National Scrapbooking Day BLOG HOP

Welcome fellow scrappers. To commemorate National Scrapbooking Day on May 1st some fellow bloggers and I are running a blog hop to engage you in the creative process and of course to give away some great prizes.

Wanna play? GREAT. Visit the following blogs, in order, to view our creative layouts. The theme is CROSS COUNTRY ROAD TRIP. Create a layout (all paper, all digital, or hybrid) about a trip to anywhere in the 50 United States. Check out my fellow bloggers' creations and you'll get a surprise half way through the hop. In addition, some bloggers will run their own separate drawings on each of their blogs, so don't forget to leave a comment to be entered into their drawings.

Once you've visited all the blogs, create your own layout and come back here to BrooklynGirlNextDoor.blogspot.com to post your layout. The last day for layouts is May 15th at 11:59pm. OH and don't forget to leave a comment now before you leave to be entered in a separate drawing.

Some of the prizes include My Mind's Eye LUSH minibook with papers, Unleashing The Creative Child Within You by Avital of Creativity Prompt, a cricut cartridge, bo bunny mini book and much much more.

My sample layout is based on Lain Ehmann's 5 things blog. I was on a business trip to Chicago in March where my hubby met up with me for the weekend once the conference was over. We had a nice time and I hope that came through in the layout. The title is "5 things I really liked about CHICAGO."

The Journaling reads "Favorite Things: 1. My Bed and Breakfast; 2. Watching Alice in Wonderland in 3D at the Navy Pier Imax Theater; 3. The Sky Deck; 4. The National Museum of Mexican Art; 5. Meeting Sr. Helen Prejean (of "Dead Man Walking" fame)."

So again, welcome to the fun and let's get started. Now that you have the theme, hop on over to

http://www.2worldswings.blogspot.com/.

Blog Hop Order

1. Brooklyngirlnextdoor.blogspot.com

2. 2worldswings.blogspot.com

3. www.createscrapbooks.com

4. www.lovejoyscrap.blogspot.com (instructional video)

5. www.sharon-glimpses.blogspot.com

6. www.landerson.typepad.com

7. www.karenscorneroftheweb.blogspot.com

8. www.creativityprompt.com

9. Post your layout over at

brooklyngirlnextdoor.blogspot.com

Getting Ready for National Scrapbooking Day - May 1

National Scrapbooking Day is only a few days away and there is so much going on I don't even know where to begin. I was originally heading out of town but due to work obligations that plan has been shot. So instead I'll be able to join in on National Scrapbooking Day events in my area.

Of course there are 3 crops I have to choose from. But I made my decision because of its proximity to a non-scrap obligation I have mid-day. There's also the launch of the blog hop I'm putting together. Then there is the May LOAD - layout a day which also starts May 1. So much to do so little time. I'll be focusing my first week of May layouts on my Week in the Life project. May 1 here I come!

Week in the Life and LUSH slideshow

It's been a busy week between work, home, the commute and a few side projects I have got going on. But I committed to Ali Edwards' Week in the Life project. I got off to a slow start but by Thursday and Friday, the documentation and photo taking was well under way.

I attended my boss's retirement party on Friday and I gave her a scrapbook of snippets of her 38 years on the job....yes the same job for 38 years. A title change here and there but 38 years none the less. She left quite the legacy and quite the mark and it will be a really challenge (good and bad) to adjust when she leaves. In any case, I finally got the opportunity to use the LUSH kit from My Mind's Eye. I outdid myself if I do say so myself.

Preparing for A Week in the Life

I am really looking forward to probing into a week of my life (see aliedwards.com). I did this project with Ali Edwards once before as part of the Yesterday/Today class on Big Picture Scrapbooking. I have to say it was one of the hardest assignments. I have a long commute each way. I often sit in meetings or at my computer. I have to get a 2 year old ready for daycare and the commute in the morning and for bed and the next day in the evening. I am lucky enough that my husband does much of the cooking so that task is out. So what's there to document? Well now that I have my beautiful SLR and have had some time pass since the Yesterday/Today class, I think I am ready to really embrace this project next week. I have also subscribed to Ali's little word of the year philosophy, which for me is REFLECTION. Reflection, I have learned, does not always have to be retrospective. I can reflect daily. I can reflect in the moment about what I did a minute ago or what I am about to do in an hour.

On today's blog post, Ali Edwards has organizing expert Aby Garvey discussing how to organize and prepare for next week's "A Week in the Life." I have REFLECTED on that article and I think I have come up with some of my responses to her questions in the post.

Why am I participating in this challenge?
Well for one, I have found a lot of joy in scrapbooking and what these projects really mean for the individual doing them. REFLECTION is truly my main motivation. My little word.

What will my finished product be?
I haven't fully decided, but I have been watching Noell Hyman's Paperclipping Live the past two weeks and I really like her idea of creating seven 6x12 folders that can be hole punched and inserted into a general album. The pockets will hold any memorabilia for the week and perhaps I will glue down some photos on the other side. It's simple, integrative and easy to store once I am finished.

When will I fit this project into my life?
I already have. Last night I spent time making some of the 6x12 folders I lifted from Noell. Slipping things into the folders is easy and instant. In addition, I have signed up for Lain Ehmann's Layout A Day challenge in May, which will allow me to scrap some of my Week in the Life as part of the daily challenges and possibly include the folders I created into those layouts. I've been reading Ali's blog daily to prepare and have now read and reflected on Aby's blog post. The challenge for me will be getting organized, but I think a simple $1 note pad from Michael's to jot down the "whatevers" of my day, will do the trick.

I highly encourage this excercise. I think it is really important for us as women to really think about our lives meaningfully, especially as mothers, wives, daughters, employees, employers, etc. When I was single, I thought about my life and myself everyday. I had no issue with the ME and taking care of ME- shopping, partying, traveling, spa days - the works. That has changed significantly with the addition of a husband, a son and a dog and oh yea a commute. So if you are unsure whether or not to try this out, I say go for it. Can't commit to a week? Do one day a week for a month. Or just try one day per month. You'll really love it. Happy reflecting!

Blog Hop Prizes

The Blog Hop is coming along and we are preparing to get our pages updated and ready. So far there are 3 prizes that will be available at the various blogs. So make sure you check them all so that you can be entered to win.

My Mind's Eye Lush minibook and paper
Ebook - Unleashing the Creative Child within You
Cricut Cartridge

Keep stopping by for updates.

Upcoming Blog Hop

I know there are a ton of things happening on May 1st for National Scrapbooking Month, so what's one more? A few bloggers and I from around the country are hosting a BLOG HOP from May 1st to May 15th. Stay tuned for more info...Hint: Road Trip Anyone?

Come on back on May 1st to start hopping.

Favorite Photos

I take every opportunity I can these days to play with my new SLR.

Here are some of my favorite photos as of late.

Shutter Sisters One Word Project

One of the things that has really gotten me so hooked on crafting, scrapping in particular, is that I have always had a passion for photography. Scrapping let's me hone into that passion and learn more about the art of photo taking. ShutterSisters.com has a One Word Project each month. This month's word is HOLD. Here's my interpretation at right. My two guys, Ethan and Ron on Easter Sunday, are sharing a moment in Prospect Park. It was a beautiful day. I was lucky enough to capture this special moment between father and son.

My photography skills are ok but every once and a while I will get a good one, no, a great one. HOLD. PEACE. LOVE. FAMILY. EASTER. CALM. NATURE. PARENT. CHILD. CARING. TRANQUILITY. FATHER. SON. MOMENT. LIFE. BEAUTY.

Easter and Spring

For me, Easter is the real beginning of spring, just as Memorial Weekend starts the summer season and Labor Day ends it. March and April are tricky months. You just never know what you are going to get when it comes to the weather. For 2010, Easter weekend was absolutely beautiful from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. Though I didn't quite get to do all I set out to accomplish, we did enjoy a beautiful day at Prospect Park on Easter Sunday and a short drive around town on Easter Saturday.

Amazingly, I did none of the driving. Anyone who knows me can tell you that I spend my days in endless commuting Monday through Friday. And I don't sit still on the weekends. This weekend, hubby came through and grabbed the reigns. It gave me an opportunity to take out the SLR and really look at Brooklyn in all its glory, diversity, history and well not so glorious areas.

I created a very amateur photo essay of sorts called "This is Brooklyn."