When you have no photo - part two...

I am back to share another way I document our stories when I don't have any photos.

Using scrapbooking supplies that compliment your story is such an easy way to add interest and a focal point when you don't have a photo.  For my page above (left hand side) I wanted to tell the story of my daughter and her feelings about moving out.  The day before, when she came home to tell us that she had been offered a place to rent for free, she was so excited.  But, after sleeping on it she was not so sure.  She had so many mixed feelings and emotions.  I obviously didn't have a photo to go with this story but I really wanted to capture her mood and how she was feeling.  

I used the "house" digital stamp from one of Ali Edwards Story Kits "Home" and enlarged it so that I could turn in into a pocket to hold the story.  I added a few small embellishments and my page was done.  I was so happy how it turned out and the house really represents the story well.

(Patterned paper from Felicity Jane)

Ideas to help you get started:-

1.   Think about the story you want to tell and then go through your supplies and see if you can find something that will compliment your story.

2.   Think outside the box and don't be afraid to use things differently to how they were intended to be used.

3.   I used a digital stamp here but I could easily have hand cut out a house  or used my silhouette cameo.

4.   If I particularly wanted a photo, I could have taken a photo of our home, the one she will be moving out of and used that to help tell my story.

I hope this  helps you to get more stories told.  Please let me know if you have any other great ideas.  I also want to say a big thank you to those of your who shared your ideas both here and on my IG feed.  I loved hearing all your ideas.

xox  Tracey

Cruise Photobook...

If you have been following my blog or my instagram you will know that I have been de-cluttering the heck out of my house.  I still have lots more to do but the progress so far as been wonderful.  While going through some stuff I came across two old photo albums of a cruise I did way back in 1985.  It was my first overseas holiday without my parents and my first big holiday on my own.  I have so many wonderful memories of this holiday, and, it's still by far my most favourite one.

I had so much fun going through the photos and thinking back to a time that was different from now.  As I looked at each photo the smiles on my face got bigger and bigger.  But, as with all things old they start to deteriorate especially when they were stored in those old sticky type albums.  My intention was always to scrapbook them but obviously I haven't, and, lets me real here, I'm probably not going to right.

But then I had this thought, thanks to The Minimalists, why don't I scan the photos and that way they will be with me forever.  So I did just that.  It only took about an hour which surprised me.  While I was scanning I got a notification that I had received an email.  It was from a company called Snapfish letting me know about a sale they were having on photobooks.  At that very moment I decided to make a photobook using the Snapshops No 3 12x12 album templates from Paislee Press.  These templates were perfect for old photos and in just under two hours I had created my pages (in photoshop) and uploaded them to Snapfish and ordered my photobook.  

Note:  when creating a photobook with snapfish you do not need to create the pages first in photoshop.  They have templates that are super easy.  But I just like to create my pages in photoshop first.  I just like the freedom of using what templates I like.  It's just a personal thing.

Here are just some of the pages from photobook -  

I even scanned in parts of the cruise newspaper outlining the tours that did.  I was so happy how they turned out.

I know what you are wondering...

What did I do with the albums and photos? Right?

I threw them out.  It felt a little weird at first but then I realised that the photos had been scanned so now I have them forever and I had them printed into a photobook which was way better than the album.  Plus the photobook takes up way less space.

This project was so much fun, so much fun.

xox Tracey

When you have no photo - part one...

One of the most frustrating things in memory keeping, for me anyway, is having a story that I want to tell but don't have a photo to go with the story.  If you have teenage children you will know exactly what I mean, they hate having their photo taken.  There are also times when you got so caught up in the moment that you simply didn't get a photo. But sometimes there just isn't a thing to photograph to represent your story.  Over this next month I am going to share different things that I use when I don't have a photo to go along with my story.

A few weeks back my daughter came home from work to inform us that she had been offered extra duties at work that also included free accommodation.  Yep, she was going to be moving out of home.  As a Mum I was both excited for her but sad for me.

I really wanted to document this phase in her life and in my life, but, no photo.  I could have asked if I could take a photo of her right then and there, obviously she would have said no but it was also at night so the photo wouldn't have been that great anyway.  I have been playing around in ProCreate lately and I can say that it's definitely my absolute favourite app at the moment and decided that I would have a go at drawing a picture to match my story.  When my daughter does move out, she won't have a lot to move, her clothes, her bed and maybe a few bits and pieces.  So I drew three boxes, plus her pillow and her teddy bear (which she never leaves home without) and added it to my words.  I love how well it compliments the story but it also adds my own personal drawings.  Although I did this in the ProCreate app you could have just as easily done a simple drawing on paper to be adhered in your journal/travellers notebooks or straight onto a journal card.  If drawing is not your thing maybe search to internet for some clipart or other pictures that you can download and print.

The important thing though is to get the story told.

If you have any other ideas I would love to hear about them.

xox Tracey

30 Day Minimalism Game - Part 3...

Let me start out by saying I am totally exhausted.  This de-cluttering thing is bloody hard work!

On the upside though, I also feel amazing and light and free and amazed.  I would never have thought that de-cluttering would have so many different feelings attached to it.  I have been ruthless, very ruthless but this time around it seems to get easier each day.  I have found things that I totally forgot I had, some things that I couldn't believe it still had and why did I still have it and things that have made me ask myself some big questions.

I have also found a huge shift in the feeling within our house.  It's starting to look lighter now, not as much stuff around but it also has a different feeling. Since I was diagnosed with breast cancer nearly 2 years ago we have done almost nothing to the house and it is looking run down.  But since I have started de-cluttering and cleaning it has had a flow on effect.  We have started working on the front yard (which is very long overdue), cutting down trees, getting ready to do some paving to make our driveway bigger and jut generally tidying up.

But... the biggest change has been to our luck.  I don't really like the word luck but I can't find a better word at the moment.  I had a little extra unexpected cash come my way, my son got a part time job and my daughter was offered extra work.  Some other big things have happened to us, personal things that I don't wish to share here but things that are making us very happy.  I can feel a shift in the air, I just get the feeling that this year is going to be ok.

Is it because we are de-cluttering?  I don't know but since starting this there has definitely been a change, a change for the better so I'm off to see where to clean next.

Week 1     28 items

Week 2     82 items

Week 3   156 items

A total of  266 items gone

only 199 more items to go...

xox Tracey

Paislee Press - January...

This month for Paislee Press I have created two projects in my 2019 travellers notebook (my new approach for memory keeping this year.  (You can read about my change from Project Life to a travellers notebook here) .  My first project is a hybrid layout and my second is a digital page which I printed out and added to my TN.

My first project "Let's Eat" is one of my favourite pages so far because I added a drawing (traced from a photo) that I did in Procreate.  This has been on something that I have wanted to do for ages, add my own drawings/designs to my memory keeping.  It worked so well for this story and the digital elements from Paislee Press just added that something special to my page.

Paislee Press products used  - Tour Guide, Around the Table

My second project used the new "Here We Go" digital kit which I just love.  This story about me, going swimming for the first time is a very personal and moving story for me.  I wanted my story to be the main focus of my page but I wanted to add elements that complimented my story while also making it look great and  allowing me to be creative.

That hand script element "just story" couldn't have been more prefect for this story.

Paislee Press products used - Here We Go Kit, Is it Friday, Messy Canvas

30 Day Minimalism Game - Part 2...

Let me just say up front that I am so proud of myself for still sticking with this challenge.  If you follow me you will know that I am great at starting things but not so great at finishing them.  But, here we are at week two and I am still going strong.

I thought I would be starting to struggle by now but I feel like I am just getting started. Nothing is safe, and I mean nothing.  As each day goes by I get more and more excited.  I may not be able to see a huge difference yet but I can tell you that I am certainly starting to feel the difference.  Its even started a conversation with my husband about clutter, stuff and how we can better our choices.  Its also started to flow over to our garden.  We are not gardeners (by any stretch of the imagination) and since I was sick its probably the one thing that has just been "let go", but over the weekend we started making plans about extending the driveway (second child will have his licence soon).   We also organised a time to start pruning, weeding etc and organised a skip bin to get rid of it all.

The main thing that I have learnt so far is that you need to take your time.  Sure I would love to just click my fingers and have it all done but then I guess I would miss the "lesson".  The other thing is that we just don't need stuff, especially this much stuff.  I'm also listening to podcasts, reading blogs and talking to people.

So to sum it up...  it's going great and I just love the direction that it is sending me on.

Week 1      28 items 

Week 2      82 items

A total of 110 items gone

Only 355 items to go

Feeling lighter
xox Tracey

30 Day Minimalism Game...

I've read about this challenge many times, even thought about doing it many times but always chickened out at the last minute.  This year, however, is different.  I want to make many changes in my life and most of them to keep stress far away so that I continue to stay healthy and live a long life. 

I hate clutter, always have but for some reason I have managed to live in clutter, quite well for a very long time.  Oh sure, it's bothered me from time to time, even down right annoyed me but there was always something else more important to do.  I have been doing a lot of reading and searching blogs and they all seem to agree, to get your life organised you need to declutter your life, both physically and mentally.  So with that in mind I have decided to do the 30 day minimalism game, created by The Minimalists.  Basically on the first day you get rid of one item, the second day, two items and you keep going until the end of the month.

I will admit that on day one I thought this was going to be easy, but as the week went on I realised that it's going to get tougher each day.  However, finding things each day has become quite a fun (yes challenging at times) thing to do.  I am finally starting to get rid of the billion coffee cups that we have (okay maybe not a billion, but definitely a million LOL!).  I am already starting to feel lighter and starting to see space in the cupboard that hoards the coffee cups.  It's also making me think more about what I buy (which if I was being totally honest here, we don't need anything), it's stopped me several times from purchasing things that we don't really need.  Although I do need to tell my husband to stop buying stuff.  On day 5 I got rid of 5 things and my husband bought in 3 things, 3 things that we already had 😕.  Tiny steps right!

So this week I got rid of 28 items (I'm not completely ignoring the three items bought in by my husband) and I already feel lighter.  Only 437 items to go 😲

I'm off now to check my husbands pockets!

xox Tracey

Try New Things...

Try New Things...

How often do you try new things.  If you are like me, probably not.  We get stuck doing the same things, day in and day out, and for the most part we are okay about it because we are in that wonderful space that we call our comfort zone.  Oh its a great place, no demands on us, no stress or anxiety.  Just a nice peaceful place where nothing happens! 

While mindlessly scrolling through social media like we do I came across this blog, Yes and Yes by Sarah Von Bargen.  Her blog is all about money and how to be better with it.  Besides all the great information she has there (some things I have taken on board already, more in a later post) she had a section on her sidebar about Trying New Things.  Basically every year on her birthday she makes a list of 20 things that she would like to try.  I had so much fun reading all about it that I decided to create my own list.

Try New Things 2019:

• Watch "The Notebook"  -  don't judge me.  I realise that I may be the only person left on the planet who hasn't seen this movie.
• Eat Ramen - always wanted to try this but just never seem to get an opportunity.
• Try stand up paddle boarding - this baby has been on my to do list for several years now.  I really don't know why I am so obsessed with trying this.
• 30 Day Minimalist Challenge - I started this on 1st January.  I a determined to declutter my house.
• Create my own papercraft supplies  -  I have so many tools in my craft room to make this happen, that i actually should use them.
• Finish a quilt - yes, several years later I still have not finished one quilt.
• Learn to make paper flowers - I have changed the way that I am memory keeping this year, to free up time because I want to try other crafty projects, this being one of them.
• Learn Procreate App - I technically started this end of last year but I'm adding it anyway.
• Eat a doughnut peach - never knew these existed.
• Go to a RPM class - trying new ways to exercise
• Swim at Scarborough Beach pool - I haven't been swimming in nearly two years 
• Coffee date with a book - loved this idea which was also from Yes and Yes blog.

So that's my list for this year.  I will probably add to the list as the year continues and more ideas pop into my head.  I have added the list to my sidebar to keep reminding me to try new things.

EAT A DOUGHNUT PEACH (or pear as it can be called as well)

This one came about quite by accident.  We went to the local markets on New Years Day to have breakfast and while walking through we went past the fruit and vegie section.  On one of the tables were trays of Doughnut Peaches.  I had never seen or heard of these before.  After breakfast, we walked passed them again so I decided to buy a tray and try them (I had just read about the Try New Things the night before was it was very fresh in my memory).  I even had to ask the guy how to eat them because I had no idea.  They are delicious, similar to a peach but way sweeter, I think so anyway.  

Before I knew it I was already embarking on my Try New Things 2019 list.

What will you try in 2019?

xox Tracey

Memory Keeping Plans...

Hello and Happy New Year.

Yes believe me, I am just as shocked as you are.  Yep I am blogging again after a very long time away.  I won't get into the why's right now but I will say that I am going to try very hard to give this blogging thing a go.

There have been many changes for us as a family over the last two years, some good  but most not so good.  Keeping up with memory keeping and documenting our stories has been hard, I won't lie.  Mostly due to time restraints and me just not being into it that much.  There are several reasons but the biggest reason is that I am just not into project life anymore.  Don't get me wrong, I think its one of the best things that has ever happened to the scrapbooking industry but I have been doing project life for 6 years and I simply need a change.  I also want a format that is quick but still allows me to tell our story and to be creative.  My kids are getting older too, which means they are not around as much and not that keen at getting their photos taken.  I want something simple.

So my plan for 2019 is to document our everyday (whatever that is) in a travellers notebook.  I won't be doing weekly spreads as such, just documenting the stories that I think are important to us and I will  be using a mixture of paper and digital.  I will be keeping a TN for our family, a TN for just other stories that I want to tell (mostly about me) and a TN for documenting my OLW journey.  

... and I also intend to do the odd scrapbook page 😊

This is my title page for our family TN.  I used the digital kit "Habit forming" by Brandi Kincaid for Feed Your Craft.  I have added a "volume one" label because I am pretty sure that our whole year is not going to fit into one TN.  I also included a tag with our names and ages on it plus our current address (I have blanked those out for privacy reasons).  I am not sure if I will keep the same title pages for each TN but I have saved them just in case.  No sense in re-inventing the wheel right!

So lets get into 2019...

xox Tracey