Summer FAIL

Summer is officially over and part of me is really sad. I had lots of goals this summer; the biggest and best goal--having fun with my kids--was definitely accomplished. Goal #2--become a real gardener--can also be checked off my list.  But Goal #3--get caught up on the kids' scrapbooks and photo albums--completely and totally fell by the wayside.  Thus the sadness.  TMI GOAL FAIL.

For a while, I really almost totally was ready to tackle this project. I had ordered a bunch of pictures through Snapfish at the beginning of the summer with the best of intentions to work on the photo albums. Then, as tends to happen with small children around, Little Miss got into the envelopes of pictures and mixed them all up.  Pictures were everyone and disorganization reigned.  LITTLE MISS FAIL.

Obviously, that quasi-disaster set me back a little bit.  By mid-summer, the picture jumble was driving me mad and I couldn't take it anymore.  I spread everything out on the office floor and spent an entire morning sorting through 200+ pictures.  I organized them by month, but to get the months right, I had to compare groups of pictures with the digital versions on my computer. 

It was a long and tedious process, though I did enjoy the stroll down memory lane.

Now, all pictures are sorted by month and tucked inside a storage bin drawer.  Where they sit.  And wait. As you can see from the month labels, I am exactly two years behind on the photo albums.  AMANDA FAIL.

Summer was a busy time, and all things considered, I am choosing to be happy about what I did accomplish rather than be unhappy about what I didn't.  After all, making happy memories with your kids trumps getting caught up on photo albums and scrapbooks any time.  But, the anal-retentive Martha Stewart wanna-be in me is hanging her head in shame over this fail.  PERSPECTIVE FAIL.

Now that we're in fall, I know there's no way I'll be touching these pictures anytime soon--the Little Guy's birthday and Halloween are just around the corner, and I have a ton of home improvements planned between now and then.  Still, if I just try a bit harder to channel my inner Martha, buckle down and learn to live on three hours of sleep each night, I might be able to get this done by working on bits here and there.  That's a good strategy, right?

REALITY FAIL.

Starting to scrapbook

Ever since the Little Guy was born, I've wanted to scrapbook.  I wanted to capture all of his cuteness and special moments in one solid tome for the ages.  However, I quickly learned that scrapbooking can be a huge task, and it's easy to get overwhelmed.  After all, I have two kids and I'm armed with a digital camera...I take anywhere from 100 to 250 photos a month.  What memories do you capture?  What moments are important to document? 

While I've been collecting scrapbooking materials for over three years now, up until a few days ago I had yet to do a single page.  In the spirit of getting myself organized, and motivating others to do the same, I wanted to dive in and get started. Those memories and photos weren't going to organize and scrapbook themselves! 

But where to start?  After careful consideration, I decided to keep things simple.  For the Little Guy and BabyGirl's scrapbooks, I'm focusing on professional pictures with only a few candids thrown in as necessary.

Once that decision was made, getting started was much easier.  First, I choose what pictures would go on each page.  Then, I combed through all of my scrapbook paper and choose backgrounds for the pictures.  And while I had purchased some embellishments, I don't plan on using them.  The simpler, the better! 

So far, I have two pages done:

Now that I've gotten started, and each page is simply waiting to be assembled, I hope this process goes smoothly and quickly.  After all, it took me three years to get started...I don't want to drag this out for another three years! 

I do have a separate album for all of those wonderful day-to-day living photos that I take.  I use small albums where the photos just slip into pockets and I can write down the details in the side margin:

This way, each child will have a more informal record of early life and events in addition to their fancy scrapbook.  The two-track system may seem like a lot, but for me it makes a lot of sense.  Professional pictures go in the scrapbooks, so I don't have to make any decisions about which events to include and leave out.  Everything can be included in the small photo albums, and since assembly is so easy I am saving a lot of time putting those albums together. 

I wonder if this means I can call myself a "scrapbooker" now.  Or is it "scrapper"?  Whatever the lingo is, I'm glad I've finally tackled this project! 

Martha Monday--Scrapbooking

One source of angst for me in the organization department is getting a handle on all the scrapbooks and photo albums.  I have a lot of materials necessary to do the projects, but I never seem to have the time to get it done.  NO MORE!  With my Little Guy already three years old and BabyGirl turning one next month, I want to get started on their scrapbooks.  Like RIGHT NOW!

Fortunately, Martha has ideas for getting great memories and mementos properly preserved for future generations.  To get my scrapbooks started, I'm really liking two of Martha's scrapbooking suggestions.  First, there's the "Book of Baby Firsts."

Second, there's the suggestion to pick a theme:

I'm going to let those two ideas guide me as I start on my kids' scrapbooks.  Mostly, I hope to keep it simple.  Now that I'm making time to get the scrapbooks started, I don't want them to turn into Projects That Never Finish. 

Do you scrapbook?  What's your method?  Let me know!

Martha Monday--Memories

Are you a crafter? Do you know someone who crafts? I like to think of myself as a crafter--after all, I have an entire room filled with stamps, glue guns, glitter, fancy paper and more--but very little is actually crafted.  I have enough material to make 100 greeting cards, and yet the last one I sent to someone was store bought. 

The Martha in my head is shaking her head at me.  I feel shame.

Anyways, ever since the Little Guy was born, I've had plans...BIG PLANS...to document his childhood in scrapbooks.  I have three scrapbooks ready to go...

...some even have pictures in them...

...and I have embellishments and keepsakes (note the wrist bands from the hospital)...

...and I even have a copy of the time the Little Guy and I appeared in the local paper!

Never mind that it's over a year old.

Fortunately, even though I'm 2.5 years behind schedule, pictures and scrapbook materials don't expire.  And now, with BabyGirl here, I can start collecting girl-themed scrapbook materials. How exciting! 

The Wilton Tent Sale is right around the corner.  Last year, I noticed that they had a TON of Martha Stewart craft supplies.  My plan this year is to lighten up on the baking supply purchases, and hit the craft section really hard.  That way, when I do get around to scrapbooking, I'll have everything I need. 

And then I'll need to actually make those scrapbooks.

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!