Scrapbooking Infertility and/or IVF Journeys

Here's the thing about scrapbooking... most of it is about showcasing happiness and contentment. I've fallen victim to this too in the past - it's easier to put on your rose-tinted glasses and write/create about what makes life great.

But what about the aspects of life that aren't so great? In my personal case, I'm talking about loss, infertility and IVF. Back when we were trying to conceive Rowan, I didn't include our infertility journey in any of my scrapbooking. I kept this blog (private at the time) as a place to get out all of my feelings about the process, and in my eventual pregnancy album made a single page where I chronicled the path we took to where we ended up:

(click image to see more detail)

In reality, the journey to conceive a child could have very much been a separate album. It might not have been the most positive album in parts, and over time I've learnt

Day in the Life - March 3rd, 2012

Last week my best friend challenged me to a Day in the Life project, which is something we do a couple of times per year. The last two challenges I've completed on my iPhone using various apps, but this time I wanted something to print out and keep... so I shot all pictures on my Nikon D700, using the 50mm/1.4f lens. I was also inspired by the idea of Project Life (by Becky Higgins) and Ali Edwards' documentation of her Day in the Life projects, so if you're familiar with Ali Edwards, this style may look familiar.

I love the depth of field that lens offers and it has been one of my better investments (I actually scored it for free from our wedding photographer back in 2008, he had dropped it down a mountain and it needed recalibrating - if I paid for the repairs it was mine; it turned out to be less than half the price of buying it new so was an excellent decision).

I used Picasa (free program by Google, get onto it!) for the collages, and added text (font is WM_kamikaze) and elements using Photoshop CS3. The embellishments are from two digital scrapbooking kits, Scrap & Snap by Faith True Originals and The Bees Knees (released only to creative team members as a Christmas thank you in 2011).

Anyway, enough talk and onto our day in pictures! This is life with a 10.5 month old baby who is currently learning to walk. Click on the first picture to view the gallery of larger pictures (text will be much easier to read!)