I have to start off by saying - it is COLD outside!  I am doing a Becky Higgins project called Project 365 which is basically taking a photo each day of the year to capture life for your family in 2009.  Today’s photos - the temperature!  The radio has said it is going to get colder and with the wind chill today it is close to minus 30!

Last night’s scrapbooking organization went well - I didn’t get as much done as I wanted but know that next Tuesday will come and I can tackle some more then.  I was happy to get to the card portion of the closet as we love to use blank note cards when sending thank you notes and hello notes.  I keep a package of stamps in my dayplanner along with our addresses so it is easy to send them out.

I found a cute box at Walmart that is intended for CDs but the size was perfect for our collection of cardstock cards. One side fit the square format and the other was perfect for the more traditional size.  When I was done I found a spot on the shelf for the box and put my printed cards with it so our cards are now all in one spot.  Embellishments for the homemade cards can be found in my scrapbooking supplies so the box of cards is really just that.  Clean and simple.  One thing done!

Keeping with my plan to have a creative to-do list this year - Wednesdays is Project Day.  This is the day of the week that a project left undone or something that needs to be done (and can be tackled in an evening or a series of evenings) gets done!  My project for today is to finish Christmas.  Yes - I still have some Christmas stuff to put away along with the wrapping supplies.  I know I can get this done tonight after the kids go to bed.

Have a happy Wednesday!

Helen

Before Christmas we did a countdown that was really just a creative to-do list. I put all of the things we always want to do into a countdown activity and it helped us to focus each day on something we could do together to celebrate the holidays. I kind of think having a bit of a set schedule can do the same thing for us busy moms - in a way it is a creative to-do list!

Recently, I sat down and made a list of all of the things that need to be done each week and added in some time for ME and my favourite pastime, scrapbooking. I don’t’ always get to go out to scrapbook with friends so I have decided to make Tuesdays my scrapbooking day. I love to take photos and I love to scrapbook but I just don’t take the time. By making today my scrapbooking day - my ME day, it means that I don’t schedule other things on this day (other than the must dos with the kids). My weekly creative to-do list allows me to take that time on Tuesdays and not worry about it on other days - kind of like my laundry day!

I recently moved my office to a new room in the house. We haven’t painted yet but I have reorganized things a little. Tonight my scrapbook plans are more related to finishing my organizing as stuff everywhere tends to get in the way or me being creative! Besides wanting to get this done, I need to get it done!  In just about a month I will begin an Alumni class at Big Picture Scrapbooking (if you can get in to take this class - do it! It is the most amazing class you will ever take. ) The Library of Memories class is part scrapbooking, part organizing and part celebrating life and the reason behind my love for this favourite pasttime.

So as I say goodbye and get on with my day I leave you with a few photos of my partially organized scrapbooking stuff - I will add the finished photos when the day is through.

This is part of my problem - stuff piled into the closet where I keep my supplies.  The bottom is just a filing cabinet but the 4 drawers are part of my Library of Memories way of scrapbooking.  On top of that is more photo organizing and all of my tools which as you can see, I can’t even move for fear of it all falling down!

We love to make cards but often don’t because the stuff is not easy to get to.  The baskets and piles are going and hopefully being transformed in a way that makes it easier to grab, create and send!

If you read my wish list before Christmas you will know that I was wishing for some Ikea wooden boxes.  The group of 8 were a gift from my Mom a few years ago and I have been using them to sort my scrapbooking supplies by color.  The only problem is I didn’t have enough drawers.  So, I was lucky enough to get two more sets, the 4 you see below.  My job now is to separate the mixed colours and get them in order.  Right now it is a big mess behind the ‘closed’ drawers!  By the way - if you haven’t organized by colour you should try it.  It makes finding things so much easier.  Oh and the binders beside the boxes - another tool I have created from the Library of Memories class.  You know all the memorabilia you save for pages - these pages in progress books make it easy for me to tuck things away in a more organized fashion so coming back and scrapbooking about an event is so easy (of course, you have to take the time - my problem!)

Here is another LOM concept  - these boxes hold the supplies I use in the albums I update annually.  I have a Christmas album, school of life albums, disney album etc… and I can easily grab the box and sit down and get the page completed in a short amount of time.  The boxes contain paper, embellishments, and stickers too.

This is the only part of my office where you can actually see scrapbook supplies.  I like a clean space to keep my head clear but I didn’t have anywhere to put this stuff so it is ontop of my desk.  The black boxes are my alphabet boxes - I keep my letters stored together (another idea from Stacy Julian!) and the clear boxes are for stamps and other supplies.  They are not very organized and don’t look great so my goal here is to make them organized and pretty!

There you go - I will share some photos of what I accomplish.  I am sure I won’t get it all done but I am going to put on a movie and get to work.

It’s Family Day at our house! We are actually getting ready for a yard sale so the evening may not include a lot of family fun but we are making room for some new holiday gifts by getting rid of things the kids have outgrown or no longer need or use.

Part of the holiday season - the one we are working towards is the time we spend together with our own families and with extended family and friends. So today lets think about what we WANT to do when we have all the MUST DO stuff done. Maybe you want to host a christmas party this year? How about inviting some of your kids friends over to make cookies - just for the fun of it! Maybe you want to have a neighbourhood gingerbread contest or one within your family or group of friends? If you work at getting things ready by the middle of November, you will have time for all of these fun things.

Grab the family and make a list of what you want to do. You might want to try this idea from Cara and I from the summer - it is easily tranferred into December. All you need is a short brain-storming session and some paper and pens. When you show the kids how much fun you can have in December - they will all want to work together to make it a reality! Click here to watch the summer fun project and then make it a December fun project tonight!

Here are a few things we have done in the past or want to do this year.

Christmas Lights Drive

We make some hot chocolate and put it into car friendly cups. We all jump into the car and drive around looking at the lights. We stop at the main display in our town and get out and enjoy the light display.

Christmas Stories

We read two everyday during the month of December. I have a crate of books and the kids pick one each and we cuddle up on our bed to enjoy the stories. They have favourites and we pick up a few new ones each year. Watch the CPO Great Finds Blog for some new holiday titles to add to your collection this year!

Countdown

We love to countdown to Christmas with an advent calendar. We use a cloth one that I put treats into and sometimes I surprise the kids with a note instead of a chocolate. The note may be a clue to a little surprise in the house or something we may be doing as a family. Ice skating at a big outdoor rink, a family movie night with all-holiday movies or “invite a friend” may be included.

Christmas Movie

In addition to the DVDs we like to go to the movie theatre during the holiday season, where there is a Christmas movie playing. I am not sure if there is anything coming out this year but a good replacement would be a movie night at home where you can invite a bunch of friends or your kids friends to enjoy an old favourite. Serve up some popcorn and candy like they would get at the theatre!

Our “Wish List” for this year: Make our own candy canes!

I would love to hear what others do during the holiday season - or things you WISH you did but haven’t got to - but will this year, because you will be ready!

Have fun planning your holiday fun activity list!

Helen