Project Life

I decided to give Project Life a try with the "hand holding" of my sister-in-law, Corinne.  We are giving this a go together.  I have been scrapbooking for many years and it has been a long time since I've tried a basic method of scrapbooking.  I think Becky Higgins Project Life may just be the remedy for my lack of motivation to scrapbook!

My hope is to do one page per week with Project Life and add in layouts I create with my PersonalScrapper.com kits.  It has taken me a month to get started!  Once I completed my first couple of weeks, I loved it.

Here is why Project Life will be good for me:

1. I have everything I need to complete a page.  The Project Life kits come with plenty of items to create an entire album (and then some!)  Plus, they are all coordinated and have great patterns and designs.  I am also going to use up some of the obscene amount of product I have collected over the years! (I am using the Clementine Project Life kit)

2. I can keep the entire thing stored in one box.  There are a lot of great ideas out there for organizing your Project Life supplies (see Miss Wendy's blog, for example!)  I, however, get to use my dining room table as my work space.  It is in the middle of our house and it has many functions like scrapbooking, homework station, laundry folding, oh yes, and eating.  So, I need to be creative with my storage and supplies.  The box my kit came in is compact, sturdy, and already organized.  Thank you Becky for packaging this up so nice!

3. K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Sweetheart!  I can unleash my craftiness on my other layouts.  This project is all about documenting our daily lives.  In order to keep focused on our day-to-day memories, I can't be spending hours on these pages.  I will admit that it is a challenge to stick to a very simple method of scrapbooking but at the same time, it is so refreshing.

4.  I get to do this with my SIL.  Corinne lives in California and I'm up north in Oregon.  We would love to be doing this together in the comforts of a scrap room but, that just isn't a reality.  She's got triplets and I've got three kiddos so even if we were closer...do you think we'd be able to get much done?  This is a great way for us to cheer each other on and make sure we are getting the memories documented for our families to enjoy.  This is part of the reason I fell in love with the hobby of scrapbooking, it brings people together.

So, here are my first couple of weeks of January.  I will do my title page at the end of the year because I have a plan that will require pictures from 2012.

gosh.  these pictures are dark. I'll try to find more light next time.

When I sat down to begin my pages, I couldn't get it to work for me! Every scenario I tried felt too chaotic and I wanted a more streamlined look. I searched all over google, the Project Life Team blogs, and instagram for ideas on getting started. It helped a little but, I just needed to keep playing with the kit elements until it worked for me.

I love that I can go back to add more embellishments, digital editing, or switch things out if I want to!  I just need to get into the swing of things.  I love the philosophy of Project Life and look forward to playing around with it some more.

Are you doing Project Life?  Share your blog/website link, I'd love to see how you are approaching it!  It seems like there are a lot of people that are starting Project Life this year...I just love the community of scrapbooking!

ink & mouse

Today is the day! I am so thankful and blessed to be able to launch my design website for ink & mouse! (for those that aren't aware, I do graphic design) I made this little desktop gift as a welcome:

Click image to make larger and then save to your computer.

Click here to have a look around:

www.inkandmouse.com

Let me know if I can help you with any projects that need to get fancied up!
Tell your friends too.

reading

I love to read.  My favorite genre is historical fiction but, I definitely like to spread my reading across different types of books.  Usually, I just wait until someone recommends a book but that often times leaves me with a void between reads.  I can easily get out of the habit of reading and I don't like that!  My goal this year is to read 6-8 books.  I decided to start searching Amazon to begin my list and here are some that I have added to my wish list:

• Kisses from Katie, by Katie Davis
• The Business Side of Creativity: A Complete Guide to Running a Small Graphic Design or Communications Business, by Cameron Foote
• What Women Fear: Walking in Faith That Transforms, by Angie Smith
• One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, by Tsh Oxenreider

The only book on the list above that anyone had recommended is "Kisses From Katie"...I have read her blog and can't wait to dig into her story!  The others I found searching and browsing various links on Amazon.  Do me a favor, if you've read any of the above books and they weren't worth your time, could you let me know?  Thanks!

Here is a list of some books I have read recently:

• The Hiding Place, by Corrie ten Boom
• Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand
• The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls
• One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp

I would also love to hear your recommendations on some of your favorite reads (classics, current, all-time-favorites).

Cherish your day.

goals

I don't usually make goals or resolutions.  In the past I have made them and set myself up for failure and that's not a good feeling!  This year I am approaching my goals differently, I didn't want to create a list of unattainable things to accomplish only to give up by January 5th. I have created a list of things I know I can do.  I did not set any lofty goals beyond my reach.  I am working on putting things in place to help me conquer these goals, which will make lovely blog posts for my new blog.  I love when a plan comes together [insert smiley here]

Returning from our family getaway this Christmas, I sat in the airport terminal, said a prayer and began writing down my goals for 2012.

• Deeper daily time with Abba.
• More quality time with the Hubby and Babies.
• Take more steps toward healthy living.
• Be more available.
• Start sketching and drawing again.
• Create more laughter in my world.
• Start blogging again.
• Read 6-8 books.
• Establish ink & mouse for God's glory.
• Become a better designer/artist.

I have also decided to claim a word of the year.  Ali Edwards (a well known scrapbook artist) has been inspiring people to pick "One Little Word" for each year.  I have joined her Big Picture Class to keep me accountable to stick to my word.  The word I have chosen for 2012 is, cherish.  The verse I found to inspire me is Proverbs 19:8,

The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.

here we go two thousand and twelve...