Because concrete plans are for only the most optimistic of us right now.
Today I took down the December calendar from my office wall and filled in the dates for January. As is a running theme around here, I am a few weeks late to the new year. December snuck up on me so of course January did too.
I'm also in limbo-land as I enjoy some time off from work but also feel the need to stay in with my kids as we ride this Omicron wave like the rest of the world (or be pummelled with it - it's the metaphor that keeps on giving). Lots of TV, afternoon naps, reading, music, podcasts, crafting and shifting between intricate, convoluted recipes or no cooking at all and good luck finding something for lunch guys.
I have no particular complaints and feel grateful for my home, health, family, job flexibility, swimming pool, grocery delivery etc but coming into the third year of the pandemic feels like a TV show that should have ended a few seasons earlier. I'm tired, bored, worried, grateful, happy and resigned all at once.
So today I'm playing some records (Andy Williams Sings the Movie Hits), sitting at my desk and thinking about what I want this year (besides the obvious).
MY WORD FOR 2022
It wasn't until yesterday that I decided on my word for this year - CREATE. Maybe not the most trailblazing word for a crafter but here we are.
I want to spend more time creating and less time consuming, especially when it comes to scrapbooking. Instagram is a wonderful place to connect and share but with a lot of time available to me, I want to spend more of it making things rather than looking and being inspired. I want to make projects for me and products for my shop (especially templates) a priority.
We have some home projects slated for this year and as my kids are getting older (12 and 15) I feel like it's so important to create the home that best suits us at this stage of life. Our open house just isn't great for loud groups of kids watching movies and playing Xbox so a place for them to hang out with a door will be very cool. I'm also planning a bigger, new kitchen and these home improvements align with my hope to create more healthy habits this year - cooking, prepping, moving more, organising.
I'm also conscious of the kids getting older and making sure to create more family time, even if it's getting together to watch a new episode of Cobra Kai with some popcorn, putting a puzzle together or eating dinner together at the table. It's all about creating the life you want.
SCRAPBOOKING PLANS
I'm continuing on with my 6x9 digital journal (started in November and discussed here) and really enjoying that format so far - part scrapbook/art journal/visual diary/Project Life/bullet journal. Not too much to ask for one project right? Really it boils down to wanting to document my life in one place rather than making various sized pages, keeping journals, doing project life. A lot of that has to do with the finished product - if I can have an amazing look at my life for 2022 in one chunky photobook, that will be wonderful.
I'm making a shift from individual, random layouts to a more cohesive book this year. With my kids getting older and life being smaller with the pandemic, I'm enjoying including a lot more of my own thoughts, feelings and notes about everything from our day to day lives to my love for punk music and sixties culture. It all goes in the book and I love that.
I also have a digital writing-based project (also 6x9) to collect my longer thoughts and stories without having to become 'layouts'. I'm using a simple magazine style design and add to it gradually with no end date.
Something else I started late last year was a 'real' paper art journal, totally inspired by watching Caylee Grey on YouTube. I have a 4.5x7 inch Moelskine Art Sketchbook to play in and love having a place to practice being not-perfect. I am still me though, so mine is neat and minimal with more notes, photos and words than drawings and paint but it's a great place to try new things and even art journaling for just a few months has influenced my digital documenting.
So those are the three projects at the forefront right now. I'm really feeling much more like a documenter these days as opposed to a 'scrapbooker' with a lot less focus on products, embellishing and techniques. December Daily was a very fun departure for me but when I condense down what I want from this hobby this year it's this:
> digital
> pages printed as photobooks
> a one-place-fits-all project for my main documenting with some side projects for writing and for art
Thanks for reading friends! Appreciate you. S