Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Documenting the Holidays

As the holidays approach, I have been getting my "ducks in a row" for documenting the special moments of our lives.  The holidays here are pretty hectic and I think most people can relate but I love the excitement of it all.  Each year I create an album that spans from Thanksgiving until Christmas Day.  I love to bring my albums out this time of year and have them on our coffee table so we can all enjoy them.

Here are the links for my last two albums if you are interested in taking a peek.
Christmas 2010
Christmas 2011

I have come up with a system that works for me and the key to it is keeping it simple and being organized    I know how busy this time of year gets so I plan ahead.  I will once again have a large photo fill the page on the left and a small grouping of photos on the right.  I prepare the basics of the pages ahead of time to save time each day.  I don't like getting behind so I need an easy system that will work.

My 2012 pages will be formatted similar to this.  I used a few photos from last year to make sure that it works.  I'm so excited about starting this project for the fourth year.  I can look back on our years and really enjoy these special memories that we have created.


I have already created my basic pages for the right side of the spread.  They all look similar to this.


I am using the following as the base of my pages and then I always add a few embellishments on each page.

Background Paper: Lynn Grieveson's Blackett Paper Pack
PhotoCluster Templates: Katie Pertiet's Days of December No. 7 A & B
Brushwork: Katie Pertiet Red Layered Templates
Date Tags: I created them using Ali Edwards 31 Days Circle Set

Each day during this season, I drag on the photo clusters depending on how many photos that I have, add my photos, journaling and simple embellishments.  It is easy and it works for me.  I do not like to fall behind so it is very important for me to be organized up front.

I know that some people like to document specific themes for the holidays which is wonderful.  It can be whatever type of system works for you.  I like to focus on the day to day because then I get some of the everyday photos in addition to the holiday ones.  I like to look back and see what the focus of our days were.

If you haven't documented the holidays before, I encourage you to give it a try.  It really doesn't have to be time-consuming if you have a plan and you stick to  it.   I'm so grateful for these albums that immediately take  me back in time.

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