One Little Word Blog Hop - April Edition

So here we are - April 1st!  Happy April Fool's Day!  But there is no fooling happening here.  This really and truly is another edition of the One Little Word Blog Hop!  The entire hop goes live at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time (that is 11:00 a.m. here).

If you came here from Cia's blog, welcome!  If you are one of my regular visitors (love you guys!) you can pick up here or go back to the beginning to catch the entire hop!

So for March, Ali asked us to commit to doing "one little thing".  Never one to let well enough alone, I set myself to two "little" things - making exercise and creativity a priority for the month.

I wanted to be able to say I had done a least a "little" bit of each every day of the month!  Now, if you count laundry and grocery shopping as exercise - c'mon it burns calories doesn't it??? - then I think I got the exercise part down.  But the creativity?  Well, I got myself involved in Project Simplify over at Simple Mom so some of my creative time was spent organizing and decluttering.  Overall though, I'm happy with what I accomplished during the month!

I need to finish off this page by actually documenting my thoughts on how the month went. Otherwise, I'm calling March done!  And SOOOOO looking forward to April!!!

March definitely had its happy moments though and I'm loving this method of keeping track of them!  I know it's not a great day when the highlight of my day is my nap.  But I also see so many truly happy moments recorded.

And this was a huge technology month for me - I finally got the new version of ACDSee running (after owning it for 9 months), got iTunes installed, my iPod synched, and ordered some new tunes, and installed and learned how to use Skype!  Why I waited until Sarah is almost ready to come home to figure out the Skype thing, I have no idea.  But hey.... it works! And skyping with her is so cool!

Your next stop on the hop is Deb's blog.  Enjoy!

Here's the entire blog hop list, just in case you get lost:

Margie	http://xnomads.typepad.com/blog
Amanda	http://scrappnbee.blogspot.com
Donna	http://donnabryantdurand.blogspot.com
Joy	www.undiscoveredjoy.blogspot.com
Jan	http://mysimplelittlelife.typepad.com
Jamie	http://jmpgirl.blogspot.com/
Nikki	http://www.inkyart.com.au
Monica B2	www.questtoperfectimperfection.blogspot.com
Cindy	http://seriousplay.typepad.com
Stacey	http://www.TheAcornGarden.com/blog
Katrina	http://k84mansramblings.blogspot.com/
Rebekah	http://istampscrapcraft.blogspot.com/
Monica	http://scraplifters.blogspot.com/
Chrissy	http://getcraftywithchrissy.blogspot.com/
Jill	http://jillconyers.typepad.com/
Lisa	http://makeyourownescape.blogspot.com
Kathryn	www.katlodesigns.com
Jennifer	www.studiojenn.blogspot.com
Jen	www.byjen.com
Sam	http://learncreatedo.wordpress.com/
Miranda	http://mirandasscrapsite.blogspot.com
Lynn	www.crafty-creativity.blogspot.com
Cynthia	http://paperpapereverywhere.blogspot.com/
Cheri A	http://cheriandrews.blogspot.com  <-- You are here!
Deb	http://blakleyhomeplace.blogspot.com
Nicky	www.seejanebake.blogspot.com
Karen D	http://womenontractors.blogspot.com/
Tina	http://ryzmomplus2.typepad.com/my_weblog/
Kimberly	http://foreverdaisies.blogspot.com/
Abbey	http://athomewiththerichardsfamily.blogspot.com/
Julie Ann	http://julieannshahin2.blogspot.com

i.Scrap - the Perfectionism installment

i.Scrap is a project-based class taught by Stacy Julian that recently finished up over at Big Picture Classes.  All my pages are done, but I'm still working on the journaling.  So, to keep me motivated, I'm going to present you with the pages as I finish them!

To start with, I ordered an album from WeRMemoryKeepers.  On the website it said it was "olive".  Here is what I got:

Decidedly not olive.  More like super ugly brown.  Not to be thrown by the album, I altered...

much better!  Isn't it amazing what a little acrylic paint can do?!  Now you have a perfect representation of my HAPPY colors.  This also happens to be my very last sheet of TLC Peacock cardstock.  And since I can't get this any longer, will need to find a substitute for this color.

My title page.  Now here is the kicker with this project.  I used only SCRAPS.  Yes it's true - no full sheets of paper were harmed in the making of this album.  I dug into my scrap bits and found stuff to make do for each and every page!  Which also means some of these products are very old, so don't ask me what lines they came from - I'm sure for the most part I would have no idea (actually five of those papers are TLC).

First page. "i.Was".  For those of you who regularly follow my blog, all of these photos will look familiar, as they've all featured here before.

i.Was journaling page.  The journaling reads:

"I was a perfectionist and a bit of a control freak. I know this began when I was a child.  A consummate people pleaser, I did the hustle for worthiness, hoping that being good and bringing home perfect grades would make me worthy of love and attention.  My perfectionism carried into adulthood where I attempted to be some Hollywood version of the perfect wife, perfect mother, perfect employee.  But it was exhausting and I was miserable trying to be what everyone else wanted and needed from me at any given moment.  As an aspiring "good enough" ist, I am trying to let go, take more chances, try new things - even if I might fail.  Life is too short for perfection!"

The Joy of Less - a book review

If I hadn't already had minimalist tendencies, I believe that the enthusiasm with which Francine Jay describes how much better life is with less might have pushed me in that direction.

I have been "decluttering" for about three years now.  It is a long process when you figure that it took you years and years (maybe your entire lifetime?) to collect all the "stuff" you currently own.  Short of fire or flood, getting rid of it all in one fell swoop isn't in the cards.

Part One of the book is about the Philosophy of Minimalism - a good general read.  I honestly believe the book would have been better off without Part Two - "Streamline" - it is an acronym for the steps to take in approaching your stuff and letting go of much of it.  It is long, boring, impossible to remember, and the concepts are repeated and re-explained so much in Part Three that it becomes redundant.  So my minimalist thought is knock 42 pages out of the book, use a few less trees to print it, and overall it would be a better finished product!

The real meat is in Part Three - Room by Room.  In this section, Jay takes the reader through each area of the home and gives implementable step-by-step instruction on how to declutter and organize.  There are no "before" and "after" photos (in fact no photos at all in this book) which seems like it would be a disadvantage.  Actually, I believe it makes it easier for the reader to apply the concepts to their own stuff and not get overwhelmed by someone else's organizational systems and ideas.  My only criticism of this Section was that it is a bit repetitive.  The basic "how to" of decluttering and narrowing your possessions is pretty much the same, regardless of what room you happen to be in.

That said, the advice in Chapter 28 "Gifts, heirlooms, and sentimental items" alone was worth the price of the book!  Sentimental items is my Achilles heel when it comes to decluttering.  Jay reminds the reader that "the stuff isn't the person."  It is just stuff.  It isn't necessary to keep your high school cheerleading uniform (as if!) to prove that you were a cheerleader in high school.  Or boxes of participation trophies from pee wee sports.  The stuff doesn't define you. And whether you own it or not, you still did those things, you still have the memories.

The final section - Lifestyle - is about minimalizing your schedule and how minimalism serves the greater good.  If you've ever felt like Christmas (or any holiday for that matter) is too consumer-driven - that it is all about buying more STUFF - or if you've grown weary of trying to "keep up with the Joneses" when it comes to the latest and greatest cars, toys, and electronic gadgets - then this chapter is a must read.  It articulates those feelings and tells about how our consumerist tendencies are killing our planet.  It's a tough note to end on, but really brings home why minimalism is gaining ground as a lifestyle choice.

Now how do I get the rest of my family to buy into these ideas?

Project Simplify - Week Three

The Project Simplify Week Three "Hot Spot" was children's toys and/or clothes.  Since my children are nearly young adults and don't have "toys" (other than the expensive electronic variety) and tackling their clothes is something that can't be done without their cooperation (which I won't attempt during school sessions), I thought I would have to pass on this week.

But I thought about what I could substitute, and decided to attack my own "toys" (scrapbooking supplies).

BEFORE #1 - note the cluttered table top, the albums with post-it notes attached...

BEFORE #2 - and all the "stuff" strewn on the floor.

AFTER.  I really didn't do much purging, having done that several times already.  But I did manage to put everything away and better organize some of the supplies.

Papers and kits that were in the white milk crate were moved into the Cropper Hopper bins. The white milk crate now holds all my various tote bags that I use to carry things to crops.  I added a lot of loose embellishments to the Clip-it-Up.

Of course, the table will be a wreck again the first time I sit down to scrapbook!

Close-up of shelving.  The paper is consolidated and full sheet alphabet stickers have been added to the paper bins.

The fabric covered albums (top right) are my Library of Memories storage binders.  Got rid of the label maker stickers (that didn't stick) and added labeled tags.  Got rid of the sticky notes on my Library of Memories albums (second shelf right) and finally created tags for those.  Also labeled the photo boxes (third and fourth shelves right).

The Iris boxes (left side middle shelves) all contain projects in progress - with all of the various papers, embellishments, letters, etc. set aside for those projects.  As a project is finished, the remaining contents are cycled back into my stash and the box picks up a newer project.
 

My Library of Memories albums.  Aren't those tags cute?!  The paper and sticker letters are the same used for title pages within the albums. I am so happy to have finally done this little project that has been sitting for .... years!

I love the tweaks I've made to this space. Hope to get back in to do some scrapping soon!

Hello from Rome

Just had to share this adorable video that Sarah sent us!

Mundane to Marvelous

This is what my desk looks like when I'm working.  Drafting, reviewing, and revising contracts  is dull, boring, tedious work.  There is very little creative about it.  Until you come up with that perfect twist of phrase that really brings your meaning into clear focus.

The same day I was musing about how mundane my day-to-day work is, the essay in Simple Abundance contained this quote "Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else."  Judy Garland.

And here is the truth.  I am pretty darn good at what I do.  I may not be a famous trial attorney with glamorous high-profile cases.  But what I do, I do well - first rate all the way.

The same is true of something more near and dear to most of us - scrapbooking.  I can admire the way Ali Edwards ties together everyday stories with ephemera from everyday life.  I can marvel at Cathy Zielski's beautiful templates and her clean, graphic style.  But that doesn't mean I need to copy them or try to be like them.  My own scrapbooking, in my own style is what is just right for me!

sneak peek into my i.Scrap album - coming soon to a blog post near you!

Pass It On

Just wanting to share some of the wondrous "stuff" I've been discovering lately... via blogs and Internet and the like. 

Started Blogging for Scrapbookers yesterday as an alumni.  I got so much out of this course the first go-round.  This time I'm not committed to follow the daily prompts - I'll be blogging whatever moves me, inspires me, or tickles my fancy at the moment.  I also have no commitment to daily blogging - I know my life doesn't really allow for that and I'm being realistic!  But I do hope to create more meaningful posts, to meet some new-to-me bloggers, and possibly to add to my tribe!

Beyond Blogging For Scrapbookers - Was there ever any doubt?  Pretty much no way I can pass on any Shimelle class, but one that promises to be a sequel and expand upon the current curriculum?  I am SO THERE!  BBFS starts April 18th.  There is still time to sign up for either class or both!



Get Those Creative Juices Flowing - a new self-paced class by Amy Tangerine over at BPC.  Amy originally offered this class on her blog at $27.  BPC has it for $17.  Use code "weloveamy" to save another $5 and get this class for just $12!  Since it is self-paced, there is no pressure. I bought it and it is there for me when I need a dose of creativity.  I think of it as saving it for a rainy day. :)

I was sorely tempted by True Scrap which has an absolutely fabulous line-up of teachers.  But when I sat down and really evaluated how many of the classes interested me and my ability to be online at specific times, I ultimately decided to pass on this one.  But it looks great!

Sparkles, a 31 day creativity class - not centered around scrapbooking.  This one appeals to me on levels I just can't really describe.  Jamie Ridler has assembled 31 super-creative people across a spectrum of disciplines to each provide one creative prompt a day. Maybe dancing, drawing, writing, photography... it's all a mystery!  Watch the video (just 3 minutes) - Jamie is so ridiculously cute and has the sweetest laugh - that alone may make you want to sign up! I suspect this may be a bit like Reverb10 which I enjoyed immensely and which, likewise, really had little to do with scrapbooking.


How about some new digi supplies?  Miki Ferkul is guest designing at ScrapbookGraphics this month and I have fallen in love with her work!   Seriously, click on the link and check out her kits. She just posted a new one today that is 20% off.  I purchased these:

And her newest kit.  And if money were no object, I would probably have purchased them all!

Well, that is enough enabling for one day.  I'm off to the gym to work off some of the weight I gained adding all this sweet stuff to my life!