicated to this December, the traditions we are creating and documenting details like our love of Satsumas, Zoo Lights, tree decorating, favorite ornaments, memories from Matt's and my childhood, etc.
One new thing I'm excited about is kicking off December 1st with the boys opening a present of new Christmas jammies and our box of Christmas/Winter books. I love the idea of creating new traditions and celebrating existing ones.
Care to join me?