Daily Snaps Creative Journal Challenge

This year we’re calling 1134 Press’ annual creative journal challenge Daily Snaps.

Remember December by taking a photo a day this month to collage in your journals.

The objective of this challenge is to capture the essence of what makes up the Winter season. Be spontaneous as you carry your camera with you this month. But if you find yourself in a creative rut, use this idea list to help capture the magic of December!

Photo by Tessa Rampersad on Unsplash

Winter Night

Is the moon exceptionally bright? Did you or a neighbor outdo themselves with light decorations? Or maybe you’re spending a cozy night with your pets, a glass of wine, and good television. Take a picture that captures what a winter night looks like for you.

The Bakery

The holidays are known for their decadent sweets. Take a picture of elaborately decorated sweets or those that remind you that the holidays are upon us!

Texture and Textile

Celebrate the cozy textures of the season. Take an up-close picture of your favorite sweater, blanket, or scarf. Show off its details!

Family Portrait

Gather your closest friends or family—have them sit for you for a family portrait.

Labor of Love

Take a picture of your favorite hobby or craft. Bonus points if it’s one that you only do during the Winter.

Photo by Caley Dimmock on Unsplash

Winter Sky

Look up! And take a photo of the sky.

Self-Love

You’re beautiful. Capture it in a photo.

Warmth

A fire, a cup of tea, your child’s smile- capture whatever makes you feel warm.

New Addition

We acquire many artifacts during the holiday season, be it gifts (for ourselves and from others) or decorations, or a pair of lined boots. Take a photo of an object that has recently come into your life.

Photo by Mel Poole on Unsplash

Candid

Take a candid photo of a person or animal that captures them in their natural state.

Any Given Morning

Although December is marked with extraordinary events, it’s important to cherish the simple ones too. Take a photo during your morning routine.

Find Balance

Winter is a season of giving food, gifts, time, and love. Finding the balance between giving and preserving can be tricky during this time. Capture an image that represents balance or symmetry.

Creating Fantasy

Decorations are a sure sign that the holidays have arrived. Curating your holiday decorations brings the holiday fantasy to life. Let’s create another fantasy with objects in your house. Stage found objects and capture the story through a photo.

In the Eye of the Beholder

Capture a beautiful scene behind a picture frame. Take an empty picture frame out with you on a walk or around the house. Hold the frame out in front and take a photo with the frame and the objects behind it.

Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

Home

Give thanks to shelter and comfort! Capture an image of your house or your favorite place in your home.

Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

Capture the smell of the season through images of raw spices, candles, flora, or a scene that invokes winter scents.

Winter Flora

Take a photo of nature in the form of a garden, a single leaf, or a floral arrangement.

Holiday Kitsch

Snowflakes, Santa, ginger breadmen—Holiday motifs surround us! Capture some of your favorite symbols of the season.

Photo by Jeffrey Wegrzyn on Unsplash

I hope you'll join me this month! I'm sharing my process of working through these prompts on various platforms (Youtube, Instagram, TikTok)! And please join our community on Facebook to share your creations with us too!

A Memorable Project for the Holidays

As I write this blog post, Bree is finishing up editing today’s video. So, keep an eye out for that sometime today!

In the meantime, I’d like to share an idea for a memorable project for the holiday season. It’s something we’re going to do for the first time this year, and it might be something that you would like to also give a try. So what is it? A book, of course!

Okay, here are the details:

This year we have a few engagements on the schedule for Christmas. We’ll be going to a get-together Christmas Eve, having brunch at our house Christmas Day, then visiting relatives later that evening. I’m sure you have your own plans as well. This year, we’ll be breaking out the ol’ polaroid camera—if you have one these, perfect. If not, and you would like one, you can find a relatively inexpensive polaroid at Best Buy, Amazon, and likely other retailers.

During our various get-togethers, we’ll be taking polaroids that we will then use to fill pages in our 2021 Holiday Book. We will also set up a “station” at our brunch where guests can decorate a page or two for the book. Once all the festivities are finished, we will take the decorated pages and polaroids to put together the finished book.

Once the book is complete, we will make copies to give out to friends and family next year (we think these will make for fun gifts in the next holiday season). If this goes well, we plan to make it a tradition—each year, a new book.

If you think this idea sounds like a fun thing to do, a good way to save memories and connect with friends and family, give it a try. See the steps broken down below.

1) Gather pictures during holiday parties.

2) Gather pages decorated by friends and family

3) Collect pictures and decorated pages into a book (make copies)

4) Gift copies of the book next holiday season

If you like this idea, and you try this project, feel free to post pics to the Facebook group!

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