January Recap and a Digital Template Freebie

As the new year started I needed to decide whether I would take on the challenge of a photo a day for the entire year ("Project 365", or "P365" for the cool kids). As tempted as I was to do the project, I decided that with what I want to get done over the next few months I had little time to actually scrapbook the photos. And, I know that if I were to get too far behind, I would lose any momentum and interest in the project.


However, I'm very excited about my compromise: I'm going to do a monthly recap to summarize the highlights of the month. Ideally, I'd like just a double page layout, but that, as in the case of this month, that may not always work out. The pages will be basic collages with a few bits thrown in. I wouldn't be surprised if every month ended up with the same basic look. Hmmm, maybe a Shutterfly book in the works? 


I don't intend for this recap to replace other scrapbook pages, but I do like the idea of getting a timely summary of our month -- especially when I have so many gaps in time over the last few years. I have good intentions at eventually scrapbooking some things from those gaps, but who knows whether I actually will. This monthly recap will at least keep those gaps to a minimum and not leave so many holes in my scrapbooks. 


I'd like to take full credit for this idea, but I got it from Cathy Zielske. Check out her blog here. I have also found a variety of other blogs that promote the idea as a nice compromise to the photo a day for the year.


Who knows how long I'll continue with this project (shall I call it P12?), but I hope I stick with it for a while at least.


January:

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Since I had such a great January, I'm giving away the template for pages 1 and 2. You can find it here.