I finished my December 2009 album! Although I didn’t finish it before the end of December, at least I finished it before the end of 2010 because believe me, there was definitely potential for that to happen

If you can’t view the Flickr slideshow below, you can visit it here.

So if I could give a few tips to those who want to try a daily album next December, here are a few to note:

There’s a Reason Why They Say to Prepare In Advance

Definitely take every opportunity to create as many layouts as possible ahead of time. You might even consider over-preparing and creating a little more than you know you might need. You never really know until that day what type of photos you’ll have available or how much you want to journal.

If You Signed Up for Shimelle’s Journal Your Christmas, Don’t Force Yourself to Only Create According to the Daily Prompts

Left to my own devices, I usually don’t have any problems coming up with a topic to cover that day. Not always, but usually. Put me in a structured setting where I’m given an assignment, I’m going to try and do the assignment and sometimes if that assignment isn’t what I want to work on that day, I get stuck, and therefore frustrated. I learned that on some days when there were events I wanted to scrapbook about, I felt conflicted

If you decide to do Journal Your Christmas, use the daily prompts as a backup plan. Read the prompts in the morning, but let it marinate throughout the day until you finally get to sit down and work on your page. If something else came up that you want to record, do it! Don’t feel like you have to stick with the prompts just because it showed up in your inbox that morning.

That being said, if you are wondering, it IS possible to participate in December Daily AND Journal Your Christmas.

Keep a Topic Calendar

At the beginning of the month, I printed out a calendar and made notes of events I knew were on the calendar: company party, Christmas tree decorating, Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas Day, Dad’s birthday, etc. Make notes on days if, for some reason, you can’t scrapbook that day such as, “Did some baking today. Downloaded photos onto laptop. Maybe use the 4-picture layout with the brown background.” At this point you can come back to it later when you have to catch up.

Draw Inspiration and Motivation from Others

The great thing about doing some of these online classes is everyone loves to share. If you ever get stuck, don’t be afraid to browse the gallery of past prompts. And if you do end up “scraplifting” an idea from another scrapper, don’t forget to let them know and show them your finished product. There isn’t one scrapper out there who wouldn’t enjoy being someone’s inspiration!

Speaking of inspiration, here’s a list of other’s who have finished their december album:

Ali Edwards

Alissa Fast

Curiouser and Curiouser

Nita’s Journal