A Day in the Life of a Coffee Addict

It’s almost time for February 2012 Layout A Day – AKA LOAD – some of the gals thought it would be a fun idea to put together a little blog hop and get everyone even more excited and maybe throw out a few useful tips to getting ready for this great adventure.

For some reason this time around i’m nervous. I’m not sure why, I’ve done this before – several times in fact, but this time I feel nervous. So in reviewing things I do to prepare for this post it was a helpful reminder for me.  When going into LOAD you have to have confidence that you CAN do this. You can absolutely complete 29 layouts in 29 days but you also have to give yourself a break if you miss a day – it’s OK! No one is going to come after you, there are no LOAD police that will arrest you. Just deep breath and think of all the layouts you DID complete!

Ok that being said here is what I do to ramp up for the LOAD adventure:

1. Buy adhesive – Lots of adhesive! More than you think you will need. I have to make sure I have plenty on hand because on days when I’m down to the wire I don’t want to have that uh oh moment where I’m out of adhesive!

2. Have an idea of what photos you might like to  use or what stories you want to tell- this is tricky because I try my best to use Lain’s prompts and without knowing those in advance I don’t map out my photos day by day but I have a good idea. Also I personally don’t print my photos in advance but that’s a personal preference because I’m a fly by the seat of my pants scrapper so I don’t know what size photos I’ll be using until I actually get into the thick of creating

3. Print photos or buy ink – If you are printing photos in advance now’s the time to start if you are going to print at home buy ink – trust me on this one. October 2010 I participated in LOAD – the final day I ran completely out of ink and the printer refused to print anything and I had to frantically search through piles of old photos to find something that would work. It turned out but why add that stress?

4. Clean up your Scrap space – It’s always great to start the month with a clean space, but keep in mind it may not be clean by the end of the month. This time around is particularly exciting for me as I’m moving my scrap space. It used to be housed in a really large walk in closet but I outgrew that and am now taking over the guest bedroom! I’m excited to start this month in a space all my own.

5. Inform your family and friends – Sounds silly but everyone in my life knows I participate in LOAD. My family and friends know to ask “Did you finish your layout today?” Before asking if I want to leave the house and my co-workers are not surprised to see me lugging supplies in and out of the office to get a quick page done during lunch. This time one of my co-workers and dear friends is joining us so SUPER excited about that!

6. ENJOY YOURSELF – This final and most important step is sometimes hard for me because I let it stress me out but it is fun, the group of gals in LOAD are some of the most amazing women I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting – I spend so much time in the gallery blown away by the talent – so allow yourself to enjoy that, the community, the fun, the creativity. Remember we chose to do this because we love scrapbooking so deep breath and enjoy the journey!!

I can’t wait to get started!!! Now join my fellow LOADster Pam – she is the next stop in this blog hop!  dailypamage.blogspot.com

And to hop around at your leisure here is our complete list of participating bloggers for the LOAD Blog Hop! Enjoy!!

• thinkinkpaperscissors.weebly.com/blog.html
• acoffeeaddict.com
• dailypamage.blogspot.com
• k84mansramblings.blogspot.com
• www.lifebehindthepurpledoor.com
• www.lifeonlilypadlane.blogspot.com
• heathersdragonsden.blogspot.com
• randomthoughtsmindlessmusing.blogspot.com
• kristiesloan.com
• khashabfamilymusings.blogspot.com
• lydiaink.wordpress.com