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Documenting December: Story 15 of my 2024 December Daily Album


Stylized Christmas tree and text "Documenting December Twenty Four" and "Story 15: Nights of Lights" on beige pattern background.

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 15: Nights of Lights

Here is a link to the post on Ali's blog that inspired this spread: Ali's Story 15


2024 marked the 31st year that St. Augustine lit up the holiday season with its famous Nights of Lights. From mid-November through early January, more than 3 million white lights sparkle across the nation's oldest city—and let me tell you, it’s magical. Yes, it was very crowded, but the glow of all those twinkling lights made it totally worth it.


Ali’s Story 15 had lots of layering, and while my spread isn’t an exact replica, I had so much fun incorporating the digital versions of the physical products she used.


Couple smiling in front of lit décor. Text reads "15 Nights of Lights." Collage includes festive lights, a boat, and the word "believe."

To start, I used the 6x8 tree pattern transparency, set to 25% opacity, as the background for my half-circle photo. I layered on a green and gold die-cut label for my number “15,” and used title letters from the 6x8 Uppercase Alphas Are Awesome 1 Stamp Set. I gave the letters a navy color overlay and typed “of” using the CK Ali’s Hand Official font in a soft blue.


Couple smiles at "15 Nights of Lights" event in St. Augustine, surrounded by festive lights and holiday decor. Text details the event.

And how about that journaling? The way the text wraps around the curved photo is one of my favorite features in Affinity Publisher for iPad. I’ll definitely be covering that technique in the upcoming Scrapbook Like a Pro with Affinity Publisher for iPad Masterclass!


Festive street scene with holiday lights, wreaths, and "Merry Christmas" banners. Text "believe" repeated amid a starry frame design.

In Ali’s layout, she used the Right Now Prompt Paper, but that wasn’t quite the right fit for my story. Instead, I recolored the 10x8 pink and red star pattern paper to blue and used it as the background for my photos and frames.


You’ll also spot some gold glitter circles from the Main Kit—I added a glitter texture to them (see Story 4 for a tutorial on how to do this!). The “believe” filler card comes from the Specialty Journal Card Kit. It’s meant to be a vellum card, but I decided to keep the solid background. That’s the beauty of digital—you get to choose!


Thanks so much for reading! If you have any questions about the products or techniques I used, feel free to reach out—I’m happy to help!


Products used:



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