Remember Chanukah?

It seems like a long ago, distant memory. But I did complete a layout about it a little while ago. I love the story with this one. That is pure emotion in those photos.

And while we are on long ago holidays and quotes from Sam, here is this one about Thanksgiving:

Project Life Mini; Weeks two and Three

As promised.
Note 1: I am not, as a rule, labeling my pages with the dates of the whole week. If i get a whole week of photos, good.  If not, also good.

Note 2: This is want I like the most. Lots of photos. A 4x6 journaling card that I printed, and played with a little bit. I like that it's a little page stuck in the middle of the spread. For this card, I used Ali Edwards' Thick Journal Cards, that I re-sized.

Note 3: Here's where I am being extremely informal. On the left, are more pictures from week two. On the right, are the only pictures from week three. Three pictures. One story. That is all she wrote. And, I want that to be okay for this album. I was going to skip this week all together, but then Max went ahead and did something funny, so I snapped some pictures.

I like this project enough to have ordered more page protectors. (That took a little digging to find places where they were in stock.) It has definitely gotten me to take more pictures. And if that is all it does, then it will be well worth it. And I am looking forward to being able to play a little bit more with adding some digital elements and little embellishments.

How is your PL (if you choose do it) coming along?

Project Life Mini

In late 2012, I rambled on, as many a scrapbooker did, about whether and how to tackle Project Life. I mentioned that I would be using this 6x8 album to keep track of some stories and photos that might not otherwise get scrapbooked.

Here's how it's going so far. This was week one. 

It took me a really long time to decide on the format, and to choose photos, and to figure out how I wanted to add text, and how to keep it all snug inside the pockets. I don't think these pages are beautiful by any means, but I am trying to look at the big picture; I have not worked in this format before, so I will work on the technical aspects first (getting my pictures printed), and I will try to get more efficient at that. And then at a later date, I can work on the aesthetics). Right now, all I can manage is to throw a piece of washi tape on a page, or a mini staple and call it a day.

As it took me a long time to put this together, I thought, "Well, I don't think this is for me." But as I went back and looked through the pictures, I was glad to have them. So I will continue to plug away at this and see where it leads.

I have week two and three to share next time...

Workout

Last time I shared a layout about my birthday, and my long creative process of that layout. Here's a layout that I made before my birthday, as a way to reflect on the (good) year that was 37.

And while talking about looking back on a year, here is a layout recounting some random Deutsch-2012 happenings. I made this layout based on a Jillibean Soup sketch, and making  this one was like a really good, really hard workout. The kind of workout that you sweat through, that you're not sure you'll make it through the end, but when you do, your body feels great. Tired and sore, but great. This layout took me days, it had me using my rarely used Cricut (no Cameo here), It had me working outside of my comfortable grid format,  but it worked some creative muscles, and it worked them good. You know what I mean?

The Best Day Ever?

This is me trying to get over my blogging inertia. Over the years I have always meant to blog more, but sometimes didn't find the time. And then in the last few months, I stopped meaning to blog more. It just fell off the list of things to do. So I will attempt to get back into the spirit of sharing. I will share my work (because I have been busy at my scrapbook desk), and hopefully  there is something of interest for me to add to the great, big, blogosphere. Worst case, my family can see what I make and pictures of my kids.

So, let's begin.

I'll start with my latest creation, which is about my most recent birthday. In case you weren't sure of when that was, it's there in the title for all the world to see. I had a most ordinary birthday this year, which often leaves me feeling a little bummed at the end of the big day, but this year I loved every minute of my super simple and relaxed birthday.

I have to admit, I don't know that I'd label it "The Best Day Ever," but I really like that paper from Pink Paislee, and it was a great day, so, please, don't mind the hyperbole. It also wasn't my 500th birthday, as it says on the cake, but that's part of the story.)

A bit about my creative process. Sometimes when creating, you have those layouts where it all comes together -Bam! Bam! Bam! and you love it all right away. Even if you struggle at it, you love it when it's done. I had a much more tentative relationship with this one while it was happening. There are a lot of different  patterns here, and I thought it looked good, but I wasn't quite sure I should be trusting my judgement. I walked away from it a lot, and came back to it a lot, and each time I still liked the way it looked together. So, at some point, I had to commit. And then slowly I added some elements to keep it all tied together. My least favorite part of all, always, is figuring out how to format the journaling so that it says everything that I want it to say, it fits in a certain amount of space, and that it looks cohesive and intentional. But, I am pleased with the results here.
When I returned home from work today I was surprised to find how much I liked this layout. That's often how I know if a layout is done; I leave it for a while, and see what my first response is when I see it again.

Do you have a method for knowing when your layout is complete?

WCS Sneak

Someone here is a bad blogger. I wonder who it could be?

Anyway, I have a sneak for you for Write.Click.Scrapbook's February gallery. Yes, this layout involves a very important discussion of cookies.

Check out WCS' Facebook page, for more sneaks!

Happy New Year!!

And as it is a new year, and a new month, there is a new gallery at Write.Click.Scrapbook. The theme for this new beginning? "Note to self. What did I want to tell myself?

This:

I try. I do. I really just look bad in most pictures. I know everyone says that, but I really think it's true in my case. But, I hope to get in the picture anyway.  Long live dark circles and pale skin!!

And while I'm sharing goals for next year--Here's my One Little Word for 2013. I almost didn't have one this year, and then suddenly it came to me in a moment where I was totally stuck in my own head and my own thoughts. My word is "Outside."

 Sometimes I still have doubts about it. See, I like being inside, at home, by myself. If anything, I don't get enough of that. but sometimes, in my desire to stay snuggled and warm in the peace and quiet, I miss out. So, I don't want a big life change, just every once in a while, I want to push myself to go outside of my comfort zone, just a little bit.

Here's to a year of small changes!