A Happy Hybrid Document Your December Album

Hi, Michelle here today! Are you creating a December album this year? Maybe you couldn’t resist grabbing some of that fun Christmas-y washi tape that’s taking over Pinterest:

And of course, crafty blogs and craft stores – and even Walmart – overflow with gorgeous holiday paper, stickers, buttons, ephemera, and more this time of year. It’s enough to plant the paper itch in the most die-hard digi gal among us! I definitely caught the bug this year, plus I had a stash of paper crafting supplies from years past that were crying out for attention.

BUT then I saw the Document Your December section in the TLP store. And I watched behind the scenes as December’s BYOC gallery filled up (if you haven’t checked this stuff out yet, go ahead and click the links I kindly included for you. It’s ok, you can come back when you’re done shopping!). And I decided I wanted the best of both worlds this year!

So that’s my long-winded intro to this post about my little hybrid December album. I’ve never considered myself a “hybrid gal,” I don’t own a fancy cutting machine, and I don’t know all the latest cool techniques. But I have a computer, a printer, a pair of scissors, and tape. And believe it or not, that’s all you need! Of course, you can add any fun extras you want, as you’ll see in my pages. I just don’t want anyone to be intimidated by the word “hybrid.” If you print it, cut it out, and glue it down, then you’ve created something hybrid, and gotten even more use out of those beautiful digi supplies.

I’m going to show you a few ways I used digital products in my album (I’m using the 6×8 Simple Stories Snap album). I’m not the best photographer, so I apologize in advance for my photos!

First of all, I printed numbers from Amy Jaz’s Twinkle Date Flags and All Around by Amy Martin. I like variety, so figured I’d mix up the flags and circles. On the first day, I handwrote my journaling, added a strip of tree paper from my stash on the bottom, and swiped some green ink all around because I felt like staining my fingers. The ticket stub and Joy badge are from Evalicious, and I layered my date flag there too. For my photos, I used Designs by Lili’s 4×6 Photo Collages No. 1 (which I will use throughout the album). Photo collages are my favorite way to get several photos and some cute embellishments or patterned paper all on a page in a nice, neat design. Plus the 4×6 size is so convenient to print!

See, I told you, super simple! This next page is day 3. I created a photo card with the Merry elements by Rebecca Wagler (not at TLP) and journaled on a card from my stash, then stuck them both to some red textured paper I found at Michael’s (love that store). The “peace and joy” word art is from Michelle Godin’s Snarky Snippets: Christmas pack. It was totally the perfect sentiment for the day! I love that with digital you can shop in your jammies late at night, find just the right thing, print and use it immediately! Another date flag stapled down, some silver paint smeared around just because I couldn’t stand leaving that space empty, and I call it done.

You might notice this page is in a 6×8 page protector. I created a fully digital page to slide in the other side, kind of between days 2 and 3.

For day 4, I threw together another photo collage. I replaced one of the photo spots with a word art by Little Butterfly Wings (in her Peace and Love pack). In the other vertical spot, I clipped a paper from Sahlin Studio’s Jolly Ole papers and resized/moved it around to show the North Pole, since my journaling was about watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. A couple more Evalicious doodads, some festive washi, journaling, and a hand-drawn border, and this one came together pretty quickly.

The next two pages are actually in a different hybrid album I’m doing, a more personal one with my reflections on Christmas and the holidays using Christmas songs as prompts. I wanted a place to journal the grittier, deeper stuff, that I wouldn’t need to share anywhere. It’s a beautiful art journal December Daily album by Evalicious that I won last year.

Anyway, I wanted to show you how I used one of Krista’s Christmas Journal Cards. Sometimes we have too much to say to hand-write – you can fit more on a typed card! I created a text box over the whole card, then tabbed over on the first five lines to fit around the word “joy.” The font is Remington Noiseless – which I’m using throughout both albums this year for consistency. Heather Hess also has a whole bunch of amazing typewriter fonts available at TLP – The Dry Ribbon is my favorite.

Ahh, now this page was messy, imperfect, and oh-so-FUN to create! First I painted rough stripes on the chipboard page with silver paint. While that dried, I typed up my song on a new document in Photoshop, making sure to leave plenty of room between the lines. I also chose a few of these amazing glittery stars by Amy Martin.

After everything was printed and cut (and the great thing about strips of text is that you don’t have to trim them perfectly!), I used glitter Mod Podge to attach the text strips. Yes, I said GLITTER MOD PODGE!!! It was so easy – I just laid out the strips and used a foam brush to apply a thin coat of mod podge. You should really get some. And then paint it over anything and everything. The stars I just stuck on with some glue dots, but I think they’re jealous and might need their own glitter-podging.

I don’t have my photos printed for days 5-7 yet, but I wanted to show you what I do have done. Hopefully I can encourage you that it’s okay to not be “caught up” – capture the memories day by day, then sit down to record and scrap them whenever you have time. If you like to print your photos in batches throughout the month or even all at once at the end, I recommend sticking a piece of scrap paper on the page in the same size as your intended photo, and jotting down a note to remind you which photo goes where! If you’re anything like me, a week or a month later you’ve completely forgotten what was supposed to go in that blank space…

Day 5 is the first day I used the All Around circle date tag, and I love how it echoes the polka-dot design on the cardstock page (one of the designs that came with the album). The file folder is from a (very) old pack by Rhonna Farrer – I’m really trying to use my stash this year! I tucked in some of my oldest son’s train drawings. I added a couple word bits related to my activities that day, and left a spot for my photo. The “Wrap the Presents” one is from Peace and Love by Little Butterfly Wings, and the baking one is from I Want to Bake You Cookies by Lauren Grier.

Day 7 (yes, I skipped day 6, it’s not done :)) is a 6×8 envelope. I used Mari Koegelenberg’s envelope templates from her November guest spot, printed the guides onto two pieces of scrapbook paper from my stash, and then proceeded to fold and attach them wrong!! Oh well, it still works, and I wasn’t about to waste the pretty paper! Embrace imperfection. It’s a good mantra.

I’m actually doing the most hybrid stuff so far for this page, but my printer quit cooperating today and refuses to print my page full of elements! I’m printing word art and a journal card from the Peace and Love pack, and lots of tiny word snippets from Allison’s Cliff Notes: Warm and Fuzzy edition to mix in with my journaling. Sadly, after hours of arguing with the printer, all I have for you now is the bare envelope with my previously-printed date flag and word strip on the flap. Use your imagination – it’s gonna be cool!

We took a little family day trip yesterday, and I plan to print off a bunch of pictures to attach to the back of the envelope. Inside I tucked brochures from our different stops, and probably will include extra photos inside too.

Whew! If you’re still with me, you deserve a cookie. Or ten. One last note about printing stuff – in case you’re a hybrid newbie like me and wonder about these things! I cram as many elements as I can on a single letter-size canvas in Photoshop, then print on plain white heavy paper/cardstock (I think about 80 pound). I know many hybrid gurus recommend Matte Presentation Paper for the best color and finish.

Hope you’re enjoying Documenting Your December! Don’t forget we have a special DYD forum set up to share your pages and keep each other inspired. If you’re not into the hybrid thing, don’t worry – stay tuned to the blog, we have some digital DYD inspiration coming up soon!