... well, not the Joneses, but myself. I am determined this year not to 'meet myself coming backwards', as my grandmother expressively used to say. Here's how the first fortnightly spread for January, in my 'This is 2011' album, has turned out:
Loving simple pages, I also need a simple process this year. Here's what I tried:
- setting up a template in advance - I love designing these.
- every few days during the fortnight, selecting a photo, dropping it in, and writing a heading plus a brief comment on a coloured strip - this took only 5 or 10 minutes at a time.
- typing in the main block of journalling at the end of the fortnight.
- getting it off the computer and into something tangible by printing the right-hand page and the photos, and preparing it for the album (covers yet to make).
Did it deliver what I hoped? Yes. When life was very busy, it only took small amounts of time to keep the pages moving forward and I enjoyed the sense of keeping up with documenting my days. It flowed along quite nicely.
Would I do anything different? Yes, again. Printing out the photos and trimming them individually, then reassembling them carefully with even spacing is not for me - or at least, not for this part of my album. On Saturday, my lovely crop-friend Karen (posting at UKScrappers as KJJC) watching me and my repositionable glue make a botched job of it, recommended a T-square to remove the stress, and suggested that printing them all on one page was - well - taking the fun out of it ... However, reprinting onto a single sheet when I got home and sticking the whole lot down with a few swipes of Herma was, frankly, blissful in comparison! Apologies to all of you with skill and patience and the ability to use glue with elegant flair - but I really need simple right now. :)
Anyone else documenting their year? How is it going? Please feel free to add a link below, or a comment, so we can come and visit!
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(For those of you who are interested in the technical aspects, the pages are 24x30cms, printed onto smooth white card, with the photos printed onto half a sheet of Ilford Galerie silk photo-paper A3+. My HP Photosmart 750 is creaking a bit but still functioning in the main, and allows for printing larger pages. These would work equally well resized for an A4 printer.)