I'm an almost empty nester... our baby is 19. BUT this subject I'm really into. I'm doing a book right now that is just all bible verses, what is fun is you can use old photos to have on your page. OR not photo at all! me and the Hubby went out on Monday and I took a photo of the new Starbucks Christmas cups. If you want to try your journaling book in a new twist. Think about nature when you out and about, this week so far I have captured a tree in our church parking lot that has red berries on it and snow was falling. while I was reading my bible this really moved me so I captured that to use. All of these photos are from this week alone! Once you start to think 'outside the box' you will see your surroundings in a whole new way!
What about following some photo prompts? Katrina Kennedy publishes a list every month on her site, captureyour365.com and there are lots on Pinterest as well!
@Sokee love the photo of the berries and snow. That's another thing I do. Get creative with the photos. You will be amazed how much better you get as a photographer when you think outside the box and get creative. Today's photo: ice on the bottom of my patio furniture cover. Mainly because it is only November 15th and we are having an ice storm. That is January weather around here, not November!
Debbie, I don't have any kids. DH and I have been married for 42+ years, and currently we don't even have any pets. The loss of our dog, Jack, from 2 1/2 years ago is still too raw for us to even consider another... Don't forget the words (as well as the photos). I journal daily, haven't missed a day since January 2013. I have incorporated some of that journaling into my layouts, but mostly, it is just for me. And mundane happenings are all part of life, the sum of them equal something fantastic, so don't sell yourself short. I find myself taking my camera along with me even when we go grocery shopping. DH was driving, and with the polarized windshield of the car, I shot some really dynamic looking skies that I hope to incorporate into a layout. If you stop and look around, you WILL find things that attract your attention, photos that will be worthy. Right now, it is below freezing. We have a suet feeder up in the tree & a salt lick for the deer so far, and this a.m. I cut up a pumpkin and put it out in a pan for the deer & squirrels to snack on. I've got my camera ready, just in case some little creature captures my attention. If you happen to take a short trip with your DH, be sure to document that. Take pics of food, the scenery (or lack of it) along the way. When we do larger trips, I do a hands-on travel journal that I work on while we are on our trip and then incorporate highlights of each day into my digital daily journal. RE: stressing work... This past August, I retired from a very stressful job after 45 years with the same employer. I can think of four layouts, specifically in TLP gallery (all challenges), that document part of my work life & I'll share them with you here. One tells of my relationship with my stapler (thanks to Mrs Peel). The bulls-eye one was a 4 week AJ challenge, led by Anne. In the gallery, I have a number of retirement layouts. By the way, retirement is great!
I was married for 10 years before I had kids, and scrapped over 2000 layouts during that time I know it's not quite the same as being an empty-nester, but I scrapped my nieces/nephew, friends' kids, my cats, weddings, trips, etc. I even made pages of my friend's pets sometimes! I would do a lot of pages with a selfie and then some journaling (often inspired by whatever themed kit I had to use for all of the CT's I was on at the time). I also did a lot of photo-less journaling layouts . I don't keep a normal journal, so those pages are a great way to remember that season of my life.
Sometimes if I need a perspective shift, I challenge myself to write down 5 things in a day that make me happy or that I feel thankful for... maybe you could translate that to photography and then put an album together of it. Photograph those things that you intentionally look for that are beautiful or bring joy, and let that be the story you tell.
