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(Days 1-5 are HERE). I've found my groove with this little 4x4 project. I've been able to make my daily pages each evening - printing my photo and journal card and sticking it all together. I am so glad I went the pared-down route this year. I'm not feeling stressed and I like the process of sifting through my journal card stash for just the right thing. My goal with December Daily each year is to try and just get it done every day. Good enough, not perfect. Ideally I only want to work on this during December and not let it hang over into the new year. I know some people intend from the outset to make their pages later in the year but it would just not work for me. I like to be 'in the moment' making my December Daily and I don't want to think about Christmas outside of the season. It's not or never for me. On to the next set of pages... Day 06/ A busy-ish Friday so I went with a morning/afternoon list. (Card is from Push Print Studios HERE). Day 07/ A Saturday morning trip to Ikea for a new rug. (Card is from the December Daily Mini Kit by Paislee Press HERE). Day 08/ Sunday morning I took Zara and two of her friends to see Knives Out. This movie was my pick as chaperone (their first choice was Charlie's Angels) so I was so glad they loved it as much as I did. (Popcorn stamp & star rating is by Kellie Stamps HERE) Day 09/ I took this photo of the big tree at Martin Place last week so I'm using it for Day 09. (Card is from In A Creative Bubble HERE) Day 10/ Selfie of Eli and I. Lately he loves laying on my bed and watching TV with me before bedtime. We usually watch Nailed It or Queer Eye. (The Love sticker is from the December Daily Mini Kit by Paislee Press HERE). #DecemberDaily

I've been thinking a lot about my scrapbook albums. Should I make them chronological or theme based? Should I stick with one size or mix it up? Should I even worry about it? Are albums just somewhere to store our pages or do I want them to be something more? And what even does that mean? Right now I'm not sure but it's something that's been on my mind. I am a super organised person by nature so of course I take album organisation seriously. When I started scrapbooking, my daughter was almost two and I dutifully went back and filled in the gaps in a 12x12 album - her birth story, first day home, first bath, first birthday. Even though I was in love with this new hobby from the start, I still turned it into a chore, making a list and checking those obligation pages off until I had a finished 12x12 album with pages from her birth to first birthday. I loved having a completed album that followed a theme (her first year) even if I didn't love the process of making every page that I thought belonged in such an album. I soon discovered the concept of scrapbooking about yourself and your everyday (through Ali Edwards and Cathy Zielske) and I realised that I didn't have to scrapbook the way it was presented to me in magazines - which was documenting events and milestones (mostly child-related) using a voice that was nothing like how I talked in real life. I started to make pages that were about me, my life and my likes. And these pages sounded like me. This is when I really found my groove. This is when I realised there were no rules here - it's just paper, glue, words and photos put together anyway you like about anything that interests you. Stacy Julian's Library of Memories/Photo Freedom concept was huge during my early scrapbooking years (HERE). She divided her photos and her albums into themes - People We Love, Places We Go, Things We Do and All About Us. That made a lot of sense to me, so I made up my own themes, bought a bunch of albums and started storing my pages by that way - an album each for Zara and Elijah, one each for my husband and I (plus a S+B section for our stories together), Family & Friends, Celebrations, Travel and Everyday (this one had the most pages). Each with a title page and spine label. I loved having a place for my pages to live where I didn't have to worry about mixing old and new stories or slotting pages in correct date order. I also mixed in my 12x12 and 8.5x11 layouts. Then in 2017 I bought a few of Ali's Storybook Albums and switched to only making 6x8 pages. I wasn't sure if 6x8 would stick for me (it did) so I just started putting my layouts in the album in the order I made them - no theme, not even chronological. And I quite liked that. Everything mixed in together. For this year, I decided to give up on unreliable albums and page protectors (the ones I loved were always being discontinued or out of stock) and have my layouts printed as an annual photobook (I ended up needing to split it into two). I set myself a monthly goal of 20-30 5x8 pages (some double, some single, some crafty, some really simple) and just added pages to the Blurb book software in the order I made them, with a monthly divider page. This book follows a rough chronology because I'm usually making pages about current events and photos, but I also throw in older stories here and there. Next year I've decided to go back to basics and work in an 8.5x11 album (I talk about why in a previous post HERE but it's mainly because I want to do more hybrid pages and I miss printing from home as I go). I'll also continue on with some themed Travelers Notebooks I started this year - I think most of us are dabbling in different sizes and styles of scrapbooking - trying things out. So I come back to the topic of albums - what do I want them to be? A random home for my layouts? Organised binders by topic or by year like an office filing system? Or something more? How do I (or the people that look through my albums) make any sense of this mixed-up body of work? Does it matter? I really love my theme projects that have a definite beginning and end because they tell a story. But I also love scrapbooking our everyday and the mundane which is not so clean cut. I'm also trying to pinpoint what I want when I look back through my work. Do I like picking up the Zara albums and seeing only her pages or do I prefer grabbing one of my 6x8 books where everything is mixed in together, like life? What I think I'm getting at in this post is that I want my albums to make sense to me and to anyone who might look through them. I want to think about the best way to organise my work and for that to add to the story aspect of scrapbooking rather than just be a filing system. I don't have an answer but it seems that I really need to think about what I want my albums to be and then make pages that fit that. Put the album first perhaps. Thoughts? #Organising

Hello December! So excited to be doing December Daily again - my 12th time. It has become just as important to me as all of my other Christmas traditions. This year I am simplifying this project way down and making a little 4x4 handmade album (here is a post about my plan HERE). I'm sticking with a full photo on one side (always the left for me, I have no idea why) and a journaling card or just text on the other. I am continuing on with Project Life in December as well as making pages for my 2019 5x8 book (I didn't want to skip a month) so I've got plenty of places for my December stories to land outside of December Daily. In terms of photos, I take square pics for Instagram all the time but going so small (and narrowing myself down to only one photo per day) means that I need to find new and interesting ways to frame things to best tell the story. I'm really loving that challenge so far - it makes me think of things in different ways. For supplies, I am sticking with digital items. I have gone on a bit of a digital journal card buying frenzy, but there are just so many great sets and they work perfectly with my 4x4 design with a bit of tweaking. These are the ones I've added to my collection this year: The December Daily Mini Kit by Paislee Press for Ali Edwards December You Are My Fave No. 8 Journal Cards by Paislee Press December You Are My Fave No. 8 Scrapbook Kit by Paislee Press Holiday Cheer and December Days Journal Cards from In A Creative Bubble December Details B&W Journal Cards by Kelly Purkey Holly Days Journal Cards by Sahlin Studio I also use a lot of my older holiday stash (which is embarrassingly large) as well as non-holiday themed stuff in my book (December is the start of Summer here in Australia, so I can use all my seasonal kits too). I made my cover by cutting down an old chipboard album that already had the holes punched and I'm using binder rings to hold it all together. I plan to do something to the cover - maybe letter stickers or (gasp) stamping. Haven't decided if I will paint it (probably either white or black) or just leave as chipboard. This is the kind of thing I did for my first few December Daily's so what goes around, comes around! I am printing my photos on Ilford Galerie Prestige Smooth Pearl paper and my journaling cards on matte photo paper. The matte paper has caused me a lot of printer grief - my Epson does not like the thicker matte 4x6 sheets so I've had to use the back feeder as a work around. Here's a look at days 1-5. I always like to include an 'intentions' page for my own benefit, to set the mood for December and remind me of what's important when things get stressful (very important for this recovering perfectionist with a Martha Stewart complex). I'm adding a simple number circle to each photo and sometimes one on the cards too. Day 01/ Dinner out with the family (I made my own card with some Studio Calico stamps and a Celebrate sticker from an Ali Edwards' Story Kit). Day 02/ So happy to find this Harry Potter ornament in the tree stash - forgot I bought it last year. (Card: December Daily Mini Kit by Paislee Press) Day 03/ Last soccer game for the Summer season cancelled due to bad air quality. (Card: December You Are My Fave No. 8 by Paislee Press). Day 04/ Filling our pool back up (Circle element: Summer Vibes Elements by Paislee Press) Day 05/ Guitar Lessons (Card: Push Print Studios) #DecemberDaily #HybridScrapbooking

December Daily is really a labour of love. Making 25 or more pages for one project is a lot and sometimes there's just not much happening in your day to document. (If you're new to the concept, December Daily was created by Ali Edwards and you can learn more HERE). I like having ideas (and even photos) ready to go for those kind of days. Stories that are not day dependent but that are important parts of our December. Some of these photos can be taken in the lead up to December or even added into your foundation pages (it's allowed, I promise). Looking back through my past projects, I've realised that I am much more interested in documenting the mood and rhythms of the season in my December Daily than a forensic, accurate capture of every single day's activities. Here are some ideas for pages that can slot into any day: 1. Wrapping paper, special ornaments or new decorations. I love documenting our wrapping paper each year or cool new ornaments. 2. A seasonal photo. For us, it's the swimming pool, bowls of summer fruit or beach towels laying on the grass. For you, it might be snow boots lined up at the door. Something that sets the scene for your season is always a good addition. 3. A mini day-in-the-life. These kinds of pages are always worth adding in. I love looking back at how our days were filled when the kids were small. 4. Christmas baking. Fancy cookies & baking ingredients always make excellent photographs. 5. Lists & plans - menu planning, grocery lists, gift lists. I love looking back at my old lists. 6. A page about life right now for each child or for yourself. What they are into? How are they feeling about Christmas this year? What are they are excited for? A quick recap of their year is also a great thing to add (mid December marks the end of the Australian school year so it's a great time to reflect). How are you feeling? How was 2019 for you? What are you loving about December? 7. Document how your city decorates for Christmas. A great excuse to get out and take some photos. 8. What Christmas movies or music you are watching/listening to? What new films have you watched? What are your favourites? When & where do you like to watch? Have you bought any new music? Do you have movie traditions as a family? A bucket list? Or document your current non-Christmas music, TV or movie faves. 9. Some self-care and reflection. Are you taking some time to unwind in this busy period? Does that look like a good book and a blanket or some tea in your favourite mug early in the morning? Photos and stories that evoke a cosy mood are my favourite. 10. Seasonal traditions. What does your family do that's different or special this time of year? For us, it's evening swimming, alfresco dinners, Calippo's, school finishing up for the year, winding down at work, towels on the line constantly. 11. Christmas-themed clothing or a special outfit you might have bought for the season. Socks, jumpers, tights, PJs, a pretty dress for Christmas day. 12. Seasonal chores. What things do you need to do around the house to get ready for Christmas or for this season? Boring but necessary. So here's to quiet days in December and may we at least have one or two of them this season.

Let's talk scrapbook organising and planning. Trello is a free project organising app that you can log into via your desktop or devices (HERE). I had a client at work that needed me to use Trello a few years ago and I didn't like it and didn't get it. Then earlier this year, Jennifer Wilson at Simple Scrapper talked about how it was working for her in a podcast (HERE) and I decided to take another look. Thanks Jennifer! I don't know if they changed things in the app or if using it for my own projects made the difference but I now love it and find it really useful. As with all productivity apps, there is so much here that I just don't use, you can make it as complex or as simple as you want. I'm just keeping to the basics. Trello operates via cards and lists - you set up lists for each topic then add cards to those. That is still a bit confusing to me because I think of the lists as cards (that's how they look on the board) that are then filled with lists but that's the story of my life... You first set up a board - which will be your working screen - so mine is called Scrapbooking. You can have other boards for other areas of your life you want to organise (I have one for food and meal planning too). I like how you can add a photo to your main board screen - there are a lot of cool stock photos. On my scrapbook board then I have a couple of lists: Quick Page Ideas - where I just note down a general scrapbook page idea as a checklist (most of my cards are checklists). Album Ideas - where I keep ideas for themed albums Specific Project Lists - for current album projects I'm working on. I can map out the sections and brainstorm ideas as a checklist for each section. Video Ideas - a checklist of ideas for future videos or topics people have asked me to cover I also create a list for each month and that's the most useful thing for me. Each month has two cards in it: To Do's and Stories. Under to-do's I have two checklists - Big Picture and a list of to-do's for the coming week. Big Picture - anything I want to achieve that month like finishing off an album project and getting it sent off to print, catching up on Project Life or starting a new project I have in mind. Weekly To-Do - specific things I want/need to do that week like buying a new kit that's been released, making a project for a design team, finishing a Project Life spread or adding some pages to my various travelers notebooks. I can cross each thing off when I've done it which always feels fantastic and I like having a list of things to do when I'm at my desk but I'm not sure where to start. On the Stories card, I note any story I want to either scrapbook about or add in to Project Life that month (which are usually small stories like TV programs, good recipes, a song I'm loving or a funny quote from the kids). When I'm working, I can come here for ideas. I know reading about organising apps is always confusing and a bit boring, so I've made a quick video. #video #Organising

Hey friends! I started an online store for digital scrapbooking templates and other goodies. You can find it (HERE) or just hit the My Shop button at the top of the blog. This has been on my list for at least a year and I finally hit GO today and just did it. I've started off with my digital planner template (HERE) as well as My Year In Food template (which was originally a project life option (HERE) because that's what people have been most interested in lately. I will be adding more in the coming week. I'm planning to offer various sizes - 6x8, 8x10 for photobook people, 8.5x11 and 12x12. I'm very open to suggestions too so let me know if there's something you'd like to see there. I also wanted to thank everyone who has previously reached out via instagram and my blog offering encouragement to set up a store - it's means so much. #Shop

Have you guys heard of digital planners? I had no idea and it blew my mind. People are taking digital templates of planner pages, loading them into an app like Goodnotes on their iPads then adding text, digital stickers, journal cards and even hand-writing with the Apple Pencil. Amazing! (Here are some examples via a Google Images search to see what I mean). I love the paper planner craze but know it's not for me (I've tried). But doing something planner-ish digitally is appealing. I use a very simple, uncluttered paper diary to manage my life but having a little embellished record of our week for future reminiscing sounds fun. I wouldn't be using this project to plan my week - I'd work on the spreads at the end of the week as a recap (which I think is what a lot of paper planners do?). In lieu of buying myself some new Apple gadgets (Santa?) I've been playing around with some layouts in Photoshop on my Mac (which is my comfort zone anyway). I would definately want a printed book at the end of the year so I've stuck to a photobook-friendly size (8x10). I had been thinking of skipping Project Life this year, but as these test pages came together, I realised, oh, this is basically Project Life. So I need to decide if I will take on another year-long project. I'm thinking yes. I'm hoping I can transition this to the iPad later (again, Santa?). I've been borrowing my daughter's when she's at school (shhhh!!) so I'm learning how to use Procreate, Goodnotes and the pencil. There's also Photoshop for iPad. How cool to be able to work on this while I'm on the train or at kids' activities? This is my first test spread (I won't start this until January 2020) - what do you think? (Lots of different elements used here: Click Project Life Kit by Krista Sahlin, Paislee Press, Studio Calico Digital Stamps, Ali Edwards word art, Kellie Stamps).

Around this time of year (before December hits) I like to take stock and look at what's working and what's not for me and memory keeping. I've enjoyed scrapbooking in 5x8 and making my Blurb books (book one is HERE) but I think I need a change. No matter how much I feel like I've found the best way forward, things always get stale and I crave something new. New year, new projects. I just don't feel excited about doing another year of the same thing no matter how well it worked. Feeling a bit been-there-done-that. One of the things on my mind lately are stories. My goal for 2020 is to write more so I've been thinking about moving to a larger size for my regular layouts. 5x8 has been fun (and 6x8 before that) but I'm missing the larger writing space. The other thing I miss is printing my layouts at home as I go, adding some letter stickers or chipboard if I feel like it and slipping it into an album. I know I have talked at length about saving space and photobooks being the way forward for me, but I miss building my album up over the year and holding a page in my hand right away and I miss making hybrid pages. Digital scrapbooking can feel very disconnected. Right now I have around 70 layouts on my computer that are waiting to be printed in book two. So I've decided to go back to scrapbooking my regular layouts at 8.5x11 and printing from home - it was my favourite size before moving to 6x8 in 2017. I still love the smaller sizes but I just want to see what I can do with a larger canvas. I'm also really looking forward to making some hybrid pages again. Some spreads from an old 8.5x11 album - still love it. I've bought an 8.5x11 Heidi Swapp Storyline album (HERE) and a stash of my favourite Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl photo paper (HERE) so I'm ready to go. The awesome thing about the Heidi Swapp album is that it comes with an envelope for ephemera, page protectors (which match my We R Memory Keepers stash) and the cool printed Storyline background pages. Looking forward to playing with those. (You can see more at Heidi's website HERE). Just a quick note about 9x12 - I know it is all the rage right now and I really do love that size, but there are a couple of reasons I'm not going that route: 1) I can't print 9x12 at home 2) I'm not a pocket scrapper so I don't need the photo & journal card-friendly dimensions of 9x12 (it took me a long time to figure out that's why 9x12 existed when 8.5x11 was there all along and they are so similar) 3) It seems like 9x12 is hard to source consistently and that's part of the reason I moved away from 6x8 to photobooks in the first place. I already have a huge stash of 8.5x11 page protectors, photo paper and old albums so I should be set. So I'm making an 8.5x11 album for 2020 and I'm really excited about it. And I can use my letter sticker stash again! I'm also thinking of skipping Project Life next year. I might add a monthly recap spread in my 8.5x11 album but I just need a break. I've made a Project Life album (in various ways) every year since 2010 (only skipping 2017). The year I did skip, I made a lot more regular layouts so it all evens out. I might also keep a digital commonplace book project like this one (HERE) for the little stories, quotes, recipes and thoughts that would normally show up in Project Life. I have a few projects from this year that I'm looking forward to carrying over to 2020. I'm excited to get into my older-stories project Little Life Stories (HERE). I've been jotting down story ideas and going through old photos but I really want to work on this consistently next year. I've also just started some new Travelers Notebooks for movies, TV and reading so I'm happy to keep those going too (HERE) and will keep going on my 'Year In Food" until March which is when I started it (HERE) So that's the plan so far. I'm always open to changing things up, trying new things and even going back to old things. Still going digital, still going minimal, still subscribing to Ali's digital Story Kit, still recording our day to day stories, still going... Just a quick little reminder if you need it - it's OK to change. It's OK to try something new. It's OK to not do what you have always done. It's OK to just keep doing the same thing if it works for you. This hobby of ours is so meaningful and important but it should also work for us and be fun. #HybridScrapbooking #DigitalScrapbooking #Plans

Digital scrapbooking process video today - talking about recolouring digital elements. (5x8 layout using the new Watch Story Kit by Ali Edwards). #Video #AliEdwards #DigitalScrapbooking #DigitalTips

I have enjoyed adding pages to my new reading log (HERE) so I thought I would also make one for documenting TV and movies. Again, I've made a simple template for each and will just repeat it throughout the notebook. I print my Travelers' Notebook pages on Epson Presentation Paper or a thin matte photo paper so as not to bulk the notebook up too much. I've made a PDF to share again (in both Letter and A4 size, depending on where you live) if you want to make one too. I've fitted two 4x8 templates onto one sheet. You can bring it into Photoshop to add your text and photo before printing or just print as is and add your photo and text by hand. Enjoy! Movie Review in Letter Size is (HERE) Movie Review in A4 is (HERE) TV Review in Letter Size is (HERE) TV Review in A4 Size is (HERE) #TravelersNotebooks

My goal was to finish this little music project (HERE) by October so I could move onto other things. So I spent a few days at the end of September and got the pages finished, uploaded to Chatbooks and all sent off on a Saturday night with a few days to spare. I chose Chatbooks for this project because they offer a 6x6 book (HERE) at a reasonable price. I picked a softcover for this, there is also a hardcover option. I have printed a few Instagram books through them before and was happy with the result. The process of uploading was a bit of a challenge. I had named my pages in a very basic way (01, 02, 03) so that they would be in the correct order when I bought them into Chatbooks (I did it via my desktop Mac) - but they were mixed up. After talking with customer service (who were very helpful) they confirmed the pages sort automatically by date (strange, because I made my pages in order but may have made chages at the end that may have effected the file date). So I had to manually move everything around. It didn't take too long and the big numbers on my layouts helped, but being able to sort by filename (as Blurb does) would be useful. The rest of the process was easy, including the cover and spine label, and I probably got it all together and ordered within 20 minutes. I ordered on 27 September, got a shipping notification on 3 October and it arrived here in Sydney on 10 October (from the USA). Cost was US$34.65 all up. I am so happy with the result. The pages are clear and crisp with great colours. The paper is very good quality, thick with a lovely sheen and feel. The template fit perfectly on each page and I had no cut off. If I could change anything, I would add an introduction page to say what the book is about and why I made it. I usually do that for my books but I think I was just so eager to get this one sent away and crossed off my list. I think it would have also been nice if I added in some full page photos here and there of my record player and stacks of records etc just to break it up. But really it's just fine as it is. Love this little book. Supplies: Cathy Zielske's Six By Eights No 4 Template, cut to 6x6 (HERE) Chatbooks 6x6 softcover photobook (HERE) #Photobooks #DigitalScrapbooking #MiniBooks

I try and track my reading in the Good Reads app but I thought it would be something worthwhile to document in a Travelers' Notebook so I started one today. I made a very simple template that I'm going to repeat for every book - 4x8 pages that I can cut out and glue into my Travelers' Notebook. I've made a PDF to share (in both 8.5x11 (HERE) and A4 size (HERE), depending on where you live). I've fitted two TN pages onto one sheet. You can bring it into Photoshop to add your text and photo before printing or just print as is and add your photo and text by hand. I print my Travelers' Notebook pages on Epson Presentation Paper or a thin matte photo paper so as not to bulk the notebook up too much. #TravelersNotebooks