This year I wasn’t going to do any holiday scrapbooking. Maybe a layout after the fact, but I had it in my mind to simplify to the extreme. After doing December Daily™ for three years in a row (see 2011, 2012) and having a big year, I felt I needed a break.
Then I saw this set of 3×4 cards from Oh Snap! Boutique and all that went out the window!
At that moment I decided I had to do something and that I could still keep it simple. In this post, I’m sharing exactly how I’ll be scrapbooking this holiday season.
2013 Holiday Photo Album: Preparation
The Album. The stories I tell around the holidays tend not to be very wordy. In fact, it’s more likely I’ll go deep on a holiday topic at another time of the year. The first thing I did was give myself permission to just create a pretty photo album. Sometimes we get caught up in being scrapbookers that we forget that you can do easier projects. I’m using a Project Life mini album.
The Cards. The decorative part comes from the Oh Snap! cards. I purchased most of the sets and had them printed at Persnickety Prints on pearl card stock with rounded corners. They are thick and so gorgeous! In order to have them printed, I used Wendyzine’s conversion action. The action makes sure there is enough bleed for printing on card stock.
The Photos. I’ll be following along with the prompts in Holiday Storyteller to grab story-rich photos as well as everyday shots for my album. My goal is simply to keep my eyes open and camera close, but not to overthink it. I want to focus on being present more than anything else. Memory making comes before memory keeping. I’ll print photos at the end.
Scrapbooking the holidays is only as complicated as you want it to be. This year I needed fewer details to manage while still enjoying pretty products. In January, I’ll share how it all turned out! I’m excited to try a new approach for scrapbooking Christmas.
Are you simplifying your holiday scrapbooking this year?
Great idea to simplify! I tried a DD last year and got to Day 5… and there I’m still stuck! LOL My big question for you using the PL mini album is what page protectors are you using? I can’t seem to find any mini PL pockets! :0
The Project Life mini album has pages sewn in. Each page holds two 3×4 cards and two 4×6 cards.
Thanks, Jennifer! I guess I didn’t read the “fine print”… LOL
I’d actually call that DD too. In my mind it is much more flexible than “daily” though. Glad you found a great solution for your style and time.
In addition to not being daily, don’t consider it a “December Daily” because I’m not journaling at all.
Great idea! I’ve always thought a Dec Daily was just adding even more hectic, burdensome tasks to an already overwhelming season!
I am totally different from most in this group, I am a 59 year old Mom of two grown sons, neither married and no grand babies. So the holidays are quiet….very quiet. I am hoping to do one with the memories I have of my childhood Christmas seasons. We’ll see if it works….right now life is getting int he way…:)
Great ideas for simplifying…especially being there with camera and yet the focus being on enjoying the moment rather than the documentation of it. I’m going to set my little video camera up in a corner and let it run…to catch a bit of the live excitement and its surroundings.