All products are from Designer Digitals.
Thanks for stopping by and have an awesome weekend!
Friday, January 25, 2013
Fast Fridays
I apologize for my lack of blog posts lately. I'll just say that life is hopping which leads me to my blog post topic today....FAST FRIDAYS. As life continues to move full speed ahead, I'm planning on posting a page on Fridays that can be created in no time. I love the 30 minute challenges at Designer Digitals. It forces you to make quick decisions which I think is often a good thing. I think all too often we second guess ourselves instead of just following our instinct. I'm hoping this series will help me set aside a few more minutes to just create pages from our everyday moments. Here is my first page. It is very graphic and bold....two words that I happen to love when it comes to scrapbooking. Katie Pertiet has this fabulous new kit coming out this weekend called "Color My Love". The colors are so vibrant and I love it.
All products are from Designer Digitals.
Thanks for stopping by and have an awesome weekend!
All products are from Designer Digitals.
Thanks for stopping by and have an awesome weekend!
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Capture 2013
2013 is here and I am so excited to start a fresh year of memory-keeping. As many of you may know if you follow my blog, I document our year using a simple set of templates that I create each year. I document the little moment as well as the big moments. I have a weekly page as well as many other pages throughout each week that tell the stories that I want to tell. This will be the fourth year that I have done this project and I love it. It has transformed the way that I document our lives. I can look at 2012 and know that I have documented just about everything from our daily lives to the highlights.
My system is very simple and very graphic. My motto for this project is "less is more". I use a very graphic design and plug my photos and journaling in each week. It takes me between 10 - 15 minutes to do a page because I don't use embellishments and the pages are so easy to create. By taking less time on each page, I feel like I can record more about our lives and for me that is what it is all about. Yes, I create lots of other types of pages for my children's albums and our family albums but this album is where I have EVERYTHING. In 10 years, when life slows down a bit (if that ever happens), I can open up these pages and find the journaling and photos for the event and create a different type of page if I want to otherwise I can just feel good that it is documented.
I really liked my system for 2012 so I knew I was going to stay pretty true to that system. My favorite parts of my template system for 2012...
- Large photo on one side (I love using large photos)
- I used two different colors of solid cardstock on each page (besides the journaling and photos that was the only thing that I changed for each layout)
- I used overlays when I could to give the look of patterned paper while still using only solid cardstock
- I created a series of templates with the same design but had various numbers of photos on each template
- The templates made it so easy to create pages fast and I recorded A LOT in 2012
As I created my template system for 2013, I wanted a slightly different template system just to keep it fresh. The only other thing that I wanted to change was that I wanted my photos on the right to be a little big bigger so I created about 12 templates with various arrangements on the right. I'm really excited about this system.
Here are my first few pages. It was Amelia's birthday so it was her week of pages.
Once again I am only using two solid colored papers. I created a striped overlay for the background as well as strips of black (reduced opacity) on the angled strips of paper so it looks like those strips are two-tone. You will see that I did add photo corners and I changed the colors on them. If I get tired of doing that, they will just be gray. "Simple" is the name of the game for me.
Memory-keeping can really be whatever you want it to be. I love creating lots of different kinds of pages but this is the foundation for all of my other pages. This is where I go to find the photos and stories that I want to scrap.
All products are from Designer Digitals.
Thanks for stopping by!
My system is very simple and very graphic. My motto for this project is "less is more". I use a very graphic design and plug my photos and journaling in each week. It takes me between 10 - 15 minutes to do a page because I don't use embellishments and the pages are so easy to create. By taking less time on each page, I feel like I can record more about our lives and for me that is what it is all about. Yes, I create lots of other types of pages for my children's albums and our family albums but this album is where I have EVERYTHING. In 10 years, when life slows down a bit (if that ever happens), I can open up these pages and find the journaling and photos for the event and create a different type of page if I want to otherwise I can just feel good that it is documented.
I really liked my system for 2012 so I knew I was going to stay pretty true to that system. My favorite parts of my template system for 2012...
- Large photo on one side (I love using large photos)
- I used two different colors of solid cardstock on each page (besides the journaling and photos that was the only thing that I changed for each layout)
- I used overlays when I could to give the look of patterned paper while still using only solid cardstock
- I created a series of templates with the same design but had various numbers of photos on each template
- The templates made it so easy to create pages fast and I recorded A LOT in 2012
As I created my template system for 2013, I wanted a slightly different template system just to keep it fresh. The only other thing that I wanted to change was that I wanted my photos on the right to be a little big bigger so I created about 12 templates with various arrangements on the right. I'm really excited about this system.
Here are my first few pages. It was Amelia's birthday so it was her week of pages.
Once again I am only using two solid colored papers. I created a striped overlay for the background as well as strips of black (reduced opacity) on the angled strips of paper so it looks like those strips are two-tone. You will see that I did add photo corners and I changed the colors on them. If I get tired of doing that, they will just be gray. "Simple" is the name of the game for me.
Memory-keeping can really be whatever you want it to be. I love creating lots of different kinds of pages but this is the foundation for all of my other pages. This is where I go to find the photos and stories that I want to scrap.
All products are from Designer Digitals.
Thanks for stopping by!
Friday, January 4, 2013
Birthday Party Activity
Winter in the Morton household means birthday season. We start with Ellie in the middle of December, then baby Jesus, Amelia's birthday was yesterday and Quinn's birthday is at the beginning of March. It is a busy time of planning but I love it. I love making the invites and getting everything ready for their parties.
Amelia wanted a sledding party and thankfully Mother Nature has cooperated this year! Here is the invite for her party.
Amelia wanted a sledding party and thankfully Mother Nature has cooperated this year! Here is the invite for her party.
Sometimes I think it is difficult to find fresh activities to keep the party rolling. I thought I would share an activity that has become a staple of our parties. It started when Mia was turning three and she wanted a Dora party. I decided to make a map and hide all of their party favor treasures around the house. I took pictures of areas they need to check. It is a simple activity and the kids always request a scavenger hunt for each of their parties. They have so much fun racing throughout the house. Here is one of the maps for tomorrow's party. I hope Dani isn't checking my blog or she'll have a headstart.
All products are from Designer Digitals.
I hope 2013 started on a great note for you. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Goodbye 2012
Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed holiday celebrations with your family. I took time off in December and it felt wonderful!
It is hard to believe that 2012 has come to a close. It was a wonderful year for our family and I'm sad to see it go but looking forward to seeing where 2013 takes us.
In 2012, I spent a great deal of time documenting the little details of our lives and I'm thrilled that I will soon have a record of that in my hands. This is the third year that I have taken on a project similar to 365 or Project Life. I absolutely love having a record of our lives so that I don't forget the little things, the conversations, the struggles, the celebrations, the interests....everything.
Here is my cover for 2012. I kept it very simple and graphic just like the rest of my album.
Here is my title page.
In 2012, I used a series of 9 templates that I designed. They are all very similar... they just change slightly based on the number of photos that I needed for each page. This system has transformed how I scrapbook. I can look back on 2012 and know that I have everything together in one album. When I want to create a special page for one of my children's albums, I simply open up the page that I created for our Capture 2012 album. I will find all of the photos there as well as the journaling. It has become my reference album for scrapbooking and I love it!
I have been posting pages throughout 2012 but here are a few more just in case you are interested.
You will notice that the pages are very simple. I merely changed photos, journaling and basic color scheme on each page. The focus of this album is memory keeping. I didn't want embellishments or anything that took a great deal of time. I just wanted to get the information in the album so that it was documented and one day, I can always go back and create other types of pages if I desire. Each week I would create between 4-8 spreads to highlight the details of our week. In addition to photos, I often included pictures of school projects, notes left to me on our whiteboard and everything inbetween. This album truly captures our 2012.
I'm excited to embark on Capture 2013. I'm still working out the details of the templates that I will be using. It is going to be hard to leave this set because it worked so well for me.
I think people will often stay clear of a project like this because they are worried about the time involved. After doing this project for three years, I think it is very "doable" as long as you set realistic goals and know what you want to accomplish each week. I do not feel like this project is a burden because of my simple system. I can create a spread such as this in about 10-15 minutes. It works for me and I cannot wait to get our album back from the printer.
All products are Designer Digitals.
The start of a new year is always a great time to set goals for various aspects of your life. What types of goals have you set for your memory keeping in 2013? It is certainly something to think about.
It is hard to believe that 2012 has come to a close. It was a wonderful year for our family and I'm sad to see it go but looking forward to seeing where 2013 takes us.
In 2012, I spent a great deal of time documenting the little details of our lives and I'm thrilled that I will soon have a record of that in my hands. This is the third year that I have taken on a project similar to 365 or Project Life. I absolutely love having a record of our lives so that I don't forget the little things, the conversations, the struggles, the celebrations, the interests....everything.
Here is my cover for 2012. I kept it very simple and graphic just like the rest of my album.
Here is my title page.
In 2012, I used a series of 9 templates that I designed. They are all very similar... they just change slightly based on the number of photos that I needed for each page. This system has transformed how I scrapbook. I can look back on 2012 and know that I have everything together in one album. When I want to create a special page for one of my children's albums, I simply open up the page that I created for our Capture 2012 album. I will find all of the photos there as well as the journaling. It has become my reference album for scrapbooking and I love it!
I have been posting pages throughout 2012 but here are a few more just in case you are interested.
You will notice that the pages are very simple. I merely changed photos, journaling and basic color scheme on each page. The focus of this album is memory keeping. I didn't want embellishments or anything that took a great deal of time. I just wanted to get the information in the album so that it was documented and one day, I can always go back and create other types of pages if I desire. Each week I would create between 4-8 spreads to highlight the details of our week. In addition to photos, I often included pictures of school projects, notes left to me on our whiteboard and everything inbetween. This album truly captures our 2012.
I'm excited to embark on Capture 2013. I'm still working out the details of the templates that I will be using. It is going to be hard to leave this set because it worked so well for me.
I think people will often stay clear of a project like this because they are worried about the time involved. After doing this project for three years, I think it is very "doable" as long as you set realistic goals and know what you want to accomplish each week. I do not feel like this project is a burden because of my simple system. I can create a spread such as this in about 10-15 minutes. It works for me and I cannot wait to get our album back from the printer.
All products are Designer Digitals.
The start of a new year is always a great time to set goals for various aspects of your life. What types of goals have you set for your memory keeping in 2013? It is certainly something to think about.