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Related Resources • Story Starter Collection • Quick and Easy Pages: Book Review of New Book by Joanna Campbell Slan • Journaling and Lettering • How To Get Started Journaling in Your Album: Beginner How To

From Other Guides • Journaling for Scrapbooks

Elsewhere on the Web • Scrapbook Storytelling

1.) Returning the favor: Face it, we all give and get gifts that don't suit. Once in a while a gift is so comically inappropriate, you have to laugh. 

• PHOTO IDEA: Wrong, wrong, wrong. If you won't offend the giver, why not take a picture of the mismatch. The sweater that was ordered in a child's large, but arrived in an adult size would make a fun snapshot.
• PAGE IDEA: Do you have a list of returns to make? Include the list on a page with a picture of you at a shopping mall. How long did the returns take? What was the silly question you answered? (I love it when people ask, "Could you spell your name?" Why, sure, I can spell my name. Pause. Pause. Pause.)

2.) Mastering a new skill: I simply can't face New Year's Resolutions one more time. I'm getting too old for this! Instead, I'm going to focus on mastering a new skill. This year I want to learn to crochet and/or knit. I also want to expand my cooking skills. And try a spinning class. See Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Gee, this feels less oppressive than a list of resolutions. I like it, I like it.

• PHOTO IDEA: Have a picture taken of you with your new tools. That fresh ball of yarn, those shiny pans, and that map of Ireland.
• PAGE and JOURNALING IDEA: Begin by recording your predictions: What are your expectations? Do you think this will be easy or hard? Who are you hoping will teach you? Then add your reality-checks: What really happened? Add these thoughts with your photos and create a page honoring the new, improved you.

3.) Martin Luther King, Jr. Day-January 21: Dr. King spoke for all Americans when he gave his famous "I have a dream" speech. Let us work toward the day when our color, religion, gender and ethnic origin are not barriers. And, let us teach our children to work for peaceful change.

• PHOTO IDEA: Stage a shot of yourself or a family member with a dreamy look on his/her face. 
• PAGE IDEA: Do you remember the old Coca Cola song? "I'd like to teach the world to sing…?" What song would you teach the world to sing? What is your dream for our country's future? Add your dreamy photo and a list of your dreams.

4.) Find a new product: January is the month for HIA (Hobby Institute of America) to meet in Anaheim. The aisles will be crammed with new products. Your local scrapbook store owner will probably be in attendance. Why not make it your goal to try a new scrapbooking product?

• PHOTO IDEA: Ask your scrapbook store owner to share a photo of her/him at HIA. Or take a photo of your scrapbook retailer teaching you to use a new product. 
• PAGE IDEA: Commit to making at least three new pages with your new product. Often we keep returning to the products we know and trust. That's terrific, but if a company you like offers a new tool, check it out! The first time you use a new tool, things may actually seem to go slower. But keep at it!
• JOURNALING IDEA: Why not try a new journaling tool? Here's one-write a character sketch. 1) Start with adjectives that describe your subject. 2) Add a quirk, habit or expression your subject relies on 3) Tell about a favorite outfit or clothing item your subject dotes on and 4) Try your hand at a simile or metaphor-"She's as pleasant as the fragrance of a marigold." Or "He's thoughtful like the Sphinx."

5.) Get organized: You know, if you could find stuff faster, you could get more done. Most of what you have, you don't need. Get ruthless. Toss it. Clear the clutter and free yourself from digging through the piles.

• PHOTO IDEA: Take a snapshot of your messiest spot. How bad is it? What's driving you nuts?
• PAGE IDEA: Create a "before" and "after" page showing how you sorted things out. Divide the page into two parts using two colors. 
• JOURNALING IDEA: If you are like me, you found some long-missing article when you started your organizing process. It's amazing! What did you discover? How long did the process really take? What are the benefits?

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Remember to fill your days with love and appreciation. God Bless America--Joanna