Last year, I participated in an event called ScrapSmarter and it has cascaded into a renewed love of scrapbooking in all forms. I’ve been taking scrapbooking classes, participating in live events for it, and I have joined a couple of scrapbooking forums that have virtual live crop events and classes.
I’m enjoying it immensely! One of the groups is called ScrapHappy. I love it. Between the virtual events and the online forums, plus the resources available to member, I have been creating layouts of all kinds for the last year.
One of my latest hobbies is travelers notebooks. I haven’t mastered the art of layouts in these little journal style scrapbooks, but I am enjoying creating with them. I find myself using up a lot of leftover stash items while recording my story.
“Story” is my One Little Word® for 2021. My goal for 2021 is to tell my story. I am trying to include my current story and past stories that I haven’t documented. I felt like 2020 gave me the lesson of how important it is to tell our own stories in our own voices and in our own way.
February is LOAD month at ScrapHappy. I get an email with a story and a technique prompt every morning and then I create a layout of any size or format and share it in the gallery on the forum for ScrapHappy. If you participate every single day of February, on time!, you get a finisher’s gift. The last LOAD challenge I did was in October and we got a very nice stencil as the finisher’s prize!
I decided that all my LOAD challenges for this month would be done in a travelers notebook.
Here are my 5 layouts so far:
I did not really follow the prompt (this is okay, as long as you create a layout and submit it on time). The prompt was to show a DIY project, but my husband had finally gotten a boat, had the motor repaired, and got it on the boat lift. We went for our very first leisurely ride on the boat the day before and I wanted to document that.
I’m using the monthly kit I got from Studio Calico that included this little notebook, washi tape, some cards and embellishments. I added on a stamp set and some stickers to try them out and see what the quality of the products was like.
I like the stuff I got and decided to subscribe to the monthly kit for a few months to build up my stash. I don’t actually have a scrapbooking stash anymore these days!
This is day 2. I also used some goodies that I got from Elle’s Studio. I decided to check out their monthly kit as well and I’m loving the stamp sets and stickers that they have.
The Studio Calico notebooks have on page of every pair with some kind of decoration or saying. This is working out much better than having a book that I’ve added papers to ahead of time like I did in October. This is working out much better.
Day 3 and I was feeling like listing some of the virtual events that I had participated in last year so I wouldn’t forget them. I enjoyed them immensely and got so much out of them. Plus, those virtual events made moving to a new place and immediately being quarantined a very bearable thing.
I swear that I haven’t been watching a ton of TV! I have been binge watching things and enjoying them. My husband wanted to re-watch Star Trek TNG because I don’t think we ever finished the series back in the day and it has been 30 years since we watched it. Still love it! He also decided to re-watch the IT Crowd. We actually have been watching an episode of The Office everyday for YEARS and it’s not on Netflix anymore, so we had to find a new short comedy. The IT Crowd makes us laugh! The others are shows I watched on my own during lunch while he’s fishing. That’s when I get to watch the stuff I want to watch that he’s not interested in.
Today’s prompt for Day 5 was to do a before and after with a diagonal layout. I was using up die cuts and a set of puffy stickers here. I was supposed to do a before picture from when I was a child. I have no pictures of myself from childhood. My Mom has those and I can’t just drop by and scan them, so I did a before and after 11 months of quarantine. I have been coloring my hair since my early 30’s to add a tint of red to the mousy brown…well…it turns out that the mousy brown is no longer my natural hair color! My hair color is now gray!!
How do I know this? I have not had a professional hair cut and color since February 202o. I have cut my hair myself a few times since, but I won’t color it. I had planned to stop coloring it when I retired because I don’t want to expose myself to all the chemicals anymore, but alas, it’s gray!
I’m letting it go and learning to love the gray. Just like I learned to accept that no amount of dieting, biking, yoga and walking is to take the weight off. I’m going to accept it and be happy that I’m healthy. I will eat as healthy as I can, stay active, and reduce my exposure to chemicals and stress! I am what I am!
I can improve my artistic skills, so I’m working on those! I’m enjoying that very much along with my walks, bike rides, and my Book of the Month club. Oh, and my binge watching shows!
Have a great day friends. If you have a good binge worthy TV show, leave a comment and let me know!
