Scrapbook revival.

I have been a bit slack in the scrapbooking department over recent years.

 Not as much time,

lack of motivation

and

wanting to spend time in other creative pursuits

are some of the reasons scrapbooking has taken a backseat.

I still love photos and stories

and

most of my photos are printed and in albums.

 They just lack the embellishments and creative touch.



The red albums are part of our family photo collection, the blue albums are my 3 sons
and the pink albums are my daughter's.

I could leave it this way forever.

I know that.

I have the pictures printed and in albums chronologically (and per person) for us to enjoy.

I have the memorabilia organised in boxes for anyone to look through and reminisce.

 I have the stories written in pages of journals, notebooks and even on scraps of paper
so I don't forget the details.

But I want them all togther,

in a scrapbook.

In multiple scrapbooks.
 I want creative scrapbooks not just photo albums.

Over the summer I considered how I could go about fitting more scrapbooking into my life.
How could I get the results I am wanting without putting in endless hours?
In the past it wasn't uncommon for me to take many hours to complete just 1 scrapbook layout.
It is not realistic or doable for me to spend hours scrapbooking anymore.

I needed a way to scrapbook that was simple, fun, enjoyable, creative and quick with no pressures.

Over the years I have followed Becky Higgins who is a scrapbooking icon.
 In recent years she developed a new way to scrapbook that made it simpler and more efficient to get photos and stories
into scrapbooks quickly with a creative touch.
Her system is explained here.
It is her system that I have decided to use to make scrapbooking fun and achievable for my life.

First projects are my  kids baby scrapbooks.

 Over the 14 years I have been a mother I have completed a few pages of each child's first year.
 I just don't have a complete year for any of my four children.
I have the photos,
the stories
and the memorabilia
all organised.
 But just not all in a completed album.

Well times are changing.
I started with my daughters first year.

I made the decision not to buy the baby kit that Becky Higgins designed as I wanted to make my own.
I wanted the scrapbook to be unique and one of a kind.

I am happy to announce my daughter's first year scrapbook is now 85% complete.

I just have to finish the title page, add the journalling and I am done.
This took only part of 1 weekend and a few extra hours over this past week.

I think I am still in shock as to how quickly it all came togther.
Obviously the fact that I already had the photos printed and in chronological order helped.
And having all the supplies I needed to custom make my embellishments was an advantage too.
But it was still a much quicker process than anything I have ever done in the scrapbooking world before.

I imagine if you used the designed kits that Becky Higgins has for sale
it would be an even quicker process.

Despite my happiness at the speed at which this project was done
more than anything I am happy because
 watching Sarah enjoy her album was amazing and rewarding.
She had fun and I am sure she felt special and loved.

A very satisfying project indeed.



Sarah enjoying her scrapbook.



Sarah showing her Dad her new 'almost' completed baby scrapbook.



                                                                                                                  

In the studio

Here is what I have been working on in the studio over the past few weeks. With a rain-filled weekend predicted here I am hoping to spend some time in the studio to finish them off.  

                                                                                                         

Creating together.

One of my very favourite things to do is create with my kids.

 It really does bring me a lot of joy.

 Recently I came across a tutorial here that taught how to crochet a simple garland.

Apparently it was very simple and anyone could do it.

As I have never crochet in my life I was a little sceptical.

However, because it looked so simple and pretty I decided to give it a go.

My daughter loves to create so I thought we could learn together.

We bought our supplies (wool and crochet needles)

and after school yesterday we sat down,

watched the tutorial and set out making our first crochet garland.

And I am so glad we did.

It was simple, fun

and relaxing.

It was a bit tricky at first but once we got the hang of it we became addicted.

An hour later Sarah was competing with me

as to who could make

the longest garland.

She won.

But only because I was distracted when Steve arrived home. ;)

What made the whole experience special was 3 fold.

We learnt a new skill,

we were learning
 together

and

we had fun, together.

 xx

                                                                                              

P.S. My 8 yr old son loves the garlands we are making and said he would like one. When I offered to teach him he declined politely and asked me to make him a navy blue one. I reckon I can do that. :)

Inspired

Last weekend my 10 yr old daughter and 8 yr old son spent quite a few hours drawing and colouring.

As a mum it was delightful to hear them chatting and creating together.

But mostly I was inspired by their creativity.

Inspired by their freedom.

Inspired by their choice of colour and design.

 My favourites are the elephant and the lions.

(I have 2 favourites as I can't choose between my 2 kids)

What is your favourite?

xx

       

Teaching Mum.

Ever since my kids were very young we have enjoyed being creative together.

Over the years we have

played playdough, painted, re-arranged furniture,

made collages, arranged flowers in a vase, organised our nature table,

coloured in, drawn pictures, decorated school books,

made cards, scrapbooked, built lego,

taken photos, baked and cooked.

Here are some photos of when the kids were younger enjoying creative play.

                                                     

 As I reflected over this list (and enjoyed the photos) I realised that

many activities required me to give instructions, ideas and guidance,

however there were other occassions where it was the kids giving me the instructions or ideas. 

I love that.

Sharing our ideas with one another and
creating together.

Last week at school Timmy had been making flowers out of tissue paper.

 I had seen what he had made at school and I asked him how he made it. 

He suggested he teach me at home.

I had a little chuckle to myself at that.

He was quite serious.

So yesterday after dinner all four kids and I (Dad was out) gathered around the kitchen table

to 'learn' how to make the tissue paper flowers. 

We had the supplies ready and Timmy began to show us the steps involved. 

I am not sure who was happiest.
Timmy as he shared his project?

 Or me, being taught by my 8 year old son

and enjoying the interaction with him and his older siblings
as they give their time to watch and learn from their young brother.

My hope,

as time ticks on and my children grow,

is that we can continue to embrace creativity
and have space to share it with others.