It's almost December Daily Time Again

Can you believe it? If you're American you are probably still in a Turkey Coma today or you've been at the malls since 4AM scooping up some great deals. Up here in Canada we're in full Christmas Prep Mode. As many of you know, I have two jobs right now. (Why two you ask? Not sure ... it just ... happened!) Anyway, BOTH my jobs are ready for Christmas. Pier1 Imports started putting out the Christmas product in mid-October (basically right after our Thanksgiving) and The Upstart Crow (my local job) got their halls decked this past weekend. So ... I'm in a Holiday Mood!! Beware!! I may start singing Christmas carols and  hanging lights!!

Must. Wait. Til. December. 1st!

You know what can't wait until December 1st? My December Daily. I am featuring my foundation pages over on the Practical Scrappers site today (check it out here) but for all you loyal followers, I thought I'd share more pictures and (maybe) more insight into my process. Oh and if you are wondering just what is a December Daily, it is a project started by Memory Keeping Guru Ali Edwards designed to help you record the daily goings on during the Holiday Season. You can check out her blog for more information here and see what she's prepared to use this year here. This is my 3rd year embarking on this journey with her (and thousands of like minded memory keepers out there!)  You can find my 2010 album here and 2011 here. Both of these albums use digital templates that I purchased from Ali Edwards and this year she is offering them again but I have decided to try my hand at making my own. I've downloaded a trial version of Photoshop Elements with the assurance from Greg that I can have the full blown version whenever I want (it was actually a birthday present that I haven't cashed in yet!) We'll see how it goes. I may break down and buy hers in the end!!


So, what have I got ready for 2012? I'm sure you're all dying to see some pictures, right?
Well, here you go ...

This is my cover. I had another set of the same Teresa Collins Christmas album covers that I used last year so I just covered them with layers of white paint, stencils and other bits. 

And this is what the album looks like at the moment. In previous years I have had every single page ready to go - all I needed to do was add pictures, journalling and some embellishment. This year I want to leave room for a bit more creative freedom so my pages are pretty unfinished (as you will see). I'm also hooked on the Art Journal look so a lot of my pages will be more art journal and less traditional scrapbook page.

This is a close up of my cover page embellishments. I am using mostly Echo Park papers from various Christmas lines (some have been in my stash for a while so it's time to use them up!) The frame was one I found in the clearance bin at Michael's several months ago. It was originally turquoise but a couple coats of some white craft paint and some brown ink distressing and voila! 

The insides of the front and back covers look like this.

And the back cover is a blank canvas waiting for inspiration to strike!

While digging through my stash trying to figure out what to use for the cover I found these pieces of raw chipboard. They were almost the perfect size to fit into the Teresa Collins covers! They are also what prompted the art journal idea as they lend themselves nicely to being covered with all sorts of things!

These are the art journal-esque pages that I have started so far. Some are messier than others and to be honest I'm not sure where this is going to end up, but the journey should be fun! 

These are the back sides of the pages above. As you can see, some are covered in patterned paper, some are covered in more paint and some are still raw ... I'm leaving myself lots of room for play this year.

Here's a close up of some of the texture I've got going. 

I've got a variety of supplies set aside and ready to add to this album. My day numbers (see below), lots of different journalling tags and cards, papers, scraps, paint, stamps, inks, stencils and some transparencies that may go in front of these art journal pages as day dividers if I don't feel like putting the numbers over any art. I can't wait to see how it all comes together!

As for my numbers, here is what I've done.

 Pretty simple. I felt that the pages themselves were going to be quite busy so the numbers needed to be bold enough to stand out but simple enough to let the artwork take centre stage. As you can see I have not attached them to any of my pages. I am determined to assemble as I go this year!

A close up so you can see how I popped up each star to give dimension.

And #25 got special treatment ...

Well, I hope you enjoyed this look into what I will be working on this December. I'd love to see your December Dailies if you are working on one this year. Please leave a link in the comments so I can come and  check out your work!