Last Disney Pages

I got Aaron's Disney pages done, so his album is officially finished for 2011. These will likely be the last Disney pages you'll see from me, as I don't plan to do my own album from this trip. Someday, I'll get around to making a photo book. That may take me just as long as a traditional album, though. I've only done a few of the smaller ones, and even they have seemed overwhelming.

Next up is trying to get the boys' albums caught up. Hopefully I can stay semi-motivated and this can be accomplished this year. I already have photos printed for them up through Thanksgiving (I told you I haven't taken as many pictures). We're through January, though, which is when I always have gotten the most pages done. This year's page count for January was 17, less than half of last year's total. That doesn't bode well for the rest of the year, I'm afraid. It doesn't help matters that I've started a new knitting project that will likely take several months.

Before I get too discouraged, I should take a moment and bask in the knowledge that, as of today, the boys' albums are technically less than a year behind.

Here are Aaron's Disney pages. Most of the photos are the same as the last batch, and most of the layout designs are similar. I've tried to include links to the sketches I used this time.

 Sketch: Amy Alvis

 Sketch: Amy Alvis (I flipped it)

Sketch: Amy Alvis

Slow January

I am finally posting a bunch of new pages today, but at the same time, I'm saying that this has been a slow month, scrapping-wise. As far as scrapbooking goes, January is typically my most productive month of the year. Last January, I did about 40 pages, the year before around 35. We are at the end of January already, and my page count stands at 13. The good news is, Caleb's album is finished through the end of 2011. It's kind of sad when being a year behind in one album feels almost like being caught up.

I've been doing some thinking about my future in this hobby, which has consumed me at times for over thirteen years. I know I don't have the same passion for it that I once had, and sometimes it almost feels like a chore to get some pages done. I do still love sharing the memories, between my photos and my journaling. I never have been a technique scrapper, always having to try the latest and greatest. It's always been about the pictures and the stories. I admit that I probably took on too much, trying to maintain albums for each of my boys as well as myself, which oftentimes meant scrapping the same photos three times. This is the compromise I'm thinking of (compromise being in my head, because honestly, who really cares?): I will continue to work on traditional scrapbooks for the boys, but transition to photo books (i.e. Shutterfly) for the family albums. 

I'm at a good place to make this transition, too. The family album is only finished through 2010. I am not really close to starting 2011, so that would be a good place to make the switch. I think I will still do a traditional album for our 2011 Disney Cruise, partly because I already have the album and some supplies. I was planning to do that album before I started on the rest of 2011 anyway.

I still have some time to mull it over. I haven't finished Aaron's 2011 album yet, and have some of the boys' 2012 photos already printed. I'm trying to convince myself that it won't take as long to get their books caught up, because my picture-taking dramatically decreased in 2012. Caleb's 2012 pages actually start in April (don't worry, he does have some pictures, they just went in his Cub Scout album instead). I can't totally figure out why I have so many fewer pictures for 2012. Yes, there was no big vacation (or 3...) that we went on, so that cut down on the numbers. And yes, I've gotten too lazy to lug my aging DSLR around with me. But I always have my phone with me, its camera at my fingertips. Granted, its pictures aren't nearly as good as my Nikon's (even though it has an 8MP camera as opposed to the Nikon's 6MP), but you'd think I'd be taking more pictures with it. Whatever the reason, getting their scrapbooks caught up should be easier.

Here are the pages I've gotten done so far this year. In my ever-increasing laziness, I won't even bother with descriptions. It's safe to say that most of my papers are DCWV. Some are from Disney. I may have used some sketches on a few, but I can't remember which ones. There should be a link to the sketch blog on the right side here now.

With any luck, it won't be two months before I post again.

Finished 2010!

Yes, I finished my 2010 scrapbook, even down to the title page! It's about time, too. Being this far behind in my scrapbooks is a more recent phenomenon, but the new normal, I'm afraid. Between the Disney album and the "regular" album, I did an awful lot of pages for 2010.

Next up is going back to the boys' books, and trying to get them caught up. I'm telling myself it shouldn't take as long as I think, because as I was going through photos, I discovered (with the exception of last year's Christmas Disney trip) that I have taken way fewer pictures than I have in the past. I think subconsciously I know how far behind the scrapbooks are, and the fewer photos there are to scrap, the easier it will be to get caught up.

But naturally, since I've finally caught a slight wave of motivation, I have run out of printed photos. I ordered a batch yesterday, thanks to 101 free prints from Shutterfly, but they are not scheduled for delivery for at least a week.

This is another big group of layouts, but it's the rest of them for the album!  I admit, a few of these are definitely of the "slap the photos down and be done with it" variety. If you've been following along with me for any length of time, you surely know by now I'm not out there to win any prizes for my pages. And, if you have been following me for awhile, thank you. I know there aren't many of you, but I appreciate you taking the time to look at my work, amateur as it may be.

Papers: DCWV
Punch: Fiskars

Papers: K & Co., DCWV
Stickers: K & Co.

Papers: DCWV
(Could this one be any simpler?)

 Papers: DCWV

Papers: DCWV, Provo Craft
Punch: Fiskars
Stickers: American Crafts

Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridge: Tear Drop

Papers: DCWV
Punch: EK Success
Cricut Cartridge: Lyrical Letters

Papers: DCWV
Punch: EK Success
Stickers: American Crafts
Cricut Cartridge: Doodle Type, Lyrical Letters

Papers: DCWV
Stamps: Stampin' Up
Cricut Cartridge: Alphalicious, Calligraphy Collection

Papers: DCWV

Home from Disney

I know, it's been a little too long since my last post. I haven't done any scrapbooking in over a month, though. Last time, I mentioned that I decided to knit Christmas stockings for my family, and that became nearly a full time job. I finished the last one about thirty minutes before we left on our Disney vacation, so I really cut it close. Here is what took away from my potential scrapping time:

Each one took me about a week to complete, sometimes working at least five hours a day.

We got to spend our first Christmastime at Disney World. While I love Disney, and will likely start thinking about the next trip before too long, I have to say I wasn't overly impressed from a holiday standpoint. Sure, Main Street in the Magic Kingdom was beautiful and the "snow" was neat.

The Candlelight Processional at Epcot is really lovely (although we didn't get the full effect of it, since it wasn't dark yet for the the show we saw).

The Osbourne dancing lights at Hollywood Studios is pretty cool to see.

Animal Kingdom had their Jingle Jungle parade, but except for the tree at the entrance, there wasn't much at all in terms of decor. The weather was nice and warm, though!

Overall, I'm glad we got to experience "The World" at holiday time, but I don't think I'd be in a hurry to do it again. I think we lucked out from a crowd perspective. Yes, there were lots of people there, but I expected the crowds to be worse. We managed to do just about everything we wanted. We did pretty much skip the character photos this time around. Caleb is not a fan of getting his picture taken or of waiting. Add to this the sheer exhaustion of trekking around Disney World for five days, and it's no wonder he was pretty miserable by the time we left. At ten, Aaron handles the stress better; plus he has a better appreciation for what a trip to Disney really is.

Christmas and the family visits are over now, so pretty soon I can start thinking about getting back to scrapbooking. I am looking forward to it, especially since January is traditionally my biggest page count month of the year. Maybe I'll get a good streak going and crank out the 2010 Disney album. Don't anyone hold their breath on that one, though.