Tag: scrapbook

The Hundred Days Project

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Have you heard of the 100 Days Project? The creators of this project encourage creatives to do something every day for 100 days, something fun and creative–and, hopefully, stress-free. It is a time for exploring something new or for going deeper into an established craft or creative practice.

I confess I am a 100-Days-Project dropout. I start with really good intentions. I really do! But after ten or fifteen days or so, I stop. This year, I am thirty days into my project. I am making junk journals, folios, and ATCs (artist trading cards). I’ve been a scrapbooker and journaler for years, and I love playing with pretty papers. I probably have enough scrapbook paper to open my own shop! It’s hard not to collect papers. (I added four packs to the stash this past weekend.) I have been intrigued with the idea of making mini scrapbook albums, and then I started seeing junk journals, and that started me thinking that I could combine scrapbooking and junk journals.

This year, I’m working on this project in a couple of ways. I am making some journals, at least the foundations. I have two journals that are works in progress. I pick them up and add pages and doodads as “the spirit moves.” I make smaller folios that I can complete in a day. And I watch videos for ideas and inspiration. I even learned how to use templates and downloadable papers to create my own materials using Canva and Photoshop. I’m kind of proud of myself! Some days are spent just gathering and preparing materials to use another day. It’s all part of the process, I suppose.

Today is day 35. I started this dual-fold folio yesterday and finished the foundation this morning. I still have to add more ephemera. I used a kit from Pink Monarch Prings for the base.

These are a few of the pages. I find that looking for inspiration and for ideas, or learning a new technique, is just as valuable as making the journal.

If you have done a 100-day project, I would love to hear about your experiences.

Starting the Week—Planning the Days of My Life

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Are you a planner and super organized and know exactly how each day will go?

I am NOT a planner or an organizer; I tend to be more “big picture” and “spontaneous” when it comes to planning. I tend to think of things in terms of routines and practices rather than schedules and to-do lists. Sometimes, I wish I were more organized and scheduled and planned, but things are as they are, right? Maybe it’s just that I’m more flexible and adaptive.

I have been experimenting with different ways to plan or design my days. Maybe it’s because I’m a teacher, but I love planners and office supplies and pens and fancy paper clips (and not so fancy ones, too). I have a collection of colored pens and markers. I even have a box of 64 Crayola crayons! I print off planner stickers.

I have FOUR planners: one is for the “everyday” things; one is to track my daily Bible study and to keep prayer requests; a third one tracks my blog entries, and the fourth one is work-related to keep my class schedule and related meetings and tasks. untitled

When I started getting serious about planners and calendars, I found out that there are more ways to skin the planner cat than one. There’s “Right Brain Planning” (Teresa Robinson is the guru), Fauxbonici planning (based on the Japanese system of Hobonici planniing); bullet journaling, and “creative” planning. There are systems that invite you to set your goals for the day, week, month, year, five years, ten years, and life; there are systems that include appointment calendars and to-do lists. There are systems that use codes and symbols and colors. . . . And there are art-journal inspired planners (or unPlanners as one group calls them).

Is it any wonder that I am a bit overwhelmed now with planning and trying to get my life organized?

I have to admit, though, that I am caught up with the Happy Planner system produced by Me and My Big Ideas (MAMBI). here’s the story: I was a scrapbooker (and still am, though not as much as I used to be); I want to keep memories in some kind of way, whether through journaling or through scrapbooking or something else. However, now that my children are own their own, I do less scrapbook pages. I discovered, though that the Happy Planner is a convenient way to keep memories and do some planning and scheduling. It is becoming my way of keeping a record of life. I sometimes include photographs that are meaningful to that day. I punch holes in invitations that I want to keep, birth announcements, quote cards that I find, things like that. And you know what? I have a kind of scrapbook. I can look back and see what was important to me on a particular day or during a particular week or month. I can see what the important events were, like the days of Hurricane Matthew that created havoc for South Carolina’s coast or the church’s homecoming services and family reunions and my son’s band competitions. I can write ahead and put in future events—an upcoming bridal shower for my son’s fiancee, for instance, and keep track of the choir anthems that I need to learn.untitled-3

The main thing I’m learning about planning is that merely writing an event or a task down does not get it done. I list “photography” as one of my daily activities. (It’s almost noon and I haven’t picked up the camera yet! And I listed going for a walk as one of my activities for today, and I’m still in my pajamas. Nor have I yet practiced the anthem for Sunday morning, and we have choir rehearsal tomorrow night.untitled-5

I am using these planners, though, and someone in the future will have “fun” figuring out how I am through these little snippets of my days and weeks and months and years.