happy new year! resolutions and rememberlutions for 2015 and january dt project

Resolutions have never been my strength.  They tend to be monster-sized goals that seize your attention for a few weeks until your best friend says to you, as you're carrying your gym bag out to the car with the greenest of green smoothies, there is a super sale at (you fill in the blank) and we will need humungous lattes to survive the rush.  Resolutions can be behemoths if you let them.  

But resolutions really are simply goals; we just tend to make them at a critical time when the world is bellowing sentiment of new beginnings and fresh starts.  Therefore we often take a reasonable, probably meaningful, goal and turn the little critter into a mountain of an accomplishment.

With that said, I have made two "resolutions" this year (I have many goals but two of which I really want to be mindful): (1) Organize better so that I may (2) spend more time with family and friends.  The first resolution may surprise those of you who know me.  I am quite the organized person.  Everything has a home and events and activities are always well planned and prepared.  What I need is a schedule.  

I read this article (Here’s What You Should Do Instead Of Making New Year’s Resolutions It’s called a “rememberlutions” jar and it’ll make you feel good all year) posted by Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine and decided to, in addition to my two resolutions, celebrate the smaller resolution successes as they come as well as all of the magnificent things, memories and accomplishments over the next twelve months by creating my own rememberlutions jar.

That coupled with our design team inspiration, I was off to the races.

I created a pendant for each of the four seasons of the year so that I have something to look forward to at the end of each season as the jar turns.

winter:

spring:

summer: 

autumn:

And here they are all together and assembled:

Whether you create resolutions this year or a rememberlutions jar, do what makes you feel good, makes you giggle and smile and let's you celebrate you all year long.

I'm entering my rememberlutions jar in the Sweet Stampin Challenge: New, Mixed Media Monthly Challenge #8: Something New for the New Year and Anything But A Card Challenge New Beginnings.  The rememberlutions jar is a new project created for the new year.

when a man retires and time is no longer a matter of urgent importance, his colleagues generally present him with a watch - r.c. sherriff

One of my work colleagues, ms. giraffe, retired this summer and in lieu of a card or photo album I created, with some assistance, a memory book.  What is the difference, you ask?   A memory book is a card and photo album rolled into one, including photos of ms. giraffe and colleagues through her years at the office, co-worker salutations and some brilliant work done by the graphic artists.  And all was supported by my bestest enabler/amazing friend.  Thank you, I could not have retained any sanity without you.

WARNING: There are several photos in this post of the eleven page memory book.  I suggest a coffee, tea or apple cider, sit back and review at your leisure.

Every page has at least one pocket to hold photos and/or colleague greetings and/or well wishes and signatures.

Cover:  I cut out the follow your dreams: transform your life quote and layered it on top of a self-made paper and photo collage.  One of our graphic artists at work took the photos of the boots and birdcages at Fort Edmonton Park which, if you recall, is one of my favourite Edmonton sites.  It never disappoints.  For photographer fans, it really is a great find.  The dress form and bike die cuts are from Memory Box.

Page One:

This little envelope was created with my envelope maker.  Thought it added a sweet touch especially with the hat pin as a faux closure.

Page two: Developed friendships

Page three: Group events

Using Dina Wakley techniques, I transformed this image of settlers into a playful moustachioed group.  I was inspired by the fun and playful photos of the group events included in the pocket of this page.

Page four: This is one of my favourite pages.  I love the colour combination, the little Memory Box clouds, the mini red clips and the wood chipboard birds which I distressed with vintage photo distress ink.

Page five:  This was a super fun page to create using tissue paper, Dina Wakley stencils and book pages.

Page six: Last page of photo memories.

Page seven:  I wanted to create a retirement book that included both memories as well as ms. giraffe's interests.  Pages seven to eleven reflect ms. giraffe's love for reading, traveling, camping, biking, gardening and giraffes starting with a tongue-in-cheek photo of our team.  All of the photos on pages seven through to eleven were created by the graphic artists.

I made a little comic book out of some internet images I found.

Page eight: 

Page nine:

Page ten:

Page eleven:  I love this page.  The artists did a remarkable job superimposing ms. giraffe's face onto a person hugging a giraffe.  I built three gift card-sized envelopes for memory tokens and the gift card.

Back cover:  Image taken by one of the artists at Fort Edmonton Park.

Finished book:

I had a great time putting this book together.  Are memory books something you would like to see in my Etsy Shoppe?  What is a reasonable price?

Next up:  Retirement book number two for mr. chemistry.

i am only a sparrow amongst a great flock of sparrows - evita peron

I realise that it's been a while since I last posted.  Somehow time has just gotten away.  I spent a fair bit of time putting together two retirement/memory books for colleagues who have started new life adventures. And once completed, I decided to take a bit of a craft respite to renew and refresh.  My version of a craft break involves moving my crafting space to an entirely new location in the house.  I previously occupied the dining room with bits and pieces and odds and ends in different spaces and now I am, and my stuff is, all one space.  And I think, although the space is currently devoid of storage furniture and my materials do not yet have homes, I will be very happy and crafty in my new space.  I also spent some time with the greats: Finnabair and Dina Wakley.  I will post the class results sometime in the next month or so.

I have been struggling, as many of you know, with keeping things clean and simple.  There has been many discussions and great coachings but every so often I need a strong reminder to pull back on the reigns.  One of my crafting enablers had a birthday recently and her style is clean, simple and elegant.  She likes the Dina Wakley chickadees and so the focus of the birthday card was this adorable little sparrow.  And without much fuss and mess I crafted a CAS card.

 

I started the background by splattering and dripping silks acrylic glaze (fuzzy peach) onto heavy white cardstock (I said there wasn't MUCH mess; there always has to be a bit of mess).  I highlighted and transformed the splatters into little precious flowers with my gelly roll pen (black).  The sparrow was highlighted with vintage photo distress ink and perched onto of a Memory Box birch tree (converted into a branch) which was cut from cherry wood paper.

 

I added some greenery to the tree/now branch.  The adorable cloud thread is a Memory Box die-cut.

Coming soon: Father's Day cards (either late for this, early for next year or something to consider for that special man birthday), Finnabair, Dina Wakley and the two retirement/memory books.

Thank you so much for stopping by.