My Own Kit - August 2013 - Add-On

In April, I challenged myself to create thirty layouts in thirty days, and part of how I reached that goal was using pre-assembled kits I put together myself. Because of life circumstances, I'm a little behind in using the kits I made last year, which is why I just cracked open the August 2013 kit last month. (Click here to see that kit.)

When I started creating with those supplies, I realized I was going to need a few more things, and I created an add-on kit that looked something like this:

Lots of bits and pieces I've had in my stash quite awhile, as well as some newer stuff, things that were given to me, and that lovely leafy cut from my trusty Silhouette Cameo.

Coming soon: pages I created with these kits. I had a blast!

In My Cup

Probably ninety percent of the time, if I have a cup in my hand, coffee of some kind will be in it. I've been a coffee drinker since I was 19, trying to stay awake during the day after being up most of the night. (I don't remember why.) Coffee is part of my everyday routine, and I'm a big fan of all its delectable forms. Plain with half and half, mocha, macchiato, the occasional cappuccino, hot or iced, in a mug or to-go. It's all good, and it's what's almost always in my cup.

Setting Goals

Welcome to May.

A new month is always a good time to stop and take stock, reflect, assess accomplishments and what still needs to be done, to recalibrate goals and set new ones. Setting goals for me begins with setting intentions, and I've learned through several years of One Little Word that intention is the fuel for realizing goals.

I tend toward perfectionism in the sense that if I make a goal for myself, and I don't realize that goal 100% perfectly, I beat myself up pretty good about it. At least, that's how I used to be, and though I still have to fight that tendency, I'm much better at recognizing that getting something done, even when it's not 100%, or perfect, is better by far than getting nothing done.

In April, I issued myself two challenges, which to me are just intentions on a dare. One, I intended to write every single day, even if it was just two or three sentences in my journal, and two, I intended to create thirty scrapbook layouts in the thirty days of April.

How did I do?

With writing, I was on a daily streak until near the end of the month. I missed one day, then I missed another. I struggled with recrimination, until I reined it in. Writing twenty eight pieces, even just scribbled in my journal, is writing, and that's a win.

With scrapbooking, my goal was not only realized, it was exceeded by one layout, and that felt awesome, especially since it's been a long time since I've been able to dedicate that much time, energy and space in my life to creativity.

Looking back at April and its goals and its challenges, I realize something I knew about myself with scrapbooking, but not with writing: the daily thing is still a bit of a challenge. Perhaps, I can overcome that challenge, perhaps not. But I know that doing anything daily still doesn't work as well for me, and I can either accept that reality, or I can work toward making daily writing (or daily anything else) easier and more readily doable than it is for me right now. With kindness and compassion for myself and the reality I've got.

That will be my intention for May, as I participate in the Blog Every Day in May challenge over at Love Happy Daily. Check out details here if you want to join in the fun.

I've already added the Blogger app to my iPhone, so I can blog on the go and make it easier to get that daily thing done.

30 in 30 Scrapbooking - April 2014 Part 3

These are the last 11 layouts I created for my own personal 30 in 30 Scrapbooking challenge for April, 2014. (Really, it turned out to be 31 in 30!)

In future posts, I will write about individual layouts, the supplies I used, inspiration, etc.,.

It felt so amazing to enjoy so much creativity in the month of April, and I am looking forward to another creative (and busy!) month in May. Maybe I will even open 30 in 30 Scrapbooking back up in June. Stay tuned...

30 in 30 Scrapbooking - April 2013 Part 2

The next ten layouts I created in April, as part of my own personal 30 in 30 Scrapbooking Challenge:

In future posts, I will write about individual layouts, the supplies I used, inspiration, etc.,.

I've Been Busy - 30 in 30 Scrapbooking April 2014

Since my last post almost a month ago, I've been busy. Awhile back, I developed a scrapbooking challenge called 30 in 30 Scrapbooking that involves creating 30 scrapbook pages in 30 days, but without the pressure of similar challenges that require creating and posting a photo of a page every day. Because of life circumstances, I had to put the 30 in 30 Scrapbooking on indefinite hiatus.

My life circumstances have changed again as life circumstances tend to do, and back in March, I contemplated doing my own 30 in 30 challenge again in April. I wondered, could I find time to scrapbook often enough that I could actually accomplish that many layouts in that many days?

I gave it a whirl. I used My Own Kits, and I made use of some sketches. I took a no-pressure approach and used little blocks of time where I could find them. Sometime in March, I also made a commitment to carve out creative time for myself as part of my One Little Word journey, choosing Sunday morning, which has worked out very well for me.

And it turned out? I could create 30 scrapbook layouts in 30 days. In fact, because of a little mistake in my recording process as I went, I wound up creating 31.

Here are the first 10 layouts I created in April:

I'll share the rest in posts to follow and in future posts, I'll write more details.

Big Autumn Kit Pages

A week ago, I posted about a big autumn-themed kit I put together, and I have been workin' it!

Sometimes, I don't have a long story to go with photos. I just love the photo and want to highlight it on a scrapbook pages, like this one of a sidewalk near our house, sprinkled with leafy confetti. I love the colors in the photo and the playfulness of it. I used a variety of different items on this page, and I like how they work together.

I used a PageMaps sketch for this page with all Doodlebug papers which I love-love-LOVE! Also got to use a brand new alphabet stamp set with matching dies from Lawn Fawn that I saw used on a layout by May Flaum and simply HAD to have. I used some other dies, too, including a new set of pinked circles by Stampin' Up! that is making me oh-so-happy.

This one is for an album I'm creating for my Mom. As I've mentioned before, she has memory loss, and I've been thinking that a scrapbook full of memories would be a good thing for her to flip through from time to time. Based on another PageMaps sketch, this layout puts some patterned paper I've had for awhile to work, along with even older bits and pieces, and a great stamp I forgot I had.

Another PageMaps sketch, and more of that bright Doodlebug paper with coordinating enamel dots, that stamp again, this time in a different color and used for creating a great border. I really love those alpha stamps from Lawn Fawn with their oh-so-convenient dies! Those are going to show up on my pages a lot in the near future. Just nifty!

So, this page is my own design, and I used a piece of patterned paper for the background that I've had for years. I mean, YEARS. Like I've had that piece of paper in my stash since...oh...2006 or so? Way back when I started assembling a stash. Unfortunately, I made a bit of a mistake in the original journaling, so I had to correct it with a new journaling block cut from the same ledger print paper. That's how it is sometimes, and that's what adds a certain charm to these handmade pieces of art and story.

This two-pager is a little different for me because although there are pieces fussy cut from patterned paper included, there aren't any simple blocks or strips of patterned paper here. I used a lot of disparate bits to create a layout about our trip to a nearby orchard in 2012. There's even a stamped piece I made quite awhile ago that had an additional background layer I removed to make it work with the other embellishments on these pages.

Here's a closeup of the first page:

And a close up of the second:

Finally, a page about my parents' 38th anniversary. I was inspired by a layout May Flaum created for her Stamping for Scrapbookers class, which I highly recommend. I didn't totally scraplift her design, but it was definitely the springboard for this layout. I loved being able to create a few layered embellishments using my punches, and I loved getting some older Sassafras letter stickers and patterned paper into play.

One thing kits help me do is put papers and embellishments together that I wouldn't normally have thought to pair if I'd left them in their own collection kits. It's part of what I love so much about scrapbooking in the first place, making colors and patterns work in concert with each other.

I'm getting a lot of fun mileage out of this Big Autumn Kit, with more to come. There's lots of patterned paper left, lots of embellishments, and I'm hoping to get several more pages completed this weekend, using up stash and getting stories told, photos onto pages.