I don’t care if you make resolutions or if you hate them, January ALWAYS feels like pushing the reset button. A time for organization, goal setting and fresh starts so the theme for the TRD blog this month is Starting Fresh! Let Trish, Kaye and Theresa each show you how THEY tackled the theme below!

Trish - Wildflower

I generally balk at the idea of resolutions, or “new year, new me” type deals, because that just is not who I am. However, this past month has led to a lot of changes in my life, so the idea of “Starting Fresh” seems to be a welcome one. To me, the most significant part of starting well is to end well. This does not necessarily mean finishing everything or beating yourself up for the things you have left undone or never even started. Ending well is being at peace with the way you are ending one chapter and starting another. I have never been a full chronological scrapbooker, so I am always okay with not having my scrapbook for a particular year fully done. I don’t beat myself up over the many things that I never documented, because I know eventually, I will. Or I won’t and that’s cool too. Didn’t finish December Daily, oh well. There’s always next year, then again, maybe you realize that it isn’t for you. Try not to carry the stress of the year before into the next, let it go and leave it so that you can welcome the next chapter of your life. (Even if the next chapter means you have to end a love affair with salt.)

I decided to take the approach of documenting all of the things that I want to leave in the chapter of my life which is 2022 instead of bogging myself down before 2023 even begins. I used my favorite collection of this year, Wildflower, because I felt like all of the flowers and the colors really worked for the theme of “fresh.”

Kaye - The Love List + Filled With Intention

As a “newer” scrapbooker I have never been in the position to really scrap in the “now.” I have always been in catch up mode BUTT this year I told myself that I want to scrap more in the NOW to capture the stories more real time. I am starting with this theme... I have a goal of keeping up on at least 2 stories a month in real time! So this layout is all about my goals, which I know, I know a lot people don’t love goals but I am a goal orientated person! This spread is a mix of The Love List and the Filled With Intention kit! I LOVE the colors of the The love list kit but wanted the list card from the Intentions kit which is the absolute beauty of digital/hybrid scrapbooking! The options are kinda endless and you can make kits into your own style along with making them work for you!

Process Video

Theresa - Time To Thrive

Fresh Starts come in many different ways, whether it’s the New Year, new jobs, new opportunities, new relationships, and for our oldest it meant moving out this year. Even though I have tons more layouts to complete in his childhood albums, moving out seems to be a fitting last layout. The Traci Reed Time to Thrive collection seemed perfect for this momentous occasion! I love the color palette, great for masculine layouts, and the vibe is most definitely the vibe we are sending him off with! I began in Photoshop with this wonderful circular background paper, and added a few digital stamps before printing.

This collection has a wonderful circular frame so I added that to my photo and then I’ve popped it up on the layout with foam tape. The circles are a great element to repeat around the page, with the frame and also with the arrows and title. For my journaling I added the bracket journal spot at the top and repeated more arrows and a stamped circle with that. I’ve also added a few foam embellishments and stamps (all from Cocoa Daisy). I hope this inspired you to document your Fresh Start! Happy New Year to you!