OLW Blog Hop - My Dreams in Pictures

Welcome back for this month's One Little Word blog hop! I am so glad that I am working a little bit every month on my word for 2011 - DREAM. Participating in these monthly blog hops help keep me motivated and excited to share my experiences. You can check out my previous posts about documenting my OLW here.

I am really loving how Ali has structured this class. There is great balance so far. Balance between words and photos. Balance between thought and action. Balance between creativity and organization. Balance between dreams for myself and dreams for my family.

I am always struggling to find this kind of balance.

So it was really refreshing to see this month's prompt dealt with list making, tasks and to-dos that related to our word. And Ali even created a really special spreadsheet to organize our goals. I didn't get a chance to photograph my own completed spreadsheet, but here is a photo of Ali's example.

One of my self-appointed task items was to create a layout that documented the words that went along with this photo collage. I knew that I wanted to record those words but I didn't want to add the words directly onto the photos in my album. I just loved how the images stood alone, how they progressed and complemented one another. I was afraid adding the words into the collage would distract from the impact of the images themselves. I can happily report that not only did I complete this layout but also I took a photo. Aren't you so proud?

I used my old manual typewriter to journal the dream statements. I love adding typed journaling to my projects. It just adds a bit of grunge and a dash of sentimentality that can be a great contrast to the more artsy, creative photos. Because this layout faces the divided page protector holding the full-sized, unadorned photos I knew I wanted to keep the photos on the layout small. I chose to center words + photos and surround them with plenty of white space. I added some stitching, some splatters and my title. I totally love it.

I also did some work on my album cover this month. I am using the Pink Paislee canvas album from the Parisian Anthology collection. I added some dangling crystals, a metal heart and key, ribbons and string. I love the girly effect. I have this great Jenni Bowlin yellow butterfly rub-on that I've been hoarding in my stash for months. I am going to add that to the front of the album along with the One Little Word title...but I haven't worked out exactly how yet. But come on back next month and see what I come up with!

Next up on the blog hop is Junelle at Yes and Amen blog. Have fun and see you soon!