Thoughtful Thursday: Planning a November Hybrid Album
Hello! It is hard to believe that time is passing by so fast and soon it will be November! I don’t know how this happens each year, but it does….time flies by and I always seem to feel like I want things to slow down and want to appreciate life more. As such, this is the time of year that I really long to do a monthly gratitude project and November is the perfect month for it. I’ve done this type of project several years now, and have always focused on what I’m grateful for, what makes me feel blessed, and the good things in life. I shared my 2020 project before: here, here, and here.
This year I’m again drawn to embark on this project, but I’ve been feeling a desire to change it up just a little bit. Instead of an album focused on things I’m thankful for, I want to shift my lens and spend the month of November pausing and noticing, recognizing and acknowledging, breathing and meditating, and giving grace in all things. How this will shape itself, I’m not certain, but I do know that I am eager to just pause and stop for a moment each day to notice what is around me, acknowledge what I arm seeing, feeling, thinking, doing, and simply appreciate the here and now. I’m looking forward to this change in my mindset and how it may evolve.
As I’ve been thinking about this project and my shift in how I will approach it, I’ve been eager to get my ideas outlined and materials prepped so that I can also spend my time in November being creative without feeling overwhelmed. For me, this means making some decisions on what I want the project to look like and getting things prepared in advance. I like to plan and prep everything so that all I need to do in November is take each day as I comes and create my album with the materials in front of me. Having decisions such as colors, kits, inks, embellishments and ephemera made and products ready to use make the actual project creation so much easier and enjoyable! Here is what I’ve chosen for my 2022 November project:
Theme: Pause, Notice, Recognize, Appreciate, Reflect, Meditate, and Give Grace. Admittedly this is lot of words but it works for me.
Color Palette: Soft Pinks, Darker Blues, and Autumn Yellows
Embellishments: Mandalas, Dandelions, Flowers, Butterflies, Florals
Style: Clean with bits of Mixed Media and Textures, Simple with Boho vibes
Size: 5″ x 8-1/4″ pages, no page protectors, in a 6-ring album
Physical Products: Inks, Stamps, Stencils, Embossing, Washi, Paint Drops, Staples, Felt; Printed ephemera and papers from digital kits
Digital Kits: Memory Pockets Monthly Breathe; Elif Sahin Designs Grace Elements, Papers and Cards; Just Jaimee September 2021 Daily Life and November 2021 Strips and Stamps; and Sara Gleason Notetaking Cards, Pocket Maps #4 and Pocket Maps #5. I’m especially excited to use the Pocket Page Maps as these products include so many great prompts that tie in so nicely with my vision for this project.
I started collecting my materials, printing and prepping:
I printed out my papers and elements with my home inkjet printer and will just hand cut everything with scissors and my paper cutter. The round elements are sized perfectly for a 1″ round paper punch.
Collecting and assessing my physical supplies:
My selection of inks, stencils stamps, embossing powder, washi and other materials that I may use.
Everything is getting ready to go and I have it organized on my desk so that it will be easily accessible to use when November arrives! Over the next couple of weeks I will continue to cut my ephemera and am awaiting on a few things to arrive.
One of the great things about planning and prepping ahead of time is the ability to see what I don’t have and need to purchase. I realized my paper stock is low as I only have a few sheets left after printing my digital supplies (and the paper I love is back ordered until the middle of November – woah! – so I am awaiting a different paper and will see how it works out). I also needed to order felt as I love adding felt flowers and hearts and wanted coordinating colors, and I need a new VersaMark pad for my embossing – my current pad definitely needs replaced. I feel like I’m lacking in my physical stamps as I don’t seem to own what I have envisioned in my head although I was able to pull these together. However, some online browsing and shopping may happen. 🙂
I’m really excited for this slightly different take on my annual November project and happy to have a plan in place. Are you going to partake in creating a monthly album – 30 Days of Thankful/Grateful/November Noticing??? I’d love to hear about it and have you share and create along with me!
Digital, hybrid, or all physical product – it really doesn’t matter as it all is a work of love and creative joy!
