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Documenting December: Story 12 of my 2024 December Daily Album


Stylized tree with star, text: Documenting December twenty-four, Story 12: A Year in the Life of Zoe. Beige background, festive design.

Welcome back to Documenting December—my Christmas in July blog series where I’m sharing one story a day from my completed 2024 December Daily album. Each post offers a peek at my digital pages created in Affinity Publisher for iPad, along with tips, techniques, and creative encouragement for finishing your own album.


I’ve also included a link to the corresponding post(s) on Ali Edwards’ blog. I encourage you to open it in a separate window so you can see how my digital pages were inspired by the physical versions she shared.

December Daily Story 12: A Year In The Life Of Zoe

Here is the link to the post on Ali's Blog that was the inspiration for this spread:


Just a reminder—I'm wrapping up my 2024 December Daily album months after the holidays ended. But that’s the beauty of this project: it’s not about when you finish, it’s about capturing the stories that matter.


When I read Ali’s Story 12 last December—her beautiful tribute to her lab, Betty—I knew right away I wanted to create a similar spread for our sweet girl, Zoe. What I didn’t know then was how bittersweet this story would become.


We said goodbye to Zoe this past May, making Christmas 2024 our last with her. It’s still hard to talk about. But, just like when I was working on my Week In The Life album, going through the photos—some of which brought tears—also brought healing. She was simply the best.

Collage of dog photos for each month with text "12: A Year in the Life of Zoe" on a red background. Left panel lists Zoe's activities.

For this layout, I took inspiration from Ali’s interactive flip windows made from the 10x8 Scalloped Box paper in the Main Kit. While I couldn’t recreate those on my page, I used the digital version, rotated it to portrait orientation, and resized it to fit my 6x8 layout.


Just like Ali did with Betty, I pulled one photo of Zoe from each month of 2024 (and let me tell you—it was not easy to choose just one!). I added a simple rectangle to label each photo by month.

Dog calendar featuring monthly photos of a small dog named Zoe in various settings; includes large text and a QR code on red background.

The large “12” uses the Steelfish font with a 3D effect. “Year In The Life Of Zoe” was created using letters from the Alpha and Numbers Stamp Set, and the “Thank You 2024” word art came from the Prep Day class Ali hosted last year.


For journaling, I kept things simple: one-line captions on a 3x8 red scalloped journal card, each describing the moment in the photo.

Three panels depict stitch details using different overlays: original black, red overlay obscures, and blending mode reveals. Text in panels.

And here’s a little something extra—if you look at the December square in the second photo, you’ll notice a QR code. You’re welcome to scan it and watch Zoe opening her stocking on Christmas morning. That tail wag gets me every time.


Bonus Tip: Have you ever added QR codes to your layouts? Many use third-party apps, but did you know you can create QR codes right in Affinity? I’ve got a quick tutorial for you below!


Products used:



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