In Knee Deep In December Daily

We are almost half way through December, yup can you believe it? Maybe you can, maybe your days have been filled with tons of activities celebrating the holiday season. Maybe your days have dragged on and you are finding it hard to find the true joy this time of the year. How is your December Daily coming? Are you already behind and feeling overwhelmed with documenting the festvities? Or are you right on schedule plotting along adding your daily photos at the end of each perfect day? 

If  you are anything like me, it's been a mix of both throughtout this journey called December Daily. Documenting my families fun daily routines and traditions has been fun and challenging. Some days I have been so tired sitting at my craft desk even for an hour just made me tired. Some days I just couldn't wait to get started sorting through my papers and embellishments to retell my day. 

But now my question is how do you keep this momentium going, and not get off track? How do you keep your Christmas spirit alive for another two to three weeks? 

For my familiy some of the fun about the holidays has begun but the busy stuff is still about to happen. I don't know about you but I am truly happy to be documenting our traditions but I don't want to get in a rut either. Some things I have tried to help me not feel overwhelmed is not to push myself. I had a few days this week where I was so tired. But I decided to put the guilt of documenting behind me. If I finish my December Daily in December that is great but it isn't the end of the world if I don't. The key to this process is to fall in love with christmas, each time you look at the album. Each time you relive those special moments through photos. Another thing I am doing is trying to keep it simple. My family doesn't care if my album looks like all the albums in magazines or other blogs.  By keeping it simple the pictures from that day can be the stars along with the stories behind it. 

Also don't be afraid to use prompts from other places, such as pinterest, blogs, or other social media sites to guide you through the hard days where you aren't sure what to document on a day where nothing major or christmasy has happened. Using other places as inspiration can take your album to another level.  

Also don't be afraid to chage the way you re doing things in the middle of the project if it isn't working. If taking pictures everyday is something you are having a hard time remembering, take a few throughout the week and pick out a few of the more meaningful ones. This is your Christmas story, you don't have to put it together the same way as the crowd. 

I am gonna wrap this up, or I may talk all night. But I hope everyone is remebering why christmas is special to their families. I hope that whatever your process is you make it yours, whether simple or overdoing it. Don't be afraid to change things up as the season gets busier and more is on your plate. Time will slow down at some point and you can work it out later. 

When Ali thought about this new way of documenting the season that is traditional rich in stories and warm feelings, it was meant to be easy and simple. As a scrapper myself its hard to slow the reigns down and make something simple, but we are knee high in the Christmas season with lots to enjoy. If we aren't enjoying the season how can that flow into our projects. Let your joy for the Holidays overflow into all that you are doing this months, in all your projects and memory making!! 

I hope eveyrone has a great Christmas and find inspiration in the little details!!

Hannah

Reflections during this Holiday Season

This week as I start to work daily on my December Daily album, it has me thinking about the past, present and future. Thinking about goals I want to make for next year, things I want to accomplish this christmas season to encourage a love for the holiday in my children.  Thinking about the past and wondering what new changes will occur in this year to come. 

Lately this week I have been thinking a lot of how much the scrapbook community as I have come to know it as has changed. I started learning from so many great scrappers on Two Peas and then just as I seemed to get a good ground that resource was gone. Of cource I can go on Youtube and watch all the old videos they made, and I still do. But there was something about finding all this inspiration at one place. I miss that. 

Two Peas closing opened up a whole new door for me though. Opened me up to the whole world of online community that I hadn't known before. Yes I watched many amazing scrapping on Youtube. I ate that up actually. I hadn't actually interacted with any scrappers at this point. Then I strolled on Facebook and started looking up a few groups I had heard on YouTube, and that was it. 

I have started meeting and connecting with so many great ladies who love scrapbooking as much as I do.  I love talking with them seeing their work. It inspires me to keep creating myself and even to try many new things I would have never tried on my own. When the days get busy and I am not able to et on visit with these ladies I miss them. 

So this december I start to think about habits I want to make for myself, to make me a better scrapbooker. Journaling, I think we all at times feel like we need to pick between a beautiful layout or great journaling, at least I do. I want to in this coming month and this next year work on more intental journaling. Making sure I am telling the story behind the scenes especially before the background stuff gets blurry. I know I have left out my blog, and that is something I want to work on too. Scheduling time to sit and write how my scrapping is going. Telling the behind the scenes thought process when it comes to my scrappy process. 

I also hope to get more connected to other scrapbookers to help form better friendships with the ladies I have met through my journe scrapping already. These ladies inspire everyday and I want to let them know how much I appreciate them. I want to help encourage them when they are down like they do for me. 

I hope in this holiday season you take the time to think about the things you want to change about your craft and think about the ways you contribute to your craft. Take the time to smell the roses and intentally make time for yourself in the midst of a busy and fun time. Encourage your friends in a new way! 

I plan to keep you better updated on my holiday journey, I look forward to seeing what everyone else is creating and learning this holiday season as well.

 Hannah

P.S. To see what I am creating head over to my YouTube channel and check it out. I hhope to be posting lots of my December Daily album as I work on it. I am also creating other layouts when I am not busy with my DD album.