Scrapbook Sunday:: Hello 2014

Every year, I make a scrapbook of our family's daily life - I started this in 2011 and have done it a little differently each year.  For 2011 and 2012 I used a 12x12 album and different-sized photo-pocket pages.  This style was very easy to use but I felt like it relied on taking a lot of pictures and I am not very good at that.  I used Simple Stories:Life Documented for 2011 and in 2012 I used Becky Higgins: Project Life.  I really like a lot of her core kit styles and would not be opposed to doing this again in the future.  (My favorite kits currently are either the Strawberry kit or the Dear Lizzy Neapolitan kit.)

In 2013 I decided to try something a little different.  I started with an 8.5x11 sized album and used the Smash Journal as an inspiration.  I liked the combination of photos, journaling, and mementos that I could put on each page and not have to "fit" everything in to a certain format. I did not actually purchase a Smash Journal, but I did buy a lot of the add-ons and I bought different scrapbooking kits for each month - themed to match the season, or the holiday that was the month's focus, i.e. Halloween, or Thanksgiving.  This year, I am continuing to use that "smash journal" style with another 8.5x11 album but I decided to use only about 5 different kits and use them throughout the year - and of course adding in holiday-themed pages when necessary.  I still have so much paper left over from last year, it seemed silly to buy another 12 different kits.  This way it will still have a different look from last year but will be a lot cheaper.

Another thing I have done every year is Ali Edwards: One Little Word.  I have picked a different word to focus on each year since 2011.  Ali offers a class, which I have taken for the past two years.  The first year I didn't use it much, and the second year I was pretty faithful for the first half, but the second half I fell out of the habit.  I still printed all the monthly prompts, but didn't end up completing them.   This year, I decided not to participate in the classroom, but would still like to think of a word to focus on for the year.  I am still between two words, and once I decide on it I will share it in another Scrapbook Sunday post.  I will either re-use some old prompts or maybe think of my own to help me keep my word in focus all year.

I think my favorite thing about starting a new scrapbook is the title page.  It can look any way you want, but I try to make it themed to reflect what I have in mind for the year.  I try to use papers and styles that will be repeated throughout the scrapbook.  I did not include my One Little Word (OLW) in my title page like I usually do, because i haven't decided on it yet, but I might still make an additional title page that will specifically be about my OLW.

Here are the front and back sides of my title page for 2014:

I am planning on blogging about my 2014 scrapbooking journey at least once a month as Scrapbook Sunday.  I am planning on making a decision on my word this week and will blog about that next Sunday.  See you soon!