Summer Manifesto

One of the challenges in the International Scrapbook Day Creative Crop at Big Picture Classes was “Create a summer bucket list to create and capture memorable summertime adventures.” I didn’t have a chance to complete that task, but I told myself that eventually I would, and yesterday was the day. Although the class is over, I still want to go back and complete some of the challenges I didn’t do, so you may see some of them here in the near future. Here is my bucket list layout for summer:

Not only do I want to stay caught up with Project Life, but I want to improve in the way I do it. I would like to see it look more stylish and cool, like the photos I see on Pinterest. Slapping a journal tag with sloppy writing onto a photo and then stuffing it into a pocket is no longer good enough. I want to have more fun with it, and make more of an effort in documenting not just the happenings of the day, but my feelings, moods, troubles, music I’m into, books I’m reading, and t.v. shows I can’t get enough of. That goes for my daughter, too. I need to spend more time listening to her, and documenting her ever-changing self. She won’t let me take pictures of her right now, but I will concentrate on other aspects of our lives in a better, prettier, more unique way. I want to see some movies, any movies (except scary ones) this summer with big buckets of popcorn (hold the butter) and huge amounts of soda; I want to go to the coast for at least one day (it’s only a 2.5 hour drive from my home), and I’m crossing my fingers and toes that I will be very busy taking an anatomy class as a pre-requisite for the nursing program. All of this I will be STRIVING for (using my One Little Word), and more (eating better, being more positive, taking risks and adventures, exercising, etc., etc.)

What’s on your summer bucket list? Why not put it on paper and decorate it all up? That would make a great vision board! Thanks for stopping by!

Jennifer

Aug 3

The Signs of Summer.

Here is day 12′s sketch from Big Picture’s “28 Days of Sketches”. I’m a bit behind, but it’s tough when I work full-time and have loads of other responsibilities at home! But here is my take, simple and unfussy.

This class sure is fun! Thanks for stopping by!

Aug 22

Goodbye, Summer Twenty Eleven!

Last night I finished filling up my ‘Summer Twenty-Eleven’ mini-book. I purchased this book from Elise Joy Blaha on her Etsy shop. It’s a 4×6″ size, and I left it on my work desk to add to, little by little. And as you can see, I added a lot, and it got big! But that was half the fun of it. The empty book came with so many cool papers in pretty colors and designs, and it’s not a book you fill all at once; rather it’s a journal that you fill as you go along with your life. I found it so much easier to do this kind of project instead of having dozens of photos in front of me, an empty book, and not enough time. It really is a journal in the sense that it’s all about the everyday happenings in your life in which you are encouraged to add photos and some cute stuff here and there. You don’t even have to be a scrapbooker to enjoy filling a book like this, because there is nothing you shouldn’t do with it, and it comes as a blank canvas with only your imagination as the guide to give it life. Since mine has so many pages, I didn’t want to tackle the daunting task of photographing it, so I thought I would try something different and [gasp!] make a video to show what I did. I like looking at other scrapper’s videos of how they create things, and especially the final, completed project.

Thanks for stopping by; I’ll be back later!

Aug 14

A Summer Mini Album

I discovered two really great mini-albums from two different sources. I couldn’t resist either, so I got both. They’re both DIY, and lots of fun for me to put together. But two? I decided to make one primarily about my summer, and this one I’m going to show is all about my daughter’s summer. This album kit came from Scrapbook Circle, and included all kinds of cute papers and alpha stickers from Studio Calico, Sassafras and Crate Paper, with journaling tags from Elle’s Studio. I finished my daughter’s album today (I’m more limited with photos of her since she’s spent so much of the summer away) and wanted to show it off:

The cover

Gosh, looking at this, I’d say my little girl had a pretty awesome summer! Good for her! I know that some day, looking back, she will come to cherish this. These are moments you never want to forget! I’m still working on my summer album (which is by Elise Blaha), and when it’s finished, I’ll post it here, but it’ll probably have to be a video, or something like that, because it’s huge!