2012 - A year in review...

Since I started Scrapbooking, I've attempted a few ongoing projects.  A few years ago, I started a December Daily album and only managed to make a bound book with no photos or information in it.  At the beginning of this year I embarked on a Project Life album and got as far as February before I decided that I just couldn't keep it up.  What I've realised from both of these projects is that whilst I love the idea of documenting our daily life, I find it difficult to actually keep up the recording on a regular basis. 

Last year, I realised that the best way for me to record big events is just to sit down and create something once it's happened, when I can print all the pictures at once and then concentrate on making all of the pages together.  My January 2012 post on the blog explained how I put together an album all about our 2011 Christmas using a repeated layout idea.

Inspired by this sheet of stickers in the shop, I decided to again use this method to make a review page for each month of 2012 to fill my unfinished Project Life album.

Putting it all together

Each page was created on a base of either white or kraft cardstock, alternating through the months.

Step 1

A mix of 6x6 papers and/or the month cards cut from the Simple Stories 12x12 sheets were attached to the edge of the base.  When creating the adjoining page, I made a mirror image and lined the two pages up next to each other in order to place the papers down in exactly the same level on the page.

Step 2

Next, add a coordinating strip of washi tape across the bottom of the page, about a cm from the edge. 

Step 3

Stick one of the Elle's Studio month tags to the opposite top corner of the page to where the papers are.

Step 4

Using an Amy Tangerine roller date stamp, I added the start and end dates for each month to the other top corner of the page, just above the papers.

Step 5

The appropriate month sticker from the Simple Stories sheet was then stuck on top of the washi strip.

Step 6

I filled in the dates for each month onto a calendar card from a pack by Fancy Pants and attached to the space next to the papers.

 

Step 7

In one of the packs of Simple Stories stickers are some washi strips which I used to embellish the top corner of the papers.

 

Step 8

Where it fit best, I added a Studio Calico polaroid die cut to each page.  Further small embellishements such as stickers, wood veneer shapes and tages were also added to some of the pages.

 

Step 9

Using Picasa, I created a photo collage of pictures from each month.  To keep it uniform, each photo had a portrait orientation and to ensure that I didn't need to worry about clashing colours, I changed the colours to black and white and then added a 'warmify' effect, both within the Picasa software. I also gave each photo sheet a black border.  More information about creating a photo collage can be found here.  The 6x4 photo was then stuck onto the base where I felt it looked best. 

Step 10

I typed my journaling in word using a typewriter font.  This was printed and cut down to fit before sticking to the page.

Step11

As mentioned previously, I created the pages to work in pairs next to each other in my album.  Therefore, to make the next page, I placed them next to each other and made a mirror image using a different coloured cardstock base.

 

The finished pages

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

and December (all ready to add a photo and journaling to at the end of this month)

All of this was put together pretty quickly.  The structured approach made it all fall into place easily.  During our recent DT weekend away, I managed to finish 10 of the pages (in between celebrating an important birthday!).   It certainly left me with a great sense of achievement, knowing that I've managed to record our family highlights from this year in a quick and efficient way.  I'm planning to document Christmas 2012 in a similar way again, once the festivites are out of the way, which will most likely be my blog post in January 2013.  See you in the new year!

My supplies: