Blackmail

Blackmail, originally uploaded by jashepler.

Day 2 of LOAD and another featuring my son in a somewhat compromising position. Sometimes these silly pictures are just what inspires me, you know?
Anyway, the challenge of the day was to pick three adjectives that define your style. I think simple, clean and linear are three things that typically define my style. I like how this layout came together. It even got Alex's nod of approval!

Busted!

Busted!, originally uploaded by jashepler.

Layout-A-Day (LOAD from here on out) is my favorite scrapbooking challenge ever. It really forces me to carve out some creative time every day and I feel super accomplished at the end of the month.

Not to mention getting memories like this one down on paper.

What I've Been Up To...

I've been taking a class at Little Light Studio called "Bling Out Your Blog". While I'm not much of a "bling" girl, I have been interested in blog design for a while. I can get caught up pretty easily on how things look vs. what they do. I love the idea of a blog as a way to document everyday life, but didn't necessarily love how I could make it look so I found myself just not using it.
Now, it's looking more "me". There will be some adjustments still to come, I'm sure, but overall I'm much happier with how things are looking here.

On the scrapbooking front, this week has been Ali Edwards "Week in the Life" project hosted over at her blog. I started the week with really good intentions, but some technical challenges stumped me mid week. I'm thinking of giving it another go next week, but did capture some nice shots. Here are just a few peeks at our mornings:

1) Alex always ends up in our bed in the mornings. He's pretty sweet to wake up to.
2) Coffee...
3) Off to school
4) Eggo waffles... a new found favorite.
5) Alex is always usually cheerful in the morning

Have a great week!

Want more LOAD?

Here you go...

Day 18... a layout for Alex's ornament book:



Day 19... Alex is pretty comfortable with the camera and in particular likes taking pictures of himself! I had a bunch of pictures developed from the summer of 2008 and found all of these:



Day 20... My dad took this picture a couple of summers ago and it is hand's down one of my favorites:



Day 21... I had this quote from Alex on the dry erase board in the laundry room for a year and a half! Happy to finally tell the story:



Day 22... Another fun memory of 2008:



Day 23... More summer fun! Alex was so excited to get this slide and loved watching it be blown up but was terrified when it came down to sliding down:



Still caught up with just a few days to go! This Thursday and Friday I'll be in meetings in Seattle which will make things a little tricky, but I'm loading some photos and supplies on my laptop and will go digital! Fingers crossed!

Still at it...

Day 16 and I've yet to miss a day! Sixteen layouts complete. I'm really quite proud of myself. Here are a couple recent entries:

From today. I'm finding some solace in scrapping about Dad...


Day fifteen. A quickie Alex page...


Day fourteen. Another quickie highlighting Alex and Dwight's relationship. The first page I've done about the two of them...


Day thirteen. A special Valentine's Day 'card' for Mark...


I've done a pretty good job keeping up. I've even finished a couple of layouts first thing in the morning. Before work even! Twelve more days seems doable. I'm having a really good time seeing my completed work pile up! Even if my layouts aren't works of art, they are precious stories and they're BEING TOLD! This is the best thing of all!

LOAD #7

(click on images to see larger)


Today's layout is from "Yesterday & Today" a class taught at Big Picture Scrapbooking by Ali Edwards. What a great class that highlights your personal history and makes connections with today.

I'm really enjoying the challenge of LOAD. I'm feeling so productive... I've probably done more scrapbooking this week that in the past six months! Here are a couple more layouts:

#6


#5


#4


#3


This one was a little tough. For some reason the last week I've felt a little sad about Dad. I know that 'they' say that grief comes and goes, but it's a whole other thing to go through it. I found this layout to be a great way to channel some of that energy and celebrate his life.

I think the best thing about this challenge is that I'm realizing I don't need to spend hours making a layout. Finished pages are way better than "perfect pages. I can't wait to see the stack when I'm done!

LOAD!

So, I've taken on a challenge for the month of February... one layout a day, every day, for the entire month. I haven't been doing much scrapbooking lately. Not sure why. The inspiration ebbs and flows. I think about it a lot and have got some ideas written down to keep the flow going. Here's my layout for today:

I decided to catch up on some layouts from classes that I'm behind on. Should be a challenge, but one I'm looking forward to!