Project Joy 365 - March Part One

March is half over and we are starting to see glimpses of spring! Yippee!! As we bide our time, waiting for the snow to melt and the mud pits it makes in our yard to disappear, we have found JOY in the simple things of life. There has been lots of reading (March is reading month at our school), building of secret places, cooking, baking and even a mini family vacation.

1 - Sage enjoying the rain outside, despite the cold temps. 2 - The girls playing on the new Ipad. 3 - Enjoying our beautiful Spring Lake library. 4 - Mementos from our family trip to Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City. 5 - Regan’s drawing of her (in her favorite outfit) and Marley. 6 - Making a secret hideaway under the stairs, complete with gate so Marley can’t escape. 7 - Regan and Daddy work on her first Pinewood Derby car for Girl Scouts. 8 - Beautiful bottles Mommy purchased for a new rewards system.

"2011 - March - Part One" digital scrapbook layout by Christy VanderWall uses:

• Layout Supplies - Christy VanderWall
• File Save 2 - Christy VanderWall
• Fonts: HandTIMES, Ripe

Hope your days have been full of JOY!

Project Joy 365 - February Part Two

Somehow February flew by and it's already March! Not sure how that happened! :) We ended our Month with a fun family get away and now it's time to get caught back up on this project!

I normally work on my layout as I go, adding a photo to the page almost nightly. I didn't do that this time, and felt like it was a lot harder to put the layout together. Things seem to flow better when I work on it a little bit at a time. I think I will definitely go back to the nightly approach for the next one!

1 - I still enjoy playing with scissors and glue - working on a scripture verse flipbook. 2 - February moon. 3 - Found the girls together reading while they let me sleep in a bit on a snow day. 4 - Valentine’s breakfast for the girls. 5 - My favorite way to start and end the day, a hot cup of tea. 6 - Regan’s valentines for school. 7 - Celebrating Sage’s 5th birthday with ice cream and brownies before bed. 8 - Making paper mache on our snow day. 9 - The girls bust a move on Wii, Just Dance. 10 - The girls and I are loving freeze dried fruit. 11 - ‘Love notes’ passed at bedtime.

"2011 - February - Part Two" digital scrapbook layout by Christy VanderWall uses:

• Kindhearted Add-on - Jennifer Labre
• Kindhearted - Jennifer Labre
• 2011 Project 365 Combo Pack - Elise's Pieces Designs
• Fonts: HANDTimes, Ripe

How is your 365 project going? I would love to see!!

Project Joy 365 - February Part One

Happy Valentine's Day to you! I hope you are spoiling your loved one's rotten, and they are spoiling you! :)

We have found JOY in lots of things so far this month:

• Snow days
• Ice Sun Catchers
• Secret JOY missions
• Painting projects
• Homemade meals
• Hot Tea
• Surprises in the mail
• Playdates
• Blanket forts
• Wildlife

You can read more of the details at my family blog - Mommy Ramblings.

Here is my first February Layout. Looks like I will probably end up with two spreads this month. 

1 - Our first snow sun catcher. Sage’s first impression - “It’s so pretty!!” 2 - ‘Blizzard 2011’ dumps a lot of snow overnight, leaving us stuck at home all day. 3 - The girls and I start working on more sun catchers for our ‘secret mission’ to share them with the neighbors’. 4 - Thankful to have the right snow gear! 5 - Day two of our secret mission, finishing up eleven sun catchers to give away. 6 - Puffy Apple Pancake, it’s what’s for dinner! 7 - A cup a day. New house rule to prevent having to wash a plethora of various cups each day! 8 - Regan spends a relaxing Sunday afternoon painting. 9 - Sage gets her turn to paint while Regan is away at school.

"2011 - February - Part One" digital scrapbook layout by Christy VanderWall uses:

• Helping Hand {Charity Collab
• 2011 Project 365 Combo Pack - Elise's Pieces Designs
• Supply Tracker - Christy VanderWall
• File Save 2 - Christy VanderWall
• Fonts: HANDtimes, Ripe

 

         EnJOY the rest of your week!! =)

Project Joy 365 - January Part Four

Can you believe it is already February?? I can't believe how fast January flew by! I am thankful to still be on track with my 365 project. One month down, eleven to go!! :D

Here is my fourth and final layout for January.

1 - My little kitchen helper. 2- Experimenting with balloon powered paper airplanes. 3 - Backwards night. 4 - Visiting with the duck. 5 - First snow fire. 6 - Sunday afternoon photowalk. 7 - The chickens come out to greet us on our photowalk. 8 - Preparing to make winter suncatchers.

"2011 - January - Part Four" digital scrapbook layout by Christy VanderWall uses:

• 2011 Project 365 Combo Pack - Elise's Pieces Designs
• Orange Crush - Jennifer Labre
• Supply Tracker - Christy VanderWall
• File Save 2 - Christy VanderWall
• Fonts: HANDTimes, Ripe

How are you doing on your project? Have you been able to think of things to take pictures of each day? Here is the list of prompts I used for the the first four weeks of the year (taken from the Project Joy 365 - Tool Kit). Maybe they will give you some ideas for the next month.

Week 1 (January 1 – 7)

• New Years morning - house a mess? Have a party?
• What brought you joy this week….
• Where is the mess right now at your house?
• Exercise Shoes
• TV
• Sign with gas prices

Week 2 (January 8-14)

• Kids together (or separate) in same spot - maybe with a measuring stick? 
• Kids/pets sleeping in bed
• Kids/pets napping
• Pet(s) - playing, with kids, outside
• Who or What are you thankful for today
• Self portrait

 Week 3 (January 15 – 21)

• Kids Winter shoes
• What brought you joy this week…
• Your purse or bag
• House from the outside - winter
• Kids Bedroom
• Where do you buy groceries/shop

Week 4 (January 22 – 28) 

• Today, your child could not live without….
• Who or What are you thankful for today
• What brought you joy this week….
• Heirlooms - things passed down in the family
• Computer

I didn't get to all of them on the list, but I'm sure I will pick up the missed ones later in the year! Using the handy checklist in my FLIP BOOK will make it so much easier to go back and see which pictures I still want to take!

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Project Joy 365 - January Part Three

We are still deep in the heart of winter at the VanderWall household, but making the best of life in the snow! We are thankful for warm fires, hot drinks, splashes of sunshine, playtime in the snow, fun with icicles and the beauty that abounds in winter.

Here is my layout for January - Part Three

1 - Regan was very excited to teach me how to make ‘slime’ like they made at school. 2 - The girls. 3 - The house. 4 - Celebrating a snow day with snow ice cream for lunch! 5 - Regan preparing for Awana. 6 - Books from the library. Bottom one borrowed. Top three bought for one dollar in the used book room. 7 - I am thankful for a reliable washer and dryer, in a convenient location for keeping up on the laundry. 8 - I’m not much of a purse person, but love having a great bag! This is my current ‘goto’ bag. 9 - One of Regan and my favorite breakfast goodies - Morning Glory Cake. 10 - Making cake mix cookies. 11 - Backyard visitors - two pileated woodpeckers.

"2011 - January - Part Three" digital scrapbook layout by Christy VanderWall uses:

• 2011 Project 365 Combo Pack - Elise's Pieces Designs
• File Save 2 - Christy VanderWall
• Supply Tracker - Christy VanderWall
• Fonts: HANDtimes, Ripe

How is your project going? Still plugging away? We have almost one month under out belts now and I am still really enjoying the daily photo taking. For more details of what we have been up to, you can visit Mommy Ramblings. 

Have a blessed day!

Project Joy 365 - Layout 2

I am still having so much fun with this project! It has been a great couple weeks, filled with lots of photos, fun and laughter.

We have found JOY in:

• Lincoln Logs
• Experimenting in the kitchen
• Leaving notes of inspiration
• Laughing out loud watching Wipeout
• Reading books
• Playdates with friends
• Balloons
• Silly pets
• and so much more!

Here is my second layout for January. I have decided to call my spreads 'Part One', 'Part Two', etc., since I don't know how many pages or photos I will end up with each month. My photo numbers do not correspond to dates, but rather just give the reader a match between the journaling and the photos for that spread.

"2011 - January - Part Two" digital scrapbook layout by Christy VanderWall uses:

• 2011 Project 365 Combo Pack - Elise's Pieces Designs
• Color Me Happy - Jennifer Labre
• Supply Tracker - Christy VanderWall
• File Save 2 - Christy VanderWall
• Fonts: HandTIMES, Ripe

I made these pages into some more Quick Start freebies for you! EnJOY!!

 Download Freebie Here

Project Joy 365 - Freebie

I totally forgot yesterday that I have a freebie for you! I made each page of my first spread into a quick start. Regan and I used them tonight to make the first pages of her album. These are her favorites from the photos she took this week.

 Download Freebie Here

 
Blessings!

Project Joy 365 - Week 2

Week two of the new year is now behind us. It has been a great couple of weeks! We have had a lot of fun at our house and there have been lots of photos taken!! If you enjoy the nitty gritty details of my somewhat boring life, you can always read more about it at Mommy Ramblings.

I finished my first two page spread this week. It includes 12 photos from the first 9 days of January. I'm sure by June I won't be quite this ambitious, but I'm just riding the wave of excitement for now! :) It's all about documenting life, right? No rules, just fun!!

"2011 - January - Part One" digital scrapbook layout by Christy VanderWall uses:

• 2011 Project 365 Combo Pack - Elise's Pieces Designs
• Snowflake Overlays - The Scrappin Cop
• File Save 2 - Christy VanderWall
• Supply Tracker - Christy VanderWall
• Grunged Layer Styles - Christy VanderWall
• Fonts: HandTIMES, Ripe

Here are the separate pages:

Journaling reads: 1 - Took the girls bowling at Starlite Lanes in Grand Haven. 2 - Time to ‘De-Christmas the house. 3 - My back and my waistline are thankful to be back at the gym. 4 - You are definitely your father’s child! 5 - As the new snow falls, there is a flurry of activity at the birdfeeder. 6 - af·fin·i·ty: An inherent similarity between persons or things. 7 - First tofu experience, day one of the Daniel Fast. 8 - And then, there was one. 9 - Share the Joy: sending fabric stash to the ‘winners’. 10 - Sewed pillow pets with the girls using all supplies from my stash. 11 - Regan begins her own 2011 photo journal. 12 - Daddy down for the count with a bad cold and a couple cracked ribs.

I also love Maureen's page for week one:

My dear friend Caroline's Page and Collection are very inspiring as well!!

How is your project going? Come on, show it off! I'll be sure to stop by and leave some love!!! <3

Project Joy 365 - Week 1

Week one of the new year has come to pass. Did you get everything done you wanted to? Are you still keeping your resolutions? Did you take a photo every day?

This week, I have found there is JOY in:

• teaching your children to sew
• getting back to the gym
• trying new foods
• hearing God's promptings
• Bowling as a family
• laughing hysterically with and at your children
• finding new homes for unused sewing supplies
• observing wildlife in the back yard
• teaching your children life lessons
• removing the Christmas decorations, but not the spirit that lives in us

Our special activity this week was making pillow pets with the girls. As I cleaned out my sewing stash, I found lots of fleece pieces and three bags of stuffing. A google search turned up this pattern and we were on our way.

The girls were both very excited about doing this project. They aren't quite ready to sew completely on their own yet, but they enjoyed doing what they could and did well with letting me help them with the rest.

Leave it to kids to keep things in perspective too. At one point, I had put some pieces together the wrong way. As I was cutting them apart to be fixed (one of my least favorite parts of sewing - rework), Regan says 'GOODIE!! that means I get to do more sewing!'. LOL!

They turned out a little bit homely, and imperfect, but the girls love them.

My first 365 layout is still a work in progress, but I'll give you a sneak peak! I fell in love with the simple design of Katie's monthly roundup layouts. You can see her post about them here - at the Daily Digi.

I have been wanting to come up with a very simple, minimalist format that I can use for the whole year. I found a lot of inspiration from Katie's pages and here is what I am working on so far.

I 'think' I am going to do at least two, double page spreads for each month of the year. If I am inspired and take more photos, I might do an additional spread for that month. I don't have all the bugs worked out yet, but I'm excited with how it's turning out so far!!

Have you started a page yet? I would love to see it!

Project Joy 365 - Disclaimer

The first week of the year is coming to an end. How are you doing on your projects? I am so excited to have started, that I have to force myself to not just be snapping 10 photos a day from my list!! LOL! And, I have made the executive decision that it's OK for me to include more than one photo from a given day, even when I'm not playing catch up! :D

I was reading a blog the other day that got me thinking about something. The author was talking about the tendency, in the realm of mommy bloggers, to 'fake it'. The jist of it was that there is a lot of blogging that goes on where people create the impression that they are living perfect little lives on the other side of their monitors. The author was making a plea to other bloggers to be more real and to stop putting on a facade.

It got me thinking about what kind of impression might be left here, as I delve into Project Joy and start making weekly posts. It left me wanting to make a bit of a disclaimer - I am not PERFECT, nor is my family or life! There is whining, complaining, fighting, kicking, hitting, yelling, repeated disobedience, messy floors, dusty dressers - I could go on and on! We don't have it all figured out any more than the rest of you.

At the heart of Project Joy is this:

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Phillipians 4:8

I am fully convinced that the more time and energy I focus on the praiseworthy things in my life, the more JOY there will be for myself and for those around me. I also believe it is pleasing to God when I choose to focus on the blessings and give praise, no matter what the circumstances.

I hope you will find JOY in following along this year and celebrating with me and my family and the things, big and small, that fill our lives with JOY. I love sharing with you and also love hearing what you are up to!

I will leave you with a couple photos that brought me joy yesterday. It came to my attention in the last couple of months that both my daughter and my dog have an attachment to blankie bears. They both like to sleep with them, play with them and they both chew the ears on them. Yesterday, I captured them both napping with their little buddies. Aren't they sweet???

Have a blessed day!

Project Joy 365 - It's time!!

So, New Years Day is winding down. Did your start your 365 project today? If not, don't sweat it!! Here are a few tips that can help make your project a success:

• Keep your flip book (or photo checklist) handy for photo ideas and for checking off things you have already photographed.
• Delete as many photos in camera as possible, keeping only the best. This will save uploading and editing time later.
• Let go of  perfectionist tendencies - if you miss a day, or even a week of photos, don't sweat it, just catch up as necessary. I am viewing this project with a 'big picture' perspective. I see this project as simply documenting the intimate details of our lives in a way that my normal photography and scrapbooking doesn't do. With this in mind, it won't matter if each of my photos was taken on a unique day, or if I take seven photos in one day! In ten years...no one will care!
• Start when you can! Today felt like a great day for me to start, but if you can't get going until later, no worries! Just jump in when you can! If you are using the PSD files from the Tool Kit, simply start with the pages that correspond to your start date. The other pages from the beginning of the year will simply be used at the end of your project!

I won't be doing daily posts of my project and photos, but I will leave you with my favorite from today. :)  We took the princesses bowling.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Project Joy 365 - Share the Joy - GIVE AWAY FINISHED!! :)

ETA: THIS GIVEAWAY IS COMPLETED! :) January 5, 2011

One of the things I want to focus on for Project Joy is 'sharing' joy. That is, being intentional about finding ways to give to others things that might bring them joy! Things like a home cooked meal, a phone call, a random gift, etc. Today, I have some give-aways that I hope will bring someone else JOY!

There was a season in my life when sewing and quilting brought me much joy. Since having children and discovering digital scrapbooking, that season has passed. It is time for several projects from my closet to surface and find a new home, where they will be put to good use and put a smile on someone's face!!

If you would like any of these, simply comment below the photo of the item on facebook by Midnight EST January 4th. (Each photo is clickable and will take you to my facebook page where you can comment) I will draw random 'winners' for each item on January 5th and ship them to their new owners! (Due to the expense of shipping, I need to restrict this to US friends only please!) Comment on as many as you wish!!

I 'think' I set my facebook permissions so that anyone can see and comment on the photos. If you have any troubles, please let me know!!

There is joy in sharing. There is joy in decluttering. There is joy in being able to 'walk' in your walk in storage closet! LOL! Have a blessed day!

Project Joy 365 - Banner Freebie

Looking for a fun project to work on with your kiddos this week? How about a festive banner? The girls and I made this 'Happy Birthday Jesus' banner over the weekend and hung it up today in our living room. You can download the templates to print and make your own banner at the end of this post.

If you want to make your own banner templates in Photoshop or PSE, it's pretty easy.

Create a blank 8.5"x11" document. 

Then, create your banner shape. I used my brush tool, set to a solid round circle (Hard Mechanical) to create an outline for the banner. Turn your grids on (Ctrl + ' ) to make easy work of drawing straight lines. Hold your shift key while you click on intersection points of your grids and photoshop will draw a straight line between the two points.

My finished template looked like this. I made the banner size small enough to fit two on a page and it turned out to be a nice finished size.

I found some great Christmas fonts at this site: The Holiday Spot

I chose 'Kingthings Willow' because I liked all the swirls and stars in the font.

Once I installed the font, I typed the first two letters, each on their own layer, and sized them to fit in the banner templates.

To make the letters outlined, so they could be colored by my kiddos, I used a 10 pt stroke layer style and set the layer fill to 0%.

PSE does not have a stroke layer style. To create the stroke outline in PSE, Ctrl-Click on your letter thumbnail (creating marching ants around the letter). Create a new layer and use 'Edit>Stroke' to create a stroke outline of the letter on it's own layer. Then, turn off the visibility or delete the original letter layer before printing.

Or, if you would like a really quick and easy way to create your own letter outlines, simply open the PSD file labeled 'HBD_Jesus_Banner_template' included in the free download below. Simply select the letter layers and change the font or letter to your liking! The stroke style and 0% Fill are already applied to the layers for you! :)

I would love to see the banners you create! :D Have a great week!

Download 'Happy Birthday Jesus' Banner Templates Here

Project Joy 365 - Inspiration

I can do nothing but laugh in amazement at the inspiration God puts in my path as I embark on this JOY journey. Check out this recent post from a site called 'A Holy Experience'. She has eloquently put into words so much of what has been in my mind and heart as I have been putting together my plans for Project Joy 365.

10 Point Manifesto for Joyful Parenting

May your day be filled with JOY!!

Project Joy 365 - No need to wait

As I was putting ideas together for this project, I found myself getting so excited about the different activities I want to do with the girls next year! Then, I realized that I didn't have to wait to get started!!

As I was looking online for some Christmas related craft ideas, I stumbled upon the whole 'Elf Magic' idea. I knew immediately that it was a great Project Joy 365 type activity. The whole concept of mischief and magic and leaving small gifts was a perfect example of the spirit of the project.

If you aren't familiar with the Elf Magic Tradition, you can read about it here.

If you are on a limited budget, you can still have the same fun by buying your own elf at a local store. A friend of mine found some poseable one's for just $3 at our supermarket. There are also tons of activities and mischief that your elf can do that cost little to nothing.

Don't think you are creative enough to pull something like this off? Well, no creativity required! There are many generous people out there who have shared their fantastic Elf ideas...all you have to do is be a good copycat!! LOL!

Here are some resources I have found:

Forum section dedicated to Magic Elves

Blog with lots of Magic Elf information

DIY Magic Elf Letter from Santa

Here are a few things our elves have been discovered doing already:

Having their nightly crackers and ice water, under a sprinkling of magic snow.

Hiding in our sunroom, writing in journals they brought for the girls.

Turning daddy's buck into Rudolf and taking a reindeer ride.

Setting up our Christmas tree and turning it into a 'Wunder-wear' tree!

Making themselves a relaxing 'bubble bath' in our sink.

I can't tell you how much fun this has been! Listening to the girls excitement every morning starts my day with such joy! Ending my day by playing a little mischief sends me to bed with a smile on my face too!

If you are thinking about doing this with your kiddos (and it's not too late!) I have put together my list of ideas in a spreadsheet that I am sharing with you. It isn't a beautiful list and contains some details that might not make sense to you, but overall, it should be a great place for you to get started!! Most of these ideas are shamelessly stolen from various resources around the web. :)

You can download the list HERE.

May your days be filled with JOY - 365!!!