Christmas preparation and activities are in full swing at our house. It’s crazy, but as a Mom I love each and every part as it happens and I love enjoying it again later through my photos. (Ok, so maybe there are a few things thrown in there that I might choose to block out of my memory...wink.) However, it always feels a little bit like I’m cheating TIME when I’m go back and spend time with my photos and soak it all in again. Not sure why, but it just makes me feel happy and blessed. I’m sure you can relate.
For me, my photos are truly my most prize possesions. If you are anything like me, then you also find that the photos pile up real fast. The deeper the stacks or the bigger the folders the digital pictures get, the more overwhelmed you become with what to do with them all and just how to enjoy them. That is my challenge and so I am always eager when I am able to utilize a vast amount of photos in ONE PROJECT.
One of my favorite things to do with my masses of photos is put them in to smaller EASY projects (notice I said EASY) that show the span of time. These favorite projects are the ones that show change and time, as much as I hate to admit it, change is all around me. Sometimes I love it and sometimes I don't. When it comes to my girls, I am usually on the side of resisting the changes I see.
Take for example, these photos below. Sniff, sniff. Where did the time go? What ever happened to these darling babes? In my mind, I am keeping them this age as much as I can as I hold off the demands for friends, ipods, cell phones and more....
photo in 2002
photos taken this week
It's not very often that I have photos of 2002 along side photos from 2008, unless I have decided to create something that forces me to gather photos from across the years and compile. Doing this, has become my favorite type of project and that is just what why I am here this week as a guest blogger.
I am very excited because this week I'm going to be sharing all the details and specifics of this project in a free online blog class. This project is one I have been looking forward to creating for some time, dreaming of the end result. I decided no more excuses of busy schedules, family demands or work, lack of planning, etc. I was making time to get this project created this Christmas and I am hoping that you will join me in this class.
The project: a mini book series of 10 years of Christmas (for now anyway)
Why: For the past several Christmas, I have wanted to add this project to our holiday decoration in our house. Under our Christmas tree, is a special red velvet box that the girls look forward to taking out of storage each year.
In this box, we keep our favorite holiday items the girls have collected since they were little, including holiday books and special holiday toys. Each of the items has a special memory of where and when we got them. No matter how old the girls get, I continue to see the look in their eyes when the items come out of the box each Christmas. Thank goodness everything keeps fitting inside, but one day I see the need to add a new best friend to this one.
A few items that live in the box:
The M&M train that we got when Delaney was a baby. She played hours and hours with it that Christmas and it's been a favorite ever since.
Our Swedish dala horse collection that we continue to add to. With a Swedish family background, the girls love these and the stories we have to go with them. The black horse their Dad brought back from Sweden when he was in high school and danced there with the Swedish Dancer tour (always a funny topic, Dad dancing in full costume.) The rest of the collection has grown a little each year and most are made locally by artists in our community.
What I want to add to this box, is the project I'm creating. 10 years of Christmas memories, each in a separate little mini book. How fun it will be to look back 8 years or 5 years to reminisce?
The girls will “own” these books and by that I mean, they will not be confined to a shelf in my office or to a spot where they might not be loved. These books will be treasured and loved by them, kept just where they should be, in their keepsake red box that is the first thing to be brought out of storage at Christmas time. That is why I have chosen to make this project simple, sturdy and small so it can be well loved.
I am inviting you to join me this week as I share this project with you. You can create your own project along with me. I will list the materials that I’m using, but you can also join in from home with materials you already have on hand. The materials do not matter, it's the end result we're after. The goal of this is to be easy and fun, but showcase the past 10 years of Christmas.
I just have to tell you that in working on this class, I have been a little teary eyed, OK alot! I have not loved a project as much as this in a long time. Going back and printing photos has been such treat for me.
Why is it that we keep our older photos hostage and never let them out? Crazy. That is why I have promised myself to dig in to the past and bring it in to my scrapbooking today as much as I can as I'm doing in this class. It's so worth it. It's my latest obsession, going back to the photos from back years and playing with them as much as I can, mixing them in with the ones from today.
My girls have already grabbed on to this project and the little piles of photos I've pulled out. They immediately questioned me about what I was making and when i told them even my "hard to impress" 9 year old said "how cool." When I am finished, I will have 10 books spanning 10 years of Christmas.
Does that sound crazy or what? Actually, yes, even a little to me, but if you know me, I need this to be easy or I will not complete it with the craziness around here. So for that reason, I promise you that this will be easy and SIMPLE and most of all TREASURED! Ultimately, I am making this in record time. I am a self-proclaimed NOT PHOTO ORGANIZED kind of person. Well, I'm working on getting there, but if I can do this, so can you.
To make this easy, here's what I'm using for my project. These chipboard books from the Creative Café, Lifestyle collection are the perfect size for what I want and I love that they come in red, green and kraft. See, this is already looking pretty simple, don’t you think? The colors are perfect for Christmas.
I decided to start with 2008 so following Christmas I can just add photos and then work backwards through the years. So I gathered 10 books for my project. You can do any amount you want. For me, 10 is a good number and the books I chose to use make this already very simple.
Other materials I’m using to keep this easy to do, yet looking good are the following:
Art Warehouse Mistletoe and Hollyberry Collection papers. I haven't had the chance to play with this collection yet, and I have been eager to use it.
and I'll be using these, for simple fast embellishments
Download Danelle's list of materials used
Check back each day this week for more elements of this project. Consider joining me if you can. I will be giving away a prize package each day from the comments here. So be sure to stop by amidst all the holiday festivities.
For more details and additional images, you can visit my blog where you can leave me any questions you might have.
Also stay tuned for details later in the week about a chat I'm hosting this weekend following the class.
This is a great project... Thanks for sharing this with us.
Happy Holidays!