Organizing My Creativity for the New Year...

Hey everybody - HAPPY 2009!!! Have I mentioned how much I love the new year's holiday??? Okay, I know I did yesterday, but I just need to proclaim it again today -

I LOVE NEW YEAR'S!!! YEAYYYY!!!

I've got lots to share with you today! First of all - the January Crop Suey kits are up for sale! I got the "Tea and Sweet Cake" one and it's FANTASTIC! It includes the fabulous paper line by none other than Lucy Folch! I was so excited when I got the kit I was doing a happy dance! There is so much fun stuff in there it's amazing! We are talking light blue frosty glitter, vintage labels, adorable white fuzzy alpha stickers, dominos, tulle and much more - you are gonna LOVE it!!! Head on over and check it out - they won't last long!

I also want to show you this adorable necklace and holiday card my awesome friend Bree made for me. They were waiting for me when I got home from my trip and it was such a wonderful surprise! I absolutely LOVE them! The fawn on the necklace is so cute, and she did this clever knotting thing so you can adjust the length of it - it's so cool! And how cute is that card??? I LOVE the woodgrain Rudolph! THANK YOU BREE - YOU ROCK!!!


Okay, my head is swimming with ideas for creative projects for 2009!!! I've got to figure out a way to organize it all, cuz when I get like this I end up with a traffic jam in my brain and don't get anything done at all. Here's what I've come up with so far:

Three Main Parts to my System:
The way my brain is seeing it, there are three main things I have to organize:

A. Where I'm physically going to put stuff.
B. What Projects I'm going to work on.
C. How I will fit it into my schedule - timewise.

Today I'm going to talk about the first part:

A. Where I'm Physically Going to Put Stuff
(i.e. what albums will I have on my shelf)

1. Project 365.
One photo everyday with a small journaling block/caption to describe it. This will replace my current chronological yearly album. I'm going to use Becky Higgins "Project 365" Album/kit, which I learned about through Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's blog. I can't wait to get started on it!

2. Layout Album(s) - Yet to be Named.
This will be where all of my layouts go. I'm going to back each one with plain cardstock and label it with the date it was created, along with any other pertinent information, such as what challenge it was for, dates the photos were taken, etc. I am also going to challenge myself to do all different sizes of layouts in these albums. It will be my own little personal art gallery. I am not going to name the album until it is full. Then I'm going to give it a name like a record album would have - HA What fun - I always wanted to be able to name my own record album! I can pretend I am a rock star! I can't wait!

3. Art Journal.
This is where I will put all my experiments, doodles, and more personal art-journally stuff. I always have such a tough time describing what goes in an art journal. This is probably where most of my Project 52 stuff will go, along with art journal challenges - like "Creative Therapy" and my own random reflective collages and stuff. (I am no longer going to keep my calendar in my art journal, cuz I made a separate day planner for 2009).

So that's it - A daily photo album, a layout album and an art journal. I'm going to try to keep it simple. I'm sure I will do mini-albums and altered projects along the way - I'm planning on it in fact, but those are separate from my main, ongoing albums.

I think I will tackle these organizing system parts a day at a time, so as to not get overwhelmed. Tomorrow I will post about the second part - What Projects I'm planning to work on...

Do you have new albums you are starting for the new year? I'd love to hear about your system!