Scrapbooking 15 Years Later!

 Since I recently finished up my 2001 scrapbooks, I've been motivated to continue on. Strike whilst the iron is hot, as they say! So over the past few days I dug into 2002 and so far, it has proven to be much easier and faster to work through. Even though I'd skipped over several events (such as Bailey's 9th birthday!), it was easy to slip those pictures into pocket pages and finish them up quickly.

You probably know from reading my blog that I have a *TINY* tendency (haha!) to save things, which is why I'm sharing this photo below. Fifteen years ago, at the time of Bailey's party, I bought the tie dye paper and die cuts so I could use them on her pages. And believe it or not, I STILL HAD THEM! I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing that I still had scrapbooking stuff which is that old but I decided to go ahead and use them, even though I probably wouldn't have purchased those same items today!

So I made one "traditional" page and put the remaining photos in pockets. 

I had also kept Bailey's original (scribbled!) party plan and added it to the pages. I know I get carried away saving things but when I can use them as intended, then that's a WIN in my book! And check out the picture on the left of me wearing my mom's old dress! Bailey insisted that her parents dress up in 60's attire for the party and I guess this was the best I could come up with!

 

 These pocket pages don't look like "normal" pocket pages because the photos are all 3x5.5, too small for the 4x6 pockets. As a result, they have to be adhered to 4x6 cards, which is a little bit of a pain but not too bad.

And since I'm in "catch up" mode here, I'm not spending much time on those pocket pages. Just keeping them very simple -- nothing to write home about. At this point, done is much, MUCH better than perfect!

  I incorporated memorabilia, such as this newspaper article,  by placing items in smaller sleeves. I'm just adding these new pocket pages into the album full of pages I had made years ago. So the albums will have a mixture of old and new pages.

Sometimes I used 5.5x8.5 sleeves for tiny scrapbook pages to feature one photo I especially like. This one shows Bailey eating while either doing homework or one of her many workbooks. This is one of those photos that really captures her personality at that age!

I've also found many, many great photos of Tinsel, which is both wonderful and bittersweet, given her current health situation. She came to live with us on Christmas 2001, so these photos were taken shortly after she arrived. Going back in time to work through these pictures is really a great trip down memory lane and reminds me of why it's so important to capture moments like these in scrapbooks.

 So 2002 is going relatively quickly, 15 years later! My little process is working pretty well so I'm going to keep at it and with luck, I'll be in 2003 before you know it! :) Thanks so much to those who have stopped by to offer encouragement. If you're on your own "scrapbooking catch-up" journey, please share your story and process!

jp

Monthly Planner

  I've always kept a calendar or planner of some sort. In fact, I still have ALL of my calendars, going all the way back to high school! If you don't believe me, here's proof from 1978 and 1980! :)

 

Calendars and planners are great little records of everyday life, and I always refer to them when working on my scrapbooks. Calendars are very important to me!

When I got my smart phone a few years ago, however, my calendar/planner habits changed. With my phone, I could easily sync calendars with Spouse plus keep notes and to-do lists with me wherever I went. So I stopped using my Franklin Planner at that time, as it was an unnecessary duplication of what was on my phone.

Still, the record-keeper in me wanted a paper calendar to keep, so I printed out my phone calendars and put them in a binder. You know, just for the record. :)

So with that as a backdrop, the "new" Simple Stories planners sort of upset my apple cart. They are absolutely beautiful and allow you to not only keep track of everything (like with a Franklin Planner or smart phone) but also decorate the pages however you'd like. So I jumped on the planner bandwagon in January, not sure how things would go.

 

Since starting up with my planner, I still put every event on my smart phone so that I can sync with Spouse and set reminders for myself. I'll admit that seems like a bit of a duplication, but it doesn't take too much time. And I know that I'll want a paper record anyway, which the planner provides.

 

  Here is my April calendar with a few events added and some blurred out for privacy. As you can see, the planner accessories are pretty cute. I'm still trying to figure out how to decorate the pages and not lose space for writing.

My friend Katie is an avid planner and teaches a class at Memory Bound. I have learned a lot from Katie about how to use these newfangled planners! We made the cute little divider in one of her classes.

 All in all, I've been enjoying my "new" planner. It's still a work in progress as I try to figure out how to integrate it with my phone calendar and make it both functional and cute, but I think I'm on the right track. At least I haven't missed any appointments! :)

jp