From the Daisy Patch

If you remember, this post http://www.cocoadaisy.com/blog/daisy-divas/2500/starting-an-on-going-project/

you know today is my day to post my first layout. Before I share a picture of my layout, let me tell you my process.

• Photo selection: I had been saving all the photos I took in January in a folder “January 2010″. When I opened that file yesterday, it was very easy for me see what I had at a glance by looking at the thumbnails. I picked 7 images that seemed to sum up the story of our January. I resized the images and organized them in a photo collage which I printed on 8.5″x11″ photo paper at home.  If you don’t have a printer, you can still do this at a size 8×10 and get the print from a photo kiosk.

• Journaling: This is where I found my blog to be very helpful as I had posted the month’s highlights on different days in January. It was quick to find important dates that way. If you don’t blog or don’t always carry a laptop like me while you travel, use a good old-fashioned notebook and pen to jot down your thoughts on the go. These little snippets of information will help you tell the story of your month.

• Design: When I took on this ongoing creative challenge, I knew one thing for sure: I will need to keep it simple. To simplify my design process, I started with a sketch.

I usually like to start my layouts with photos and this was no exception. The photo collage became the right half of the layout while I saved the left half for the title and journaling.

I did not want to use too many embellishments or details because it simply did not seem necessary to me. I had my photos and my story and that was all I needed to focus on.

So, this is how my layout for January 2010 turned out:

I used the Cocoa Daisy January kit to create this page.

Hopefully, some of you will be able to join in and play along.