Memory Planner / Week Two

Hello!  OMG its the end of January already, how does this keep happening.  I look up and next thing I know a whole month has gone past.

I think that's why I am enjoying the Heidi Swapp  Memory Planner style of memory keeping.  I am finding that not only am I telling the big stories, I am telling the very tiny ones.  I think, in years to come it's going to be the tiny ones that I love the most.  I'm totally loving just doing dot points, one line of text but brings back so many memories.

I thought I would share in a little more detail some of the ways I have told stories for Week 2.  I am still finding my way with this style of memory keeping but the creative side in me is loving it.

Here is a look at my week.

I have covered over some of the writing because it's personal information that I would rather keep private.  

We use our phones for so many things these days, but have you ever stopped to think how many stories they hold.  And, I don't just mean in the photos.  Have you ever thought of taking a screen shot of a DM that you got through social media.  I included one this week because when I received this message it really made my day.  And, it's also a little detail  that I would completely forget in years to come.  It's also a reminder to me that Instagram is more than just a place to share photo's etc, it's also a place where I have met some very lovely people who have made a difference in my life.

I also included a "on this day" note/fact that I heard on the radio.  It was rather an important fact that I think in years to come with be such a huge reminder of just how crazy life was last year.

The RHS of my week has lots of interactive elements which I just love.  I love seeing them, making them and they just make me happy.

As I said earlier, our phones are a great place to get some story telling information from.  My kids are getting older and it's increasingly hard to get any photos of them but they are always texting me.  So I screen shot the ones I want to remember and then add it to the digital iPhone template from Ali Edwards "TECH" story kit .  I created a pocket to hold the message because I also wanted to include some photos and I wouldn't have had any room left.  This way I could hold the message, and include two photos.

I created another pocket using a photo that I took from our day out in Fremantle.  Using the photo was a great way to make a pocket plus include a photo.  I added digital stamps from Paislee Press as a title for the pocket.  I had a lot of photos that I wanted to include plus the story.  In this one little area I was able to include 10 photos and the story.  When I put it all together I realised that I had left out our selfie photo so I just added it as a swing tag on some twine.  

 

As I said I am loving all the interactive elements.  If you have any questions please feel free to add them in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by

Tracey xo

#Thursday3 - changing it up...

Hello, how are you?  Keeping safe and well I hope.

Over the past month because of everything going on I have found my self with so much more time on my hands.  One thing I have missed this year is the physical side of memory keeping.  I decided that most of my projects this year would be photobooks and while I love photobooks I desperately miss the touch and feel of an album.  I miss not being about to look back over the year so far, reading about our lives and seeing our faces.  Of course I could always turn on the computer and look at my digital pages but it's just not the same.  With that in mind I am changing some of the ways I am doing projects and I am starting with my #thursday3 project.

To keep things simple (because once I make  them bigger than they need to be I won't finish it) I am using a travelers notebook, two colour ink pads (black and crumb cake), a single photo each day, date stamp and one washi tape.  The only thing that I am going to add to my pages is simple stamped images using only the two colour inks that I mentioned earlier.  Then I just add the words that I shared on IG. 

I have been working on this project for the last couple of days and I am nearly caught up.  I am sharing just a few pages here to give you an idea how it's all coming together.  Although it's repetitive adding the stamped images is giving me just enough creative play to keep the project fun.  I have already enjoyed going back over my previous words as I do each page and I am so glad I have decided to switch how I am going to put it together.  I am also having fun going back to basics and playing with my stamps.

Giving myself permission to change how I want this project to look has bought back the fun and passion that I think I have been missing this year.  So glad I have made the change.

Tracey xo

Creative Goals 2020

Happy New Year!

Yes I am just as shocked as you are to see me here, and blogging.  As we all do at the end of one year and at the beginning of another, we think about what we did or didn't do, whether our year was good or bad and we try and come up with a fail safe list of things that will make the new year a better one.  I am laughing even as I am writing this.

Being the list girl that I am, I have spent the last 24/48 hours thinking and writing about all the things that I want to do in 2020.  My list is long I can assure you but I decided that I would share my creative goals here, with you and hope that by putting it "out there" it just might make me more accountable.  Yep, I'm laughing again.

So what do I want to do creatively this year I here you ask?  Let me tell you:-

1.  Memory keeping - I am a little stuck here.  I do want to record our stories but I am just not sure what approach I want to take.  I know I definitely don't want to do an album of any size and although the travellers notebook was good it still wasn't the perfect solution for me.  Right now I am considering doing something digital, probably a photobook.  I do know that I am not going to rush this decision, rather just let it simmer and see where it goes.

2.  Photobooks - I have several that I am already doing and I am loving them so my challenge is to get them finished and printed.

3.  Embroidery - I have just started to have a go at embroidery and love it.  My plan is to keep this up throughout the year.  Nothing too much, just one every now and then.

4.  Grow more plants - In 2019 I started growing indoor plants and to my amazement I haven't killed them off yet.  I love how they make me feel so I definitely want more, especially in my craft room.

5.  Declutter - This is a big one.  My craft room needs a good going over.  However, my approach is going to be a slow one.  I am giving myself the year and in that time I want to have sold off/donated/trashed things that I no longer use (my collection of stamp sets is just way too much which is funny considering I hardly ever stamp anymore).  Make more room for space. Yes that's right, room for space not just making a space so that I can fill it again.  Then I want to add more plants.  Sounds like a plan right.  Yep I know, laughing again.

6.   OLW - I  love having a word however, I don't always spend the time on it that I should. I am doing Ali Edwards class this year and I am determined to work on it every month.  I am not sure how I am going to document it though, but I am not worried.  I am just going to let it come to me on it's own.

7.  Read more books - Over the last few months I have started to get back into reading and I am totally loving it.  So my plan is to keep reading.

8.  Thursday 3 -  I will be honest here,  I am still sitting on the fence about this one.  I like the idea but not sure if it is something that I will start and then not finish.  Again not stressing too much, just an idea and I will see how I go.

9.  Craft Get Togethers - This is a big one.  I used to do this all the time and then it stopped so I am determined to get it back up and running.

10.  Blogging - I will give you a moment to stop laughing...
For some reason I have the urge to blog but in saying that I usually do about this time of every year.  Lets see what happens.

11.  December Daily 2019 - I need to finish this.  And I will probably do a December Daily 2020.

12.  Cardmaking - This is another one of those "I think I want to do this" thing.  This year I actually bought cards to give to people and it just felt wrong so I think I need to get back into it.

Okay, there you have it.  It's a big list with lots of challenges but I must say I like the look of it.  I have also put my list, in a bit more detail, over on my side bar.

So here we  go.  Let's get more creative in 2020.
xox Tracey

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

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