About Me

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Hi. I"m living in the Northeast with my supportive hubby, 2 great girls and toddler son. I run a home based business around scrapbooking and rubber stamping and love everything about those crafts! I also work p/t as a Physician Assistant in Internal Medicine...back after a 10 year hiatus to take care of the kids--loving that, too!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Welcome to the BLOG HOP for LOAD!!!

Comments now closed.   Winner will be announced shortly.
Hi fellow and prospective LOADSTERS! So glad you made it here for our 1st ever LOAD blog hop. This February will be my 1 year LOADaversary as well as my 9 year scrappingversary (ok, I'm known to make up words, so just go with it, ok?) and I'm excited to get going. However; I'm much more relaxed about it now than I was before that very first LOAD last February. Back then, I had a bunch of page kits ready to go, pictures printed (still need those!), journaling pre-written for the layouts I had in mind, and tons of adhesive (still need those, too!). I worried and stressed about not having everything just so, and guess what? LOAD was awesome despite my preparation, AND I did get a lot of layouts done (even if I didn't get them done "on time") which thrilled me...BUT, I hardly used any of the pre-made kits I had or scrapped about the stories I had planned on telling. That was because LOAD challenges you to think outside the box, and the only way to really prepare for it (besides having your pictures and adhesive, of course), is to be open to the daily prompts and go with the flow.

It's true that no one, not even Lain herself, is going to force you to follow the daily prompts, but if you're here during the month of February and you signed up for your 1st LOAD, then chances are you might just need a little inspiration to get you going. Before long, you'll find yourself
sitting at your computer bleary-eyed just waiting (and hoping) for that email to come through at the stroke of midnight (or 3am, depending where you are). So, no pressure here, but read a little longer, and you'll see why I LOVE THE DAILY PROMPTS!!

Now, if any of you know me, you know I'm not really good at just going with the flow...usually. A little pre-planning puts my mind at ease, even if it's really just for my own peace of mind. So, I still prepare for LOAD, and I still have pictures and journaling printed and written, but I choose not to get page kits together (YIKES) or stress all that much. I've decided to try and use the month of LOAD as a learning experience and fully engaged in the daily prompts (totally optional, of course, but I figured I needed the push). What I've found is that I made layouts that I thought were fabulous and that probably would NEVER had gotten scrapped had it not been for Lain's creative suggestions. I discovered that I really could scrap every day (hey, who needs clean laundry all the time). I even took pictures JUST to complete the prompts and get a particular story down that I didn't have pictures for. Case in point, most of my layouts about ME! I used to scrap more about myself way back when I first started scrapbooking , but that fell to the wayside as I got busier BEHIND the camera and caught up in trying to document every. single. event. that our kids did. When I participated in my 1st LOAD ever, Lain had a few prompts that I was excited to complete using myself as a subject. That meant asking my 10 year old to snap a few photos of me, as well as trying to get one of myself in the mirror. These are the layouts that came out of a couple of the prompts Lain gave us, and I'm really glad I chose to go with the moment and not try to scrap something that I had preplanned.
Another way LOAD will stretch you is by showing you different scrapping styles and challenging you to find what you like about that designer's particular style and lift it. We had a Jody Wenke interview we watched and even though I thought I liked the look of her layouts, I never felt that I could accomplish such a clean and "minimalist" look without trying desperately to add a ton of "stuff" (and I DO love my stuff, that's for sure). Yet, I found tremendous inspiration in many of her layouts and in one in particular. I chose to lift a page that had an enlarged picture at the top, framed with some awesome graphic patterned paper and a cool color scheme--this was yet another layout I had no specific picture for, but decided to use one that I had taken while playing with my camera one day. This is probably one of my most "authentic" layouts that I LOVE, but might have never made had it not been for LOAD.

So what am I getting at? I guess, what I'm trying to say is, go ahead and get prepared...to a point. Cook some meals in advance, load up on adhesive (no pun intended), print some pictures, heck, even write some journaling or notes about a few of those pictures if you feel like it, but REMEMBER, this coming month and the journey ahead is all about INSPIRATION, so give yourself the gift of being open to the daily prompts, enjoying the process, and cherishing those layouts that you complete in the end. Whether it's a full month's worth (and there are only 28 days in February, so it's an easier month to get started with) or just a few, special pages...the fact is, you WILL get your mojo revving and your creative juices flowing by just being a part of the awesome community that is LOAD. Take the time to scrap, but also take the time to browse the gallery, participate in the forums, leave some love on the layouts you admire, and in general, enjoy the month. By the time you're done, you'll be sad to see it end and will start hounding Lain about signing up for the next LOAD in May! And maybe, just maybe, you'll have learned a little about your yourself AND come out with a LOAD OF LAYOUTS you'll love.

Now, don't stop here...move on to the next blog after me and show some love. And if you leave a comment here, I'll be sure to pick one person on Wednesday evening that I can send a few things to from my overflow bins of scrappy stuff. Be sure to leave your email so I can contact you.

Happy scrapping, LOADsters,
Janet

31 comments:

Susanne said...

You are right about how LOAD stretches us as scrapbookers. Not only are we challenged by the volume of layouts we do; but how we do them and what we do them about. Can't wait to start, see you there.

Unknown said...

I agree about the prompts from Lain, I scrapped things I never would have on my own. Can't wait to see your February Layouts!

Lisa said...

Hear hear!

Well done on pinpointing some really interesting points about the prompts. The fact that they get you thinking, that they might encourage you to try something different, that you might find yourself scrapbooking *shock horror* yourself!!! Love it!

I'm a big ME scrapper so I loved what you said about setting up ways to get photos of yourself and including yourself again. And that one of yours inspired by Jody Wenke is really great - I remember it clearly and reminds me I need to take such a photo.

Great post and I can't wait to catch up with you in the gallery!

OhioDanielle said...

I love getting my daily prompts and it's why I grab my phone first thing in the morning...to see what I'm going to scrap that day. even if it's not something I planned which makes it more fun and challenging! With all the planning I do, it's okay that some of the photos don't get scrapped during LOAD. At least I'll be prepared when I am ready to scrap them. (I still have photos and paper put aside from the last LOAD that are still waiting to be scrapped.) "See" you soon!

Anonymous said...

One of the things I really love about LOAD is Lain`s prompts - even if I never follow them. They inspire me.
And - I loved the work you did for "Your Word".

Unknown said...

I love this post! I have many of the same sentiments about finding inspiration and pushing ourselves. There are a few stories and pics that I've scrapped because of LOAD that I probably wouldn't have before. Excited to see you over at Flickr.

Junelle Jacobsen said...

You are a delight. Thank you for your wise words and for the darling page with a photo in your car~ that is so inspirational right there.

I love that this is about getting in and trying new things...I need to remember that. If I get stuck, just stretch out and try something completely different?!

Can't wait~
Junelle

Junelle Jacobsen said...

You are a delight. Thank you for your wise words and for the darling page with a photo in your car~ that is so inspirational right there.

I love that this is about getting in and trying new things...I need to remember that. If I get stuck, just stretch out and try something completely different?!

Can't wait~
Junelle

Tere Azua said...

I also love the prompts, always very helpful!
See you next month!

Laura T. said...

I love that "what I see" layout. Such a great idea for a theme. I love the prompts too ... scroll through my email every morning just to get to Lain's prompt.

stamphappy2001 said...

I love your tips about using the daily prompts. I can see how you can capture some stories that we hadn't tought of.

Heather said...

Great reason to use Lain's prompts! I used up so much of my stash when I did that last February!
See you on the 1st!

Susan said...

I'm a planner too and you're right ~ sometimes you just need to go with the flow when inspiration hits. Looking forward to seeing you in the gallery!

Unknown said...

Lain makes LOAD rock!!!
Looking forward to seeing great things on the Flickr roll. .
Jennifer McIntyre
@atthebluebarn

Janice said...

The photo in your car mirror reminded me of one I took a few months ago. You have inspired me to go find it and create something!

Jenny McGee said...

I love the prompts from Lain, but don't always follow them. My first LOAD I did follow all of them, the next one was sometimes I followed and other times I did not. Can't wait to start. Thanks.

LCSmithSAVED said...

Thx! I did LOAD in Oct and loved it, but signed up at the last possible moment so had NO PREP - see ya there!
LCSmithSAVED@juno.com

Erin said...

Love the thought of going with the flow...I am not good at this either! lol

Margie S said...

I love that you posted past LOAD layouts. That is definitely something awesome about LOAD, the deadline forces you to try something new for a whole heap of reasons. Great post!

Dani said...

Great idea!!!

Unknown said...

This is my 1st LOAD, so trying to get a prepared as possible. Many blogs have talked about being prepared with layouts and 'kits'. Refreshing to read that I can also just wing it (to a certain degree) and go with the flow.

TracyBzz said...

LOL! Love all your made up words. I guess it's my 2 year LOADaversary and my 19 year scrapaversary!

Rosann said...

See u on flickr

nicehands said...

Hi Janet! Good to see you here blogging about LOAD :) I loved this post. I have an odd feeling w/o "knowing" you that we are strangely similar. And I was not much of a "go with the flow" type most of my life but I'd like to think I've gotten wiser w/ age ;) lol. Loved your encouragement to go w/ the flow based on the prompts. Reading your post made me smile :) THANKS! Heidi aka move4life

Kristie said...

I can so identify with being behind the scenes. Since I take the pictures, it doesn't really seem as if I exist! Even on a scrapbook weekend with one of my daughters, there wasn't even pictorial proof that I attended! I like the fact that you have taken time to get yourself into the picture! I think I'm going to work on that!

Marygail said...

Thanks for the encouragement! I agree about the prompts - they are there to inspire you :)

scrapper Karen said...

Nice to meet you! I really like the way you think! Thanks for sharing!! Let's go LOAD!

Michele in La said...

As I contemplate joining the LOAD class, it was good to hear from someone that doesn't usually "go w/ the flow" - that was one issue I had. But it's good to hear that the prompts are tempting enough even for someone that doesn't like be to told what to do :)!

Miss Niki said...

You are amazing! I find the prompts inspiring and though provoking but don't use them immediately....I have to think about them for ahwile.

I love your Jan. One Little Word pages...great job getting started on that!

sassyscrapper said...

Hey Janet, Great advice. I have to get some members of my family to snap some pictures of me. Looking forward to seeing your awesome layouts and stories!

Ann said...

Great ideas! I especially like the one about getting some meals ready. I'm going to do just that...I just put in in my planner for Friday. Thanks!
Annie (hi2lows@hotmail.com)