I took a look through my biggest scrapbook the other day, and the journey sounded something like this:
Oh, look, there's my daughter! There she is again! My daughter! My daughter! My daughter. My husband! My daughter. My daughter. My daughter. My daughter. My husband. My daughter. My daughter. My daughter...(continued indefinitely)
I started to wonder, "Where am I?" Scrapbooking our lives and our stories is important. We are invaluable members of our families. Our thoughts, dreams, and ideas matter, and some day our kids will actually be interested in them. (Probably right after we kick the bucket.) It's important to stop every once in a while and create layouts about you. For those of us who are always behind the camera it can be tough, but with a little effort, it can be done. Here are some easy ideas to inspire you.
1. Create a list. What are your favorite movies, songs, books, colors, etc? Jot them down on a journaling card to create a simple snapshot of what you love right now. That's what I did for the "Me at 30" layout below. Another hint: no one's taken a picture of me by myself in years, so for this page I just unmercifully cropped my family out of the picture and blew it up. Do what you have to do!
2. When I Grow Up... Okay, we know you're really grown up already, but we all still have dreams. What do you want to do? What would you do if you could pick a new job right now? When you were six you didn't worry about the qualifications needed to become an astronaut or the growth potential of the cowboy industry. These dreams kind of secret desires reveal a lot about us. Plus they're fun to scrap. (Just think of all the fun cowboy theme stuff I can use...)
3. What do you believe? Think about your core beliefs. What do you believe in? How do you try to live your life? What matters most to you? Create a layout with plenty of room for journaling to share these ideas with future generations of mini-yous.
4. Scrap your job. What do you do for work? What do you like about it? What skills and talents do you possess that make you successful at it?
5. Scrap the daily details. Take a few pictures of ordinary moments throughout the day or week. What do you use and see every day? For me it's my laptop (the love of my life), the piles of empty Diet Coke cans (my motivation to get out of the bed in the morning), and the books taking over my shelves and floor (how I keep my mind stimulated). These seemingly little things will someday remind your children of what living with you was like.
So grab a pen, that rare lone picture of yourself, and your favorite products and get to work. Put yourself where you belong: front and center! My design team has, as always, provided some more inspiration to get you going.
Tiffany scrapped her job at Boy Scout camp.
Angela wrote about her role as a mother.
What great ideas to motivate us to journal! I'm going to give some of these a try. I'm always looking for ways to incorporate more journaling into my pages.
Posted by: Angie Simonet | 08/11/2010 at 11:10 PM