The winner of my giveaway for the LOAD blog hop is Jenny McGee. I’ve emailed her directly. Thanks so much for all your comments. It was so nice to have visitors!

See you in LOAD!

***EDITED–The contest is now closed. The winner will be announced shortly.***

Welcome Blog Hoppers!

I hope you’ve been enjoying your trip through LOAD world. At the end of my post, I’ve got a little giveaway, and links to the other blogs participating in today’s blog hop, but first, I’m going to blather on about how I make it through a month of dedicated scrapbooking.

I have to admit, I haven’t had a lot of problems completing a LOAD. There have been days when I’m less motivated than others, and days when I’ve been forgetful or neglectful, but on the whole, LOAD has been fairly easy for me.

Part of the reason I’ve been so successful is my motivation. I’m doing this for ME. Not because I have to, not to win prizes, not to earn the moniker of  “uber-scrapbooker,” but because scrapbooking makes me happy. Seriously, if you approach scrapbooking as a chore, step away from the glue stick immediately. Go do something that makes you happy. Garden. Organize your closets. Play hockey. Whatever you look forward to with enthusiasm. Do it, and find some other way to tell your story. Blog it. Record it on video. Tell your children as many stories as you can stand to tell, and they can stand to hear. Or keep it to yourself. That’s okay, too.You do not HAVE to scrapbook.

So. Anyway.
I am a self-motivated scrapbooker. Think about what motivates you, and then move on. There are a few other things you need to think about and do in order to be ready for LOAD.

Have photos you want to use ready and available. If you’re a digi scrapbooker, make sure they’re organized so you can find what you’re looking for. If you’re a paper fiend like I am, make sure you have plenty of photos on hand that inspire you. I just ordered a bunch of pics from Shutterfly, and they should be here with plenty of time to spare.

Do you like to work with sketches or pre-planned page kits? Have those at your finger tips. Have your paper organized so you can find what you want when you want it. Put your favorite embellishments somewhere you can see them, use them, and be inspired by them. Have tools that you use all the time closer to your workspace than things you only use occasionally.

You do not have to go shopping. What you have will work fine. Unless you hate it. And in that case, why are you holding on to it in the first place?

Make sure you have lots of adhesive on hand.

And then on the first day of LOAD, scrapbook. Make one page. Make two pages. Make a mini book. Go wherever your muse leads you. You do not have to follow Lain’s prompts. They can be fun to do, but if you’re not feeling the inspiration, find your own. You are a scrapbooker. You are creative. And you can do this.

Do not make excuses for why you can’t scrapbook. Put scrapbook time on your to-do list. If you’re a technique heavy person, work on pages in stages, with one page in the works, while you finish another page. You don’t need to do your scrapbooking all at once. 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there, really add up.

Commit. If you’re one of those scrapbookers who shuffles things around on your page for days before taping it down, give yourself a time limit, and stick with it. Perfection is overrated. And don’t look back until LOAD is over. What you get done will amaze and delight you.

Don’t forget to upload. Take a picture or scan your layout. Check out the pages of other people who have already uploaded. Share some love, and comment. Don’t worry if your picture is blurry. Ask for help on the message boards if you need it. We all want you to succeed.

What it all boils down to is this: Organize your supplies in the way that you use them, and make scrapbooking a priority. It’s not just a reward for getting all your other chores done. (And really, when are all your other chores actually done?) It’s something that you need for yourself. The latest Paperclipping Round table episode talks about that idea at some length. If you aren’t sure about how to organize yourself, LOAD will be a great way for you to figure that out. By scrapping every day, you will be more aware of how you look for things, and you’ll be able to organize yourself after it’s done. I don’t recommend organizing during LOAD, however. While that can be fun, the goal is to make pages, not think about making pages. 😉

 I’ve got a little giveaway for you. Five 2-page layout kits from Creating Keepsakes, a 6×6 mini chipboard album, and a sticker maker from Xyron. I’ll include a copy of the assembly instructions for you, in case you want to make your life easy and scrap fast! Here’s what I used my mini album for. I’m sure you can come up with a creative use yourself.

To win, just leave a comment, and I’ll choose a random winner on Wednesday, the 26th.

Now, on with your journey!

Lain http://www.layoutaday.com/getting-ready-for-load/

Danielle H. http://scrappindanielle.blogspot.com/2011/01/its-layout-day-blog-hop.html

Margie http://xnomads.typepad.com/blog/2011/01/preparing-for-load-blog-hop.html

S http://snapsandsnippets.blogspot.com/2011/01/preparing-for-layout-day-its-blog-hop.html

Lisa http://lisahausmann.blogspot.com/2011/01/preparing-for-load-blog-hop.html

Laura http://mom2nick.typepad.com/heres_whats_new/2011/01/preparing-for-load-layout-a-day-.html

Rosann http://brooklyngirlnextdoor.blogspot.com/2011/01/gimme-l-gimme-o-gimme-a-gimme-d.html

Gayle http://lifeonlilypadlane.blogspot.com/2011/01/you-too-could-do-layout-day-load-211.html

Jennifer http://atthebluebarn.blogspot.com/2011/01/hippity-hop-its-load-211-blog-hop.html

Tere http://terecontodomicorazon.blogspot.com/2011/01/load-2011-blog-hop.html

Niki http://thepaperpeddler.blogspot.com/2011/01/load-211-blog-hop.html

Janet http://khashabfamilymusings.blogspot.com/2011/01/welcome-to-blog-hop-for-load.html

Lee http://thelinarstudio.typepad.com/embracelife/2011/01/blog-hop-load.html

Danielle T. http://dani-adayinthelifeofacoffeeaddict.blogspot.com/2011/01/loading-up.html

Junelle http://yesandamenblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/lead-up-to-load.html

Julie http://www.juleshollis.com/2011/01/february-2011-preparation-blog-hop.html

Let me take you back to the fall of 2009. I had been hearing about LOAD (LayOut A Day for any non-scrappers out there) from people at Big Picture Scrapbooking (now Big Picture Classes) and through various social media sources. Everyone who had taken part raved about how productive and inspired they were during the month-long sessions.

I was intrigued. My productivity had fallen off, mainly due to the unexpected death of my mother-in-law that spring. I hadn’t fully completed any classes I was taking at BPC or JessicaSprague.com since then, and was feeling a bit disappointed in myself. I needed a challenge. A goal. A plan of action.

LOAD to the rescue!

I wasn’t sure what to expect that first day, but I knew what page I had to do first. I’d been mulling over a page about meeting Whoopi Goldberg for days. I took advantage of the wide-format printer that my mother had given me, and printed the title and journaling directly on a piece of patterned paper. A few images snagged from the internet, and I had my first page for LOAD done. I took a picture of it, uploaded it to Flickr, and went on with my day.

I am a rather solitary scrapbooker. I am not a joiner by nature. I don’t have friends who understand how cool scrapbooking is. So it came as something of a surprise when I went back later, and had comments and compliments about my layout. I had feedback! I wasn’t alone!
This LOAD thing was awesome.

October 2009 LOAD

 As the month went along my stack of pages grew and grew. My kids eagerly read each page. They helped me choose topics. Simon even helped me put together one of two mini books I completed that month. (He loves buttons and flowers, just so you know.) I got so much DONE! And my family appreciated what I did. The housework didn’t suffer any more than usual. Everyone was fed, and got to bed and school at reasonable times. And I was happier. I was getting creative every day, and feeling more inspired as the mess on my desk piled up. The people on the message board were supportive, and funny, and generous. I spent as much time as I could commenting and spreading the love around as well. I couldn’t find a single downside to the whole process.

I still haven’t.

February 2010 LOAD

I’m hooked. I love the people who sign up, who take the leap and ATTEMPT to push themselves creatively. There is no failure in LOAD, even if you don’t finish a single page. There’s only the certainty that you have tried, and you have completed more than you would have if you didn’t take that jump.

If the idea of doing a layout each day flummoxes you, if you can’t imagine finding the time or the inspiration to make a scrapbook page, you’re in luck. The theme for this month’s prompts is all about inspiration. Every day you’ll get a link to a little prompt with ideas to get you scrapbooking, just in case you have no idea where to start. There will be interviews with Stacy Julian, founder of Big Picture Classes, Julie Comstock, president and designer for Cosmo Cricket, digital designer Anna Aspnes, and Page Maps author Becky Fleck. There will be camaraderie, and sharing of the ups and downs of life as a dedicated scrapbooker. And you WILL get more done than if you hem and hah and dither and live in the world of CAN’T instead of CAN.

May 2010 LOAD

To encourage you, and give you some ideas on how to prepare for a month of scrapbooking goodness, I and a bunch of other LOAD alums as well as Lain are hosting a blog hop Monday, January 24th, beginning at 10am eastern. I might even scrounge up a giveaway from my crazy stash. Join us!

And I said I wasn’t a joiner.

Two ways to sign up: click on the LOAD 211 link on the top right (I’ll get a portion of your sign-up fee) or click right here. (And leave me out of it.) Either way works, and both lead to FUN! Hope to see you there!

October 2010 LOAD

 What are you waiting for?