Picture of the Day

It's no lie that I love pictures. I love photo albums. I love scrapbooking. I love posting to this blog.

I have to admit, though, that I have yet to totally clinch this technological age.

We've had a digital camera for about five years now. And because I love my photo albums, and having an actual, tangible picture in my hand, I have spent way too much time, money, and effort printing and archiving these photos. Probably 97% of these photos. And we're talkin' a lot of photos. A lot. (That's the beauty of digital, right???)

It seems like the beginning of this new year, this new decade, is the appropriate time to catch up with the technology that we have, and use it to my advantage. I have several projects and goals for 2010, and among them is a laundry list of "want to dos" involving pictures and scrapbooks (duh).

My biggest "project" per se, is that I will no longer print every stinkin' picture I take. It's just too much. And when I think of how far technology has come in the past 20 years, and then think ahead to 20 years down the road, my children probably won't be looking for photo albums full of pictures (like I do) to reminisce about their childhood. (Shoot, they'll probably be able to carry their car in their pocket by then, what are they gonna do with a bunch of albums?!) Instead, I'll organize and file my photos digitally, making them more convenient and accessible to whomever would like to see them. (Bonus: this goal alone will save much time and money!) (Ok, so I know what many of you are thinking, "Geez, it's about time you get with the program." What can I say? I'm stuck in my ways.) :)

Because I do love albums, and especially the creativity behind scrapbooking, I've further revolutionized my way of thinking, thanks to the many creative geniuses at Creating Keepsakes magazine and other scrappy folks. My biggest goal for this year is to take a Picture a Day, to document it, journal about it, and include it in an album of it's own. The whole point is to tell a story, OUR story, through pictures and words, which is something I've come to appreciate more through scrapping and blogging. Yes, I enjoy the entire creative process of putting something together that looks "pretty" and "cool" but the real treasure behind all of this is the stories that I hope to capture. I want to remember, and while pictures are a great way to see, they don't always tell the whole story.

So the "Picture of the Day" (POTD as it will be lovingly referred to from here on out)... The majority will probably be of the boys (let's face it, they're stinkin' adorable!) but I also hope they'll include things from our everyday. Things we do, eat, see, experience, talk about. And I hope it's a story we all will tell, as Brad (and probably Drew, too) grabs the camera every now and again. I hope we can find inspiration in the everyday, reminding us to count our blessings, and perhaps even find something extraordinary in the ordinary.

For those of you that are wondering what kind of album these pictures will go into, you can check it out here. The creativity of one of my favorite paper crafters, Becky Higgins, is to thank for this amazing product. It's the perfect kit for this Picture of the Day concept, but she also has a ton of other inspiring ideas for this kind of album.

Also, I will be posting our POTD's here, weekly, on Sundays.

I will be maintaining (and I use that word loosely because in order to "maintain" one has to start!) the boys' individual albums. I still love to pick out fun paper and find coordinating bling, so I'm not letting that go! Besides, it's my therapy. What would I do without it??? I'm hoping that by starting this new kind of family photo album, it will leave me a bit more time to accomplish some of the other fun projects I have in mind. (Oh, and more time to create some of those memories!) You'll probably find pictures of those completed projects among our POTDs, too!

So that's the beginning of what I hope to do in 2010, personally and creatively. I've got a long to-do list...I'd better get crackin'!