Setting Goals

Hi Crafty Peeps!  I've decided to set aside some time this morning to layout my Goals for my scrapbooks this year after watching Elizabeth's video from Eternally Inspired Mama.  I've been thinking a lot about this for that last few months & I feel that setting aside time to document my family life is incredibly important & it's time to be more intentional about it.  And that leads me to my first goal...

Goal #1: Be Intentional
To me this means take more photos & tell more stories!   I've begun taking action on this already by starting several new-to-me projects.

• Project 52 - I started my Project Life weekly scrapbook.  I'm working with a 6x12 album (mostly in the Project Life App, but I have the option to work with physical products as well).  I plan on telling more stories about our daily life (from my perspective) and document more feelings about what we have going on.  This is a big change for me because for the last 10 years or so, I have mostly focused on albums for vacations, school, and marching band.  I have very little from the day to day stuff.
• Kit Clubs - I have subscribed to 3 subscription kits ~ Hip Kit Club, Ali Edwards Story Kits and I just ordered the Studio Calico kit because I think it will coordinate well with the Ali Edwards kit.  I don't anticipate keeping all 3, but I want to see the actual products for a few months to see how I like them.  Other than using the Project Life App for digital scrapbooking, my intent is to use these kits for the majority of my scrapbooking.  I love the kits for different reasons & the styles are very different, but they are all equally fun.  Like I said, we'll see if I continue with the kits all year or just a portion of the year... I guess it depends if I feel like it's a good value and I'm using the products.  I also need to use things I already have on hand... oh goodness, I have a big stash! So why subscribe to new monthly kits when I clearly have enough products in my studio? While I don't NEED them, I have to keep things interesting & they motivate me to keep up.

  

• Finish Projects - It's time to get some unfinished things done!!!  The number of unfinished projects in my studio is a bit overwhelming.  Lots of vacation albums where the photos are in pockets and they are ready to go, but nothing else is done.  I am almost finished with my Spring Break 2013 project... so excited to have completed this project so quickly.  Check out what I've posted so far here on my blog.  Two seasons of Marching Band for my son still need to be completed before he graduates in June 2018 (but my goal is to finish both before the end of this school year in June).   I also have layouts to complete in his school book.  Back when the kids were in preschool, I started albums with just a few layouts each year to showcase the highlights for that grade.  This project doesn't take long, but I just need to sit and do it!  

NOTE: I feel like I have way too many albums going right now ~ so I want to find a way to make it easy... however, I still have to figure out how to condense some of my current projects and make it more manageable. I think it's going to take some time to figure out how that will work.

Goal #2: Work on my Craft

Being intentional also includes becoming better at what I do.  I decided to set aside some time to take a few online classes this year to improve on what I'm already doing.

• Currently, I am signed up for the Ali Edwards Hello Story class & I'm looking forward to starting it next week.  I will probably take a few more after this one is finished.

• I would also like to take a photography class & a graphic design (or Photoshop Elements) class. I feel like these additional classes will help with the overall look of my albums.  If anyone has any suggestions for classes, I'd love to hear them!
• I would also like to do some video tutorials & process videos this year.  We'll see if I get up the guts to do that this year.

Goal #3: Work on Myself

Maybe this doesn't sound scrapbooking related; however, it is because that's how it all began.  Let me explain... see it started because I signed up for the Ali Edwards One Little Word project back in December this 2017 with the intention just photographing and documenting more... but it has grown into something far different {and more exciting}.

I picked a word last year, Moments and loved it, but I didn't do the workshop.  I wanted to enjoy our family moments more & document them.  The year went well, but I wanted to do more with my word going forward.  So this year I have selected my word ~ Explore!  I have already finished my January prompts for my new word and I have to say, this project is so much more than a scrapbooking project. I has really brought out a lot of me and things I want to work on about myself during 2017.  I will also be starting a bible study in a few weeks and I'm excited to see how I can incorporate my word into this study.

At this point, I will be documenting everything in a separate 6x8 mini album.  I'll have to wait and see if I continue that way each month.  I think it's a good idea to be flexible & make changes as needed.  Check here on Monday for my very first OLW blog post!

Getting Started ...
So... that's where I seem to be headed this year.  With that said, I'm not sure if cardmaking will continue to be included in my crafty goals during 2017.  Cards & stamping have been the focus of my craft life for the last 10 plus years being on design teams and a DT coordinator for several companies. Much of that changed at the end of last year and I began to shift my focus back to my first crafty love ~ scrapbooking.  I'm excited for 2017 to be a year of growth, both creatively and personally.