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

Goal Met!

As of this moment, I have achieved my scrapbooking goal of being "caught up" to two years behind in the family album! Of course, I had initially wanted to reach this goal a month ago, but better late than never, I suppose. I scrapped Halloween 2010 today, so I made it just under the wire.

In other news, I finally finished reading Les Miserables! I can't believe it took me ten weeks to read to read one book (okay, with four or five other books interspersed). I have stuck to reading lighter fare since finishing it. I will try to take a break from some more intensive reading for a little while to make some headway on the 2010 scrapbook.

After I scanned the batch of pages below, I went ahead and laid out the rest of the pages for the 2010 album. I can see the light at the end of it now. I think I only have nine layouts left to complete the album, so if I can keep some motivation up, I can get it finished in a week or two (and hopefully not four or five or more...). I already decided that the next project will be going back to the boys' albums. I realized that theirs are now officially a year behind. I need to get theirs caught up, since I use them to jog my memory when I get around to mine.

I'd also like to get started on my 2011 Disney Cruise album. I'm telling myself that won't be as major of an undertaking as the 2010 Disney World album was. For one, I have the experience of a "big" project under my belt. Also, more importantly, I didn't take as many pictures on the cruise as I did at The World, so there is less to work with. What brought this on is I'm fantasizing about another Disney cruise. Actually, I keep debating between a cruise and Disney World. It's still fantasy at this point, but even in my fantasies I know that both is not an option!

Here are the pages I've thrown together over the last month. I keep saying I need to post them more frequently instead of in large batches, but I never seem to manage it. If the next post isn't for another month, I hope it will be the last of the 2010 pages.

Papers: Bazzill, Paper Studio
Cricut Cartridge: Opposites Attract

Papers: DCWV
Tags, Stickers: Making Memories
Ribbon: Offray
Punch: EK Success

Papers: DCWV
Punch: Fiskars
Balloon: Karen Foster

Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridge: All Mixed Up

Papers: Provo Craft, DCWV
Cricut Cartridge: George and Basic Shapes
Punches: Fiskars, EK Success
Stamps: PSX
Sticker: SRM

Papers: DCWV (including some OLD stuff)
Cricut Cartridge: Alphalicious

Papers: DCWV

More Pages Already

I can't believe I already have more pages to post and it hasn't even been a week. If I can do four more layouts before the end of the month, I will be officially *only* two years behind! I could have gotten one of them done, or at least started, if I hadn't distracted myself by going back and reading all my old blog posts. I know, there is something seriously wrong with me. At least I'm doing laundry in the process, so that hour wasn't a total waste.

I find it a little ironic that one of the layouts I did is of the boys first TKD tournament. We had another one this weekend, and it was my first time competing. It was not something I had felt too strongly about ever doing, but decided that if I was going to try it, this would be the one. It was a national tournament that was being held locally, our school being the host. There would be a greater number of competitors among color belt adults, so I had a better chance of being with ladies of my same rank. More irony is that I won a 4th place medal in sparring, when my fear of sparring is what kept me from even trying class for the longest time. I feel like I accomplished something, maybe proved to myself that I could do it. However, I am in no hurry to repeat the experience. I enjoy going to the tournaments and watching my boys compete (they also won 4th place for sparring), but I can't honestly say I enjoyed myself when it was my turn.

Anyway, here are my pages from this past week. Hopefully I'll have more soon.

This one was realizing I could cram the rest of this trip in two pages, rather than four. Lately I've been too lazy to crop photos, but I do like doing less pages.
Papers: Scrap Book Wizard (old stuff), DCWV
Cricut Cartridges: George & Basic Shapes, Lyrical Letters, Mini Monograms
Random stickers from my stash
The white block is just a way to cover my journaling, since I included some personal information that would be better not to post.

Papers: DCWV, Scrap Book Wizard
Cricut Cartridge: Jasmine

Papers: DCWV
Unknown stickers
Punch: EK Success

Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridge: George & Basic Shapes
Rub-ons: Making Memories

Papers: Provo Craft, DCWV
Cricut Cartridges: Lyrical Letters, Zoo Balloo

Next stop: Disney (scrapbook, that is)

I got the last of the non-Disney 2010 layouts finished, so now if I want to do any scrapbooking, it's got to be Disney pages, since those are the only photos I have printed right now. I will admit, though, that even though I've been putting off starting this album for so long, it will feel good to finally start it. I'm hoping that working on something a little different will get me out of this rut. I've noticed that all my recent pages (particularly the two-page spreads) are all starting to look the same. At this point, though, I've just been happy to get the memories preserved. That's really what it's about for me anyway. I've never been a "latest and greatest" scrapper. I've struggled to include any semblance of embellishment on my pages lately. Photos and journaling are about enough for me.

Here's the latest. Hopefully next time you'll get to see something from Disney World!

Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridge: Calligraphy Collection
Stickers: Crafts, Etc!

Papers: DCWV
Stamps: Stampin Up
(this was a quick page, since I ended up copying it from one of the boys' albums)

Papers: DCWV, Stamping Station
Rub-ons: Making Memories
Punch: Fiskars

A Month's Worth of Pages

First off, I need to say that after Aaron's rocky start to TKD testing on Saturday, he did pass (as did the rest of us). He even got the silver "awesome" stripe on his new belt, which you can't see in the photo. What you can see, though, is the bruise on his nose from when he fell and his glasses hit him. The swelling of his lip went down by then.

Earlier this week, I got a brief burst of scrapping energy and somehow did three pages in one day. Then I realized I had other pages waiting to be scanned, some I finished nearly a month ago. While I'm glad to have a stack of layouts to post today, since I finally sat down and scanned them all, it's a little discouraging to me. There was a time (and not all that long ago) when I would have this much to post after a week, rather than a month.

I'm also still putting off doing my 2010 Disney album. I still am completely intimidated by this project and now I'm starting to think about just getting a plain ol' photo album to put the pictures into. I'm not sure what this says about me as a scrapbooker. Is my passion for the craft dwindling? Do I want to get away from traditional scrapping and switch to digital? Who knows?

Instead of continuing to whine about not starting this project, I'll just let you see what I have been doing instead.

Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridges: Mickey Font, Alphalicious
Stickers: Disney

Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridges: Stretch Your Imagination, Mickey Font, Lyrical Letters
Border Punch: Fiskars

Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridge: Lyrical Letters
Stamp: Village Arts
Punch: EK Success
Other: Stickles

Papers: All really old stuff
Cricut Cartridge: Calligraphy Collection
Border punch: EK Success

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

Papers: DCWV, Paper Studio
Cricut Cartridge: Zoo Balloo
Rub-ons: Making Memories

A Lesson in Perseverence

Today was tae kwon do testing day for our whole family. I was feeling especially nervous, not so much for myself (although I was a little), but for my oldest son. As a brown belt, this was the first testing that required him to break boards in order to pass.

The way the testing schedule was set up, my younger son (who is currently a blue belt) was in the first time slot. He had to repeat his form with a few other kids. They get three tries at that level, so it wasn't a huge deal, and not the first time he's had to repeat it. He made it through his sparring rounds without incident. He was finished.

My husband and I were in the second time slot. Since we were testing at the same time, I didn't see how he did, but I'm sure he did well. I didn't have to repeat anything, so I guess I did alright.

The older son (who just turned ten last week, by the way!) was in the last time slot, which is where all the testers who need to break wood go. At the beginning of each group, everyone is lined up on the floor together to warm up and recite the student oath and tenets of tae kwon do--courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, indomitable spirit.

Then the students are called by name to a certain spot on the floor to do their form. When Aaron's name was called, he answered "Yes Ma'am!" and ran towards his spot, just the way he was supposed to. On the way, however, he tripped (maybe on his pant leg, somehow I didn't see exactly how it happened). There he was, sprawled out on the middle of the floor in front of at least 100 people. In tears, he managed to get up and was instructed to go get a drink. By the time I got to him, his lip was beginning to swell and was bleeding. Fortunately, there didn't appear to be any damage to his teeth.

The testing continued without him while he stood in the back of the gym, visibly upset. One of the instructors came to check on him and see if he was ready to come back. He wasn't, and they said he could have a few more minutes. By this time, he was asking us if he could test on another day (no, not really). Another instructor came to check on him, letting him know that he could still test, but that they were going to start the sparring portion, and he'd have to do his form by himself (when they're normally out there with at least three or more other kids). He still wasn't keen on the idea of going out there at all, but somehow he was convinced to do it.

After that sparring round was finished, the testers were asked to step aside, and Aaron's name was called again. This time he ran out to the center of the floor to applause and cheers of the spectators. He did his form with confidence (I don't know what it's supposed to look like, but he looked good doing it!). He only had to do it that one time before he was dismissed to put his sparring gear on. After all that he had already been through, I doubt the judges would have made him do it alone a second time unless he really botched it.

He made it through sparring without incident. Then came board breaking. This was what I was most nervous about for him, since he hadn't been real consistent with his practice breaks in class. Well, that's what I was most nervous about before we left the house this morning. After all the drama earlier in the testing, the boards almost seemed anti-climactic.

At his level, they need to break one board with a hand technique, and one with a foot. They get three attempts to do so. On his first attempt, he didn't break the first board, but broke the second. On the second attempt, he broke it! I could finally relax.

After all this, we still don't know for sure yet if he passed testing (or any of us, for that matter). If we don't get a phone call on Monday, we're in the clear. I am just so proud of him for persevering and getting out there and going through with the testing when he really hadn't wanted to. I was a little afraid that "forcing" him to do it would make him even more upset and he wouldn't perform well. He rose to the challenge, though, and I think he'll be stronger for it.

Easing Into Scrapping

Now that we are getting settled into the school routine, I am finally starting to get some motivation to scrapbook again. Of course, I am still distracted by reading, knitting, and guilty pleasure TV on Netflix, but I am making some progress. I got excited thinking I had my youngest son's album caught up, but in truth I simply finished with the prints I had for his album, which date back to April of this year. I am about two layouts shy of reaching the same point with the older son's album. Then I can tackle the first half of my 2010 album, minus the Disney trip. I'm not sure why that is such a daunting project for me; maybe because it's the first time I'm doing a full album of one event.

The further behind I get in my scrapbooking, the more I'm starting to think about making the switch to digital scrapbooking. I have no experience with it, but I get the feeling it's a little easier to stay on top of things. For now, though, I'm still fairly attached to my pretty papers and toys.

With all my distractions, I still have managed to get a few pages done in the past week. I even used some old supplies in the process.

Papers: Paper Studio, DCWV
Cricut Cartridges: Mickey Font, Tear Drop
Stickers: Disney

Papers: ScrapBook Wizard
Letters: Colorbok
Sticker: SRM

Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridges: Lyrical Letters, George & Basic Shapes

Papers: Provo Craft, DCWV
Cricut Cartridge: Opposites Attract
Stickers: Paper Studio
Punches: EK Success

More TKD Pages and Album Debate

I decided to press on and finish up the rest of the taekwondo  pages for now. I don't know about you, but when I end up with a lot of pages to do for the same type of event (whether it be Christmas, birthday, etc), I start getting a little annoyed at them. The TKD pages are feeling especially challenging, since everything looks the same.  I'm happy to be done with them for awhile, since it will likely be at least a year before I get to my own 2010 scrapbook. I will try and get the boys' books caught up sometime before then, but maybe I will have some fresh ideas by that time.

Anyway, here they are. These are all for my older son. You may notice that, although I didn't copy the pages exactly from my other son's album, I did use the same title elements on some of them.

Now I have just six more pages to go to meet my January goal of getting the boys' albums caught up. I'm also wrestling with the dilemma of just how many pages to cram into one album. For my boys, after their first year, I have managed to stuff two years into one album. My nine year old's current album contains all of 2009 and half of 2010. If I try and squeeze the rest of the year in it, it will contain almost 50 page protectors (or 100 pages). I know I put way more pages in an album than it should comfortably hold, but this will even be a stretch for me. This is also the first three-ring album I've tried (I usually use post-bound), and I don't think it can hold any more. Now the great debate is whether to break down and break up the album into two separate years or find another album that could possibly hold everything.

The irony in all this is that I thought I had cut down on my picture taking, in part to avoid this problem. I know I have streamlined my scrapbooking process, in that I do a lot more one page layouts for events when in the past I had done two page layouts. I suppose I just have more events now to make those one page layouts of.

Maybe I should just get all the pages finished that need to go in his album, see what the grand total is, and then decide where to put them. That album I bought this morning can always end up being my elusive 2009 scrapbook!