hey guys and happy wednesday!
i have four guest authors stopping by this month to do posts on things or people they love. i left the theme open to them and told them to interpret it however they wished!
my first guest is jessica turner of the mom creative.
i've known jessica for years (through the crafting and blogging community) and always enjoy what she has to say. i thought you might too!
have a great day and enjoy! xo
♡♡♡♡♡♡
My name is Jessica Turner, and I write the blog The Mom Creative. I am a a busy mom who works full-time, loves my hubby, wrangles two kiddos (a 3-year-old named Elias and a 7-month-old named Adeline), AND tries to fit in some memory keeping in my (little) spare time. Today I am going to share five FAST memory keeping ideas that I love.
1. Project Life: This is my fourth year doing Project Life and I can honestly say it is the best thing I do with my pictures.
The kit makes it easy to print your photos, journal some thoughts and be on your way. I love that it is still paper scrapbooking and a tactile process, but also the freedom it gives me to not feel guilty because I am doing SOMETHING with my photos.
The kit also allows me to fit scrapbooking in my busy life. This year I am going a step fiurther with my Project Life album and adding more "bits of life" like receipts, artwork and mail.
To download my free list of 100 bits of life you can add to Project Life, click here. Each week I invite Project Lifers from around the world to link up on my Project Life Tuesday carnival. It is so fun to see so many different approaches to this project.
2. Journals for your kids: I created these simple photo journals on Paper Coterie. Every once in awhile I will write a memory, thought, milestone, etc. to my son, Elias, and daughter, Adeline.
I also love that these journals contain my handwriting, which I know will be something that will make these books even more special to my kids someday.
I should point out that I am NOT a journaler and sometimes go several weeks in between writing in these. I am okay with that because I know it is about what I DO do, not what I don't.
Each time I write in the journals I think, why don't I do this more? It doesn't take much time and I know what a special keepsake the journals will be to my kids someday.
3. Journal MY story: I received the book, Reflections of a Mother's Heart and love the simple way it encourages me to write down my own story.
The book is divided in to 12 months, with 12 questions a month. You certainly do not have to start it in January though! Every page has a question on it.
Sometimes I do it before bed, sometimes while sitting in the bathroom while Elias is in the bathtub. It doesn't take long to answer a question (probably about five minutes), but I know that the book when I have finished it will be a beautiful keepsake of stories I otherwise wouldn't have recorded.
As memory keepers, I think that when it comes to our own childhood and early adulthood we often don't record much of our own memories. Instead, we start in the place where we are. My story is important and this simple tool is helping me to record pieces of it.
4. Videos: I know it might not seem like memory keeping, but making videos definitely is a form of documenting your story! My phone has a video camera on it and I will often just pull it out and record a short video of my son or daughter.
It isn't fancy, but I know these clips will be treasured when they are older. Check out this list of video ideas you can make with your kids. (Stephanie is AWESOME at this!)
5. Photo Books- Since having kids, I have found it easier and less time-consuming to create photo books for large batches of photos than to make mini scrapbooks or lots of scrapbook pages from one single event.
Typically I use the 8×8 format. It is a very manageable project-size and not too time consuming to complete a book. (I can often get a book designed in one sitting).
Some photo book ideas include: vacations, birthdays, holidays and photo shoots. My favorite photo book companies are Picaboo, Shutterfly and Paper Coterie.
Thanks again to Steph for letting me post today. I hope these ideas help spark some new and quick way for you to memory keep in your own life.
For more memory keeping ideas, check out the series I did in October called 31 Days of Memory Keeping. Also, I hope you will take a minute to check out my blog and/or like it on Facebook. In addition to memory keeping, I write a lot about motherhood, frugal living and faith. I hope to get to know many of you!
Love this guest post!
Esp the List of 100 bits for PL. awesome
Posted by: nicole @ I am a Honey Bee | 02/08/2012 at 08:29 AM
Great guest post...love her thoughts/ideas on memory keeping!
Posted by: Holly S | 02/08/2012 at 08:32 AM
Thanks for sharing today.
I just "liked" your page on Facebook.
Always happy to find new inspiration sources :)
Posted by: Mary Jo | 02/08/2012 at 08:54 AM
Thanks so much. The 100 bits list has been so helpful! Hope you will join in Project Life Tuesday.
Posted by: Jessica @ The Mom Creative | 02/08/2012 at 09:12 AM
Thanks so much!
Posted by: Jessica @ The Mom Creative | 02/08/2012 at 09:12 AM
Thanks! I know you will enjoy the community - lots of wonderfully creative women. :)
Posted by: Jessica @ The Mom Creative | 02/08/2012 at 09:13 AM
I love Jessica's blog!
her ideas are inspiring!
Jessica, I have kept journals for both of my girls since right before they were born & I love going back and reading them. They love it too! I love journaling! I want to get that "question book" sounds right up my alley!
thanks for the awesome post!
tara
Posted by: tara pakosta | 02/08/2012 at 09:26 AM
Thanks so much for your kind words. The journal is a bargain book on Amazon right now, so I would get one before they sell out - just $6. http://www.amazon.com/Reflections-Mothers-Heart-Jack-Countryman/dp/B004IEA306/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328716010&sr=8-1
Posted by: Jessica @ The Mom Creative | 02/08/2012 at 09:48 AM
Great read, thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Tara LeClaire | 02/08/2012 at 10:46 AM
Great guest post! I wish I had known more about memory keeping when my older boys were small, now 26 & 29!!! There is so much I have forgotten!! But I am saving the bits of everyday now. Including OhLife, a great way to keep a journal. I am going to look more into photo books for the big events, like a vacation! I have played around at shutterfly, maybe I could keep more up to date if I did a photo book about the big trips. Plus I can always go back and scrap them the paper and glue way later, right?
Posted by: berta | 02/08/2012 at 12:49 PM
Love love love this post! Very inspiring and is something I really needed to read. I just ordered three of the Reflections of a Mothers Heart journals and found one for my husband too. He has started a journal for our son and it is so incredible! Thanks again for awesome tips.
Posted by: jena burns | 02/08/2012 at 12:53 PM
Thanks for sharing these great ideas with us here. ;-)
Posted by: diana | 02/08/2012 at 02:32 PM
LOVE Jessica!!! The ideas are awesome.
LOVE LOVE LOVE Paper Coterie too!
Posted by: ErinK. | 02/08/2012 at 07:12 PM
I have always enjoyed Jessica's blog and all her ideas. She amazes me with her work schedule/traveling and taking care of her kids. These are all great ideas and tips for us.
Thank you Jessica for hosting PROJECT LIFE TUESDAY!! Because of this I started a blog and am going on my 3rd year of loving my blog. It's amazing to read each other's PL updates and know people from all around the world. So thank you for making the time on your blog for us to link up and share our stories.
Posted by: dawn | 02/08/2012 at 07:25 PM
That's amazing!! :) Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Jessica @ The Mom Creative | 02/09/2012 at 04:05 AM
{blushing}
Posted by: Jessica @ The Mom Creative | 02/09/2012 at 04:05 AM
How cool. I wonder if my husband would do a journal...
Posted by: Jessica @ The Mom Creative | 02/09/2012 at 04:06 AM
It was my pleasure
Posted by: Jessica @ The Mom Creative | 02/09/2012 at 04:06 AM
You sure can, though I generally don't. :)
Posted by: Jessica @ The Mom Creative | 02/09/2012 at 04:06 AM
Happy to be here. Thanks for commenting.
Posted by: Jessica @ The Mom Creative | 02/09/2012 at 04:07 AM
What a great list of ideas. Thanks for sharing it with us all!! :)
Posted by: Amanda S. | 02/09/2012 at 10:49 AM
I absolutely love all of these ideas. I have kept this blog post open in a tab of my browser window for over a week now to remind myself of them... (yes, that is a bit dorky, but hey, it works for me!) thank you so much for this post!
Posted by: Natalie (QSOgirl) | 02/18/2012 at 09:06 PM