Coordinates Collections: Unveiling my Project Calendar Collections!

It's hard for me to believe it's only February. Seems like so much has already happened in 2011...and it has! January was a busy month and February has been almost as crazy. But I finally got a chance to sit down with my Project Calendar Collections kit.

I decided to do an 8x8 album. The one I'm using is by Fancy Pants and is similar in style to the 12x12 American Crafts albums that are my go-to albums. I love the window on the front -- a little tease (but not too much!) of what's inside.

Now let me just start by saying I've never scrapped in the 8x8 format before, but I wanted this album to be different from my normal 12x12 conglomerations. And I also wanted to challenge myself a little with a new size. Having completed the first three pages, I can say it's definitely different...but in a refreshing "I can do this!" kind of way.

Here's my cover page. The background paper is from the Echo Park Life Is Good collection pack. I love the pop of the green. I also added in some Jillibean Soup Corrugated Buttons and Canvas Flowers and a few buttons from my stash.

And here's my January spread.

I spent a long time trying to come up with a design concept that I could carry through the whole album, and I decided the different panels of patterned paper would help separate the different topics I'd be scrapping about without being too confining. After all, I can vary the size and the orientation (portrait or landscape) of the panels as needed. I'll probably stick with the rounded corners and kraft background paper, but the panels themselves may change from month to month. (Or then again, I may change things completely. I can be very unpredictable...watch out!)

There's something liberating about completing the first month of a year-long project -- the momentum is there and I can't wait to see what happens next month. Even more, I can't wait to see what everyone else does with this project!