A Gift

All memory keepers know, September 1st was a monumental day this year. This was the day Ali Edwards opened the ordering process for this year's December Daily products. Registration opened at 8am PT, which is 11am here in ET. I tried to go onto the product website http://decemberdaily.com at 11:15am. I couldn't, because we had broken the internet. There were literally hundreds of us trying to access the products and order before items sold out. Ali Edwards and her team were amazing. They got the site up and running to handle the traffic as soon as they could. When products sold out too quickly, they notified us on what items could and couldn't be restocked and made adjustments to accommodate demands. Too good. I got to order my "essentials" and I am very satisfied.

Her marketing was top notch too. All throughout the week before the order process opened, new guest designers were introduced with sneak peeks of their kits. When September 1st rolled around, we were like rabid dogs ready for the kill. The marketing also motivated many of us to work on 2015's December Daily. Working on my DD seemed a little to challenging, but I remembered that Nayoung, my best friend, never got to put hers together either. So, to ease into my DD, I decided to put an album together for her. That way she can just print pictures, slip them into the pockets, journal, then lightly embellish. 

Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to explain what December Daily is!

Here is the website: http://aliedwards.com/projects/december-daily. Now that you have the website, go on and read up on it. JUST KIDDING! 

This projects is like the memory keeping form of an advent calendar. You document every day of December and you can either document the first 25 days, or the month in its entirety. While most choose to stop at Christmas, I go up to the end. It just seems more consistent to document ALL the days of December. It might also be because I don't view December in the same way that others do. 

Yes, as a Christian, Christmas is a very special holiday. We celebrate the birth of Jesus. I celebrate the event wholeheartedly, but I celebrate the day cautiously. The history of December 25th is very nonChristian. I understand how and why we celebrate on the 25th, but the day itself is of no importance to me. 

Plus, I love December 1-24. The anticipation that the majority of the world shares in is so relatable, and so symbolic. It brings me back to the anticipation of the Israelites at the end of the Old and the beginning of the New Testament. God's people were waiting. They were waiting for God to be with them again. They were waiting to hear His voice again. They were waiting for God to come through on His promise. They were waiting to be saved. While the world yearns for something different (like gifts, vacation, family time, etc.), we all yearn together and this corporate yearning is like a time machine. 

Christians, we continue to yearn. We're waiting for Jesus to come again! Whether it be in our lifetime or not, we are waiting for the full redemption of all creation. All of the good and all of the bad in our lives culminates in this last month of the year and it becomes unbearable. So we yearn. We yearn, for the joy that we know here is just a glimpse of true and eternal joy. We yearn for the real thing. We yearn because the pain and suffering is just too much. We throw our hands up and our hearts cry out for the fulfillment of God's promise in Christ Jesus. 

I absolutely love December 26-31. Jesus's time on earth was groundbreaking. He was the ultimate activist. He was a feminist, and He broke racial barriers. Then, He broke the barrier between Heaven and Earth to bring unholy sinners before God, the Father. The only perfect person to have walked and will walk the Earth, Jesus, the God-Man Himself, was broken to save us from the eternal death.

So, what I'm trying to say in these four paragraphs is that ALL of December is important to me in relation to the life and eternity of Jesus Christ.

So, Nayoung's Album. Last year, I picked up the 4x6 Merry Merry Album for her. The 6x8 version sold out so quickly that I decided to get this one. It's small and not intimidating for a newcomer. While I originally intended for her to put the album together herself, she's all the way in Pennsylvania and I'm here in New York. I wasn't able to lug ALL of my DD supplies over, nor was she able to come over for a long weekend. For the hardcore Ali Edwards fan, you'll recognize the 2015 Main Kit scattered all over my desk. This was actually not my main go to kit. I predominantly used Peppermint Granberg's and Jasmine Jones' 2015 minikits. I wanted something clean and pretty for Nayoung instead of a classic look. The 2015 minikits were heavy on paper and sparse on embellishments so I relied on the main kit for embellishments. 

Ugh, that cover is just so pretty. The classic red with the white script just makes me light up. For the inside cover, I heat embossed a star pattern from Jasmine Jones' 2015 set. Ummmm, I'm going to go for a larger pattern next time. The result is pretty, but it took a while. You can see where I start to get sloppy and I even burned a part of the spine. OOPS! Nayoung, if you read this, I burnt it with my love ;) Ali Edwards had a Christmas in July sale so I picked up a few of those gold circle transparencies. I love those and I am going to horde them FOREVER. The inner title page has a wooden veneer star and a rubber banner that says "remember this." I find this sentiment so important. There are so many things we "should" remember, but we don't. I wanted to remind my best friend that there are so many good things to remember and that she MUST remember. That banner is not just a reminder; it's an imperative

Next is the intentions page with the heading "Bring on the Magic." I wrote a whole bunch of suggestions throughout the album. I want to ease her into this project instead of dumping it on her. She doesn't have to take any of these suggestions, but she can fall back on them if she needs extra inspiration. The red number "1" is from a Stocking Stuffer from Scraptastic Club.

The number "3" card is from Ashley Goldberg's 2015 minikit. All of her 3x4 cards from the kit have gold foil and they can definitely be used outside of Christmas/winter time. The small chipboard "four" is from Peppermint Granberg's 2015 minikit. They are so teeny tiny that they can be put anywhere! The number "5" sticker is from Shimmelle's "Christmas Magic" collection. I stuck these stickers to the outside of the page protector so that Nayoung could easily reposition them. I did the same with the chipboard "four." I tried to keep these numbers loose in case she doesn't like what I did with them. This is going to be HER album filled with HER memories.

I used to subscribe to A Beautiful Mess' Messy Box and this tree transparency came in their December 2015 kit. I cut it down to 4x6 and punched holes to stick it directly into the album.

More cards, numbers, and suggestions...

I added a red label sticker to day 11. I left it loose as well so that Nayoung could position it the way she wants. Also, if she's anything like me, it's just safer to write on unattached labels. I have a tendency to mess up hahahahaha. The "11" tag is from Ali Edward's 2015 main kit. I used the gold washi tape from the same kit to decorate the bottom. Some suggestions on what to do with the tag.

I cut a vellum with triangle and added a tab that says "noel." I love that adorable gingerbread cookie card from Kelly Purkey. So so so cute! 

I also cut up some 6x8 papers from the kits to 4x6 or 3x4. I picked ones that had subtle backgrounds that could be used as stand alone cards or as photo mats. For day 16, I included a strip of paper 6inches long. I created it using a silkscreen from ABM's June 2015 Messy Box. Sometimes, the bottom sections of photos can be super busy and distracting. This strip of paper is to cover that up.

I backed the "19" tag with a paper of star sequins. It's such a pretty paper! Cozy and pretty :) Oh, there's also a label sticker there.

I thought I'd do something different for December 20th. I used a calendar card and marked the date with an enamel star. I paid attention to Sundays, church days, and tried to make those days extra special. 

I appreciate that Jasmine Jones included Christian themes and verses in her kit. I find that lacking this year in the 2016 kits. I'm going to have to look for a Christian geared kit to supplement this year's main kit. Day 24 gets a vellum tag for Nayoung to decorate as she wishes~~ And day 25! I included a pocket from Gossamer Blue's 2014 December Memories Get Happy Kit. I got that kit through a warehouse box sale that was overflowing with goodies. If you want it, go get it!

Christmas is usually filled with many memories and pictures, so the 25th gots two spreads. Also, it got a star transparency.

I used a silkscreen from the 2015 main kit and gold acrylic paint to jazz up the plain back of the "27" tag.

The last few pages of the album. The "let it snow" card is from one of Kelly Purkey's OLD kits. I got it on a Black Friday Sale. 

At the end here, I included a whole bunch of extra things. There are a bunch of extra cards from Messy Boxes, Ali Edwards, Kelly Purkey, and Studio Calico. The cat is a washi tape holder. I wanted Nayoung to have a variety of washi tape so I picked three cute ones. Yes, I intentionally placed the skinny red one to look like a gym headband hahahaha. I added a bunch of embellishments from minikits, past main kits,and Messy Boxes. I hope I included enough!

I had a lot of fun putting it together. I felt a lot of pressure at first because thoughts such as "what if she doesn't like this card?" or "she might not be able to relate to this quote on the card..." or "she might hate so much gold" (ppffffftt who hates gold?) kept running through my head. But I realized that if she doesn't like something, SHE DOESN'T HAVE TO USE IT. If she can't relate to something, THEN SHE DOESN'T HAVE TO USE THE CARD. If she doesn't like that much gold, PFFFTTT LIKE THAT'LL EVER HAPPEN! So I just started adding in cards and papers that I thought were pretty.

This album is a part of a larger box that I'll be gifting her. I put more alphas, Ali Edwards Story Kits, stamps, stickers, and other things in the box. I also wrote her a long letter just to say "hi" and to get her started on photo printing. I hope she likes it AAAALLLLLLLLLL. If she doesn't, then that's ok. She'll always be my best friend :)

Supplies Used:
4x6 Merry Album - Jasmine Jones
2015 Main Kit, 2014 Main Kit, 2013 Main Kit - Ali Edwards
2015 MiniKit - Jasmine Jones
2015 MiniKit - Peppermint Granberg
2015 MiniKit - Kelly Purkey
Starlight Alpha - Shimmelle's Magic Christmas
Specialty Winter Card Set - Life Love Paper for Studio Calico
Young At Heart Planner Kit - Studio Calico
Star Transparency - Ali Edwards
Messy Box - A Beautiful Mess