January Project Life Album: Part II


When I decided to branch off from the "normal" Project Life design, I was super nervous.  I wasn't sure how it would work...if it would even have a the Project Life feel, or if I could make my photos and memorabilia work in a smaller book format.

Now that I officially have January under my belt, I can 100% say that I love this new approach.  I love how easy it was to work on this book.  I love how I could punch holes in photos, documents, papers and just add them right into my book.  I love the layers and the collages and all of the enlarged photos.  And I really loved that I didn't have to "balance" a double page spread.  I actually only worked on this book on two different occasions....once mid way through and once at the beginning of February.  The process is so fast and so easy and pulling my pages together was so much fun!! 

Here's a little peek at a few pages! The video link is at the end!! 


Once my book was finished, I filmed a quick little flip through video.  It's short and sweet and pretty much just sums up how I put the book together, as well as describes some of the ways I like to add my personality to the book. (You can see a video of the first part of my January book over on the Studio Calico blog). I ended up adding a lot of more words into the last half of the book.  I think it's because I had kept lots of little notes throughout the month in my memory planner and finally decided to put them down on paper.  I really like this approach (keeping notes and then kind of summing up everything at the end), so I will most likely continue this process across all of my albums!   Hope you like it!!  

Supplies used:
Far Far Away Project Life Kit
Magic Carpet
Mirror Mirror

This book is different and fun, and it's exactly what I needed to do this year!!  I'm so looking forward to watching my stack of books grow as the year continues!  February's book is already in the works and, while I loved loved loved this size of book, I'm excited to switch things up and try out a new size.  

Memory Planner: January



My obsession with this memory planner continues!!  I seriously can't believe I didn't start this sooner.  I'm a list maker at heart, and I've always had tons of lists, but they were usually scattered about in books, journals, notepads, etc.  I remember trying out a Project Life planner book that I made a few years ago to keep up with our week's events, but that quickly fell by the wayside.  It was just too much work to keep up with multiple books/calendars/journals.  

Having everything in one place has been a game changer for me.  I love that I can add notes about our day, clip in a tag, and keep up with our activities.  This planner gives me a place to "create" when I want to make something, but don't really have it in me to create an entire layout or Project Life spread.  This book has become my "art journal" so to speak....  It's become my go to for creativity when I have a few minutes to spare!!  It's quick, it's easy and I always have it on hand!!

I went back and forth about whether or not to share my planner pages.  I'm not sure I will continue this every month (because, seriously, who really cares what my planner even looks like), but I figured, what the heck...maybe I can inspire someone else to add memory keeping into their daily planner!  So here goes....


As you can see, my planner consists mostly of lists, notes and activities.  I use the larger daily boxes to keep up with the daily "to do" list, but I also use this space to write in little details about our day....quotes, notes, things we did, etc.  I love having these sections to look back on (again....I'm wondering why I didn't do this earlier)!!

I use the smaller (lined) daily boxes to keep up with my blog posts and our meal planning.  


I'm finding my "groove" with my planner and as the weeks have gone on, I've discovered what works best for me.  I really like adding important events (like lunch duty that I almost forgot a few weeks ago) into the planner using mini alpha.  It pops off of the page and makes it easily recognizable as I'm glancing at the week.  

I also really like printing out my favorite photos from that week and adding them into my book.  


Here, I used a divided 4x4 WRMK page protector to include four photos of our week and two journaling cards (for notes/details).  I'm sure these photos will make it into my January Project Life book too, which may seem a little redundant, but having them with me everyday is priceless.  I don't carry around my Project Life album, but I do carry this little gem everywhere.  These little extras make me super happy.....and redundant or not, you just can't beat that feeling!


I've also gotten a little creative and busted out my stamps and inks (say whaaaat??).  I swear I am determined to become a stamper this year!!  I'm staring small with this planner!  :)

There's no real rhyme or reason to the stamps.  I usually just pull them out when I have that "creative itch" but don't really want to make an entire project.  


I continue to use a divider to mark the current day (and a paper clip on the top of the calendar month so I can easily flip to see the whole month together).  The divider with my One Little Word (shine) is my favorite!!  Like the photos, it makes me super happy (I'm weird). 

And what would a post of mine be without a photo collage, right??


To finish the month, I decided to print out a photo collage of all of our January photos.  I cannot even begin to tell you how much I love this!  For starters, I'm a sucker for a collage, BUT.....now I can see all of the photos I've taken for the month.  Score!  I will absolutely be printing a collage of our pictures each month!!  Total game changer.  No more searching my hard drive for a photo!   

So what do you think?  Do you incorporate photos and memories into your planner??  If you happen to post yours to a blog, gallery or what not, link it up here!  I would love to see yours!!


Around Here


A little glimpse of our life right now.  We are just so busy.  All.the.time.  I so thought January would slow down a little, but apparently, we are already at the end of the month.  Wow.  I wish I could stop time and savor each and every moment.  Is it just me??

Our days have been full of school activities. adventures and awesomeness.  January has rocked and I hope that all the rest of the months can keep up with this one!

Happy Friday, friends!! 
xoxo


Oh Creative Energy...


For me, creativity ebbs and flows.  Sometimes it seems like it's gone more than it is here...  I get asked a lot by sweet readers how I deal with the "lack" of creativity and what I do to push through.  This question always really stumps me because, so often, I feel like there is no way to get out of that rut.  I think I've learned over the years that this feeling comes, and there is really no way around it.  I try not to stress about it, but ultimately, creating is my outlet, so if I can't create I usually start to feel pretty crazy.  Finding other creative options sometimes works (like knitting or weaving), but usually I find myself with two options when it comes to paper: either wait it out or work through it.  They both have their pros and cons.  Waiting it out can give you fresh perspective and time to "regroup"...it can also take a loooooong time!  Working through it allows me the opportunity to (possibly) find my creativity.....but it can also leave me a little frustrated if everything is just blah.

This page is a "work through it" page.  I wouldn't say it's a work of art, but it is something and something is better than nothing in my book!! 


To do something a little different, I switched my size to 8x8.  I typically use 12x12 so I kind of liked having the smaller canvas.  And there wasn't this large white space staring right back at me, so that helped too.


I also decided to use my Open Book scraps (because I love them AND they coordinate.  Win. Win).  Scraps are great because you don't feel like you are wasting paper or products.  And if the end result is blah and trash-worthy, then you can just toss it and move on (and maybe save the photo for another time).


I also decided to stick with a "gird" type of design just to make the process a little easier.  I used my photo as the guide for my paper sizes on one side of the page and then eyeballed the other half. 


The little extras really made the page for me....and that's about the point I felt like I was actually being "creative"....not just sticking things on a piece of paper.  I stitched everything into place and called this attempt at creativity finished.

And do you know what, I actually kind of like it.  It's a little different from what I've created lately and I think that's a good thing.  Sometimes a rut comes from doing the same thing over and over, you know!  Trying something new (new size, new products, new technique) can often be just the right thing for getting your creativity back.  Here's to hoping this page brews up my mojo!!!  

What are you strategies for working through a loss of creativity??  Please share below in the comments if you have a minute!  I'd love to hear them....and I know others would love to as well!!  

Whew....




For the Love of Planners


I have always been obsessed with planners.  I used one religiously in college and also in my job as a speech pathologist.  I had to use one.  I had so many places to be, patients to see, meetings to attend, etc...  A planner was kind of a no-brainer during that period of my life.  But when I became a momma, I kind of stopped using them.  It wasn't because I didn't have any place to be or anything to do, because we all know that's not true.  Most of the things I did when my kids were babies were pretty routine (library on Tuesday, gym on Friday....)....it didn't really require me to write those things down.  That was our "routine".  I still kept a monthly calendar, but nothing too specific.

Fast forward several years later, four million activities, Heidi Swapp's Capture 30 class and my friendship with Marcy (ha!), and I am now obsessed with planners.  Actually, I'm obsessed with memory planners.  I blame Marcy and Heidi.  Who knew they could be so fun?!?  I remember seeing Heidi, Kim and Lindsay sharing their memory planners and being so intrigued, but with Project Life and all the other memory keeping projects I had going on, I never took the plunge.

But...a new year means trying something new, right??  And I'm all in!!  I'm really loving how this little book holds all the details of our day.  It holds our memories.  It's where I can write down little quotes my kids say, notes about our day, AND keep up with my menu planning, grocery lists and activities.  

Here's how my January is looking so far....


I'm using Heidi Swapp's Memory Planner for the majority of my memory planning and organizing.  It's a great size and gives me enough room to write little details down.  I think my writing is a little large and bubbly, so I like to have a good bit of writing space.  Plus, I love to write down lists!!!  I keep this one out and open at home and usually toss it in the car with me when I'm leaving.  I also have the new Webster's Pages Color Crush planner (in white), which I love and keep in my purse.  It might be redundant to have two, but I always find that when I need my planner, I don't have it.  The larger planner holds ALL of our schedule and is also used as a simplified form of memory keeping.  I'm using the smaller one as a quick summary of our month, as well as place to jot down notes and ideas when I'm out and about. 

I've customized both of these planners to my needs (which is always my favorite part) and have also included a a few extras (sticky notes, pads, alpha).


You've probably seen this collage before, but here it is again!!  I used PicMonkey to create a collage of some my favorite photos from 2014.  I printed it, punched holes in it and added it to the front of my planner.  You can't really see it in the photo, but I also trimmed a piece of clear transparency to cover the front of the collage.  It just adds a little more weight to the front pages and keeps them from curling or bending in. 


I've used the slots in the book for photos to add in some of my favorite pictures and memories.  I always "think" I will remember these moments, but it really is amazing how quickly they can slip your mind.  Writing down the details is my favorite part about this memory planner.


I slipped photos into the small page protectors in the book, and even trimmed down additional page protectors to add in notes and more cards.  I CANNOT wait for Heidi's new planner supplies to be released!  I am all over that!!


This pocket above is one that I trimmed down from an October Afternoon page protector.  I slipped some sticky notes into the top pocket and use these to keep a running list of things I need to pick up at the store.  I love having a place to keep these notes....AND be able to find them when I need them (I'm notorious for writing lists and losing them.  Womp. Womp.).


The monthly calendar holds most everything that we have going on that month.  (And why are my Tuesdays always so busy???).  I try to color coordinate my projects and people to make it easier to read.  I also try to highlight the different things when we have finished them.  Again, I think it just makes it more read-able to me.  :)


The daily calendar is what I love the most.  These little daily boxes are filled with all the details of our day....memories, appointments, quotes....basically whatever happens in our day.  I call this a "journal with a grocery list".  It fits my needs AND my personality perfectly.  I love to write down details (and I usually do this in a notebook), but keeping them all together in book has been a game changer.  I'm loving how our month (and memories) are coming together. 


Inspired by Heidi, I created a "today" divider so I could easily find the current day.  I used a piece of trimmed transparency, added a gold foil sticker on it and adhered a plastic tab labeled "today" at the top. 


At the back of the book, I added in a section for all of my Creative Teams.  Here, I just keep any ideas, inspiration and to-do projects.  I'm thinking of adding in a few other sections (inspired by Marcy and her amazing planners)!

(Oh...and you may have noticed that I removed a September-December from this planner.  I wanted to have room to play around in the book, and didn't want it to feel so crammed. I'll add them back in as the year progresses.)

So that's a look at my memory planner!  Have you taken the plunge into memory planning yet??  Do you keep just a regular planner??  If you have any pages to share, link them up below!  I'd love to see them!!  

My 2015 Project Life Plan


I spent most of November and December stressing over my Project Life plan for 2015.  This year will be my fifth year of doing Project Life and I really wanted to mix things up a little and take a slightly different approach.  Don't get me wrong.  I love my 12x12 albums and the Design A page protector....they are my go-to, my easy fix, the ordinary.  But I wanted something a little less ordinary.  I wanted something that let me use all of my photos and get them printed and into an album.  I take ALOT of photos people.  Like a whole lot.  And I love taking photos.  That's definitely not going to change any time soon.  But sometimes when I tried to pull a spread together for my PL album, I had to pick and choose which images to use and then the rest from that week kind of got left behind.  That kind of bugged me.

Another thing I know about my style is that I tend to tell the details or my feelings about a photo, but not necessarily big long stories.  This used to bother me because I felt like I should be telling more stories....kind of like I was doing something wrong, but then I realized that maybe that's not my style and that's ok.  I'm in awe by pages and PL spreads that are so full of stories.  Pictures and creating are my favorite so I'm sticking with that.  

So after lots of contemplation and thought, I finally came up with a system that "might" work for me. I'm saying might because it's January and I am only 6 days into the month, but so far, I love it.  My Project Life approach is going to go something like this (hopefully):


Monthly Project Life BOOKS
I love taking photos, making mini albums and Project Life, so why not combine all three, right?  I'm hoping that monthly PL albums will allow me to get all of my photos in one place, as well as all of our memorabilia, artwork, etc.  And well....mini albums, gosh, I just love them.  I love making them and finding new ways to make them.  My favorite part of my December Daily® album was all the "inserts" and extra photos I added.  I like being able to "touch" and "feel" my pictures and "stuff", and sometimes the plastic page protectors make me crazy.  With the monthly PL book approach, I'm planning on adding in lots of extra bits and pieces of our life.....stuff that probably got left out, or trimmed down to fit in a pocket.  


I'm planning on still using some page protectors throughout my books and I will definitely be using the Studio Calico Project Life kits, but I also want to use MORE of my supplies and kits.  I want to use my stamps and stickers and alpha.  I want to get creative and really push myself to make our books fun and different (this is totally January Stephanie talking, can't you tell???).  I want to include art journal pages and my children's drawings.  I want to include smaller layouts and photo collages.  Lots of photo collages.  I want to have enlarged photos and full text pages.  Basically, I don't want any rules.  I know Project Life doesn't have rules, but I totally made some up for myself over the past few years and kind of got stuck in those rules.  So I'm throwing all of MY rules out the window and going with the flow!!

My hope is to do 12 different sizes of Project Life books, but who knows.  The more I think about it, there are really only so many possibilities, so I will likely do some duplicate sizes.  Regardless, each month will be super fun (for me, at least) and full of memories.  I know it sounds like more work than just a typical 12x12 album, but I'm really needing something different and something that gets me excited, you know!  We shall see how it goes!!!

I used the Far Far Away Project Life kit to set up my January book and have mixed in the other kits, stamps, etc. for my January photos so far.  (You can the beginnings that in the Creative Team gallery).  It's been fun and thrilling and I'm looking forward to continuing this process.  I'll also be sharing a walk through video of my January Project Life book on the Studio Calico blog later in the month, so stayed tuned!!  :)

Ok....so what do you think???  Sound interesting, fun, crazy, all of the above?  Do tell!!  

Creating a Diamond Inspired Layout


Each month I'm hoping to post some type of video tutorial or process post about how a particular page came together.  This month, I decided to do a little walk through of this super duper diamond page I created using the January kits from Studio Calico.  At first glance, I think this layout may look difficult or hard to assemble.  BUT....it is seriously SO easy.  It really only requires cutting and layering!


My main inspiration for this page were the wood veneer pieces from the Far Far Away Scrapbook kit.  I really wanted to highlight them on my page and that's where I came up with the diamond idea. 

I started by popping out one of the diamond shapes and tracing the negative onto a piece of white card stock.  I cut two diamonds....one a little larger than the wood piece and one a good bit larger than that first piece (and to cut them, I just laid the wooden diamond on my card stock, traced it and then trimmed outside of that line by about 1/4 of an inch).  


Next, I grabbed out my various pieces of patterned papers and traced the two diamonds I pre-cut onto the paper.  I traced two of each size so I would have a good variety of patterns to layer with on my layout.


After my diamonds were cut, I started layering everything together.  I moved the papers around quite a bit to get a good visual on the page and to try to keep the duplicate papers a good distance from each other.  


Once I was pretty happy with how the papers looked layered, I grabbed out three photos and used one of my diamond shapes to trim my photos.  I just eyeballed everything here and trimmed them roughly into the diamond shape.  Then I added on a few more wood veneer diamonds, mini alpha and chipboard pieces for texture and to make the page more visually appealing.


The final step was to adhere everything together.  I used pop dots in-between my layers to add dimension and depth to my page.  I love the way you can glimpse little shadows on the page!


I then added a line of stitching along the left hand side, as well as some written journaling.  And that's it!!  I think it was a super easy page to put together, don't you?  I hope you will try out this fun method.  You can use just about any shape you'd like!  Just grab your scissors and cut away!

Project Challenge 2015



I have always been a big fan of the new year.  To me, the new year means a time for new beginnings, fresh starts and fun challenges.  I always start the new year with some type of project in mind.  Last year, I decided to start documenting 12 on the 12th where I take twelve photos on the 12th of each month.  I loved this project, and especially love every single photo that I took this past year.  This challenge really made me look at our everyday lives...the daily stuff...the mundane....the craziness.  The photos I took weren't necessarily "stellar" family photos, but they captured our here and now like no other.  The project itself made me stop and look at our everyday; it made me stop and appreciate all that we have in our lives.  But it was a loooooong project.  And I realized that while I like projects, I really like being able to complete a project (in a timely fashion) and move on to something else.  I'm not necessarily ditching the 12 on the 12th, but will likely do a mini version of it....maybe quarterly rather than monthly.

For 2015, I am tackling a BUNCH of projects.  I want to learn a few new things, try out some things on my to-do list, get creative, and most of all....just have fun.  I had originally thought about doing one project each month, but some are easy and some are more challenging.  I don't want to feel guilty if something takes me longer than a month; and I don't want to feel like I have to wait to start a new project.  One of my 2015 goals (in general) is to be a little easier on myself.  Sometimes I like to "box myself" into timelines and constraints for no reason at all.  The end result is usually anxiety and guilt.....two things that I would prefer NOT to have as a part of my new year!

I would LOOOOOVE to have you all join in with me for ANY or ALL of these projects! 

Here are the projects I'm hoping to tackle in 2015.

1. Make bracelets.  I really love this wrap around bracelets.  They seem rather easy to make and I'm hoping to make a whole bunch this year!!
2. Knit a blanket.  Knitting a blanket has always been on my "to-do" list.  I've started several, but never actually finished them.  This time, I'm going with chunky yarn and big needles.  Hopefully this won't be a big fail!!
3. Crochet mini animals.  I don't know how to crochet, but I plan to teach myself this year!  My husband bought me this crochet kit for Christmas and it has a bunch of patterns for this cute little animals that my kids are dying to have.  So.....I guess I gotta make them, right???
4. Black & white photography challenge.  I always love black and white photography.  I'm thinking about maybe documenting one month in black & white.  Doesn't that sound so fun?
5. Quilt.  Yep.  I'm going to try to quilt.  I can't sew a straight line to save my life, so this should be interesting.  I'm a good paper sewer....not so much a fabric sewer.  Hoping my mother-in-law will help me out on this one!
6. Film photography.  I really want to take a few rolls of film photography just as an experiment.  Elise does a similar project and I love how magical her photos are!!  I don't have a 35mm camera, but I'm on the hunt for one!!
7. Another weaving.  I only managed one weaving project this year, and it was a little tedious, but I'm all for trying another one.  Plus, Anna wants one for her room, so I said I would try.  (Sucker...)
8. Embroidery.  I've never tried embroidery, but I bought this cute little kit last year, but never got around to doing it.  Adding it to my list this year. 
9. Letters to my children.  Carly over at Lily and Twig has this series, Letters to my Daughters, that I have been a big fan of for a while.  I wanted to start last year, but I never did.  I tried to do a "Little Talks" series here on this blog, but that never took off either.  (Sounds like a failure waiting to happen, right???).  But...I think this is so important and I really want to try to make it happen.  I think I got too caught up in "making a page" rather than writing a letter.  Planning to keep this one simple and sweet.  

I'm sure I'll add more throughout the year!  I'm all about trying new things!!  What about you??  Are any of these on your list???  What projects do you have planned for 2015??

Happy New Year!!


Happy happy New Year to you and your family!!  2014 was just plain awesome and I know 2015 is going to be magical.  I love this little blog, and I am beyond thankful for each and every one of you who stops by my little space.  Thank you for following along and for helping make last year awesome!  I hope you will stick around for the new year!  I'll be right here....uploading photos and attempting to add some words in here and there!

Happy New Year!!
Lots of love!
xoxo

Around Here: December Edition


It has been one merry December around here!  Birthdays, parities, hot chocolate and lots of red and green!  I'm pretty sure my kids are on a constant sugar high seeing that everyday is full of sweet treats and sugary goodness.  Hoping you and your family had a magical Christmas and a very happy New Years!  Bring on 2015!


Project Life: December 2014



I'm up on the One Little Bird blog today sharing a Project Life spread from early December.  Since I complete a December Daily® album every year, I usually just add in a sprinkle of photos from our month.  I actually love putting these spreads together because they can be so photo heavy (without me feeling any guilt about not journaling)!!  :)

Here's a little peek at my spread!  I used another one of the October Afternoon page protectors with the 3x3 pockets.  This style is my new favorite!  I love uniform and cohesive everything looks (I'll blame that on Instagram)!


Peppermint's December and holiday journaling cards are outstanding.  I just love her clean, minimalistic style!!  I also include a few digital overlays/brushes before I printed my photos!  I love the effect they add!!


Hop on over to the OLB blog to see more photos and read about how my spread came together!

Creative Jumpstarts 06


It's time for another Creative Jumpstarts challenge!!  This week is all about Project Life.  I'm really loving the rotation through the different areas.....scrapbook, pocket, photo.  It's nice to mix things up every once in a while and think outside of the box and try something new!

Today's pocket challenge is to add some type of HIDDEN JOURNALING to your Project Life spreads.  This was a no-brainer for me as I love to add hidden journaling throughout my albums.  Hidden journaling usually means that I'm telling more stories and that is exactly what my goal is for next year (why not start early, right???).  Telling stories seems to encompass the "whole picture" for me.  I've been super guilty of just sliding photos in pockets and calling it done, but I really do strive for more depth and emotion in my pages.


For the most part, this spread came together very easily and quickly.  I started by printing my eight photos and then selected a few journaling cards that correlated with the month and overall "theme" of my photos.


I slipped the photos into place and then began my journaling.  I created a flip up photo card in the top left hand pocket to add in some extra journaling about my new obsession with the Serial Podcast (if you aren't listening, you just haaaaaave to!).  For the rest of my photos, I typed in small details about what was happening on that particular day.


I continued the same process on this right hand spread.  Some photos require a sentence or two...others can stand alone on their own, I think.  I also included some hidden journaling on this page by adding in a trimmed journaling card in the kraft pocket.  It holds a few notes about a movie date with the kids, as well as the movie tickets. 



I used a small paperclip and a day of the week tab along the left side of my flip up photo to act as a tab.  I love the look of the tab sticking out from the side of the page!



My finishing touches were a few stitches here and there just to hold everything in place!


And that's it!!  Be sure to hop on over to Marcy's blog to check out her take on this challenge!!

So what do you think?? Are you up for a Project Life challenge??  We'd love for you to play along with us!  I know life is super busy now, but taking time out to create is so fun and relaxing!  It's a great day to spend a few hours of alone time, right??  If you get a chance to play along, be sure to link up your project here and tag us over on Instagram (#creativejumpstarts).  

Creative Jumpstarts were created by Marcy Penner and Stephanie Bryan to challenge each other with their paper endeavors. Delivered in the form of bimonthly challenges, they encourage us (and hopefully you too) to stretch supplies, think outside of the box and to remain intentional about the memories we capture.  Challenges are posted on the first and third Mondays of every month.  Projects are shared on our blogs and on Instagram using the hashtag #creativejumpstarts. We'd love it if you'd share along with us at either of those places and be sure to tag us (@helloforeverpaperco and @stephaniebryan) if you do!

12 on the Twelfth: December Pictures


I finished up my final month of 12 on the 12th yesterday and it was definitely a little bitter sweet.  I really loved taking pictures on the 12th each month and I know I snapped a lot of our lives that probably wouldn't have been documented otherwise.  I caught glimpses of our day that seem so ordinary as you are living them, but then become so extraordinary when you look back on them.  A lot happens in a year, and having so many sweet memories recorded is priceless.  I've added the majority of these photos to my Project Life album, but I'm still contemplating creating a book just for these photos (pretty sure that's my obsession with mini albums talking).

Our 12th was a busy day....cookie making, Christmas crafts, present wrapping, playground fun and Disney on Ice.  It was purely magical.  

Making Time


Sometimes life gets so busy that we really have to "make time" to do things.  As I've gotten older (and busier), I've learned that I really do have to make the time.  I try to make time for running and exercise.  If I don't make the time, it's not going to happen.  I have to make the time for date nights and getaways....these things aren't happening on their own!  And I have to make the time to be creative.  Creating is something that I love, but let's be honest, sometimes life gets in the way of sitting down and making something.  And sometimes a busy life = a busy mind and slowing a busy mind is as challenging as slowing a busy life, right???

When I sat down and created these layouts, I literally was "making time" to do just that.  There are a zillion other things that I probably should have been doing (hello December), but creating something with paper was what I really wanted to be doing.  So I made the time.  And it was awesome.  It took me a while to switch my mind into creative mode (I don't think I've made a layout in months!!!), but once I got there, I felt the groove.  That "groovy feeling" is why I usually create several pages at once....the first page is usually the most challenging, but then the ideas flow much easier after one page is finished.  It's like cutting that first piece of paper from a kit....I approach that with such anxiety for some reason....like I'm going to ruin something or mess something up!  

These two layouts below are my "make the time" layouts.  I used up the leftovers from my Studio Calico Park Avenue Scrapbook and Project Life kits to create these pages.  The scraps and the odds and ends of leftover kits are my favorite, I think!!  (I guess it goes back to that feeling of maybe ruining something at the beginning of the process!!)



I started this first page with the two photos and a story.  I'm really trying to be more purposeful with  my pages this year.  I always say that I don't tell enough stories in my pages (and Project Life), so I'm focusing on improving that with this next year.  Every photo tells some type of story.  I just need to get in the habit of making that a priority rather than just including the details. 


I played around with the placement of my photos, but in the end decided to stack them on top of one another and include my journaling underneath.  Visually, I think your eyes are drawn to the photos, but the words are still right there waiting to be read.  I kept my embellishments pretty simple and added in chipboard frame, diamond stickers and small badge.  


I used some white alpha to spell out my title along the bottom.  I didn't want something heavy and distracting at the bottom of the page, so I felt like the white-on-white contrast was a good fit.



I created this second page with the idea of "making time" in my head.  Most of my pages are about my children, and just like telling stories, I'm trying to incorporate more of "myself" in my pages.  I try to think of it like keeping a diary or writing a journal.  These pages are little pep talks to myself.  


I was immediately drawn to moody and dramatic black & white floral paper from the Park Avenue kit.  I feel like I struggle with rocking darker papers, but I just loved this one so much that I had to find a way to make it work. 


I began by adding the a title to the front using the same (Amy Tan) alpha that I used on the page above (already had them out and handy, so why not??).  :)  The contrast between the alpha and paper really worked for me.  It brought in some of the whites of the page and help tone down the darker paper.  

I kept the remaining layers very simple and neutral by using lighter colors and smaller patterns.  


For my "story", I wrote down my thoughts on making time for myself and the things I want most in my life.  I just used a plain piece of white card stock I had sitting on my table and then added a few number stamps and star stamps on the page.  Pretty simple.

I adhered the journaling page to my paper layers and then sewed the black & white floral paper along the right hand side to create a lift up flap.  


To finish this page, I added a photo of myself in a chipboard frame and included a small triangle chipboard piece next to it.  

So, the "take away" from these pages is to make time!  Make time for yo' self and what you want!  Make time to create and have fun and be you.  There's no better you than you!  

And to help you get all the supplies you need to make time to create, Studio Calico is offering up an awesome Christmas deal!!  If you have been on the fence about subscribing to Studio Calico, now is your chance!!  Right now they have an awesome promo where you receive a FREE ADD-ON if you start a new subscription (promo code: DEC14SUB)!  I created the two layouts you see above, my Barcelona mini album and TWO Project Life spreads (which I will be sharing soon) with just two kits!!  I swear their kits are jam-packed and last foooooorever!!  So.....hurry on over and sign on up!  






Barcelona Mini Album

My Barcelona mini album is

fiiiiiiiiinally

finished and I am so excited to share it here on my blog!!  I swear that finishing a mini album is about as exciting as it gets.  And I'm not really sure why I love working on them so much (since they take for.ever.), but I really do.  There is something so awesome about having a book of memories you can hold in the palm of your hands.  My favorite thing about minis is all the texture and dimension the album has.  Sometimes I feel like you lose a little part of that when you slide everything into a page protector, you know???

This project sat on the back burner for a while because I really couldn't figure out how to tackle all of my photos.  I wanted a bunch of different sizes, but really did not want to open them in PS, resize them, layer them on an 8.5x11 canvas, print, trim....yada yada yada.  I love printing at home, but I decided to make things easier and have them printed through a service.  I use Persnickety Prints for all of my enlargements, so I uploaded all of my photos, printed them in various sizes and waited (impatiently...which is about one day) for them to ship!  I am always amazed at how quickly I get my "your prints are ready to be shipped" email from Persnickety!  They are so fast and the quality is superb!!  (And nope....this is not an advertisement...just my honest-to-goodness opinion.)

My next obstacle was the album.  I went back and forth and tried out a few that I had here at home and finally decided on this fun black diamond binder from Target.  I'm pretty sure this is just a plain old "school" binder, but it worked for me.  It originally had a spine with three binder rings attached, but I couldn't make my photo sizes AND the spine/rings work together.  So.....I cut off the front and back of the binder, punched my own holes and created a mini album.  Love. 

I used a lot of the

Park Avenue Scrapbook

and

Project Life kits

throughout this album.  I just shuffled through all the papers, cards and embellishments and selected ones that fit with my photos.  I also used a few different travel themed papers (some from

Studio Calico

and some from

October Afternoon

) that I have been hoarding just for this book!

I began the album with a few layers.  I love having papers and photos of various sizes throughout my albums.  I think it makes for such an interesting read....you always wonder what's on the next page!!!

I added an office supply tab and "Barcelona 2014" to the outer edge of the first photo.  It kind of acts as a lift tab and a label!

I tried to stick with a system of backing my photos with additional photos (although I ran out of some sizes and had to use patterned paper in a few spots).  This helped with the ease of building my book and took out some of that confusing guess work when getting started with a mini album!  

Finding and sticking with a system is definitely key to completing a mini album.  Once you have a system in place, I find it's easier to play around and get creative!

I trimmed a piece of the gold foil scratch off paper from the

Park Avenue Scrapbook kit

to include both the US and Spain and added it here at the beginning of my book.  I debated scratching off NC and Spain, but I just couldn't do it.  It's just too pretty!!  I need about 50 more of these, please!!  

I kept my embellishments pretty simple throughout the album.  I felt like the book was already busy enough as it was with all of the pages and photos.

Adding simple stickers, wood veneer and labels are really all you need in a mini album

(although I've been known to go a little crazy in mini albums before so don't judge!!).

I saved all of our room keys, menus, coasters, business cards, etc. (basically anything was legal to take I took!).  I punched a hole in them and added most of them directly into my album.  

I included just a few words here and there about our trip and the different places we visited.  I'm seriously not the best when it comes to adding in stories.  I usually just stick with the details, and I'm totally ok with that.  My goal is to focus more on stories next year.  We shall see how that goes!! 

The page above is a fold out brochure from our hotel.  I wanted to use it as it was in the book, so I trimmed down a page protector to fit the last page and then sewed my edges shut.  Now I can fold out the brochure without having to remove it from the book!!  These interactive bits are my favorite!

I used a few different pieces of wood veneer on my photos to added some texture and dimension.  Wood veneer is so super versatile and classic!

I had a few extra photos and brochures that I couldn't make work with the ring spacing of the album, so I altered several page protectors and added in all of the extras!

For the page above, I trimmed a two pocket 4x6 page protector down to 4x4 and added my four square photos.  

I did a similar altercation here, but first I slipped the brochure into a 6x8 pocket, sewed along the edge of the brochure and then trimmed off the remaining plastic.  I find that this is really the easiest way to sew on these page protectors.  If you I try to trim first and then sew, the plastic usually moves leaving a few wrinkles on my page.  

And to finish my album I added in a

Becky Higgins 6x8 Small Envelope

 full of all the photos and memorabilia that didn't make it into the album.  Some are duplicates (like the Instax photos) and some I just wasn't sure how to incorporate.  I may go back and add them in (bwahahaha). 

I trimmed the "Just Start" Project Life card to fit into the front pocket.  I love the phrase for the ending of a book, and I especially love the bold black color in contrast with all of the goodies!!

So there you have it!  A jam-packed Barcelona mini album!!  Although it looks like a lot of work, I promise you that taking the photos of the finished pages and writing up this post took me longer.  :)

I love mini albums, though!  They are worth 100% of the effort!!  

Thank you sooooooo much for joining me today!!  I hope I have inspired you to document your travels!!  

Things I Love: December Edition

I cannot tell you how excited I am to be a part of the Studio Calico Creative Team for this upcoming year.  I found Studio Calico through Ali Edwards' blog years ago.  It was the very first place where I learned all about "scrapbooking" and supplies galore.  I began subscribing in late 2010, learned what a brad and a tiny attacher and a mini album was, and continued my subscription for about a year.  I found myself swamped with supplies (since I really only hoarded the products) and decided to take a little break in 2011.  I think I lasted about one month before I just HAD to re-subscribe.  Getting those kits each month is just like Christmas morning all over again.  And now, to think that I'm a part of the Studio Calico team is a dream come true!!  I am so looking forward to sharing sooooooo many fun projects and plans with you this year!  2015 is just going to be awesome!!  

One of the things I really want to do this year is to create monthly "favorite" boards.  I always love when people create these fun little boards (Elise's are my favorite) and so I figured I would join in on the fun!  Plus, I just looooooooove blogging, so....

Here are some of my December faves from Studio Calico!!
1: Hand Drawn Stars Die Cut - this star shape is my favorite and I'm actually hoarding a few packs of the wood veneer ones in my craft room!  I love that this die lets me create any color star!  Plus, dies are so fast and easy to use that you just can't beat them!!
2: Sparkle with Shanna Noel - Shanna is just an inspiration in and of herself, so this class to me is a no brainer!!  Whatever she makes turns to gold, so I know for sure that this class will totally sparkle!!
3: Park Avenue Printable by Hello Forever - it's probably pretty obvious that I love everything Marcy makes.  Her style is so clean and classic, and so darn versatile!  I have fun plans for these babies!!
4: Project Life Black Journaling Pen - this is my go-to pen for journaling.  It's so smooth and easy, and I love that you can purchase various sized tips.  The .03 is my favorite.  
5: Word Stickers by Hello Forever - Yup.  More goodies from Hello Forever.  I use these stickers on layouts, mini albums and especially in my Project Life album!!  You just can't go wrong with these!
6: Kiss Kiss Resin Candy Hearts - I know the big "love" day is a ways off, but I seriously gasped when I saw these.  I'm sucker for anything pink and hearts, so....I just had to have these!

Are any of these goodies on your wish list???  



In Progress

I love having projects "in progress".  I love seeing little piles of papers and stacks of photos scattered on top of my desk.  And yes, I'm a self-proclaimed neat freak, but man do I like a pretty mess!!  My room is a little "messy" right now, but these projects are just making me so happy!!

I have a lot of projects in progress right now and they are all so fun!!


Of course, I have my December Daily® album out and open alllllll.the.time.  I've really enjoyed working on it a little each day, and I'm remembering why it's so awesome to put together some type of foundation page prior to the month beginning!  They really do take out most of the guess-work as far as photos needed and photo placement.  I've had to be a little flexible with some of my days, and I'm totally ok with that.  I'm all about making things easy and fun.



I'm also working on my Barcelona mini album from my trip to Spain this past July.  I typically finish my trip mini albums shortly after the vacation ends, but I am totally smitten with doing it months later.  I love looking back through all of the photos and memorabilia.  And even though our trip was months ago, I still feel like I can get the gist of our vacation packed into this little book!!

I started with a binder that I picked up at Target, but it wasn't working for me, so I cut out the middle rings, punched holes and added my own book rings.  So.much.better.now.  I think it was just a little too rigid for me before.  I love a good handmade book!!  The book is going to be pretty photo heavy, but I did I pull out my Studio Calico Park Avenue Scrapbook Kit and Project Life Kit to add in a few extras.  The scrapbook kit may be one of my very favorite kits to date.  The gold foil scratch off map paper must have been included in there just for me!!  I trimmed that piece right up to create a few pages in my album!



And my favorite project right now.... I'm working on sending out all of my cards from my A Beautiful Mess Happy Mail kit. Sending letters and cards is ALWAYS on my to-do list, but as I mentioned on Instagram, it ALWAYS gets pushed to the back burner for some reason.  I always mean to pick up cards, or make them, but I never do.  The Happy Mail kit is going to change all of that for sure!  I've mailed out about 5 of the cards, so I only have a few more to go.  Just trying to figure out who should get the "Spank You Very Much" one, LOL!  :)

I have a zillion more projects on my list to do, as well as a zillion projects on Pinterest that I would love to get to one day!!  But every time I hop on Pinterest to find one thing to make, I fall into the Pin-world and can't easily get out!!  That place is a total time suck.  

What about you??  What are you working on?  Do you have piles all around your room as well?

The Big Four


I blinked and this sweet boy turned four on me yesterday.  I've been telling him for months that we were just skipping his birthday this year in hopes that he wouldn't turn another year older.  I just can't stand that my babies are growing up!!

This little guy is something else.  He is the sweetest and funniest little guy I know.  He can make me belly laugh like none other.  He loves giving hugs and tells me he loves me a zillion times every day.  I am so thankful to be his momma.  God graced me with this special little man and I am going to love on him every single day.


Happy birthday, my love.  You bring so much love and laughter to our lives and we are forever grateful for you.

xoxo,
Momma

Around Here



Welcome to this week's photo dump.....or my "around here" post, as I like to call it.  These posts are slowly becoming one of my favorite.  There is no fluff or words that I have to write.  It's just our life documented.  These posts make me take more photos of our day, and they make me get them off of my phone and camera, so that's a win-win to me!!  They also remind me of all that I have to be thankful for!  It's so easy to get wrapped up in the everyday....and it's so easy to always look to Instagram or social media to feel like you aren't "doing enough".  My life isn't picture perfect, but I do like to focus on the positive and all that makes me happy.  Being with my family makes me happy, and taking photos makes me so happy.  Combining them both is just plain awesome!  

So...happy Sunday to you and your family!  Go get those photos off of your computer and create a photo collage!