Has 2023 been a blur for any of you like it was for me? I can't believe we begin a new year on Monday. I guess there is some truth in that saying "The older you get, the faster the years go by..." or something like that.
I'm going to be covering quite a bit in this blog post. I'll be talking about what my scrapbooking looked like in 2023, my plans for 2024, the new Chapters Storytelling Collection, and more. So grab a cup of your favorite morning bevvie, and settle in...
2023 Scrapbooking Year in Review
I'm not going to lie. I did very little documenting this past year. You know how some high school kids take a gap year between graduation and college? 2023 was my gap year when it came to scrapbooking. Oh I had big documenting plans for 2023, believe me. But there was a little voice telling me that it was okay to take a break, and focus my energy in redesigning my website, classroom, and work on some long term business goals here at Pixels to Pages. Friends, if you found that you didn't document as much as you would have liked to this past year, please don't beat yourself up about it! It's ok to take a break and focus on something different! No judgement here!
Plans for 2024
The little break from documenting this past year totally reenergized me for 2024. While I will be doing another blog post about how I will go about scrapbooking in the new year, let me just say now that I will be documenting in a monthly format using my 2024 Chapters Storytelling Collection. So let's take a look at this new product, shall we?
2024 Chapters Storytelling Collection: January Edition
If you have been following me for a number of years, you know that I first released Chapters in 2022 (in 2023, Meagan Johnson collaborated with me on Project Twelve52, so I didn't have a 2023 version of Chapters). I am bringing it back for the new year, but in a bigger and better format!
A new kit will be released each month, and will include the following:
Calendar Cards, Weekly Cards, + Monthly Cards
Each month will have Calendar Cards, Monthly Cards, and yes, even Weekly Cards for that particular month. The Calendar Cards will have both Sunday and Monday start dates. Both options will be included in the kit so there is no need to worry whether you are purchasing a kit with a Sunday or Monday start.
Weekly Cards were NOT included in the 2022 Chapters Collection, but I am making them a part of the kits released in 2024. They will not have the dates on them, because some memory keepers who document in a weekly format begin their weeks on a Sunday, while others start their weeks on a Monday. You can add the dates to the Weekly Cards using layer-supporting apps like Affinity Photo for iPad or the Free Form Text Feature in the Project Life App. The January Kit will have Weekly Cards for weeks 1-5. If any of you are curious, you can view the "week numbers" in your calendar on your iPhone or Mac by toggling on "Week Numbers" in the Calendar App settings. When you do so, you will see that there are 5 weeks in January. The February Edition will have Weeks 6-9, and so on.
The color of these cards will change from month to month, depending on a theme or holiday that is associated with the month. January tends to be chilly, so blue it is! Many of us think of Valentine's Day for February, so you can bet that these cards will be red, or pink, or maybe even a light purple.
Everyday Cards + Digital Papers
Every month the kit will have 6 digital papers and a variety of filler/journal/title cards to document your everyday photos. I like consistency in my family yearbooks. One of the ways to achieve consistency is through color. The Everyday Cards and Digital Papers will be created with the same color palette each month. Sure there will be variances in the shades and tints, but you can count on the earth tone color palette you see in the papers example below will be the same used throughout 2024.
Monthly Themes
Depending on the month, each kit may or may not include cards and digital papers with a theme or themes for that particular month. For example, we associate "winter" and "new beginnings," with the month of January. In the January Edition, there are cards and digital papers for those two mentioned themes. When we think of February, we think of love because of Valentine's Day. However, that "love theme" will be represented in the Holiday Cards + Papers (see below). Those months where there may not be a specific theme included, you can expect to see more filler and journal cards in the Everyday theme of the kit. I hope that makes sense.
Holiday/Monthly Recognition Cards + Papers
Of course if there are specific holidays or major observances during the month, cards + digital papers will be included to represent them in each monthly kit. For January, you will find cards and papers to help document Three Kings Day and MLK celebrations. For February, you can expect to see cards/papers for Groundhog Day and Valentine's Day.
PDF Print Sheets
Something I am including in the Chapters Storytelling Collection this year is a PDF of print sheets. These print sheets have all the papers in the kit in 6x8 size, along with the cards ready for you to print, cut and slip into plastic page protectors or use in your hybrid layouts! I cannot wait to see what hybrid memory keepers do with these!
2024 Chapters Storytelling Collection: January Embellishments
Each month there will be an embellishment kit you can purchase to compliment the main Chapters Kit. Again, you will always find embellishments that will fall into the Everyday Theme using the same color palette as explained earlier. Embellishments for monthly themes and holidays/observances will be included as well! And yes! Each Embellishment Kit will come with a printable PDF for those of you who are hybrid memory keepers!
The January Edition of the 2024 Chapters Storytelling Collection is now available in the shop!
2024 Pixels to Pages Creative Team Inspiration
One of those business goals I mentioned at the beginning of this blog post was putting a team together of talented memory keepers who enjoy using my products to help document their photos and stories. I absolutely love what they have done with the January Edition of the Chapters Storytelling Collection! Here are some pages they created:
One more thing before I close out this post...
All classes in the Pixels to Pages Classroom are 15% off now through Friday, December 12! If Santa slipped you a brand new iPad under the tree, and you have been wanting to learn Affinity Photo for iPad, now is the time to enroll in one or all of the courses! Classes will not be on sale again until May (for National Scrapbook Day). Use the code APPSCRAP2024 at checkout. Click here to be taken to the classroom. Please note that each class has to be purchased individually, but you can use the code mentioned each time you check out.
I'll be posting again soon!
~Kelly