I had to post one of today's creations...

Just a quick post before I go to bed.



I've been trying to look at different blogs -- particularly crafting and scrapbooking blogs -- to get a feel for how it all "works". I've got to admit, its a little overwhelming. I give lots of credit to these women who seem to be able to do a million different things and STILL manage to make amazing scrapbook pages, jewelry, or stitch a beautiful piece of art. (Do you women have more than 24 hrs. in your day? haha. And if you don't, can you tell me your secrets??) I love scrapbooking so much, and wish I had more time (or knew how to manage my time a little better) to be able to work with it more actively. In my last post, I talked about goal setting and accomplishing more this year. Well, focusing on my scrapbooking hobby is one of the major accomplishments I hope to achieve. Wish me luck!

And before I log off:



I do a lot of traditional scrapbooking, but I recently got into digital scrapbooking (I started it this past summer). I wouldn't say that one beats the other; they both have their strong and weak points -- digital scrapbooking is oftentimes less time consuming, but you cannot beat the asthetics of a traditional scrapbook page (you get my drift). Anywho, I had a little bit of time today and realized I hadn't logged on to my digi scrapbooking program in a while, so I thought I'd try to complete a quick page or two; I ended up completing FOUR in about an hour! See what I mean? When you're crunched for time, digi is the way to go!

So, with all that being said, I'm posting one of my finished digital scrapbook pages from today (I did this one for my husband...it turned out so much better than I thought. I think I'm even going to print it off and frame it in a shadow box for my mother-in-law.)



NOTICE: This is by NO means professional work; actually, I feel a little ashamed to be posting this when I've seen all of the intricate, beautiful pages some of these girls create. Bear with me, though. I'm still learning. (=

New Year, New Plans

First of all, I want to say a quick "Hey!" to everyone who may read this (either friends or fellow bloggers). I'm new to blogging, but I've seen so many great blogs (thanks to my mom who has recently gotten into blogging), I couldn't resist starting my own.

Although we have almost completed a month of the new year, I have been working all month to change -- or re-arrange, I should say -- some of the habits I've had in the past years and/or begin some habits that I needed and lacked. So far, so good. I'm not big on setting New Year's Resolutions; I've done that in the past and I never stick to them because 99% of the time I set some kind of unrealistic goal. This year my goal was simple: "I want to accomplish more each day." So, as I've said, I've decided to hone some of my previous habits and develop new ones that will, in short, make me a better organized, more productive person.

First of all, my goal was to become more organized. I believe myself to be a fairly organized person -- most everything in my house has its place, my closets are nicely organized, etc. But, when it comes to paperwork, bills, etc. I'm not so great. I just kind of put them anywhere that things won't look cluttered in my computer room/office. (I should probably mention that I recently graduated from college -- Marshall University (yes, the college from the "We Are Marshall" movie) -- as an English Teacher for grades 5-12.) So, I've been trying to develop little habits like: Put all of my bills in one folder and write down on a sheet of paper when each is due; reply to an email as soon as I get it, even if I only have time to write something short and sweet (this was one of my biggest problems...I would let email get backed up, and then it would completely overwhelm me); etc.
I've found that these tricks are really starting to help. I also found out about a website called Flylady.net which gives you tips and tricks on how to stay organized. While I'm not teaching full-time yet (should begin a full-time position within the next few weeks), I'm subbing a few days a week, and I know I need to develop strategies that will make my life easier around the house when I begin my second full-time job as a teacher (because as you know, being a wife is a full-time job in itself!).

I'm also a big-time crafter. I love to scrapbook and do beading, along with any other kind of crafty things for around the house. I haven't picked up sewing yet (that's my mom's forte), but I would like to sometime in the near future. I always watched my mom do crafts when I was little and never thought I would enjoy them. Boy, how your interests change as you mature! I think I'm just like her, now (which is something to be proud of). Its a great thing for she and I to share.

My other project for the new year is a scrapbooking class for the ladies of our church. Our ladies' auxiliary group wanted something new to focus on, and we would love to see more women join the group, so we thought a scrapbooking class may be the trick. Even if it doesn't draw more women to join, I know it will be a fun thing for the ladies who are interested to work on together. My mom and I are about the only ladies in our church that scrapbook. Most are middle-aged women with jobs, or young mothers with babies or young kids. So, I thought it would be a good thing to start, and I'm excited about planning it. I will be posting pictures of our monthly classes and the pages created at the classes. I will also be posting some of my personal crafts that I have completed at home, along with any other ramblings I'll probably add from time to time. Hopefully my writings will be enjoyable entertainment for someone out there. (=

Until then,

Ashley