Welcome to volume two of our Document December 2020 preparation posts! If you missed our first week, check out that post here. Today we have three designers joining us to share how they are organizing, prepping pages and getting ready to make this the best season of memory-keeping yet! Let’s get some ideas from Patricia Roebuck, Marsha Farris and Jen McMurtrey!
Patricia Roebuck
Hello Elle’s Studio and Document December friends! I think for all of us, this year will look different. For me personally it involves starting two part time jobs outside of the home. To keep and remember all of the details of this busy month, I have scored and folded the calendar to insert in the front of my album. This will make the documenting more fun and relaxing when I sit down to document.
Prepping has always been a key to my success and will be more so this year. I start by removing all of the packaging from the stickers and chipboard. For the embellishments, I will keep them in the packaging until time to create. For now, I have everything together in a plastic container from Target. Next, I start stamping and die cutting, and include these elements in the container.
I want to include some of my own titles to combine with the puffy alphas from the kit, so I stamped out titles in advance using the Candy Cane Large Jane Alphabet Stamp. Next, I stamped out the designs from the December Memories Stamp and punch or die cut these out. The smaller images on kraft cardstock will mimic the wood veneer pieces from the kit and blend in perfectly.
I want the larger stamped images to be layered, so I die cut circles from the Christmas Basics Paper Stack to adhere beneath. Last, I use a corner punch to notch out the corners of the December 3″ x 8″ Journaling Tags to resemble a ticket.
Little details like the corner punching, stamping, punches, and die cutting set me up to be successful, since I think this year is important for memory keeping. I can’t wait to see the memories we create together this year as we Document December!
Marsha Farris
Hey, Elle’s Studio friends! I’m excited to share a few pages I have prepped for my December album. This year I am using a Citrus Twist Life Crafted album that holds traveler’s notebook sized pages. I will be mixing in a variety of page protectors and adding some out of the pocket pages. I don’t prep my entire album, but I do like to create a few pages and pocket cards ahead of time to make my process easier on busier days.
I created several pocket cards for my album. Using some of the Elle’s Studio metal dies, I added a variety of see-through elements, including a fun sequin shaker heart on one of the cards.
I also added twine and machine stitching to some of my pages and pocket cards for a bit of additional texture and interest. I chose not to number any of my foundation pages. This will allow me the ability to move elements and layouts around as I create during the month!
Jennifer McMurtrey
I am so excited about this year’s Document December and have already begun to get all of my Elle’s Studio goodies organized. Because I believe in utter honesty, I have to say that my past attempts at completing a Document December album have failed miserably. This year, however, I am determined to finish the album and have fun in the process. To assist in reaching my goal, I have begun putting together the foundation pages and prepping for the stories I want to tell.
To keep this project low pressure, I am choosing not to number the pages so I am able to move things around if necessary. I love the December calendar and placed it front and center in the album. As we move through the month, I will mark any notable occasions on the corresponding dates.
My favorite part of Document December is decorating my pages with the adorable embellishments included in the kit. Even better is being able to use supplies I have on hand, such as the Large Jane Alphabet Stamps and Dies that I added to the folded portion of the calendar.
Wow, so many beautiful foundation pages! Be sure to pin your favorites to your Document December boards, and get ready for another post next week with even more ideas! We can’t wait to document December with you!