AYM/3/ABC

 Organized and Plenty of Produce

 Locks of Love

 Il Divo and Jobs

Games and Hair 

 Fall Festival.   All of the above layouts were by Jennifer. She was really on a roll this month and is nearly caught up.

Gymnastics and Handstand and more were Linda's layouts from last month.

 Linda's layout---she interviewed her grandchildren. Great idea!

 On this layout, Linda told the story of how she became "Kahkee!" I always thought it was a strange name, but now it makes perfect sense.

 My "O" is Organized and "P" is Proof. Just a glimpse in to the start of my obsessions!

My "M" is addicted to Magazines. "N" is that's Nasty---and tells the story of Janice's severed finger.

Erna has a lot of work ahead of her, but she's up for it!!

AYM/ABC

This month's layouts. Come on you girls, some of you have a lot of "catching up" to do. You should never feel pressured with this hobby of ours. But do give yourself permission to get those stories told!

AYM/1

The January assignment for A Year of Memories---All About the Numbers---was to scrapbook 12 defining moments of 2012.

 Pam scrapbooked the circle of life---including births, weddings, and deaths.

 Janet did 12 new things and events for 2012.

 Karolyn listed her 12  Perfect memories. She used strips of paper on her grid.

Karolyn and I had the same idea of doing a grid. I stitched between my rows.

A few people did not get their layouts done yet. I'll post them when they do. Their assignment for February is to use the #2

AYM/3

 Linda made this little Valentine treat for each of us---it's filled with M&M's. Very cute.

 Jennifer did Coffee and Dishes for her "C" and "D." 

 Kathy's title is "Country French Decorating" about a Southern Living show house she visited.

 Linda went with "Camping" and "Dalai Lama" about her group of friends when they were in their 30's.

"Cute Couple" and "Decorator" are the titles I went with this month.

Due to the bad weather in the Nashville area, we had a small turnout today. Some were without power. I hope by the time they see this they will be back in business. Well, I guess they will be or they won't see this!

AYM/3 Update

I asked Jennifer to send me a better picture of her layout. She sent it along with her finished "B" page:

I like the punched border that unifies both pages. I can't wait to hear her journaling for her "B" page at our next meeting.

AYM/3

My third A Year of Memories group is off to a good start for 2013. They will be doing the ABC album this year. We missed a few of you and will post your layouts later this month.

 I'm sorry that Jennifer's layout came out blurry. I've requested another picture and will exchange it if I get one. She only had her "A" this time---"Awesome Aunt."

"Ashley" and "Bogey" by  Linda N.

"Appleby"---her maiden name and "Branson" by Linda S.

My layout---yes, I'm doing another ABC album this year. I love the random nature of them. 

"Always Prepared" and "Bocce---1942 and 2012." I love to be able to cross old photos with new.

"Adirondack chairs" and "Books" by Kathy.

AYM 2012 Draws to a Close

I am so proud of these gals!! They started the year being new to storytelling---and some, new to scrapbooking altogether. They end the year with having found their voice. Each month I was amazed at how their writing skills improved. Really, by month 3, they all seemed to be old hat at storytelling. For some I even darn near had to set a timer during class! You know who you are!! LOL!! Better too much of the story than too little---I always say!

 Starting from back left to right: Barbara, Charon, Erna, Shara, Jan, Beverly, Kathy, Linda, me, Jennifer.

Linda took the first picture and I took this one so she could get in it. She's front left.

What a gift you are leaving for your families, but also to future generations. Who knows what life is going to be like 50 years from now? By then, anyone who happens upon your scrapbooks will be thrilled to see how we lived in 2012---and before.

As we wind down the year, the assignment for December was to tell a story about your Christmas traditions. Although many have not finished their pages, they did at least get the pictures down and the story told.

This workshop is not about design. This workshop is about finding your voice, developing your writing skills, telling your stories and preserving your photos along with their memories. My goal is to challenge with thought provoking topics---those things that might seem ordinary or not worth talking about---the every day.

Remember what I always say---"a picture may be worth a thousand words, but you need to write them down. Otherwise, they're just pictures on a pretty page. Memories from those photos---without you---are lost forever. When you write down your stories, you provide yourself with a little bit of immortality!"

I hope you all have enjoyed the ride as I have. Thanks for that.

I can't wait to see what AYM 2013 holds for each of you!! See you in January.

Oh, and here's the recipe I promised. It's an "oldie" but a "goodie":

Seven Layer Dip
Layer in order:
1 can of refried beans (spread on to a platter or 9x13 dish)
16 oz. sour cream mixed with one package of taco seasoning
1 pkg. Wholly Guacamole (or you can make your own from scratch)
2 cups shredded cheddar
2 tomatoes, diced
1 can black olives, drained and chopped
1 bunch of green onions, chopped

Serve with tortilla chips or Frito scoops.

AYM/3

The topic this month was to think outside the box and scrapbook something for which you are grateful. The journaling was to be in a letter format.

 This was an additional layout that Jennifer made on a previous topic about our daily routines. In her journaling, she talks about starting her day in peace and ending her day that way. In between, she's crazy busy.

 Every month, Jan surprises us with her topics. This month, she's thankful that she's a quitter. She told her journey of smoking and what it took to make her quit.

 Shara was grateful to God for giving us coffee. She also added her internet finding of the discovery of the coffee bean.

 Erna showed us some naturalization documents she has from her great-grandparents. She plans to add her vintage photos of them to the layout.

 Linda N. was grateful for The Scrap Room and wrote her letter of thanks to Charon, the owner.

 Charon, ironically, also chose to be grateful for coffee. She thanked God and everyone from the coffee companies, to the creamers and coffee makers. This is the second time that she and Shara chose the exact same topic.

 Kathy wrote her thank you letter to her grandson and daughter for all the years of their hard work in the family cleaners business.

 Linda S. was grateful for modern conveniences----washing machine, stove, microwave and telephone.

This is the end page for the AYM album. 

We're getting ready to kick off our AYM project for 2013. Email me for further details. 

Orgnz4u@comcast.net