Use Your Stuff Challenge #73

This week it's my turn to post a Challenge over on the Use Your Stuff Blog. We're deep in the middle of winter here in Ontario and we have had piles of snow. I love winter. It is probably one of my favourite seasons but even I am looking forward to sunny warm days so I thought a summer themed project would be good.

I did this page (my apologies for the poor photo - I really need to learn to scan these) of my girlies at the beach one day a couple of years ago.

Use Your Stuff Challenge #72

This week over on the Use Your Stuff blog, Joy challenged us to celebrate the importance of family. I did this page, celebrating my wonderful husband. We started dating close to Valentine's Day back in 1988, so it felt appropriate!

Announcement

I am  very excited to share that I am now a Creative Team Member over at the Use Your Stuff blog. The blog hosts a crafty challenge every week. The challenges are for anyone who is inspired to participate.

Here are the details.

Every Monday someone posts a challenge in the hope that it will help you use some of your stash and inspire some creative projects.

The project you create can be anything you want it to be - a scrapbook page, a card, a home decor item, a mini book or even a quilt.  All you have to do is link your project at the bottom of the challenge that you are participating in. It's that simple.

There are some very creative ladies over there. I hope I'm up to the challenge. I hope to see you there too!!

Use Your Stuff Weekly Challenge

For the first time, I am participating in the weekly scrapbooking challenge over on the Use Your Stuff blog. You should check it out. They post weekly challenges to get your creative juices going. It’s a great way to jumpstart a project and help you to “get out of the box” and try something new.

This weeks’ challenge was to use Red, Pink and one other colour on a layout. I chose white as my ‘other colour’. While the layout is a lot pinker than I had hoped, I’m happy with it. It’s one more layout done and ready to be added to the album.

 

Project Life - week 4

Here are my PL Week 4 pages.

 

Same supplies as the last time.

 

Thanks for looking. Have a great day.

 

 

Week 4 ~ Left Page

 

Week 4 ~ Right Page

 

Project Life Notebook (yes, it's a Moleskine)

Anyone one who knows me knows I love a good list. (That list is even better if it’s recorded in a Moleskine notebook, but that’s another obsession for another day!)

I remind you of this post here and then my later post here.

That was a couple of years ago and life got busy but I still have lists on the go. Lists of things to do around the house. Lists of books to read. Lists of scrapbook pages to do. Lists of craft projects. Lists of things to get done around the house. (and on and on and on) Those are my ‘big picture’ lists. I also have my daily list of things to do, things to buy and what we’re eating for the week. Then there’s the list that doesn’t stop running around my head of the things I don’t do. That’s the worst list. The fruits and veggies I didn’t eat. The exercise I didn’t get. The friend I didn’t call. That list I don’t write down!!

I thought I would take this opportunity to share that list again. It seems to help me be accountable and get some things on it accomplished. This is my general things to do list. Perhaps I’ll share another of my lists on another day but what I’d really like to do here is revisit this one in a few months to see how I’m doing. Here it goes:

Tune up Meredith’s flute. This is a tough one. It’s hard to pry it out of her hands.

Complete 2013 Project Life album. I'm already on my way with this one!

Sort and organize all my computer files. My computer blew up in December and hasn’t been the same since. They are files missing, files where they shouldn’t be and files I don’t recognize. It all needs to be sorted out. I’m thinking the easiest way might be to make the jump and get myself a Mac Book.

Redo the blog. I’d like to change things here up a bit and include some buttons and a bit more information.

Get my email address set up on my own domain. It’s so much faster than my current provider.

Plan out some scrapbook pages. I did not manage to complete a single page from 2012. That has to change.

Move all our videos to a private channel on YouTube so we can watch them easily. Apple TV make YouTube so much more accessible.

Do our NYC album. I can't wait to go again!

Do the album from our summer 2010 trip. This one needs to be a priority.

Paint the sunroom, mudroom, powder room, office and maybe the playroom.

Actually take all the online classes I’ve paid for.

Try some She Art and Art Journals. (You can see more local Art Journaling here)

Tile the backsplash in the kitchen.

Figure out what I want to do when I grow up. This one is a tough one. I’ve been working on it for a few years now!!

That’s it. I don’t think I’m going to get it all done in 2013 but a girl can hope. I promise to do my best to do as much as possible.

Of course, I do have all those books to read and craft projects to do. They may take priority over some of the things here.

What about you? Is there anything on your list?

 

Scrapbook Nerd is in the House

What an exciting day it is today!!

The new online scrapbooking store Scrapbook Nerd is open.

I've already shopped and placed my order.

What about you?

Project Life - Week 3

It’s Week 5 of the New Year and I’m not doing too badly with my Project Life album. I’ve completed the pages for Week 3 and the photos for Week 4 are waiting in their folder. I just need to put them together.

Here are my Week 3 pages:

Week 3 ~ Left Page

 

Week 3 ~ Right Page

Supplies are the same as previous weeks with the addition of Ali Edwards Hello Life Boxes, Cathy Zielske's Week in Review and Be Bold Journal Cards.

Project Life

. . . And Week Two is complete. Clearly, I'm still keen. I took a lot of photos during week 2. Plus, I'm only a week behind. That makes me happy.

Thanks for looking.

Week Two ~ left page

Week Two ~ right page

Supplies are the same as last week. Have a great day!

Project Life - photo a day

I am so glad to be doing a project like this again. It has taken me some time to settle on exactly how, but I think I've finally figured it out.The album is going to be 12x12 and all the pages will be fully digital.

I'm using the Becky Higgins Project Life Turquoise Album and Core Kit, along with Project Life page templates that I ordered through Scrapbooker's Inner Circle and AC Digitals.

I got the plain 12x12 protectors, as well as some plain and some pocket 6x12 protectors. My intention this year is not to take a photo every single day, but to take pictures of things in our life that are ordinary but I want to remember. There will be days without any photos, and there will be days with multiple photos. There will also be images taken from the internet when I haven't been able to take a photo. I also want to keep random pieces of memorabilia - gas and grocery receipts, movie tickets, etc. All these and any extra photos will go in the 6x12 protectors.

I've completed the Cover Page for the album as well as the pages for the first week of 2013. Some elements on the Cover Page came from Cathy Zielske and everything else from AC Digitals. On the Week 1 pages all supplies are from AC Digitals except the date stamp which came from Snow Moon LLC on Etsy.

Here is the Cover and Week One for you. I am hard at work on Weeks 2 and 3. Where does the time go?

Cover Page

Week 1 - left page

Week 2 - right page

TODAY

In an effort to blog again, I'm participating in The Simple Woman's Daybook. Because that's me. I'm simple.  HA HA.  Another idea stolen from Barb.

You can find the details here.

 

FOR TODAY

Outside my window . . . the weather is mild and the sun is shining.

I am thinking . . . I need to get off this computer and down to the market for fruits and veggies before the girls come home from school.

I am thankful . . . for a husband who supports me in what I enjoy doing.

In the kitchen . . . it’s leftover night. Blah.

I am wearing . . . jeans and a hoodie.

I am creating . . . Project Life pages.

I am going . . . to music lessons tonight.

I am wondering . . . what I’ll do while my children are at their music lessons.

I am reading . . . Fall of Giants by Ken Follett and Quiet – The Power of Introverts in a World that Doesn’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain.

I am hoping . . . I’ve made the right decision.

I am learning . . . to be happy with who I am.

Around the house . . . there are a lot of areas that need to be sorted and organized.

I am pondering . . . the next couple of months and how they’re going to pan out.

A favorite quote for today . . . Best friends are people you don’t need to talk to every single day. You don’t need to talk to each other for weeks, but when you do, it’s as if you didn’t even stop talking.

One of my favourite things . . . my iPod.

A few plans for the rest of the week . . . spending tomorrow with Isobel due to her teacher protest day.

A peek into my day . . . tea with a friend this morning, errands, laundry and a bit of scrapbooking before getting the girls from school. A nice easy day.

2012 YIOOL - Final Pages

For 2012 I changed things up a bit. Instead of doing my usual Project 365 where I took a photo a day for the entire year and created a layout for each weeks' photos I did an album based on the  A Year In Our Ordinary Life album templates that I downloaded from my copy of Jessica Sprague's Computer Tips and Tricks. The album was a quick look at the year. Just 15 photos per month. Here are my last few pages of the year:

 (October won't load - don't know why - sorry)

I have to be honest, I didn't enjoy this format as much as the Project 365 albums that I've completed in the past. This one didn't get me excited about doing the pages, it didn't get me excited about taking photos and I don't think it really gives a full picture of what our life was like in 2012. I changed the format to make things easier for me and while it did that, I think it is lacking somehow.

So, what am I going to do for 2013? Well, I'm hoping to have a bit more time on my hands this year, so I am going back to the photo a day/layout per week concept. I'm basing what I'm doing on Project Life as created by Becky Higgins and following closely along with Ali Edwards and Cathy Zielske for inspiration and ideas. I know though, that in order to be successful I need to make this as easy as possible. I have ordered my album and page protectors including some 6x12 protectors to include some memorabilia and I've downloaded the Turquoise Kit and Page Templates from AC Digitals. In order for this to work, itneeds to be digital for me. No cutting, no pasting, just an hour a week at the computer, upload to Costco and voila - it's done. 

Of course, it's January 8th and I haven't started, so I'm already a week behind. Cross your fingers for me. I'm going to see what I can get done.

2012 In Review

In an effort to blog more, I have decided to steal ideas from other people. Tee hee. I’ve taken this one from Barb’s blog.

2012 in Review

1. What did you do in 2012 that you’d never done before?
Went to New York City for a week on vacation with Dave and the girls. I’d been there for business back in my career days, but never for fun. We had a fantastic time and I would not hesitate to go back again. There is so much to see and do there, I could go every year and do something different every time.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t do New Year’s resolutions.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My good friend from high school, Lori Ann, gave birth to a baby girl in January. I am in awe at her courage.

 

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No. Thank goodness.

5. What countries did you visit?
Just the USA in July.

6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?
Personal Time. I felt like 2012 found me constantly running from one thing to another, none of them for me.

7. What dates from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Our trip to NYC in the summer. It was another fantastic vacation with my 3 favourite people.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Hmmmm. . .  This is a tough one. I don’t feel like I really achieved anything this year. I need to change that for 2013. Perhaps working?

9. What was your biggest failure?

Exercising and eating right. I did not do a good job in those areas at all. This needs to change in 2013. I feel so much better when I eat right and exercise regularly. I need a walking buddy. Someone to motivate me to get out there and do it. And not scrapbooking regularly.  I miss my creative side and the friends I have who share the same interests.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Not really. As I get older I find an increase in weird unexplainable medical ailments that get labelled ‘normal anomaly’. It’s nice to know they haven’t been serious but annoying and frightening to go through all the medical tests necessary to rule out anything serious.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My new camera.

12. Where did most of your money go?
Everyday life, NYC, nothing unusual.

13. What did you get really excited about?
My new camera and travel. Both our trip to NYC and our planned trip in 2013 to see the Henriksson’s in Hawaii.

14. What song(s) will always remind you of 2012?
PSY – Gangnam Style – I’ve heard that one way too much.

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
– happier or sadder? Happier – looking forward to the next few months.
– thinner or fatter? Fatter – sadly.
– richer or poorer? Same.

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I wished I’d done more scrapbooking, said ‘yes’ more often, taken more photos and done more things that make me scared.

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
I wish I’d worried less about things I can’t control. I wish I’d been more comfortable with who I am.

 

18. How did you spend Christmas?

Christmas Day was spent at home with my family just hanging out. Isobel didn’t even get dressed.

19. What was your favorite TV program?

I have a few favourite TV programs. Grey’s Anatomy, Parenthood, and Private Practice are my crying shows. I’ve also enjoyed Scandal, Revenge, Modern Family and The Good Wife. And recently we discovered Damages on Netflix. I actually don’t watch much TV but this list makes it sound like I do. We PVR everything we like these days. No commercials and we get to watch when we’re ready.

20. What were your favorite books of the year?

I have read so many good books. I reread The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon and loved it still. I really enjoyed The Light Between Oceans. Sarah’s Key was very hard to read but very worth reading at the same time. I know there are many more but I can’t think of them. I am loving my Kobo.

21. What was your favorite music from this year?
Right now I’m enjoying Surrender by Ben Lee, Living in the Moment by Jason Mraz, Babylon by David Gray and Tupelo Honey by Van Morrison.

22. What were your favorite films of the year?
I don’t get out to the movies much. I need to change that.

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 44. We had just come back from NYC. I met Nicola for tea and had ribs for dinner at home with my family.

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

More time, less stress, more scrapbooking.

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?

Personal fashion concept? I don’t think I have one. Some days I’m in yoga pants, a hoodie and no make-up. Other days I make an effort but nothing fancy. Practical and comfortable would probably describe it best.

26. What kpt you sane?

My peeps – Dave, Meredith and Isobel. They make it all worthwhile.

27. Tell us a valuable lesson you learned in 2012.
I don’t cope well with being busy.

I cannot believe summer is almost over. There’s only a week and a half until the girls go back to school. Where has the time gone? Our summer has been filled with:

Paddling – Isobel has paddled most mornings this summer. She’s out there in a kayak or some type of canoe in the early morning. She’s really enjoying it and I can understand why. It seems to me like such a nice way to start your day.

Volunteering – Meredith applied and was accepted as a volunteer at our local children’s library. Her duties included signing children up for the reading program, helping out with the promotional materials for the program and preparing crafts for the drop in programs, and of course, reading when things were slow. It was the perfect volunteer position for her and I believe she now has all the hours she needs to graduate.

New York City – We took a week in July and spent it in the Big Apple. Wow. What an experience. We were go go go the whole time we were there and while we saw a lot, there was still a lot we didn’t see. It was a great trip and I’d love to go back there one day.

Port Dover – We went to the beach a couple of times. What a great little beach town.

Jumping – We got a trampoline for the backyard. The girls have spent many hours jumping and jumping and jumping. They desperate for me to get up there, but I’m afraid I’ll break a hip. Or pee my pants.

Park time – The town has installed a new playground in the empty school yard next to the house. Isobel has spent many hours over there happily playing with friends.

Exploring – Meredith discovered an area out on the east end of town that she loves to visit with her friends. It’s right next to the lake and beautifully and peaceful. She took me there one day and I was very impressed. She’s got a great group of friends.

I’m sure there’s more but that’s it for today. Here are my “Year In Our Ordinary Life” pages. Enjoy the rest of your summer!!

 

A Year In Our Ordinary Life

I really enjoyed my Project 365 albums that I did in 2009,2010 and 2011, but I found it affected my photo taking and my scrapbooking in ways I’m not sure I did like.

When I was doing my P365, I found when I took photos, I was more focused on getting that one shot that represented the day and I lost sight of the bigger picture. (No pun intended!) I used to take my photos with a scrapbook page in mind. But with the P365, I was just taking a handful which didn’t leave me with enough to choose from for regular layout. I know my scrapbooking is going to change as my children get older. It’s going to move from event based pages to pages that are more about our life and what happens on a day to day basis. Pages that let them know how much they mean to me. I don’t want to lose that in the flurry of 365 pages. Instead of doing complete layouts I was focused on putting together the 365 pages without writing down the details that accompanied those photos. I love the 365 format but that one single sentence isn’t enough to adequately convey the details of our life.

I did the P365 album for 3 years in a row and now it’s time to change it up. Instead I’m doing an album called A Year in Our Ordinary Life. I downloaded the template as a bonus when I purchased Computer Tricks for Scrapbookers. (A great publication, by the way!) Each month of the year will have a dedicated double page layout with 15 photos that most accurately portray our month. I’ve completed January through May so far.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do for 2013. The idea of the Project Life album certainly appeals to me but I have heard that it is a lot of work. But I'll figure that out when I get through 2012!!!

I'm Back

Hello . . . hello . . . hello . . .

Is there anybody out there? . . . out there . . . out there . . .

It’s been a long time since I contributed to this blog. Over 6 months since I’ve posted anything at all and close to a year since I did anything regular. I will admit that I have missed it. I stopped because I wasn’t really sure anyone was reading it. Was it missed? Did anyone miss hearing about the minutia of my daily life? My rants and my musings? I’m not sure.

I have to admit comments were important to me and the lack of comments played a large role in my absence. A part of me needs that feedback that yes, what I’m writing is worthy of someone else reading. What I’m writing is actually being read by someone other than me. But what I realized lately was that I do the same thing with the blogs I read. I read them religiously every single time the author posts and I thoroughly enjoy them but I don’t comment. Why is that? I know as a blogger getting that positive reinforcement is important but I don’t do that myself.

I was reading a friends blog recently (and I don’t think I commented – my sincere apologies – you know who you are) who was also contemplated giving up her blog. This particular friend has a large following and I’m sure they read it regularly but they don’t comment. She came to the eventual conclusion that that was okay with her. She didn’t necessarily blog for other people. She, like me, is a scrapbooker and if nothing else, the blog posts become journaling for future pages. I think that’s a great way of looking at it. I read another blog of a woman I don’t know who has actually given up blogging specifically because of a lack of comments. Her blog was a bit different from mine. She posted scrapbook page layouts for others to use. She had a design team who would do pages based on her sketches and those would be posted too. I loved her sketches and her design team’s layouts but I never commented. I will miss her blog tremendously and am left wishing I had left her some love. Perhaps if more people had we’d still have her incredible talent to spur our scrapbooking projects and creativity.

So, I guess what I’m saying here is that I’m back. You certainly don’t need to comment but I’d love it if you did. I’m going to make a conscious effort to comment on the blogs I read regularly so that they don’t disappear. For me though, this isn’t as much about who reads it anymore but more about journaling about what is important to me. Sharing what makes me laugh. Recording what occasions, thoughts or events I don’t want to forget that may become a scrapbook page one day.

Finally, P365 2011 Is Complete

I doubt anyone out there ever checks this blog anymore. I know it’s been a long time since I posted but I did just manage to complete my P365 pages for 2011 so I wanted to share them here. I hope you haven’t given up on me.

I don’t think I’ll do a P365 for 2012 but I promise to document our day to day lives somehow.

Keep checking back. I’m sure I’ll post again one day.