About Me

My photo
A writer by predilection, an aunt by blessing and a friend by choice, Shelley has spent many years journaling before sitting down to draft her first novel. She has a B.A. in English discourse and is currently working on her third romantic-suspense, the title of which will be announced soon pending publication. Shelley is a member of the Romance Writers of America as well as her RWA state chapter of the Maryland Romance Writers.
"I love story-telling. It's a way to live an experience through the eyes of a character." - Shelley N. Greene

Saturday, April 29, 2017

Y is for YEAR IN REVIEW #AtoZChallenge


Hi scrapbook enthusiasts and fellow creators! Today is the AtoZ eve – the second to last letter in the A to Z Blog Challenge – Y is for YEAR IN REVIEW.

Year in review is a perfect end-of-challenge letter for me. As I mentioned in our last post, all of my albums contain the same layout:

-         The first few pages are the “Buh-Bye” page. (I start work on this page as the year it pertains to is progressing.)



-         Second page is my “Resolutions” – a list of goals I look forward to accomplishing in the New Year.



-                     The rest of the books goes through the chronological events of the year. I like this style better than the “one page per month” layout because it allows for flexibility with my life moments. Exp: Springtime is more eventful one year, the holidays the busiest time the year following.

In an old post I shared a tradition that I have with my books. At the end of the year, a little after Christmas, as I’m finishing up the album, I go back and look at my resolutions and compare them to the timeline of the pages.

It’s always a mixed bag as to which goals got done – 1/3rd on the list, 1/3rd saved for another time, and 1/3rd an unexpected gift from the Universe. J

I love how the Buh-Bye page acts like a “In this Year” card. They remind me of the trends at the time – some cool, some tacky, and some iconic. I got a kick out of revisiting them for this blog – I looked at the Buh-Bye photo in yesterday’s post and thought, “Ah, Gladiator sandals – can we bring those back?” Lol.

I hope that someday my own progeny can flip through my books and get a sense of how it felt to live in that time. (In 2006, not 216 BC. Lol.) 

And albums don’t have to be annual. I love how the theme and topic of a scrapbook are completely up to you.

Albums can be about any subject or theme that is important to you:

-         Major Events (Wedding, Honeymoon, Baby Books)

-         Sports

-         Travel (Journals, Trips to specific destinations)



-         Spiritual (Religion, Journeys of Faith)



-         Health Experiences (The words, pictures, and moments that paved the path to healing.)

 

Any time you go back through these scrapbooks, you are re-experiencing the most important times in your life.

In truth, each of my albums are a year in review in themselves, but my annual ritual gives me a sense of closure. When I compare the Resolutions to my pages, and relive the moments, I can move on to the next year with a full and grateful heart.

The art of scrapbooking gives me so much and I’m so happy that I got the opportunity to share that experience with you.

I know that we have one letter left, but I hope the tips and techniques I’ve posted have been helpful. I thank you so much for all the wonderful feedback and encouragement you have given me through this blog challenge.

In the great chasm of the internet, I have connected with wonderful and like-minded creative people. J

Well, tomorrow is the Z-end. I can't believe it. I have one final letter in store, so please stop back by - Z is for ZONES. 

-         SNG


3 comments:

  1. I have loved visiting your blog over the last month! Very interesting info about scrapbooking! I'm going to try to remember some of your pointers!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is the first time I am visiting your blog. Scrapbooking interests me as I did a little many years ago and then gave it up. But I have an art journal and am always looking for other "crafty" ideas. Will go through your posts at leisure.

    My theme for the AtoZ is Daily thoughts.

    Suzy at Someday Somewhere

    ReplyDelete
  3. A year in review or a moment I. Review like travel, those are always fun to do. I have done a couple of scrapbooks about this.

    ReplyDelete