One Little Word

I came across Ali Edwards' blog this week and this post really got me thinking. To go hand in hand with my Resolution #1, here is my One Little Word for 2010:

I have so many ideas running through my head at all times, and I have countless lists of projects that I want to start. My problem is that I spend so much time thinking and planning out my projects, that when it comes time to start them I am exhausted! I also tend to plan out every aspect of the project and end up over-thinking the whole thing. Here's an example: doing SOMEthing with my family photos. I would like to scrap all of my mom's family photos, and I have had them in my posession for at least 6 years. How many of them have I scrapped, you ask? Exactly zero. Yes, that's right. Zero.

I want to scan them before I start using them in layouts, this way I can keep all the details if I end up cropping the physical photo. I can also send a copy of the scanned pics to my siblings instead of worrying about making four copies of any layouts I make! I have an awesome scanner and all the hard drive space I could need, so what's the issue? Most of the photos have my mom's handwriting on the back. How do I preserve that bit of history when I scan the photos? Some people would probably roll their eyes at me for letting something so small hold me back, but I'm a geneology buff and can't explain how exciting it was for me to stumble across my great-grandfather's signature in my research. Seeing that small bit of ink on paper really brought to life a man that passed away decades before I was born. See why a bit of handwriting is so important to me?

Anywhoo, when I scan in the photos, I plan on also scanning the backs so I can preserve the handwriting. The question is, how do I handle that? What is the easiest and most "permanent" way of preserving both the photo and the handwriting? Do I use my photo editing software to cut and paste the photo and the handwriting together, and if so what's the best format to save something like that in? I know, I know, just scan the photos and the handwriting and worry about the "archiving" part later so Mom can have her photos back!!!

See what I'm saying about over-thinking things?

This is why I chose Do for my One Little Word. I need a reminder to stop planning and start doing, since all the planning in the world is pointless if I never take the first step. I figure this really applies not only to my papercrafting, but to everything else in my life as well. (ahem... housework!) I considered other words, like Create and Preserve and even Simplify, but it seems like Do just sums them all up neatly. Obviously creating and preserving and simplifying are all important goals in my life, but without a little action those goals will not be accomplished. So here's to 2010. Here's to getting somewhere on my goals. Here's to Do.

Cheers!