But, as we look forward, we have to admit that there is something holding us back: this year’s unfinished projects. Whether it is a Project Life album we didn’t keep up with, or a Big Picture class like One Little Word, or another creative project that we tasked ourselves to complete in 2011 and haven’t, it weighs on our mind and creates guilt and leaves a sense of failure already hanging over us as we try to embark on next year’s projects.

Unless, of course…we come up with a way to finish them or get them off of our mind. Which is why this week Scrapbook Update is launching Operation Clean Slate. It’s all about closing out 2011 with a finished project and a clear mind!

So let’s get started!

Each week, we’ll try to move a bit closer to completing something, and to letting go of the rest – to creating a clean slate for 2012. I know this is a busy time of year so we’ll take it slow and try to create doable tasks. Remember, the goal of this is not to commit to a huge project. The goal is to do something manageable and then give yourself permission to let go of what is not possible to complete, to let go of the massive pressures that we put on ourselves to be superhuman.

The holidays can be a time when we are so busy doing for others that we forget to take care of ourselves. Operation Clean Slate is intended to be a way of taking care of yourself, a way of giving yourself permission to take a break to do something that you enjoy, while at the same time freeing you from pressures you put on yourself. This is your mental health break from the holiday insanity, not another item on your holiday to-do list.

So how do we get started? The first step is all about planning.

1. Make a list

We’re making a list and checking it twice! Before you can complete something and let go of the rest, you need to figure out what it is that you committed yourself to in 2011. So, start by making a list of all the major creative projects that you had promised yourself you would do in 2011. Don’t worry about the list being too long – just dump everything onto it and we’ll sort it out in the next steps.

Here’s my list:

Project Life

One Little Word class

Monthly Tags Album

Envelope Album (for letters from my husband)

Hometown Album

2. Status Check

You need to pick one of the projects on your list to actually complete in 2011. One factor influencing your choice of project will be choosing something manageable to complete. To decide what is manageable you’ll need to know where each project currently stands in terms of completion. Take a few minutes and jot some notes on your list about how much still needs to be done on each item.

Project Life: Partially complete through January. Lacking photos to fully complete as designed.

One Little Word class: Mostly complete through June.

Monthly Tags Album: Short one tag of being up-to-date.

Envelope Album (for letters from my husband): Album purchased but that is all.

Hometown Album: Album purchased & pictures printed.

3. Prioritize

Another factor influencing which project you choose to complete will be its personal importance to you. Look at your list and place a star next to a project (or a couple, if necessary) that are the most important to you personally. Yes, they are all important or they wouldn’t be on your list…but which ones are really important?

*Project Life: Important for a lot of reasons to create a record of 2011 for my husband and daughter.

One Little Word class: Important more for the process itself than for the album that it creates

*Monthly Tags Album: Very therapeutic project

*Envelope Album (for letters from my husband): Important to me for sentimental reasons

Hometown Album: Scrapping my present is more important to me than scrapping my past is.

4. Make A Choice

All right…it’s time to take all that information you put together in steps one through three and make a choice. What project has the magical combination of being the most important and the most doable in 2011?

For me, from the three projects that I starred, I chose my Project Life to complete in 2011. It’s designed for quick and easy scrapbooking, so it is the perfect project for Operation Clean Slate. Completing it will also result in the greatest “bang for my buck” as far as the record of memories that will be completed for my family from my time invested. And that is a high priority for me right now.

That’s not to say that I’m abandoning the other projects. I didn’t choose the Monthly Tag Album for Operation Clean Slate because it is almost up to date without needing to make a special effort. I’ll just keep doing what I’ve been doing all along on that, which should keep it up to date through the end of the year. The other projects will be addressed in a later part of this Operation Clean Slate process.

5. Gather supplies

Organization really helps with completing a project quickly and well. Now that you’ve selected a project to work on, it’s time to take a hard look at gathering what you need to complete it. Gathering everything ahead of time means you won’t be interrupted during the process of creating by a lack of materials.

One thing to keep in mind when assembling your materials is to look for materials that you can use that provide shortcuts of some kind, and to avoid planning complicated techniques that take a lot of time. Quick and easy is the mantra for Operation Clean Slate: pre-made embellishments, simple techniques, and not making anything too complicated.

How I am doing it: For my Project Life, I’ve had a basket assembled all year in my scrapbook cupboard that has my Project Life kit elements in it. I’ve also tucked into that basket a few other elements that I have gathered that work with my Project Life – My Mind’s Eye 4×6 overlays, some Elle’s Studio journaling tags, and a corner rounder. I also stick small pieces of memorabilia in here, like receipts.

I also have a stash of papers assembled to use that will make completing my album easier. There’s the Project Life kit papers, and some Simple Stories 4×6 journaling card sheets along with some of their coordinating patterned sheets.

(Pictured Above, l-r: Simple Stories 4×6 journaling cards (Destinations #1, 100 Days of Summer #2, Elementary #1, 100 Days of Summer #1)

In addition I have a large number of calendar and date items stashed as part of my monthly tag album project that I plan to draw on, especially the items that are dated for months in 2011 that were left unused after I made the tag for that month. It’s unlikely that those items will get used for scrapbook layouts so Project Life is the perfect thing to use them up on.

Another thing not to forget to stock up on for a project like this is photo paper and ink (if you print at home). If you need photos and can’t print them due to running out of supplies, everything comes to a screeching halt. I have a large stash of my favorite 4×6 Canon photo paper on hand (I buy it 400 sheets at a time from Amazon for a big discount) and enough ink to keep me going until Amazon Prime two day shipping can get me resupplied if I need more.

Next week, I’ll be back with week two of Operation Clean Slate, when we’ll be figuring out some ways to streamline projects as we tackle them at this busy time of year.

So…what project are you going to tackle for Operation Clean Slate?

Want to stay up-to-date on all the latest scrapbook news?

For those of us not at this weekend’s event, we have plenty to be excited about and check out. Here are this week’s noteworthy stories:

Tim Holtz announced that he has worked with Ranger on releasing a limited edition set of seasonal distress inks. The set of three fall colors (ripe persimmon, gathered twigs, and seedless preserves) will be sold together as a stacked set.

This limited series of brand new never before seen distress colors are only available while supplies last.  inspired by the colors of the fall season, these rich harvest hues are sure to add that special touch to your Halloween and fall projects (not to mention they would make a great addition to the rest of your distress inks).

The MSRP for these are $17.99, and they are shipping to stores now. Visit Tim’s blog to see a video showing the colors in action, and how they will coordinate with each other and the existing distress. I hope this is the start of something new from Tim and Ranger – I’d love to see more limited edition sets!

Claudine Hellmuth revealed that she is working on an exclusive paper crafting line for HSN this week on her blog.

Pulsar Paper and I have teamed up to bring my line to HSN! I can not wait to share with you what I have been designing and dreaming up, I really hope you are going to like it! This exciting news has been in the works for many, many months and it has been killing me not to say anything.
We will be launching the line in January. I’ll be keeping you updated with air dates!

No peeks at the line have been revealed yet, but I would expect to see something in the whimsical style that Claudine is known for. Claudine did share with Scrapbook Update that this line will include a wide variety of product – including paper, chipboard, and rub-ons.

This launch is going to be our biggest to date and we can hardly wait! Along with this limited edition Project Kit that is full of brand new items from very popular scrapbook manufacturers, exclusive Elle’s Studio tags and printed instructions, we are also launching our new Halloween, Christmas and Winter tag designs!

Graphic 45 announced a unique new challenge this week – the Halloween rejuvenation challenge:

We’ve all got stuff around the house that could use a little dressing up. Maybe it’s something you found at a garage sale, thrift store, or even an old item that’s been sitting in the basement since forever. We want you to create a beautiful Halloween or Fall-themed altered art project from any old, random objects you might have using Graphic 45 products.

Submissions are due September 25th, and information about the contest and prizes can be found on Graphic 45’s blog.

Finally this week, it’s worth noting that new design teams continue to be announced, as Doodlebug, Bella Blvd and BasicGrey all revealed their new team members. A special congratulations goes out to Scrapbook Update’s own Melissa Stinson for making the Bella Blvd team!

Speaking of manufacturers, there are some hot new products hitting shelves this week. Echo Park’s much anticipated Christmas lines and embellishments have been spotted online at Simon Says Stamp and Two Peas In A Bucket, and the new Prima products have popped up at Scrapbook.com and Simon Says Stamp.

“Noteworthy” is a weekly column at Scrapbook Update. Have something new & noteworthy to share? Feel free to leave a comment, or if you have something you would like considered for next week’s column, email may@scrapbookupdate.com with a link or press release.

Check out May’s latest class at Big Picture Classes:

Want to stay up-to-date on all the latest scrapbook news?

Beth Renzetti, who posted at 10:49am on Feb. 13th:

How cute!!! Thanks for the giveaway!

Congratulations on winning the Elle’s Studio giveaway, Beth! Watch for your email from Scrapbook Update to arrive shortly with details about how to receive your prize!

Last year I discovered a shop called Elle’s Studio. They specialize in unique journaling papers, but also have digital files, stamps, mini papers, tags, and other sweet paper goods available. I have had excellent experience with the quality of their products and customer service, so when Elle asked me if I’d like to review their latest release here on Scrapbook Update, I accepted happily.

I always look forward to what they’ll release next, and this was no disappointment. This new release is focused heavily on love and Valentine’s, but what I really love is that so many of the products will translate to other subjects and multiple craft projects as well. They pulled in a lot of turquoise (2010′s hot color) to go along with the pinks and red, and I really like how playful and fun the line is.

Elle’s Studio releases product about four times a year, and have been in business since 2007 when Elle started the company. When asked about her company’s beginnings she said:

I couldn’t find special journaling papers for my layouts, so I started making my own. After making some for family and friends they started encouraging me to start selling them online. Over this last year we have expanded our lines to be complete lines with mini papers, die cuts, stamps and more!

I started out by making a fun wrapper for a chocolate bar. I wrapped a sheet of cut outs around the bar, then secured with a tulle bow and valentine tag. A quick way to make a little gift extra special.

Another fun item are these coupons, and can see so many uses for these from handwritten gift certificates to card insert to making a bouquet or arrangement full of them to give.

I taped a number of tags and things onto thin wood skewers and arranged them in a little cup. This idea would be wonderful to add into a fresh or silk flower arrangement as well. I can’t wait to fill out all the details and surprise a loved one.

Something I appreciate with the products is that they have some signature pieces like these flash cards that they release in new themes with each release. I also like how well their stamps and digital products coordinate and work with their paper products.

Beyond Valentines, this line will be quite useful in my everyday scrapbooking as well. I paired up some of the die cuts and papers with a border stamp in this layout.

I cut out a paper heart and placed it in the center of the page as a mask and spritzed glimmer mist before removing the heart. I also stamped one of the border stamps around the edge of my heart in addition to glittering the inner edge.

page supplies: Elle’s Studio paper, flashcard, journaling paper, and stamp; Core’dinations cardstock, Basic Grey bling, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, Martha Stewart Glitter and Butterfly Punch, Jenni Bowlin felt butterfly, K&Co brad

I hope you’ve enjoyed my look at this new release from Elle’s Studio. Something I really appreciate about this company is that they not only release cute products and have great service, but they are also active online. I follow their blog where you’ll find occasional free downloads and ideas galore. In addition to their main website, you can find Elle’s Studio on facebook, twitter, and etsy.

Want to try Elle’s Studio yourself? I have four cute items (pictured above) from this new release to give away right here!

To enter, just leave a comment on this entry before Midnight U.S. eastern time next Sunday night, February 14th. (Note: If you are reading this post via an email or RSS subscription, click on the title at the top of the post and it will take you to the giveaway post on the  Scrapbook Update website where you can fill out the comment form to enter.) Make sure you include your email address in the line reserved for it on the comment form (for your own protection, don’t put it in the body of the comment, where it will be visible to the public – just in the line labeled “email” in the form where only Scrapbook Update staff can see it). You will need it to verify your identity if you are a winner. One entry per person.

Good luck and Happy Valentine’s Day!

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