Year in Review & Looking Forward to 2012

2011 has been a great year for me . . . highlights were:   Great vacations to Hawaii and California with my family and friends.    I enjoyed a fantastic & fun CTMH convention in July in Anaheim.  I saw the number of consultants on my CTMH team triple.  I was published in a magazine for the first time.  My artwork won several CTMH contest categories this year.  I participated on a Design Team for the first time.  I went ziplining for the first time (so fun!).  My hubby & I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary.  And most importantly my kids are happy and healthy. 

Here, in no particular order, are six of my favourite projects from the past year (because I couldn't narrow it down to just five!):

1)  Future All Star Layout (this is my first published layout - in the Summer 2011 issue of Canadian Scrapbooker)

2) Vegas Layout - - love everything about this layout - - everything just came together for me on this one!

3)  Xmas Dreaming layout - - I love the simplicity of this layout.  It was quick to do and yet I love the end result.   I need to do more layouts like this!

4)  The Puck Stops Here - - love the title!! I racked my brain for a title on this layout and when it came to me, I knew it was perfect!! Don't you love that feeling?!?!  (This layout was also one of my 2011 CTMH Contest winners).

5) Full Throttle Layout - not sure why I like this one - but I do.  I think it is partly because I challenged myself in creating this layout & stepped outside of my 'box'.  I challenged myself to use the paper from a 'wedding' kit (Bliss) in a non-wedding way!!    I also tried to use a variety of embellishments & accents from different manufacturers, paper lines, etc. to pull the layout together (which I don't normally do!!) and was happy with the result!    Scrapping your stash is always a good feeling!

6)  Time Well Spent layout - KRAFT!! Kraft was new to me this year & I love it - - my new favourite 'neutral'!   

So what is ahead for me in the New Year?  Well, I have a few goals.  I want to scrapbook more.  And I want my scrapbooking to include more meaningful stories.  (And I would love to help others do this too!!)  I would also like to spend more time submitting to magazine calls.  On the business side of things, I plan to focus more on my crops and retreats and will do fewer smaller classes/workshops (prioritizing the things I ENJOY doing the most!).  I would like to learn more about photography this year if time permits and on a completely unrelated note, I would like to take skating lessons.  I would like to simplify and improve the organization of our home.   I did a better job in 2011 than I did in 2010 of maintaining balance in my life and learning to say 'no' if needed so that I don't take on too much.  I want to continue that in 2012!     Lots of big ideas running through this head of mine!! Now to put it all into action!   Stay tuned for progress updates!

As 2011 draws to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your interest in me, my blog, and my crafty creations.   CTMH and blogging have opened up a whole new world to me these last few years and I can't wait to see where it all takes me next!  

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!