LOAD wrap-up

My lovely friend Laurie (whose blog you should definitely go check out so that you can ooh and aah over the awesome layouts she's made of her precious first baby girl) asked me for a LOAD update (um, over a month ago), so I am finally honoring her request (better late than never, right?).

I did an awesome job keeping up in the beginning. And then work got busy, and I had to wrap up the end of my Religious School year, and we had a Bat Mitzvah party to go to, and... you get the idea. Out of 31 days, I completed only 11 layouts, but I'm totally 100% okay with that. I went into the month knowing I would never complete all 31 days, and I ended the month happy to have achieved 1/3 of that total. As I've said previously and will continue to say in support of LOAD, I have more layouts at the end of the month than I would have had I not participated in this challenge. Thus, it's always a success!

Without further ado, here are the remaining four layouts I completed:

This hybrid layout is dedicated to my favorite place to be lately: between the pages of a book.
 I finally used pieces from Teresa Collins' Home Sweet Home kit, which I've been squirreling away - for what, I don't know. I felt like journaling would be too much for this already busy page, so I think when I put it in my album I'll attach a 6x12 insert and add some thoughts there.

I did a "just for the taste of it" LO about Diet Coke a few years ago & decided to play off that slogan to document my love of Starbucks salted caramel hot chocolate on yet another hybrid page.

I acquired this digi template in 2009 and regret that I don't know to whom it is credited.

I ended the month with another all-digital page, celebrating my favorite pictures of hubby & me.

The most shocking part of this LOAD? I actually remembered to get my digital layouts printed! They are due to arrive this week, and I can't wait to put them in my albums!

I had a great time creating, and it was an added bonus that (unbeknownst to me at the time I signed up) that I got to play along in this challenge with not just one, but two of my bloggy friends. I look forward to the next time I can scrap a LOAD!

One week of doing what I love

At the end of March, someone reminded me that when life is at its craziest, that's when it's most important to carve time out for yourself. And that's when I decided to sign up for May's LOAD (Layout a Day) Challenge. I was not under any false pretense that I would actually produce a layout every single day this month; however, I knew that by signing up, by scrapping "with" friends virtually, by being inspired and encouraged by others challenging themselves to achieve the same goal, I'd undoubtedly scrapbook more than I otherwise would this month (especially since the last time I scrapbooked was in 2012). The layouts are admittedly not always my best work, but I've come to realize that doesn't matter. What matters is that I have finally documented some of life's stories that had not previously been scrapped and may never have wound up in an album had it not been for participating in this challenge.

The prompt for Day 1 was "Mrs. White in the House."
Our cat, Mimi, with fur as white as snow, immediately came to mind.

I think this is my favorite layout to date.
Seeing this picture scrapped makes me want to scrap a "through the years"
layout of the many pictures of the three of us.

Most inventive to date, I took a stock photo of a nook color
and turned it into my background paper.
Looking at my Instagram feed, I was amazed at how many nook photos I had
and realized this was a love that needed to be documented.
Best of all, when we're reading on some crazy new device years into the future,
we can remember what our exciting new technology looked like in the early 2000s.

The prompt for Day 4 was greed. Wanting to be a little more greedy with my time
this summer, and combining the prompt with Tami Morrison's challenge for
National Scrapbooking Day, I created a summer bucket list.
Once I've completed the list, I'll document the pictures on an opposing page.

Off prompt again for Day 5, I finally documented the non-traditional Thanksgiving
tradition that my husband and I have been enjoying for the past three years.

I happened to be going through photos from earlier in the year
and knew I wanted to document this story before it got lost in the cobwebs of my brain.

Using a photo from my husband's Facebook feed that I just HAD to scrapbook,
I finally completed an assignment from an online class I'm currently enrolled in
(and miserably behind in).

Wordless Wednesday: The Scrappy Edition

I feel like I've been neglecting my scrappy readers, so I thought I'd share a few layouts from my LOAD. All of these layouts were quickly and easily made using digital templates.

Portugal

Digital template by Cathy Zielske (Design Your Life)

You

Digital template by Cathy Zielske (Design Your Life)

Rock On! (this might be my fave)

ScrapSimple Digital Layout Template: Round N Round

Gel Pen Alphabet and Doodles by LetteringDelights

Scrapbooking LOAD complete!

This, in addition to my new position at work, is what's kept me from blogging as much in May. I started Lain's LOAD (layout a day) challenge on May 1, and while there were days when it was difficult to find time to scrapbook, I pushed through and now have 31 layouts to show for it. They're not all winners, but I'm proud of myself nonetheless. (As you may notice from the slideshow, this project also opened my eyes to the wonders of digital scrapbooking! Click on the layouts for designer/supply credits.)

I can safely say that I will probably never again attempt daily scrapbooking, but it's nice to have jump-started my albums, and I hope to continue a layout-a-week tradition.