This is the first month of my year-long project wherein I simply finished living the month and then sat down for an hour and scrapbooked it. That’s because I hadn’t even started documenting my year in this format until June and it turns out, it actually works like a charm. And I would like to say for the record that I loved August.
Number of photos taken in August: 1,011 (Note: yes, there was an ultimate frisbee tournament and I tend to shoot like a fiend.)
Number of photos used on these pages: 26.
Note: I did blur out some faces of Cole’s teammates as well as names on Dan’s 5th grade classroom door for privacy.
It seems like there was just so much going on in August. It went by so fast. Maybe that’s just a observation of life in general. Where the hell does the time go? You feel me?
I may have taken over a thousand photos for Cole’s summer tournament but for this project, a few shots will totally suffice. I have a separate little album (you can download the template for free!) that I’ve made for Cole to cover his tourneys. I also have a cool ultimate layout coming in the next issue of Scrapbook & Cards Today that I’ll be sharing here in a few weeks. Oh, and yes, I did post about my new Instant Pot. So far, so good! Thanks to all of you for sharing all your tips and links!
This format forces me to be brief. It forces me to be succinct. I like the limits it gives me. For example, the photo in the upper left of Aidan…she was sleeping on the floor of my room on hot nights this summer because I have an air conditioner unit in the window. Yes, we have central air. No, on hot days, it just doesn’t offer much relief in the upstairs of our house. We had fun this summer with her on the floor, reading Harry Potter for the 5th or 6th time, and just being in each other’s presence. You have no idea how grateful I am for time spent with this young woman. Should I have written all this down? Well, I just did here. Hopefully, the photo will spark the memory. If not, we’ll always have this blog as long as I pay for it.
What I most want from this project is a snap shot of who we were, what we did and how we related to the world around us. And I want truth. I want an accurate picture of our lives. That is the goal with this approach.
I still get to flesh out other stories and make stand alone pages if that is what’s needed.
It’s reminding me how much I love to save photos and words.
If you missed the rest of 2016, here’s the catch up:
January 2016
February 2016
March 2016
April + May 2016
June 2016
July 2016
JOIN ME AND MAKE YOUR OWN RECORD OF LIFE! Scrapbook Your Year is my newest online workshop that is helping women let go of the mucky muck that can bog down a year-long memory keeping project. Learn how setting limits can free you up to share your photos and stories and actually get pages done! To learn more, click on the image below.
CLASSROOM NOTE: I added 8.5 x 11 templates to the classroom! Granted, the videos are all recorded using 12 x 12 templates, but you can still adapt your approach using the new templates offered in this size.
janel says
I am so grateful that I am taking your class. To have a record of the year without the stress of all the ‘crap’…..is wonderful. And the feeling that I am being productive is also a good one. Getting each month finished has been a pleasure, not a chore! Thank you so very much. Here’s to a great September!
Cathy Zielske says
Wow. Can I quote you? 🙂 I like the feeling, too! No crap. Just stories and words. It’s why I keep doing this scrapbook thing.
Amy Myers says
Love your pages! I’ve thought about doing a month at a time for next year. I’ve also thought about doing it digitally and just printing the pages to slip into albums. I’ll probably go back and forth a hundred times before I decided. Yay for over analyzing!
Congrats to Dan on new career! I hope he has (had?) a great start to the new school year. I just started my 14th year of third grade. Fifth grade was my second choice because I loved my 5th grade teacher so much. She was a huge influence on how I teach today. My only wish on the page with him was to see more classroom pictures. I think that’s just me though – always thinking about how to tweak things in my own room.
Cathy, did this really only take an hour? It’s takes me ages to choose photos and then do the minor edits before printing. I can’t imagine an entire month – start to finish – in just an hour. I bow down to you for that! Fabulous work as always. Thank you for the continued inspiration.
Cathy Zielske says
Hey Amy! Thanks for your kind words for Dan. Tomorrow is when school actually starts here in Minnesota, but he’s been in his classroom for a few weeks already getting ready!
This set of pages took me an hour and a half. 🙂 My whole thing with this is to not overthink it. I don’t want to make a perfect record. I want a snapshot. This lets me do that. I also did the digital pages printed and slipped into page protectors for my 2015 album. That’s what got me thinking, “Hey, I can do a book instead!”
I have found that setting limits frees me up to make decisions more quickly. And I get the pages done. 🙂
Amanda says
Hi Cathy – maybe now is a good time for you to post a blog on photo ideas, now that your girl is back at college and your son doesn’t want so many photos (exc at tournaments, good strategy!) and your husband is now working again. I really need some ideas (for those of us without kids). Love your stuff (and sense of humour) all the way from Melbourne, Australia.
Cathy Zielske says
Actually, that is a great idea! 🙂 You’ve just given me a good assignment!
Vera says
It must be cool to be in Mr. Z’s classroom!
Amanda says
Yes, I would have loved Mr Z to be my teacher. Schools definitely need more Mr Z’s!
Lou says
I just love the Bright Bulbs poster, that is just so cute, bright and clear! I love seeing how the two of you are collaborating to create such beautiful content for the classroom.
Cathy Zielske says
Thanks, Lou! We’ve spent the holiday weekend making more things for his students. I’m having fun so far being a teacher’s wife!
Barbara K Satter says
Cathy, I loved reading your August pages! I, too, wish your hubby a wonderful year in the classroom. I also taught 5th grade for several years and LOVED it! Although, I haven’t started to scrap my own year, I have worked on my grandkids albums and your CRAP process has worked well for these books as well! Thanks so much for bringing the joy back to scrapbooking for me – it was starting to become a chore!
Cathy Zielske says
Thanks, Barbara! I love hearing how many of my readers are or were teachers! 🙂
Mandy says
What happens to the other 980ish photos?
Cathy Zielske says
Some (the sports ones) will go into Cole’s little mini album about his ultimate tourneys. Many will get deleted (most definitely have to go through and delete the sports photos). Some photos will become part of stand alone scrapbook pages (maybe one or two tops) and the rest will just sit in my iPhoto library and get backed up to my Time Capsule and offsite storage. 🙂
But the key here is this: I don’t need all of the photos I take. Truly. I just don’t. So… deleting will happen this month for sure, and the rest will just sit in the library.
Cathy Zielske says
I should add: I shoot a ton of sports photos so I can have options to share with the team. After I pick the best ones that represent as many players as possible, I can delete hundreds of them, except the ones wherein Cole appears! 🙂
Ami Pilon says
I am finishing my PL album for this year and really looking forward to doing this class for next year. I’ve been wanting to give going digital a try and this seems like the perfect time. I wonder if others are planning to start in January of 2017 also.
Cathy Zielske says
I have heard from a handful of readers who are planning to give it a go in 2017!