Thank You...

I now they are going to kill me for posting this pic but...I want to say thank you. These are my Cherish Club ladies. They come every month and listen to me babble and try to teach. They are flexible, willing to listen, and excited to learn something new. For some this is their ONLY night out and they chose to spend it at Cherish Club. Most importantly, they have become my friends. This is something I didn't think of when I signed up to be a consultant almost 4 years ago. I thought I'd make a little money and support my habit. What I didn't realize is that this " job" would bring so many people into my life! So, thank you to my Cherish ladies, my blog followers, my customers and my friends, without you my business and my personal life would not be the same.

"365" Album

As 2008 was ending, I started thinking about what I wanted to accomplish in 2009. One of the things I wanted to do was scrap more of the "everyday". A peek into what happens on a day to day basis. I have been good about scrapping holidays, birthday, accomplishments, and funny things my kids do and say BUT not much of the everyday. Which is what takes up 95% of our time. My problem is time! How could I keep up with scrapping everday! So I came up with a solution.

Here is my plan:

I will take a picture a day for the next year. Somedays I will do receipts, mail or bits of paper that represents that day. If I was super busy that day and didn't take a picture, I will do a quick journaling spot about how busy I was and what prevented me from taking a pic. This is my out for those days when it is bedtime and it seems I just got up an hour ago. This is still a realistic view of "everyday".

Here is my album. It is a Close To My Heart 12 x 12 Cocoa Linen Album ($34.95). You could use an album you already have. It is best to use a Close To My Heart album, as you will see in a minute.

You will only need ONE paper pack (15.95) for the WHOLE album! I chose Emporium from the new catty that came out Jan.1st. (You can view it and all our other products online at http://www.closetomyheart.com/ or call me for a catty) What's great about this paper is it is double sided. This will come in handy in our next step. I decorated my album with some of the patterned paper. I used Dimensional Elements Simple Numbers (chipboard)($6.25) for the "365". I also added some buttons, ricrac, and clear parenthesis (also CTMH). If things look a little askew, it is because I haven't had a chance to glue it down yet! Hee Hee. I will be using Tombow on the paper and Liquid Glass for the buttons and possibly the ricrac. Another way to decorate is to buy the matching My Stickease ($6.25). This way the adhering is taken care of for you. I will protect everything with one of our Album Protectors ($4.50). A great reason to pick a Close To My Heart Album.

Now here is what is going to make EVERTHING possible. Our Photo Storage Pages (6 Pocket). They are $10.95 for a packet of 10. Each protector can be used for 2 weeks as they are double sided as well. You will need 3 packages for the year with a few leftover. Here is were having a CTMH album is a bonus. These page protectors will work in most albums (if not I can tell you how to modify them). After many protectors in other albums they sometimes bunch a bit. This is because they have an extra seam so that a 2 page layout will come together with no break in the middle. Another awesome reason to choose a CTMH album.

Next, I cut 2-3 sheets of the Emporium paper into 4 x 6 pieces (6 per sheet) and put one for each page protector. As they are double sided and so is the paper, only one is required for 2 weeks. There is more than enough paper to use extra for embellishing etc. This is where I will journal. I will label each pic with the month, week and the corresponding number (1-31) with stickers, stamps, rubons, etc. I will jot a few words for each photo. I will mostly let each pic speak for itself. I will do very little embellishing. You are welcome to of course! I just want to keep this manageable.

I then slipped 5-4 x 6 pics into the pockets. For the 2 others, I had 4 pics developed onto one 4 x 6. This is easy to do at your local photofinishing store (or kiosk). If you don't know how to do this, just crop 2- 4 x 6's down to the desired size.

Voila, done. Between taking pics, photo finishing, journaling, and assembly I don't think this will take more than an hour to an hour and a half each week. I am going to try and upload my pics Fri., pick up Sat., and try to scrap on Sat. or Sun. If I can't get it done on the weekend it should be easy to do in 10-15 min. here and there throughout the week.

A couple notes:

1. I plan on expanding on some of these to a full blown layout. For example: birthdays, Christmas. But at least there will be something until I get around to doing the full deal.

2. I bought a notebook and I am keeping it in a central location where I can easily add to it a sentence or two of journaling in point form to keep track. Nothing fancy just each month and 1-31. with the info for that day.

So, if this seems a little much for you, try using the 6 pocket protector and this idea to do a week here and there. This can be added to your regular album.

I will try and post my progress. I will be ordering Jan. 20 if anyone is interested.