In like a lion, March has come. But we are not speaking of weather, no, we are referring to some take-no-prisoners, king-of-the-jungle scrapbooking. But first, some business.
Today we say goodbye to Jamie Waters. We were so honored to have you with us, and wish you all the best in your continued endeavors. Jamie brought us her delightful whimsy, her heartfelt journaling, her excellent use of stickers, and her amazing photography. Jamie, you will be missed.
Onto some happier news, we are pleased to let you all know that we have begun tweeting! Yes, our Twitter page is up and running and we would love for you to find us there. We are writeclickscrap and you can be quite sure that we would love to add you to the fun!! (You can find that link on our navigation bar at the top of the site). And if you are scared of tweeting, we can offer you some links to help you out. Leave us word and we will do our best to hold your hand!!
Next, before we get to our gallery, we have heard your request for a place to comment on the layouts. Right now, Typepad doesn't have this function within the photo albums, but we would still love for you to tell us what you loved. We read each and every comment and we cannot tell you how much it makes our day to know that you love what you see!
How many of you have unfinished ideas/projects/layouts sitting around? We have heard that some of you go to crops and make wonderful layouts but never add your photos when you go home. And some of you are organized enough to keep a drawer or folder of unfinished layouts, but knowing where they are doesn't exactly win the page completion prize, does it??
This month, the scrapbook police are ready to annihilate any and all excuses. Maybe you shy away from birthday layouts, school layouts, or event based layouts. Or layouts with less than perfect photos. Maybe it is the journaling that is stopping you. Maybe the photos were too busy. Or maybe you were too busy to collect that which you needed? Maybe it was more fun to take the photos than to scrapbook them? Or perhaps you just got tired of pushing the photo around and cutting papers that just aren't working. Sometimes we even put a whole layout together and realize it just isn't working. So we put it away. Though you know it is there, don't you? Do you hear it calling to you sometimes? Asking why it isn't important enough to finish? Asking you why you can't just take a minute and write that story down? even if it doesn't turn out exactly like you had envisioned it in your perfect scrapbooking utopian dreamland?
Guess what? sometimes pages just need to get done. Sometimes you need to realize that the memories aren't getting any crisper, that the stack of photos isn't getting any slimmer. Sometimes, you just have to put the pedal to the metal and crank it out. It may not be the best work of art, you may not even display it on your wall, but at the end of the day, the story is recorded, the photo matched to the story, and the memory is preserved.
Because the scrapbook police care much less about whether every layout is publishable, and much more about whether your memories are captured for everyone to enjoy. In 50 years, no one will be thinking about whether you used the perfect paper. (They will be too distracted by the fashion and the hair to care!!) We jest. But this month, please, take the time to finish up a layout that has been sitting still for too long. Or to record that story that is told over and over but hasn't yet made it into your book. Or scrapbook the obvious, the overlooked, the difficult. Perhaps you can use a page to change your perspective. Or take time to record a part of life that you will no longer choose to procrastinate. Our lives and our scrapbooks are waiting for us to take hold and fly. Let's do it. No more excuses. Today is the day! Let's free ourselves of an obligation! We cannot guarantee that it will change your life, but it will help you put a check in the done column. And those little checks do change our lives.
Good luck! and thank you for letting us inspire you this month! Enjoy the gallery!