December Daily

Every year, Ali Edwards makes what she calls a "December Daily" album and posts it on her blog. It consists of some sort of small, handmade scrapbook made from varying materials and different sized pages for visual interest. She uses it to document her family's everyday life during the month of December, including holiday traditions, family gatherings, and the everyday bits and pieces that she doesn't want to forget as the years pass.

I've thought about doing this before, but we never really did a lot for Christmas. Last year was the baby's first Christmas, and I thought it would be a fun thing to do then, but he was a month and a half old at the time. I just didn't have it in me to get the stuff together to make a card, let alone a whole album!

I know that I am not the only one who feels that way. I'm sure that a lot of people would love to do this, but simply don't have the time or the skill to create the book for themselves. Therefore, I present to you my December Journal.

The album is handmade from chipboard, patterned paper, and fabric bookbinding tape. It's held together by two 2 inch book rings, embellished with a metal bookplate on the cover and has lots of ribbon on the spine. It measures 8 inches by 8 inches.

The pages inside are of varying sizes and materials. There are plenty of little pockets for tucking various odds and ends that you don't want to get lost. There are 25 pages total, including one that is a blank calendar. Front and back, that's 50 pages, which means there are enough to do a few two-page spreads for those extra busy days. All that is left to do is add photos and journaling, which will only take a few minutes at the end of the day.

Pretty cool huh? Okay, so here's the best part - this album isn't for me. I made it to place in my Etsy shop. Even better?

There are two!

The only difference between the two are the patterned paper covers and some of the pages got flipped on the inside. Otherwise, same number of pages, same papers, same pockets and envelopes, etc.

The link to my Etsy shop, if you're interested, is on my right sidebar. I'm planning on making a couple more of these to list since a) they're really fun to make and b) Christmas is coming up here quickly and I could use a little extra money to buy gifts/giftmaking supplies!

Enjoy and thanks as always for looking!