So… I have always, always, always wanted to join a scrapbook kit club. I never have though because they’re pricey and because I’m pretty picky about what I like. But now that all of our local stores have closed I’ve been kind of blah. I was having a really hard time picking a collection for my December Daily this year, but then I got an email that would change my life. (And yes, I’m being waaaaaay overly dramatic. lol.) Ali Edwards was putting her past December Daily kits on clearance!!! Needless to say I ordered both immediately. I was so excited when I got them that I cranked out December Daily 2014 in less that a week. Side note: I was going to post pics of it, but it got packed away with the Christmas decorations. Whoops. Never fear, I’ve been making some progress on this year’s December Daily too so I can post some pics of it. And I’ve already found some Christmas crap that missed the boxes so if there’s interest I can get it out when I put that stuff away. 🙂
I used an October Daily album that I painted white. I then added the ribbon tape, letters, and rubber charm from the kit.
The October Afternoon page protectors are a bit big (which is irritating) but I’m making it work. Last year (2013), I backed each page with paper from 12×12 sheets which looked great but took forever and used a ton of product. This year, I started off stitching the pages in place and embracing the transparent elements. I’m loving it so far. Everything on this page, aside from the thread and the small red number stickers, is from the kit.
And on to day 1! Top left is a pocket that I stitched closed filled with sequins from my stash (love these doodlebug sequins!) and some acetate shapes from the kit. Top left has a card that I stamped on with the stamps from the kit and a wooden number 1 from the kit. I’m planning to use these wooden numbers throughout the entire album to add some consistency. And the bottom on has a pic from our Christmas card photo shoot that I stitched in place. Then I added some trim (I glued 2 pieces back to back so it looked nice on the others side) and then stapled it in place with my tiny attacher.
Day 2 is on the back of Day 1. The top right pocket is a cute 3×4 card from the kit. I talked about our elf, Christopher. Kate loves him so much that she made and furnished a house for him. Today she left him a him a bingo game (that she also made) before she went to school. <3 Obviously that pic made it in the bottom pocket. I always do the front and back (so days 1 and 2) at the same time since I’m leaving a transparent element on each page. Plus I’m stitching stuff in place.
That’s as far as I got until after Christmas. What can I say, this month has been crazy. But then I got this fuse tool for Christmas and my mojo returned. It’s amazing! In fact, I considered redoing the earlier pages with the fuse instead of stitching, but I’m not crazy. 😉 For day 3, I “fused” some sequins and a photo in the top left pocket. Basically I turned it in to 3 pockets and sealed the top. For the top right, I stuck the photo on a card then added some journaling and a wooden 3. For the bottom pocket, I added some die cuts and stickers from my stash and just accepted that the photo was a bit small. You can see some more blue trim peaking out from a future page.
The fuse has a bit of a learning curve, but I’m just embracing imperfection and going with it. Oh, and speaking of kits and the fuse tool… Why yes. I will be starting a new Project Life even though my current Project Life is only half done. In an effort to stay inspired (and just because I’ve wanted to for about 10 years) I’m actually subscribing to the Studio Calico Project Life kit club for 6 months. It’s a big investment for me (I’m going to use my Christmas money) and I doubt I’ll be able to continue it once my subscription is up, but I’m hoping it jump starts my creativity and encourages me to finish 2015 while staying current with 2016. Fingers crossed!