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Ban the Boredom:
Remember 2012 the creative way
By Eloise
It’s the beginning of 2012, a new year with new resolutions and a new you. No doubt we’ll hear all of that next year too, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. Every year we’re determined to make it better than the last, but with the stresses of life often getting in our way it’s easy to forget how to enjoy ourselves with so much else going on. So no matter what you’re trying to change, improve or include in your new year, make sure having fun is one of them, and do so with this month’s ‘Ban the Boredom.’
Believe it or not, life is made for living. No matter what age you are you’re most likely faced with exams or work and it’s easy to get caught up in these tasks, leaving you little or no time for yourself. So, the most obvious thing to do would to be freeing up time. I know, seems ridiculous right? If you did have any free time, surely you’d have spent it doing something else anyway? Well, that’s where you’re wrong…
Plan ahead.
Whether you find a diary, calendar or your phone more effective for keeping track of things, just make sure you do so. That girls night out you have planned in advance for a couple of months? That can go in there, along with ‘works do’ and that afternoon that you’re babysitting for your friend. Anything and everything should be included in it, so you know exactly when and where you need to be, and when you’re free.
Don’t procrastinate.
It has to be the easiest thing to do, to dismiss those all-important jobs to watch this one last episode on TV or a catch up on a few minutes of sleep. Get up and go, save all this spare time for later on in the day when you know you’ll be able to relax.
Don’t lounge about.
We all have those days when our motivation seems to have escaped us, along with any energy and concentration that we may have had. That’s not to say you can’t do anything that day though, you can, it’s just your body’s way of saying ‘Hey, I need a break!’
You can do just that, take a break and instead take up something arty. This doesn’t require the next Vincent Van Gough; all this requires is a pair of scissors, glue and old magazines. Oh, and you will be expected to make use of those planning techniques you read about earlier.
So say I do save time, what do you expect me to do in it?
Something so simple and easy that it’s often crossed everyone’s mind, yet nobody seems to do it, and if they do they very rarely keep it up. All you have to do is use all this free time you’ve gained to free up a day where you can make a scrapbook. Yes, that’s it. You can do this with a friend, making it more fun and memorable, plus it’ll give you twice the ideas to make this cute little ‘2012 scrapbook’.
It does seem simple, but what do you do?
Start off with an empty book. This can be one you’ve made yourself out of card and paper, or a cheap plain one you bought, either way it’ll look unique once you’re finished with it, so there’s no need to go all out.
Cut out pictures, letters, numbers and anything else that takes your fancy. Print off older pictures that you love and use these resources to decorate the front cover of your book, putting any spares that can be used again into a folder to keep safe.
Be creative! Don’t hold back, get messy and have fun. Remember, this isn’t another thing to get you worked up over, it’s supposed to be fun and with enough glitter and card it can be.
As the year progresses and you attend more picture worthy occasions, take pictures and add these to your book. You might want to add a caption underneath with the date, or a short explanation of where you are so you remember that memory in detail.
It won’t always go as planned, sometimes we have this image in our head of how things will pan out but that just simply doesn’t happen. Either way, you can gradually fill it with this year’s memories and pictures to have a perfect little keepsake to look back on in years to come.
Is that it?
That’s it! The best part about this is that you never know what you’ll end up with. You can stick tickets in from a day out or maps from a theme park so it’s not just a photo album, add your own little diary entries so you can remember all the best bits in detail and even keep pressed flowers in it from summer or spring. Create pockets or stick in an envelope for things you can’t glue to the page to make sure you really do capture every memory possible.
That really is simple!
So simple to do yet so simple to not, if you don’t have enough time or run out of ideas, don’t rush it! It’ll soon grow old and you’ll soon give up if you try to finish it all at once. Save it for an evening when you have nothing to do, or the morning after a brilliant night out when everything is still fresh in your mind. Be resourceful, search for other people’s ideas and add your own. There is no right and wrong way to go about a scrapbook and by simply adding your own personal touch you’re making it unique, the best way to make scrapbook.
TOP TIP!
Doing this with a friend? Well then, take a picture! Use it as your first memory of 2012, it doesn’t matter if it seems small, if it’s fun it’s worth remembering.
Make every second count this year so that you can look back on it with the help of your scrapbook, and remember all of the best bits. With the whole year ahead of you, why not?
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