There are some "COMPULSARY" layouts

I have to say that there are two layouts that I feel compelled and obligated to do. One of them is always "a year in review" layout and the other is a "birthday" layout. I don't necessarily do them around the time of the year when the event occurs, but it stays on my mind until I get them done. I started doing a year in review layout several years ago, and I have to say....I LOVE looking back at them. It really is a very brief synopsis of some of the highlights of our year. It is also nice to put them all together in one separate book, and from year to year, you get to see the changes, the growth, the events.  

I had nothing in mind since January for what or how I was going to do this layout, until the other day, when I picked up a piece of "simple stories" paper that had each month on it. Immediately, I knew that that would be my ticket to get started. I started by picking a photo or two from each month,  printing them and then cutting up the paper. I was also determined to make this a single page layout. YES, there are WAY many more photos and events from each month that I would have loved to include, but, I picked the ones that in some way or another stand out in a memorable way for me. I also tried to include at least a pic of each member of the family. 

Once all the pictures and paper was stuck down, I was able to pull out my boxes of goodies. I had so much fun embellishing this layout. My aim was to have some kind of something attached to each month, to signify the picture in some way. I like the way it all turned out, even if it is already mid May, I like that I have a reminder of the previous year.