A little Productivity

With all the cool weather we've been having down here, (which we are no longer used to) we've all gotten sick.  Passing around and sharing a cold virus like every close family right? 

Despite all that I have managed to make a few little 4x4 little scrapbooks for my etsy shop, I like to call them Mini Mini scrapbooks.  They came out so cute! I challenged myself to use (mostly) stuff I had on hand.  I say mostly because I found these adorable die cut felt coasters that were just begging to be made into little books and they were my inspiration. Then one thing led to another and I made a couple of books with painted corrugated covers too and voila...

These are so fun to make, I may add kits to the shop in the future. I would just have to make an instruction sheet to go along with all the bits and pieces.

so many plans so little time...

New Year New Word

At the beginning of each year I think about a word, a mantra, theme for the year.  It's an idea inspired by Ali Edwards.  In the past, words like Balance, Serenity, Simplicity have become a on going theme for me.  All the abundance and choice of today's world has left me (and I'm sure a lot of people) a little overwhelmed and even somewhat unhappy. In our hectic world we are all searching for a little happiness and peace.

After seeing these TED talks

Why are we happy?

Exploring the frontiers of happiness

The Paradox of choice

I though a lot about these ideas and realized that the pursuit of happiness and well being is not dependent on acquiring but on acceptance.  Happiness as it turns out is not to be found, but synthesized.  

So my word for this year is MAKE DO.

It's not only about finding happiness but about really thinking about the choices I make, about gratitude for everything good in my life,  about finding creative solutions, about living in the moment, slowing down, about appreciating and accepting and in the end about creating a life of simplicity, serenity and balance.

November Remember

We've had a gloriously bright and cool November here in South Florida, the coolest November in about 40 years.  After months and months of heat and humidity, we welcome the blast of cool air that comes down from the north.  And so we've been spending lots of time outside lately.

November is traditionally a time for reflection, assessment, and gratitude; and I shifted my focus to scrapbooking.  You could live your whole life without cataloguing and categorising your memories into a library of scrapbooks that chronicle you and your family's life, but there is much to be gained from looking back, remembering where you were and where you are now. Times have been though lately and yet there is so much to be thankful for.  When I look back through my books and photos I am reminded of so many good moments that I would not otherwise easily remember without the visual clues of the photos I took. This month I finished a mini book about the Halloween costumes my kids have worn for the last 11 years, and I'm almost finished a book about my oldest son's first trip to Disney World (back in 1997)

I had a crappy camera, no photography skills, so the photos are pretty bad, but to me the memories are priceless.

Another cool project I started was Family Gratitude Spinner, a class over at Big Picture Scrapbooking. It's an interesting twist on the scrapbook format. The class calls for the 4x6 photo carousel from 7 gypsies, but since I had the smaller ATC spinner, I adapted the project to the smaller size. The neat thing about this project is that you can add or subtract photos anytime. Still a work in progress, lots of photos still to add..