3 in 1 Mini-album: a tutorial

How do you feel about year-long crafting projects?

Do they make you think of a fun, consistent, structured projects which you can develop over time? Or do you fear the commitment and the possibility that they'll end up on the UFO [un-finished-object] pile?

Last year I worked on two 12-month-long projects in the shape of Emily Falconbridge's '52Q A Year of Mini-Art-Journaling' [my 52 finished tags are here] and my self-imposed 'My Year in Outfits' album. From this I've realised that the key to completing both projects was the organization I did ahead of time - an aspect of crafting which I've included in the mini-album project tutorial I've got for you today.

I prepared the papers, journaling blocks and embellishments for the 'My Year in Outfits' album 12 months ago, before I ever began taking the weekly photos of my clothes. What I didn't stick down immediately, I kept in a plastic wallet which I stored in a decorative bag alongside the album itself [see this blog post]. Over the course of the year and the life of the album, the majority of the book was decorated with the items I'd placed in that bag at the start. In narrowing down my choices and having everything together in one place meant that I could scoop the entire project up in one hand at any given time and add to it ...pushing it nearer to completion without any additional effort.

Which leads me on to sharing this year's year-long project with you:

I've also written a tutorial to share with you the ideas and techniques behind this '3 in 1 mini album' . In it I've explored and developed the idea of using a pre-prepared album to help ensure I complete another year-long project and I'll take through it step-by-step.

To read the tutorial, just click here. You can then either read it online, or download it and save it to your computer for future reference.

[The supplies I used to create my journal came from a Crafty Templates Quirky kit ].

If you are taking part in Shimelle's 'Document 2010' [hosted both on her blog and on UKScrappers] then this album would be a great accompaniment to keep you on track throughout the year-long project. The pocket-pages I demonstrate would make the perfect storage place for all of the bits and pieces Shimelle suggests you hang on to, while providing you with lots of space to note down all the things you don't want to forget about each month.

In the tutorial I've included a full page of suggestions on how you can adapt the idea to suit any event or occasion or idea which you'd like to organise and document. If you'd like to share any further possibilities, any immediate thoughts on how you'd use a journal like this or how you might adapt the techniques then I'd be interested to hear your take on it.

Right then, I don't think I've had a cup of tea for almost 6 hours and that, quite simply, will not do. So i'll go and put the kettle on and leave you to download the tutorial and get your planning heads on!

Soon,

Julie :)