A Day in the Life

I've been a scrapbooker going way back. For me, it's about preserving memories. I don't have my childhood photos, so I don't want that to happen to the little man. I want him to have a record of everything, whether or not as a teen he appreciates it right now.

The struggle I have right now is the lack of time to scrap. Pulling supplies, designing layouts, finding the right pictures-all this takes time. Now that my kiddo is a special Olympian, we are on the go a lot more. I tend to focus more on portable projects, like crocheting, that can come with me at practices and other events.

One of my scrapping idols has been Becky Higgins, going back to her days at Creating Keepsakes magazine. She's a very inspirational and creative scrapper, and while I'm not quite in her league, I enjoy her designs. Several years ago, she  came out with project life, which is a new way of scrapping.

I was excited to try it, but I struggled with it. The pockets and cards and pictures combo were all overwhelming to me. Too many decisions, not enough time. Not that long ago, she released an app for Project Life.

Game changer.

I can  now scrap on the go. I can scrap at practices, in real time. I can scrap in the pick up lane at school. It's super easy. There are limited selections for pages, which is exactly what I need. You can buy "card" sets, which add pop and flair to your pages. 

Most of all, I can do a page in a few minutes versus hours spent on layouts. Kiddo loves looking at what I've scrapped (even though he doesn't like his picture being taken), and I love sharing.

What's the story (morning glory)?

I have been a scrapbooker going back to 1997. My sister, the Princess, has amazingly intricate albums detailing her life up to age 14 (when I got married, I slowly transitioned to telling our story). Unfortunately for the Little Man, he does not have that.
Yes, I scrap still. I don't have the time to put in all the bells and whistles in his album. It breaks my heart that this is the case, but it's the truth. Actually I have the time, it's a lack of focus and patience.
My main driving force behind scrapping has always been telling the story. I am a writer, first and foremost. It's all about the 5 w's-who, what, where, why & how-in that picture. I have albums of old family photos and have no clue who any of these people are! Since my Grama passed away, these are just pictures. Even looking at photo albums from my childhood-there are pictures that I have no clue about why that picture was taken.
Going way back, I've been a huge Becky Higgins fan. In the scrapbook world, she is a rock star. Her work for Creating Keepsakes was super motivating, and inspired me to plan my pages better. I also love her philosophy of cultivating a good life, and she too is a proponent of following your bliss (have you read my book on that? http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bliss-dee-dimemmo/1108232043).
That philosophy has been encouraging to me, and encouraged me to continue plugging along with scrapping. Several years ago, Higgins introduced the Project Life line, which is a new way of scrapping. I have been resistant until now, because I have so many supplies and tools and Doo dads.
But...I also have a lot of incomplete pages and pictures. The to be scrapped pile is much bigger than the done pile. The worst part? I haven't been journaling my pages.
I have not been telling my story, which is what led me to scrapping in the first place.
I've heard so much on twitter and in the blogosphere about Project Life, so I decided to dig a little deeper. On the website, there is a great slideshow outlining how the system works. http://www.beckyhiggins.com/products/getting-started.php. Oh my heck this is so easy and so simple! I love the idea of the story being front and center. It's like it was designed just for me!
I like the fact that it's completely portable too. I can take it to work, and scrap on my lunch hour! And not have a gazillion things to transport-love this concept.
The system is simple:
Photo sleeves
Cards to fill in and journal on
Binder
The downsides? There isn't a complete kit, and the price. To buy the whole system from Amazon (the only place) which is the Core Kit ($25), the binder ($20), and the pages ($20), you have invested over $60!
But...will it encourage me to tell our story more than I currently am? It might be worth it then.
Time will tell, because I have a story to share.

I'll Remember You

If you plan it, you will scrap.
Like most things in life, scrapping requires planning, whether you are a digital scrapper, using a system like Becky Higgins' Project Life or a traditional scrapper, you need some sort of organization and planning.

First you need pictures.

Then you need your supplies. You wouldn't bake a cake without checking the pantry, so you shouldn't scrap without checking your stash for your supplies. Nothing is worse than being ready to go and being out of something!

Then you need to get down to business. You need to decide what you are going to do for your page. I like use sketches as a jumping off point for my pages.
There are a few resources for them:
Creating Keepsakes magazine
Old Becky Higgins sketches
Www.scrapbooksetc.com
Www.mycroproom.com (the sketches linked to this post are from there)
Or google "scrapbook sketches", click images and a bevy of them pop up.

Now you are ready to scrap. I am what is called a simple scrapper. For me, scrapping is telling a story with words and pictures. The other doo dads on my page need to enhance my picture and story, not distract from it. The picture below, from http://kristiilockart.blogspot.com/2010_03_01_archive.html (which is a beautiful blog) is an amazing page, and I love looking at pages like that, but I'd never do them! I like my pages simple. The "sassy" page, from http://www.simplyparticular.com/2009/09/more-unfinished-layouts-completed.html is more my speed. I should also note that my design taste overall is very clean and modern. Im not into lots of frills (Victorian and country are definitely not my taste) so that aesthetic transfers to my scrapping as well.

I have my sketch next to my space, and my supplies for that page lined up and it's show time! I trim papers and cardstock. I put everything on the page and make a few minor adjustments before the adhesive comes out.

Sometimes, the page comes out exactly like the sketch. Sometimes, it doesn't. Guess the sketch that inspired my sweet baby layout? Hint: the finished product looks nothing like it!

There isn't a right way or a wrong way to scrap. That was actually a hard concept for me to get my head around. It's true-because you're telling your story. Over the years, I've let others negative comments have space in my head because they didn't like the pages I did. "too plain" or "you need more stuff on there" or my favorite, "too much journaling". They were putting their design ideas and style on my page. Just as is said in yoga practice, keep your eyes on your mat, the same with scrapping: keep your eyes on your own page.
I'm not a big fan of folks critiquing your work, unless you've invited them to. I just think one cattie comment can turn someone off from scrapping all together, which is a loss. My work may never be featured in a magazine, but that's not my goal. I'm telling my family's story. I made an album of my son's 5th birthday party, and to this day he looks at it about once a week. That is why I scrap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivFYVAntpw0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Nightmare at the Scrapbook Store

This week in Mommydom I had been featuring scrapbooking, and I was planning on doing a really nice post about my local scrapbook store, R Scrapbook Store, especially since I was planning a trip there this weekend. However, that option is off the table. I had planned to attend a crop there on Friday night, but I wound up with a conflict, so I couldn’t go.


I did the mature and responsible thing and called to cancel. That’s when it began to go downhill. I politely explained to the woman who answered the phone that I needed to cancel my enrollment at the crop, because of a conflict.

She told me that I was going to get charged for cancelling because I missed the deadline. I pulled up the website and searched for a cancellation policy, and found none. I looked at the email newsletter I had received, which clued me into the fact that there was a crop in the first place, and saw nothing listed, other than the fact you had to pay in advance for classes. The woman on the phone, obviously exasperated by the fact that I had no idea there was a sign by the cash register stating this policy, told me that no way would I refunded my deposit. Granted its $5, but at this point it was the principle of the matter. I politely explained that I did this over the phone and I had not been informed that there was a cancellation policy.

I was told that crops that charge “hundreds of dollars have a no refund policy too”. That was great, I told her, but I would not be attending one of those either.

This is when the freak out began.

I politely explained that I had an unforeseen conflict, and that since nothing was stated either via email, phone or website, I was unaware they had any cancellation policy. I politely asked for the manager, and found out she is on medical leave, so the person I was talking to was in charge. I asked her to check the website, that maybe I am missing something. She barked at me “Hold on”, put me on hold for what seemed like an eternity (it was really 6 minutes and 42 seconds, but who’s counting) and gave me a sliver of hope.

“You’re right. There’s nothing there with the policy”.

As I was ready to thank her and be on my merry way, with the $5.30 (don’t forget the tax!) credited to my credit card, when it really went south. “You know,” she said, “I am paying for you out of my own money since you obviously can’t afford five dollars and thirty cents”.

Ouch.

After I caught my breath because I was so stunned, I asked her to repeat that. She did, and I did hear her correctly. I called her on being rude and condescending, and she told me that she was doing me a favor.

I did mention that my experience was going to get mentioned on social media, since at this point I was hoping she realized how rude she sounded, but she stated that I could tweet it to thousands of people, she really didn’t care.

So I did.

Its been retweeted.

Its on Facebook.

I blogged about it here.

I have already mentioned it personally to numerous scrapbooking friends.

And they lost me as a customer, sorry to say, because I did like the store. They make it clear that they are a Christian based business (closed Sundays for the Lord!) and independently owned, so that fit into my model of shopping local. In fact, I was willing to spend a little extra on things because they were a locally owned business. However, I will be using mail order to my LSS in New Jersey, because of one employee’s rudeness in a local store. I don’t like to be spiteful, but I am not going to spend my hard earned money in a place that is disrespectful to their customers.

Have you had a situation where you received such horrible customer service that you never went back to that store/restaurant/whatever? If so, I want to hear your horror stories. Email them to me at mrsdimemmo AT gmail dot com and you can be featured in an upcoming blog post!

Memories are Made of This

Scrapbooking is one of my passions. In fact, it is so much so I've been accused of staging photos because it would make a great scrapbook page!
I do take a lot of photos, and with the use of my phone, I can take them and then upload them to get printed rather easily.
The only issue is the time factor. Even if you are making a plain page, you still need time. I find scrapping at lunchtime allows me to stay current. If I wanted to, I could even make embellishments for my pages.
Highly unlikely I'd be making layered paper flowers (which are beautiful but too time consuming to do, but I would probably buy) however, I'd probably be cutting cardstock to mat pictures.
I have my portable scrapping bag, which includes:

Small paper trimmer
Scissors
Adhesive
Circle punch
Paper
Pictures
Cardstock

I have a cute travel jewelry case that I have repurposed for scrapping. I use a plastic envelope to hold my paper, pictures and make it completely transportable.

I can do a layout in about 15 minutes. My pink stamper (www.mypinkstamper) has some really great sketches to inspire you to do a quick, easy layout. One of my favorite sketches keeps it simple and easy. If you have the time, you can scrap. It might not look like something like the super well done "Logan" page I found on line, but it can preserve the memory!

Memory

I am a dedicated scrapbooker. I started about 15 years ago, at a Creative Memories party, and have been hooked since. What I love most about it is the chance to tell a story with pictures. It's a chance to preserve history for my family. I have a box of family photos going back generations and I have no idea who any of these people are.
I dont want my grandchildren to look at pictures and go who are they and why are there pictures of dressed up pets?
Scrapbooking puts it all into perspective.
I'm not the greatest scrapper, I know that. I dont make intricately designed pages with fancy pop ups. I'm also not a mean girl scrapper either. I remember being at a crop years ago in NJ, where I apparently was seated at the queen bee's table by mistake (she of the I'm going to send back the swap you submitted because you obviously don't meet my standards and humiliate you on the email list because I can)
At this particular crop, she spent more time being hypercritical of everyone else's work than scrapping herself.
I learned a very important lesson that day: like in yoga, keep your eyes on your own mat.
I think crops are an important part of a scrappers life. At crops, I've learned new skills, had fun and ate a lot of great cupcakes.
They, however can be intimidating if you aren't going with a group of friends. Out of my circle of friends, I'm the only one who scraps regularly. Most of my other friends aren't as obsessed by it as I am, so overall their interest in a crop is non existent.
If you are in the same boat I'm in, crops at your local scrapbook store are a good place to start. For the most part, they are low key and there are usually a variety of levels, talents and tools.
To get started, either at a crop or scrapping in general, you need some basic supplies:
Pictures
Paper
Acid free adhesive
A pen
scissors

It's very easy to get caught up in all the cool supplies in the scrapbook store. However, it's best to start with basics.
I subscribe to the less is more style of scrapping. This wasn't always the case: I used to be guilty of embellishment overload.
My picture is what drives the layout. I pick the picture, and I write out my journaling. I tell the photos story. Sometimes its several paragraphs, sometimes its a brief caption. I like to handwrite my journaling, that's a personal preference.
Once you've picked your picture and story, now you are ready to start scrapping!

ooh baby baby

Framed scrapbook page

Needed:

Scrapbook frame

Scrapbook paper

Embellishments

Photo



Put photo in center of paper. Embellish around it. Put in frame. Hang & enjoy

I Feel Lucky

I go through periods of scrappers block from time to time. As much as I love doing it, I seem "stuck". Part of it is the fact that I do the "I don't have the time" dance. Actually, I do have the time which I consistently prove when I scrap at lunch. Yesterday, I managed to set up 3 layouts in about 15 minutes.

The first layout I set up was a "I feel lucky page".
I picked my cardstock and stickers.

I just started to use the adhesive tape, rather than the squares. I like the tape due to the fact when I am working on this at lunch, there is less mess. I also love its portability.
While this may look like a blank piece of paper, there is a lot of thought that went into it.For one, its not done entirely. I use scrapbooking sketches to plan out my pages. For years, Becky Higgins (the scrapbooking guru) had a column in Creating Keepsakes magazine, featuring her sketches. It helped inspire me to the next level.

In their December issue, they featured a series of 12 bonus sketches, from which I got the idea for this layout. http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/articles/12_Bonus_Sketches
I need to add a journaling block and a few pictures of what makes me feel lucky.

While working on this layout, it made me think of why I feel lucky. For years, I had been called the golden child. It was the fact that no matter how bad things seemed, it would always work out in the end, and life would be good. I can't justify that, just the fact that the universe seemed to love me. I would emerge unscathed from things that would reduce others to collapsing into the corner, sobbing in the fetal position. Not that would brag about it, but I would pretty much wind up getting what I wanted. It might not be when I had originally planned, but things would always work out for me. It was like I was forbidden from having a bad life.
Things changed for a brief, dark period where I seemed to be drifting aimlessly through it all. That lead to creative block.
Seriously.
I really didn't do anything creative or crafty or what not. I had all the supplies. I had the space. I even had the title of the Crafty Chick. It was like the universe was using all this against me, brandishing my block like a weapon.
Then, after yet another bit of a pity party, the Big Man helped me realize how lucky I truly am.
I have an awesome husband, who has been the love of my life for the past 18 years.

We have a great son, who brings so much joy, bliss and love to our lives.

We have a beautiful home.

Both the Big Man and I have jobs we love.

I have a deep, abiding faith. I am able to practice it, without fear. Many millions world wide can not say that. Their faith is forbidden, known only to their Creator.

I am, after all, the crafty chick and I do make some pretty amazing things.

I am an excellent chef.

Plus, my family has more than enough food to eat. We do not go hungry. That is more than we can say for millions of people world wide.

I have some pretty awesome pets that add a lot of joy to my life.

Things are pretty good in my life, and I have a lot to be thankful for.

I feel lucky.

Christmas Christmas Go Away

Christmas is basically gone for another year, and that is a good thing. Since I was never really into it anyway, I'm glad to see it packed up and put away. Clean slate for the new year. My son came into the family room yesterday after the Big Man moved the couch back in front of the window (where the tree was) and looks around saying, "Its back to normal!"
I had signed up for the Foyer Dinner Groups at church-its basically once a month a group gets together for dinner, and its like a small Christian community. However, I've realized that I would rather be with my boys than anyone else on the whole planet, and I don't want to NOT eat dinner with them. I enjoy us sitting around the table and sharing the meal with each other. Its not that I don't want to go out-believe me I do, and so much so that the Little Man has added going to a meeting to a list of things that people do. Its that thought that changed my perspective immediately. I need to be with my family and not out gallavanting. In order to make the world a better place, it needs to start at home.
I do love being involved with different groups, especially at church. For a very long time it was my social life. I was never a hang out at a bar type of person, I was more hang out at Bible study. I always seemed to volunteer for the grunt work as well, I could always be counted on to do things that no one else wanted to do-and I would do them well. I have to admit I am very frustrated right now with the youth group folks at church. I had been asked to help out with the curriculum since I've taught it before, but I feel like I am being stonewalled by the two youth leaders and that my help is not wanted/appreciated. So I think for my own sanity, I am going to step back a little bit and if my help is requested, I will be glad to do so, but otherwise, I am not part of it. I like my book group and I think that I will continue with it, because its good for me (and I get a lot of crocheting done). I enjoy St. Monnica's and its only once a month, so there isn't much of a commitment. Outreach I don't have to be there for the meeting, so I can help in other ways. Altar Guild is once a month, flowers will be a weekly commitment, but that's ok. No church today because I've got a bunch of stuff to do (including laundry)
In a little bit I'm going to give myself the spa treatment. Soak my feet and do a facial. Sneak in a massage maybe. Tweeze my eyebrows, do a manicure & pedicure (which I totally LOVE)make me look pretty. I know that some very sarcastic folks will tell me that it will take more than all that to make me look pretty, but they are unhappy with themselves and that's why they are so sarcastic and downright mean. Little Man is wanting to play Wii for a little bit, he has a hot wheels game that he loves, so I guess we get the playing out of the way for today. Do need to clean his room though=its a shambles, but I am assuming that is normal for a kid. I refuse to have him live in a shrine like I did growing up. I remember having toys taken away from me because they were too nice to play with by my grandmother...I have stuffed animals that are over 30 years old that look brand new because I wasn't allowed to play with them. Unlike the Velveteen Rabbit, they never became real because they weren't loved. But Little Man's toys are overly loved and his room is looking really bad. Disorganized room, disorganized life. We go back to school tomorrow and we need to get back into the hang of things pretty quickly. Just like I need to get back into the routine of things myself-packing lunches, doing homework, cleaning out backpacks, making sure laundry is done regularly (the last 2 weeks it was just making sure we had clean jammies! now we need clothes again)
Tomorrow is his teacher's half birthday (her actual birthday is in June, after school gets out) so I asked that the kids make her a card for tomorrow and I am making strawberry cupcakes to bring in as a treat. These are the things I love to do. I used to bake a lot more, but for a while I was feeling like I didn't do a good job at it, so I stopped. No apparent reason, just felt like I couldn't do it well, so I didn't do it anymore. But I do bake well, just as I do a lot of things well. I've realized that there are a lot more negative people out there who love to suck all the joy out of people's lives and I tend to attract them more than other people do. Its as if their mission in the world is to make other people as miserable as themselves.
I was watching a marathon of the 7 Deadly Sins on the History channel yesterday as I was working in my craft room. The whole psychic vampire thing (a recent theme on here it seems) was talked about under the sin of anger as well as sloth. It made perfect sense to me, that angry people want everyone else to feel as bad as they do and its almost demonic in how they try to accomplish this goal. Me, I'd rather be happy and enjoy my life than trying to come up with ways to make other people miserable. I swear, I know some people that must have that on their to do list every day. Get up, brush teeth, find ways to make everyone else suffer.
While I was watching my marathon yesterday, I did set up my album for 2010. I just went so far as putting the paper in the album and a list of what I want to scrap. Now I just need to keep up with it as the months go by. It was fun putting things together, and I felt INSPIRED about scrapping again. I haven't for a long time, mainly because it was another chore on my to-do list. I ordered the pictures from Christmas last night, and when I take my mother shopping today I will pick them up so I can start scrapping tomorrow :)
Now that the whole family is up, time to get the day on...

Chill in the Air

My home page is the weatherbug (after all, I am married to the Big Man)and the air temperature is -27 degrees. Dang that's cold!!! Needless to say, I don't have many plans to go outside today.
Actually today I plan on putting Christmas away and clean the carpet in the living room. I want my house back! Since I never really got into Christmas this year anyway maybe its good to make it be gone and have a fresh start.
Speaking of a fresh start, we made a trip to Hobby Lobby yesterday and I got stuff to set up my 2010 album (today's project) I also bought stuff to make a pair of embellished flip flops. (http://hobbylobby.com/assets/pdf/project_inspiration/projects/ol-4.pdf is an example) which occupied my afternoon while the boys played Hot Wheels on the Wii.
Yesterday was Horsey (the Little Man's rocking horse)'s birthday and we had a party for him. I baked a cake (devil's food with funfetti icing) and we sang happy birthday. Little Man made 2 cards, one with a U he cut out of construction paper and glued because U is Horsey's favorite letter (what an imagination!)and one that's just a general happy birthday. too cute! We played party games too-smash the tiger (a fight between his two stuffed tigers, Tiger and Sonon), draw the furby and a matching game with his spongebob crazy 8's cards.
Too much fun!!
I made a yummy dinner last night too-chicken thighs with barbecue sauce, crinkle cut roasted potatoes (I found my pampered chef crinkle cutter in a drawer yesterday-http://www.pamperedchef.com/our_products/catalog/product.jsp?productId=26464&categoryCode=CE) that even the Big Man really enjoyed. Tonight we are having homemade cheese pizza and salad, since the Little Man tried cheese pizza and really enjoyed it at his holiday party at school. Yay-a new food!!
Today's big craft project of the day is setting up my album for my own version of Project Life (http://beckyhiggins.com/projectlife/) I've decided that I am going to do the monthly review. That is the easiest way for me to do it and it provides a framework for me. I like doing things chronologically because I think very linearly. I like doing things in order, and it makes sense to me. Plus, the Little Man likes the story to be told in order as well. I've always tried to scrap chronologically and try to tell a story through my journalling and pictures. I have to let go of the past and how others are not appreciative of their story being told and just do it for MY family. Just like I have to let go of the issues I have over my wedding and finish that album-after all I've been married for 7 years now, it would be nice to have a completed album to share with MY family.
I for some strange reason woke up at 5:15 this morning, and it was a good thing. Little Man had woken up & needed some mommy time to go back to sleep. I cuddled with him and got him some juice and he fell back asleep. He's sleeping now, and the Big Man is anxiously awaiting the computer so he can collect his loot from mafia wars on facebook. I guess I can let him have his fun.

happy new year

Its a new year, 2010 has dawned. There is a bit of wistfullness I feel as one year ends another one begins. I don't have any big plans for today-just going grocery shopping because I need to get cake mix, frosting and raspberries for the cake for Horsey's birthday. I also want to take a little jaunt over to Hobby Lobby to get scrapbook paper.
I need to set up my 2010 albums. I have found that when I have things set up and ready to go, it makes it a lot easier to scrap as time goes on. It keeps me motivated, as well as guiding my photos and such. And since this year is going to rock completely I am planning:
January- New Year's Day, putting away Christmas, Epiphany, Daddy's birthday, Grammy & Aunt Karen visiting, snow, hopes for the new year
February-Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day, trip to Washington Pavillion, Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday
March-Spring, St. Patrick's day
April-Easter, spring
May-Mother's day, last day of school, field day, trip to Sertoma Butterfly house, my birthday
June-Father's day, summer
July-4th of July, summer
August-summer, back to school
September-Little Man's birthday, Puppy Dog's birthday, fall
October-fall, apples, halloween
November-anniversary, Thanksgiving
December-snow, Christmas, making the time capsule for 2011

I can get the little embellishments done and add some specialness to my pages. I can also keep up with my scrapping because I have a plan. Its amazing what happens when you have a framework to work with. I can also take advantage of sales, etc. because things will be FOCUSED.

I feel bad because I don't scrap as much as I used to. My sister's life was scrapped from birth until about 5 years ago, when I basically gave up-no pictures, no album. When she was in high school, I had asked for pictures to get emailed to me or whatver so I could make a special album for her, but I never got the pictures.
It sounds awful but this has also influenced my scrapping now. I don't scrap the Little Man as much because I have suffered from scrapper fatigue. I spent all this time scrapping other people's children that I don't have the energy or inspiration to scrap my own child. I have yet to finish my wedding album, but there is a lot of negative energy and emotions regarding that whole thing which I need to sort through before I can finish. The negative emotions are not related to my wedding (believe me it was the happiest day of my life next to becoming a mother) but the drama surrounding the wedding and how it seemed that there were a lot of people forgetting it was my day and not all about them. There are people who can't relinquish that spotlight even for a moment. But I digress....
The Little Man loves having his life scrapbooked and I need to oblige him. Also, its a great way of preserving our family history, and that is important to me.

CraftyChick is back

I've had an alter ego for a long time-CraftyChick. Its my yahoo email, my Twitter name and ID for several other email lists. Its also an embodiment of who I am and what I love to do. I love to create things-from papercrafts to needlework to fabric to flowers to whatever. I always wanted some artistic talent but I was convinced that it had skipped me. Then I realized that I created art in a different way. Instead of sculpting or drawing or painting, I scrapbook or make cards. I enjoy the process and I love the end results. Maybe I might not be a star scrapbooker but I like how my pages turn out and that's what matters.
I plan on working on my Christmas album this week. I have a lot of ideas floating around in my head, and Hobby Lobby has paper on sale...hmmm this could be dangerous! I also have plans for birthday albums, etc. etc. etc. What I am thinking is that since the paper is on sale, I can get stuff to do my 2010 albums. This way I have everything at the ready, and I can concentrate on the scrapping itself. A lot of the time I find myself a day late and a dollar short. I had the pictures and no ideas or layout designs done. But this time around, I am going to be ready in advance (I can almost hear my husband laughing at me right now, because I go through this little creative bursts a lot it seems).
The number one reason I am doing this is because the Little Man loves looking at the albums I've created. He especially loves the birthday album I made for his 6th birthday (haven't done the 7th birthday album yet) and out of all the books he has for a bedtime story, that is his favorite. How can I argue with that? That is why I scrap.
So for 2010, I've decided to take the Project Life approach. Instead of making complicated embellishments, I am going to just focus on the story. No one is going to really care about the 7 layer paper pieced whatever with glitter and brads. They are going to want to know the story. And I want to keep the story alive because that's how traditions and all get passed on.
With my new approach, I've decided to do at least a 2 page layout for each month (24 pages, easy with all the pictures I take anyway). Then with special events added in-my mother in law and sister in law visiting (Jan) Big Man's birthday (Jan), Little Man's class party (Valentines-Feb), St. Patrick's Day (March), Easter (April), Field Day/Last Day of School (May), Mothers Day, Fathers Day, summer, etc. etc. When I've planned things in advance, I've done some amazing layouts. They are not professional level, but that's ok. I enjoy it and that is what matters.
My crafting to me is a form of meditation. Its a way to give glory to God and thank Him for the talent He's granted me.
I have noticed over the last few months, my faith vessel has been very empty. Not quite sure why, but I haven't had the hallelujuahs that I normally have going on in my life. Add to it, I haven't been to church for a month-all of Advent really. Its not for the lack of trying either, but it makes me feel less whole and complete. I love the connections and the way my cup gets filled there. Big Man and Little Man are not churchy people, and while it disappoints me greatly, I can't get upset over it. I can just keep praying that their hearts will turn. Actually for the Little Man its because Daddy doesn't go, and he wants to be like his Daddy. He's even told me this, so there goes trying to get him to go. I want our home to be faith filled-we say grace before dinner, Little Man says prayers before bed. I do too, the nights I don't collapse into sleep. I read my morning devotions most mornings.
Seeing this in print is glaringly obvious. One of my biggest issues lately is a sloppy spiritual life. If I put half as much effort into my spiritual life as I do with anything else that I do, I'd be golden. But I cut corners on it, and it carries on into other parts of my life. I cut a lot of corners regularly. I look for the easy way out in a lot of areas. Just like with working out, eating healthy, cleaning the house...the corners I cut effect things all across the board. I don't do things the way that I should because I look for the easy way out. However, the easy way out is actually a much more difficult path because I have to figure out a way to not do something, then have the psychic energy of the thing not done dragging at me. Its a losing proposition all the way around. And it all boils down to the whole am I not worth 100%? That's why I struggle. I have a hard time admitting that God loves me unconditionally. I see my faults and flaws and weaknesses and He loves me despite that. Yet I don't really accept this gift, because I feel unworthy...its a self perpetuating cycle. I know the times I've felt very positive and strong in my life, my spiritual life was kicking butt & taking names. It just seems as if parts of my life disappear because I am so scattershot.
Getting back to the topic at hand. I have not been crafting a lot over the last few years because I feel that I don't have the time. I really do have the time, its just planning it out more and shifting from A to B to C. I can clean the house, cook, craft and hang out with my boys all in the same day only if I shift my outlook. I don't scrap because I don't have the time...but if I set aside 15 minutes a day-that's one layout. x 365 days that's a lot of layouts done! Imagine how many bedtime stories that will cover...