I seem to be forgetting a lot of things the last couple of days. Or maybe just last night. And maybe just two things (but they were important). The first thing I forgot was to put my cell phone on the bookshelf next to my bed (it's my alarm), so I slept straight through BodyPump this morning (which makes me grouchy). And the second thing I forgot last night was to post this layout, so you'll be getting two posts today!

My excuse for forgetting things? I got so darned excited last night about the next Scrapbook Update article that I'm writing- there are Stormtroopers on the accompanying layout!

But this particular page? No Stormtroopers, just me running in the rain and several other assorted things that happened during April 2010. This layout is part of my Project 12 (if you don't know what that is, go here) for last year- the year I'm still playing catch-up on.

I also have a confession to make- I'm still having a really hard time with the two-page, multi-photo layouts that have been the main staple of my scrapbooking for almost three years now. I feel major changes in my process and pages coming on...but more on that later when I have time to write about it.

But one thing I am still loving? These little banners! It seems that once I made my first one, I couldn't stop making them! This one is from the Fancy Pants "It's the Little Things" chipboard, which was part of my April Counterfeit Kit (all the supplies were). So much fun to use!

I'll have another layout up tonight, and hopefully next week I'll be able to post more about the scrapbooking style reboot that's been going on around here!

Project 12: March 2011 (Counterfeit Kit)

Wow, so this particular Project 12 layout? I have no idea what happened, but it absolutely would not come together for me.

I don't know what it was- I had trouble with the colors, with the element placement (oh, geez, did I ever have trouble with the element placement)- and I was even using a sketch!!! Nothing would work!! Not even my trusty April Counterfeit Kit could pull me out of this one, even though it's made some layouts super easy this month.

So, in the end I decided that instead of spending hours trying to get it just right, it was probably better left alone. And, actually? I'm kinda starting to like it now. I guess you have to take a deep breath and step back from some layouts for a while before you feel better about them.

I did totally love using more of my Fancy Pants "It's The Little Things" chipboard- those banners are just too cute!

And, really, I think it was just this corner of the layout that really gave me fits- I just didn't know what to put here!! I probably should have just left the block of paper blank, but it's done now.

So, I'm curious- what do you guys do when you have trouble with a layout? Tear it up and start over? Live with it? Send silent prayers to the Heavens that it will magically work itself out? Give a girl a hint, please!!!

Project 12: February 2011

February was quite the month! I went from tropical Aruba to freezing Boston in the space of 5 days (although I had to stay in the cold much longer than on the beach), worked way too many hours, and managed to come home with a sinus infection.

But, looking at my Project 12 layout for last month, I'm pretty happy with the positive spin I put on it. I chose a photo of my favorite day in Aruba, my headshot for Scrapbook Update, and a picture of a few flowers that we were able to plant at the end of the month when the weather at home finally warmed up.

The bright colors and butterflies make it look so cheerful!! I made this layout using supplies from my Counterfeit Kit for February- it was so easy just to spread the kit out and choose items from a more limited selection, and everything was already coordinated!

I'm totally loving Project 12 and can't wait to start on March's layout!

Project 12: March 2010

I don't hoard many paper lines- "Black Tie" by Basic Grey, "Chateau" by Chatterbox- certain timeless lines that have long since been discontinued and are nearly impossible to find in scrapbook stores these days. Last year I added another line to that list- "Lucky Me" by Little Yellow Bicycle.

I fell in love with this line as soon as I laid eyes on it. Most St. Patrick's Day paper is very themey/cutesy, but not Lucky Me- the color palette is gorgeous, and the patterns are so classic and elegant that I don't see this paper looking outdated any time soon. I've been buying pieces here and there, some at Michaels and some on clearance at various online stores.

My March 2010 layout for Project 12 finally convinced me to use some of this paper, especially since I have several sheets of each pattern now.

I know that there's more to March than St. Patrick's Day, but these Project 12 layouts are a fun place to play with themes, even if I dislike theme-y paper in general.

I've had these shamrock stickers in my stash for ages- they're one of those things that would have stayed buried had I not organized my supplies by color and tossed them into the green bin.

This is one of the layouts I scrapped in my hotel room in Boston a couple of weekends ago. Later this week I'll share another layout that I scrapped the same day, using the same line. You may have already seen a peek of it hanging in my living room. :)

Project 12- January 2011

I'm quite excited that Scrapbook and Cards Today is running Project 12 again this year! I didn't keep up with last year's layouts as I'd intended to, but I'm slowly working on them as I try to keep current on this year's pages.

I had a lot of fun putting this page together. The papers and the photos were awesome to play with- I've not used any of the newer My Mind's Eye papers, and the So Sophie line is a dream! The colors and the texture on the papers are incredible. I bought it online on a whim, and I'm so, so very happy that I did!

Yup, those are snow kayaking and Aruba photos, side-by-side. Darren came into my scrap room last night while I was working on the page, looked at it, and commented that January was a good month. :)

I'm journaling the highlights of each month whether they've pictured on the layout or not- it's just a good way to have all the major happenings in one place.

I'm putting these layouts in my regular scrapbook albums, where they almost serve as "dividers" for each month- kind of like seeing a movie preview before watching the actual film.

I'm also planning on continuing my monthly photo roundups here on the blog. I'm a bit perturbed at myself for not having January's up yet, but it's not like I've had a lot of free time in February to get it done! And then there's always Project Life to catch up on...yikes!

Project 12 - February 2010

I'm cruising right along now with my Project 12 layouts from last year. February's came together fairly quickly and is filled with tons of pink (not a color I normally use).

One of the fun things I'm discovering about these pages is that they give me a chance to use some very theme-y product that I don't normally pull out.

Take all these hearts, for example. I have a 12x12 box full of Valentine, love, and wedding themed product that doesn't get pulled out very often, and these chipboard pieces were sitting in it just waiting to be used.

Normally that kind of stuff only gets used when I'm making cards since I just don't have a lot of photos that call for such items- not that it stops me from collecting them. :) When I find an entire box of K and Company glittered chipboard hearts at Tuesday Morning for 99 cents, you just know that it's going to come home with me.

March's layout is already well underway and will feature the Lucky Me line from Little Yellow Bicycle. For this girl whose birthday is on St. Patrick's Day, that paper was a dream come true!!

Not Giving Up: My 2010 Project 12 Story

Last year I had great intentions of doing Project 365 again (I successfully completed the album in 2009), but some time in February/March it just fell apart. Near the end of March I decided to take up Project 12, a monthly layout project sponsored by Scrapbook and Cards Today, and continued to take photos and collect the sketches (provided by Becky Fleck of Page Maps) throughout the year. The problem was, I never did anything with any of it.

On New Years' Eve (after months of letting it languish and despairing of ever making progress) I was suddenly inspired to work on the project again, and in a few hours on both December 31st, 2010 and January 1st, 2011, I pulled together photos for all the sketches, edited them, cropped them, and had them printed locally. All those photos are now trimmed and sorted by month, and I've started assembling the layouts (and am really enjoying the process!).

Here's the layout for January 2010...

I'll be sharing more of them as they are completed.

This year I've decided to pick up Project 365 again (using Becky Higgins' 2010 Project Life kit that I bought on clearance after Thanksgiving), and I'm going to continue with Project 12, as well. In addition, I'm pretty smitten with the Document 2010 class lead by Shimelle Laine on UK Scrappers last year, and I'm going to find a way to incorporate it into my Project Life album. I'd also like to find a way to document each weekend, since there's always something going on around here, but that project may take the form of a separate mini album.

Whew, do you think I've picked enough documentation projects? Ideally I'll find a way to combine most of them so that it's not a huge undertaking. I'm not sure what form it will take yet, but I imagine it being something similar to Ali Edwards' Project Life album from 2010, which you can see here, here, and here.

The moral of the story is this- if you feel strongly enough about an idea or really like a project but feel you're not making any headway, don't give up! Eventually you'll find time and it will all come together, even if it's months or years from now. Of course, if something no longer inspires you then by all means put it aside or discontinue it altogether, but don't let an all-or-nothing-right-now frame of mind ruin what could be an amazing project!

My Project 365 Is Now Project 12!

About two weeks ago I finally admitted to myself that Project 365 is not happening for me this year. I love my album from last year and am so glad that I did it, but I'm just not feeling it this year. I even tried to dabble in digital scrapping a bit, thinking that would help spur me on in completing the album, but that didn't help, either (sorry, Jen- no dark side for me!). In the end I just couldn't find a layout that I liked, and I didn't want to just make the same type of album that I made last year. Plus, it was going to cost $70-$100 to have my digital book printed at the end of the year...and, dude, I can buy a lot of paper with $100!

It probably didn't help that at the beginning of the year I was completing my Journal Your Christmas album, I'm eyeballs deep in two online classes (and so far behind in one of them), and there's a daily card project that I wanted to start at the beginning of the year, but I was too busy and instead started on my birthday. Lots going on, right? Oh, and I want to participate in Ali's Week in the Life project in mid-April when she hosts it.

While I'm giving up on P365 for the year, though, I'm not giving up on some sort of yearly documentation project. That's where Project 12 comes in. It's a year-long documentation project hosted on the Scrapbook And Cards Today blog (the same people who bring you a fabulous free downloadable magazine every quarter), and each month they provide a sketch (by the fantabulous Becky Fleck) to use in documenting your month.

They've already posted the sketches for January, February, and March:

 

 

 

Aren't they totally awesome? I've already taken tons of photos so far this year (just not one every day), and am still committed to photographing more of the "little" and "everyday" things that happen. Having the backlog of photos that I'd intended to use for P365 means that choosing photos for P12 should be a breeze, and now I can quit beating myself up for not taking a photo of something every single day.

I'll be posting layouts here as I complete them...hopefully I'll get through January, February, and March in the next few weeks (once I dig myself out of my online classes...which I'm actually thoroughly enjoying). I think that between P12 and Ali's Week in the Life project next month (plus I plan to do Journal Your Christmas again this year...oh, and lots of regular scrapbook pages, too) I should have 2010's documentation well in hand. :)