Perhaps I'm waxing sentimental here, but I'm sure you are all feeling the same as Christmas brings to mind childhood memories, and often of people we have lost. I miss my dad every Christmas, and as each year goes racing by I am forced to contemplate that it's been 8 Christmases without him, and each time I make another tick in the calendar I find it difficult to tally.
So it's important, at this time of year and all year long, to take nothing for granted. Seize opportunities. Remember little moments like feel of the breath of the wind on your face when you are having a special moment and capture every detail of them in your hearts. Sometimes the most poignant memories are the small ones where you take in the greater meaning of life in a quiet moment when something stirs your heart.
For this last post of the year, I wanted to look back and reminisce about the year gone by. It's also a fun way to see how my style has evolved and grown! So please follow along as we wander down the path of Memory Lane {which in my world is lined with cherry trees and bordered with lilies of the valley and anemones, and paved with flagstone fracatured with cracks of of creeping thyme}
January: Happy Winter
Deep in the heart of winter here in Minnesota, we donned our hats and [faux] fur-lined jackets and took the photo opportunity and inspired this wintery layout of snowflakes and icicles and sparkles.February: A Love Like This
This has been the most popular post on my blog for most of this year...and can I tell you a secret? I almost didn't publish it. The crooked title and oddball handwriting still make me cringe a little, but it's grown on me--and I was happy to get our prom pictures out of a box and onto a page!
March: Never Lose Your Shine
One of my favorite layouts, this one is full of sparkles. Also, I was having fun playing with my white uniball pen!April: This Face
I was on a total gold binge when I made this layout. I love how it paired with the black, white, and purple.
May: Joyous Day & Dream Catcher
I couldn't choose between these two layouts...Joyous Day features one of my favorite childhood photos, but Dream Catcher was so much fun to create {plus, the great part of having your own blog is you can just do whatever you want and get away with it!}June: Anemone Bouquet
I had just invested in a bunch of Tim Holtz's distress inks and new stencils, so I was in crafting heaven creating this fantasy wedding layout {in honor of the Big Fat White Wedding we never had!}July: Fireworks Over the Lagoon
I was so honored to be selected to be part of the Scrap Our Stash Design Team starting in July! My first project fell on July Fourth, so of course I had to do an Independence Day scrapbook page. I don't buy much when it comes to holidays and themes, so I created my own background using red, white, and blue with texture paste, glitter, and mica fragments.
August: Seahorses
I finally scrapped my very favorite picture of my sister and me for this layout for the Cherish the Memory design team.September: Love This Memory
For this layout for the Scrap Our Stash design team, I used one of the first pictures of me and my new baby (two years ago now!). As someone who has struggled through four miscarriages to finally have the sweet baby I had been yearning for, you can say proud mama and it would not nearly measure up to what I feel for this little miracle.October: A Big Star
You can see the two years of change between the layout above and this one of my boy growing WAY. TOO. FAST!I was completely surprised and honored to be asked to be part of the International Scrapbook Garden design team. I had a blast playing with some BOY themed items (instead of trying to fit pics of my boy into my usual pink and flowers!).
November: Ski Champ
I was finally able to scrap one of my favorite pics of my dad skiing the American Birkenbeiner alongside Olympians--at age 47. I lost my dad 8 years ago, so the pictures I have are treasures I cherish.
December: Snow Joy
I still have a ton of baby pictures of Zae to get scrapped, and in this season of thankfulness, they were what I was sifting through for much of December.
Thanks for meandering down Memory Lane with me! I wish you the best in the year to come, and hope you'll visit again soon.