I am not gonna lie- I am sorry-not-sorry to see 2016 finally end. Many people I care about have been bruised by losses of many different kinds this year. In order to get into more of a celebratory mood for Auld Lang Syne I decided to go through my pictures from the past year and reflect on the good times with my family. While doing this, I also took some time to clean out and organize my Photo files on my Mac Book. I think that the most common theme of welcoming a brand new year is starting fresh, getting organized, and of course determining some resolutions. So with that introduction, my focus in our January kickoff post is to share an idea for a multi-photo Year in Review Layout and also talk a little about getting organized for a fantastic 2017!
I love that the built in photo software from Apple is so intuitive and easy to sort your photos by dates, events, people, places, and customized albums. I find that it helps to be more efficient when I am looking for a photo to scrapbook to have all of the bloopers and bad shots already removed so that I can choose from mostly scrap-worthy snapshots. Of course your digital archives constitute the majority of memory keeping nowadays, and our layouts are the tip of the iceberg thanks to the wonders of digital photography. So one of my New Years resolutions is to take care of my digital photo files with the same care and organization that I put into organizing my supplies. After all, photos are the most important supply.
Rarely, if ever do we a see multiple photo layouts, let alone a layout with 12 photos-yes I said TWELVE! As I went through my photos I decided to pick one memory for each month of the year. It was difficult to narrow them down to one- but another parameter I wanted was to be able to include every one of my children in at least one of the photos-especially if the month included a special day for one of them-like a birthday. This helped me to eliminate photos by having to narrow it down by month AND whether I had already chosen a better photo of one particular child. Once I selected my photos, I printed them in 2.5″ squares on my Canon Selphy and all in black and white for a uniform look and color palette. I cut strips from one of the Hey, Sugar! kit papers to make a frame and then hand stamped a background design of Monstera leaves. I love the color combination of black and white and green. The Thickers alphabet in the kit really made the simple title pop. Finally, I printed a caption for each month’s photo and did some layering of the captions as well as some punched vellum scraps that were laying around from another project.
Last but not least, I had fun creating my own unique embellishment out of resin. I had this random smooshed toy flamingo in my junk drawer. I thought about using it as an embellishment, but then remembered I had some resin I had wanted to play with and if I could make a casting of it, instead of just one embellishment, I would be able to multiply its use by making more resin flamingos whenever I needed one! After creating a silicone mold from the original flamingo, which sets in about 20 minutes, I colored my resin with a few drops of alcohol ink and poured it into the mold. After setting overnight, it was ready to adhere to my page. I loved the way it came out perfectly imperfect, and flatter than the original toy which made it easier to adhere and less bulky on my page.
Pantone announced their 2017 color of the year and it’s called “Greenery.” One of the trends we are sure to see in scrapbooking like in other design genres this year is the ongoing love of living things-especially tropical and woodland scenery and wildlife. From palms to ferns to succulents, you can’t go wrong with green! The latest pre-CHA new releases are starting to post and behind the scenes Clique Kits is planning upcoming kits and putting together orders for new shop inventory! We know that our 2017 kits are going to continue everything you know and love about Clique Kits, while adding more frequent Traveler’s Notebook add on kits.
If you have not already tried the traveler’s notebook as a way of documenting-and it doesn’t have to be used on a trip- although they are perfect for traveling- please get your pre-order in now for the latest limited edition TN kit.
This kit is coming out with perfect timing-whether for a holiday break from winter weather or if you live in the Southern hemisphere or the tropics already like here in Hawaii where Christmas is always green and bright- this kit is going to be perfect for using as an on the go smash book type album, an album to document a special trip, or just as a daily documenter that is relaxed and smaller scale than large layouts. Be on the lookout as we add more TN product bundles to the school store, as well as inserts, and accessories!
Clique Kits has already been experimenting with the idea of hosting pre-orders for our subscribers and followers for hot new products -and many of these will be bundled to provide even deeper discounts for pre-ordering. However, once we close out ordering for shipment with the following month kit, these items, or whatever is left of them, will be transitioned to a la carte items, and priced accordingly. Just wanted to make sure that we keep everyone in the loop about how we adjust based on the crafting and buying patterns of our community!
Thank you so much for being part of The Clique- we love the diversity and varied talents of our community and value each individual member as a personal friend. And on that note…
We’ll take a cup of kindness yet for Auld Lang Syne!
-x Gia
Clique Kits 