One of my goals for year 2012 is to scrapbook more habitually and make this sport as much a part of my day as working out, brushing my teeth or sleeping 8 hours a night.
Over Christmas I revisited all the scrapbook layouts that I created in 2011. I have them organized by month so it was easy to see that there was a definite ebb and flow of pages throughout the year. Some months I created more than 20 layouts while in others I managed my monthly goal of just 5. My final count was 173 layouts, which actually suprised me given how busy I was towards the end of the year.
I have got to the point in my scrapbooking where doing something is better than doing nothing, and so the completion of every page is cause for celebration. That said, in order to stay true to my aspirations for 2012 and living more intentionally, I want to do more of what I love... Non-work related scrapbooking included.
I have come to believe that the best way to tell your stories more authentically is to make the process part of your daily routine. Saving notes for later is certainly better than not writing at all, but I am learning you lose much of the emotion behind a story and the enthusiasm for telling it when you wait too long.
[ArtPlay Palette Cuisine, FotoInspired Layered Templates No 1]
My Mum has a saying, in fact I believe it may have originally come from my Grandma, that, " All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." I definitely felt that towards the end of last year there was little time for me. My workouts grew scarce, scrapbooking happened perhaps once per week and it made for a grumpy Anna.
Early in December, I started a little experiment, a trial of sorts, to see if I could really make scrapbooking a part of my daily life. The aim was to carve out 30- 45 minutes each day to throw a page together and tell a story I was inspired to tell at that given time. For me this time is either during lunch or just before I go to bed a night. I find I prefer the former but like the flexibility of having both.
I went from scrapbooking scarcely to most days. The pages weren't always works of Art but they are nevertheless meaningful. It's actually quite amazing how much you can get done when you're under a time limit.
[ArtPlay Palette Work Hard Play Hard]
I developed several techniques during this time periond to get layouts done quickly:
- Just do it. It's amazing how fast pages come to together when you stop overthinking them and crack on with creating them. Finish the page another day if you need to.
- Uninspired. Pull the photos onto a new layout and write the story, perhaps doing 2 of these, and save the Art for a more creative day.
- Go super-simple. Create a simple collage with a title and the accompanying story.
I probably won't scrapbook every day in 2012 but I'll certainly be making the time most days.
Would love to know your thoughts about habitual scrapbooking? Is it something you think you could incorporate into your life? Do you have the desire to?
You might also enjoy this post by my friend Peppermint a.k.a One Little Bird Designs.
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MidWeek ArtSale
Check out the store later today for a new midweek rerelease discounted by 20%. There will also be 15 hand-selected digital products discounted by 30% until Friday.
