Project Life, Weeks 42-43 and a double digi page

It's hard to believe I've completed over 40 weeks of this Project Life thing. I moved the huge album holding the first half of the year onto a shelf in our living room, and I love just seeing it there, knowing I have so many memories and little moments captured. My boys are growing and changing so fast I can't keep up, and being able to look back even a few months is precious. I really do love this project!
Now, on to the good stuff :)

Week 42

Quite a few digital cards and a couple tags made it onto this week's spread. Digital elements from Essential Everyday by Traci Reed and Studio Basic, and Seasons Change by Traci Reed and Kristin Cronin-Barrow. Paper supplies from Studio Calico, Gossamer Blue, Scraptastic, Cocoa Daisy, and more. 

Week 43

Week 43 was not a fun week to live through, but it was fun to scrap! The True Story cards and printables by Traci Reed were perfect for documenting both the good and bad parts of our week. The title card by Scraptastic matched the colors perfectly, and I just added a few wood veneer pieces here and there to finish it off. Love how cohesive the whole spread and insert are (contrary to my usual, throw-everything-I-love-together mishmash!). It was a hard week emotionally, but I'm glad I captured the details. I suppose we'll laugh about it all later, right?

Double Digi Page

Just for fun! I scrapped this two-pager with some of Traci Reed's Digital Scrapbook Day releases this past weekend! I'm so excited about Christmas, I turned on some Christmas music, poured myself a mug of hot cider, and dived headfirst into all the pretty holiday stuff. This is my first attempt pairing a "regular" page with a pocket-style page and I'm thrilled with how it turned out. May do more of these!

365Unscripted - December 4x6 Collages
365Unscripted - Slipins 2
Naughty & Nice Collection

That's all I've got today, but I'll be back soon to share some of my 30 Days of Gratitude, Project Life-style. It's pretty much taking over November in my PL book!

Project Life, Week 36

I finally got the last few photos printed from Riah's birthday for my week 36 layout. My baby is 2!!! Wow. I kept it simple with one of my favorite inserts, Design I, to include some Instagram and other photos I snapped during the day. I've been enjoying using the Rhonna Farrer app to add cute overlays, text, and designs to my photos right in the phone, which minimizes the time I spend editing on my computer each week. Some weeks I actually do all the editing and ordering prints from my phone - isn't technology amazing?! I do want to work on taking more DSLR pictures, though.

On the left side, I worked in a few little hybrid touches. The "letter b" collage is from the 365: Unscripted 3x4 collage cards, by Traci Reed, with a paper and letter from her recent collab Virtuoso. I printed that "Together is the best place to be" overlay (I think it's from my Studio Calico class) onto transparency paper. Paper products used include Studio Calico cards and that awesome Scraptastic "Feeling Like This" stamp. Plus my usual washi, veneer, and sequins :)

More hybrid here including the chalkboard card from Traci Reed's Mr. Mister cards, a Studio Calico freebie (polaroid picture), and the Rhonna Farrer app. And it's a little hard to see in the photo, but there's a days of the week overlay on the middle right journaling card. That's from Traci's 365Unscripted: 3x4 Transparencies 2 set. Next time I print transparencies I'll be sure to make the colors darker!

I wrote a short letter to Riah and tucked it in a little pocket behind his photo. I did the same thing for Avyn this year, and hope I remember to make that a tradition for each birthday now!

And here's the insert. I took several videos throughout the day to share with family who couldn't celebrate with us, and after some trial and error, managed to (hopefully!) create QR codes that link to those videos. I should probably test that...

Week 37 happens to be Ali Edwards' Week in the Life project, and I chose to participate again this year. I won't have it all finished until next week, but it will be several spreads and inserts. Basically I did it as a more in-depth Project Life style. I'm also still keeping up with 30 Lists, following along with Fat Mum Slim's photo a day on Instagram, and just started a class I won, Picture Everyday, at Big Picture Classes. Whew. Busy month for memory-keeping, but I'm loving it. Keeps my mind off the more depressing stuff of life, and I really need that right now.

Project Life, Week 35

We started (home)school this week, along with about half the country, and I spent an unhealthy amount of time searching for the perfect filler card to document it. A friend on my Project Life facebook group linked me to an adorable free card by Jennifer Valencia at Pixels & Co, and it's perfect. So now, I can finally share my pages.

I wanted to use that Story card, which is actually the back side of a card I used on last week's layout, so I switched things up and moved my title card over a slot. My brain is only twitching a little bit.

I played with several new stamps this week, including my August Scraptastic and Gossamer Blue ones, and a couple foodie stamps. The coffee card is one I made for a green-themed card swap. Love how it turned out!

You probably can't tell, but I attached sequins on the pool photo with French knots! Another new, useful technique. See that little mustache clip poking up? I wanted to include a funny story about Cai but ran out of room, so I tucked another card in. Here it is pulled out:

And the back reads: 
"I tried tape, and glue, and sparkling glue, but NOTHING WORKS for all that stuff!" Think I better go check my craft supplies. Cai and his imagination crack me up.

I love that kid. He takes ideas and scenarios from TV shows, and runs with it, coming up with far crazier situations than TV writers could ever dream up!

So there's week 35! I'll be back in a couple days with my first week's worth of lists for 30 Days of Lists. It's not too late to sign up if you want to join me!

Project Life, Week 34 and Transparency

No, not the bare-my-soul, no-holds-barred kind of transparency. I'm not brave enough for that. I did muster up the courage this week to try printable transparencies, though! After waiting impatiently for the box to arrive from Amazon, adding color to the 365Unscripted: 3x4 Transparencies 2 set from Traci Reed, and then a few false starts while my printer refused to cooperate, I finally had my very own sheets of customized transparent overlays.

If you find yourself with an obstinate printer, try taping the transparency to a sheet of plain white paper. Tape it very well all along the top and bottom edges (using colorful washi tape is optional, but obviously preferable). This tricked my printer into thinking nothing unusual was going on.

I love the impact these transparencies add to my photos and cards, without adding extra bulk to the album. I attached them three different ways: Paper clip, cleverly hidden tiny glue dots, and mini staples. Sorry about the glare, I still haven't perfected my in-pocket photography. If you have any tips, I'd love to hear them!

And now, on to the whole week. In addition to the transparencies by Traci (I used four of them over the week's spread), I also printed some word art and star elements from her new One of the Guys kit. The "made with love" 4x6 and woodgrain 3x4 cards, the "family time" wordart, and the plate/knife/fork cutout are from Studio Basic's Cook.Eat.Love collection. Most everything else this week is from Scraptastic's August This Life Noted kit.

Ahh that title card. I'm in love. I used gesso and watercolor techniques, along with printables, from the Studio Calico Toolbox class. An Ormolu flair and some enamel dots coordinate perfectly. The Love This Life die-cut was left over from July's kit.

I created my own coffee cup embellishment by stamping onto green paper and fussy cutting (the coffee stamp is from Studio Calico's July Project Life kit). That little Saturday journaling card is also from Studio Calico. And that wraps up this fun week! I can't wait to print more transparencies!

Project Life, Week 33 and Gossamer Blue Review

Last week, I decided to use my new Gossamer Blue August Life Pages kit almost exclusively. I also created a couple hybrid cards from Traci Reed and Ju Kneipp's new kit, Virtuoso, to accent one son's artsy adventures, and another son's messy adventures (which is so very descriptive of their personalities!).
Gossamer Blue entered the Project Life-style kit club scene in August, and their debut kit is pretty slick. A good variety of embellishments, exclusive custom-designed cards (by one of my favorite designers, Traci Reed), and a commitment-free structure. Subscribers, however, do receive some perks, like the printables that were possibly my favorite part of the kit. I adored all the little tags, icons, word strips, and more.

This month featured a travel theme, which wouldn't have been my first choice, since we rarely travel. But, it was an interesting challenge to incorporate the themed cards and embellishments in my spread, and especially with our trip to the Kiddie Park mid-week, I managed quite well. 

I like the perfectly-sized sentiments in the stamp set, and I used the circle outline a few times. I may even use the outline stamps to create some custom tags to have on hand for future spreads. 

Week 33, left side

Week 33, insert front

Week 33, insert back

I pulled supplies from all over for the insert, including digital paper by Rachel Young at The Lilypad, and a stamp (Mini Magical Moments) by CD Muckosky, also at The Lilypad. Those fun gold letterpress cards were a bonus for new Gossamer Blue subscribers. I love the bit of shine they add, even if it doesn't totally match my spread. I'm all about mixing and matching! I also experimented with stitching and watercolors this week, another technique inspired by the Toolbox class I'm taking at Studio Calico. (Ignore the blank 4x4 spot, I forgot to print one of my photos, I'll just throw it in with next week's batch.)

Week 33, left side and insert front

Week 33, insert back and right side

Week 33, right side

Gossamer Blue's kit contents are very competitive, with the "standard" 24 3x4 cards and 6 4x6 cards, plus an additional 3x4 and 4x6 vellum card, a generous two alpha sheets, plus enamel dots, label/arrow stickers, and more. I appreciate the mix of sequins, clips, washi, and wood veneers, rather than having a whole package of just one or two embellishments. 

The only two negatives, in my opinion, were the rather flimsy and almost too-small packaging holding the cards (I like to keep my cards in the protective plastic, but these were so thin they ripped quickly), and the color scheme of the sticker and alpha sheets. The colors, especially the bold blue and red, just didn't seem to match the cards. I'll definitely use them, but probably not with this set of cards. 

Overall, I'm very happy with the kit, and looking forward to September's! From the sneaks I've seen, it's even better than August!

Project Life, Weeks 31-32

Lots of hybrid fun these weeks, courtesy of the first few lessons in the Studio Calico Toolbox class I'm taking this month. It's my first SC class, and I'm really enjoying it. Week two is mixed media, so I'm guessing my next couple weeks of PL will get a bit messy! It's fun to mix things up, I have to try new stuff or I get bored. I'm sure it would be quicker to stick with the same style/theme/products/etc each week, but I just can't craft like that. I sure admire those who can, though, and end up with a beautifully coordinated book! Mine is a mismatched mess LOL!!

Week 31

This week I used primarily Scraptastic, and several of the cards were inspired by challenges for their 3rd birthday celebration. I finally used confetti in a pocket! That cute Enjoy Life card is from a recent card swap I participated in. The last 4x6 card I'm particularly proud of, I actually stitched strips of paper together - quite an achievement on my miniature craft sewing machine!

Week 32

This week I used more Studio Calico stuff, from my July Project Life kit and printables from the Toolbox class. Several of the cards I designed in Photoshop and then printed and embellished, and I am in love with how they turned out. How fun is that pie chart?! I confess, I hadn't seen the pie chart appeal yet, but I think I'm hooked now. 

I also used a fun technique from the Toolbox class on the "Sweet Sunshine" photo, by "removing" Avyn from the picture and typing the text, then popping him back on top. I really enjoy taking the time to incorporate my digital skills and supplies into my PL album. It's like including mini scrapbook pages every week!

Project Life, Week 27

Wow, only one week to share in this post?! I don't even recognize this blog anymore, all up to date and everything! I enjoyed liberally splashing my 4th of July/USA themed stuff on this spread, and I love how it turned out. I bought the 4th of July kit from Paper Issues and boy was it packed!! That's where most of the bits came from, but I also added pieces from my Studio Calico kits, and a healthy smattering of digital goodies from Michelle Godin (Snarky Snippets Summer), Traci Reed (Hashtag cards), Gennifer Bursett (Anchored papers), One Little Bird Designs (Carson Park elements), and Cathy Zielske (Photo Flags). I got a little printer-happy this week.

Did you scrap anything holiday-related for Independence Day, or include any fun themed products? I'd love to see it! 

Project Life, Weeks 25-26

With these two weeks, I've finished the first half of 2013, and I'm fairly certain this is the longest I've ever stuck with a project! I love it! With the stressful, crazy turns our lives have taken this year, dealing with my boys' health needs, I haven't had the time or mental energy to keep up very well with most of my previous scrapbook blogging and creative team commitments. Still dealing with the guilt over that. But somehow, this paper-hybrid form of scrapbooking doesn't trip the same "stress" triggers as the CT stuff, maybe because it's pretty much just for me? Either way, I've truly enjoyed completing each week. Working with physical product, making pretty pages, has refreshed my love of this whole hobby and I've gradually found myself falling back in love with digital scrapbooking, too. But, after playing with paper, my digital scrapping has changed. I'm more aware of how my pages would look "in real life," and I tend to make element choices now based on realism, and things I might choose for paper pages. I wouldn't say my style changed, but I think it's improved. Maybe I'll share a few of my recent digi pages here soon. But on to the good stuff!

Week 25

Cards and embellishments from Studio Calico's Project Life kits, Traci Reed and Paislee Press' Frolic cards, Traci Reed's Freestyle Frames, Traci Reed's 4x6 collages, Becky Higgins' Jade kit, Simple Stories' I {Heart} Summer Snap cuts, AC glitter tape, SC stars and arrows stickers.

Week 26

Quite proud of my hybrid cards this week. I used Gennifer Bursett's Anchored papers to design the striped "Color" card and the blue ombre card. Also printed two cards from Traci Reed and Sugarplum Paperie's Coast to Coast set, and added some digital touches with Traci's Freestyle Frames and Everyday Scribbles. Finally found a use for the 4x6 photo overlay that came in my June SC Project Life kit. More cards/embellies from SC kits, various letter stickers, and washi finished off the week.

Project Life, Weeks 23-24 - VACATION!

I am incredibly excited to be posting these pages less than 3 weeks after returning from our vacation! I can't believe I got photos chosen, edited, ordered and picked up, completely scrapped, and then the layouts photographed and uploaded in this time frame. It definitely wouldn't have happened if I was doing regular digi or paper layouts, or if I wasn't caught up on my album.
In case my process/experience can help anyone else, I thought I'd share a few other tips that helped me finish my vacation pages in record time:

• I brought a notebook and selection of journaling cards on the trip, and jotted down memories and notes on most days. This way I had most of my journaling, and even some of the cards, ready to go. I also pulled from Facebook and Instagram.
• I downloaded photos from my mom and sisters' cameras/phones onto my laptop, and copied photos I thought I might use into a special trip folder.
• Whenever I had a little downtime on the trip, while watching TV, etc., I went through photos, edited, selected my favorites, put together collages, and basically prepped for printing. 
• Before the trip, I chose the main products I wanted to work with and put together a sort of "kit" for the project, ordering some items and shopping my stash for other bits and pieces that might work. This made it a lot quicker to actually scrap.
• Walgreens happened to run a $.10 print sale that expired shortly after we returned, so I had a little extra motivation to get those pictures printed. 
• Once I had the prints in hand, I sat down with my journal, a list of page protector designs, and some paper and sketched out my layouts. Then I stuck all the photos in their (approximate) slot. This changed a little as I went through and scrapped, but not much. Having the majority of the design part done, knowing where my photos, journaling, and memorabilia would go, really sped up the process!
• Keep it simple.

Although I pulled in plenty of bits and pieces from my stash, I mainly relied on Simple Stories' Urban Traveler collection and 4x6 paper pad, and their new I {Heart} Summer 4x6 paper pad. I also picked up a couple packs of MAMBI cards from Michaels, in their travel and summer themes. The rest of the cards are from Studio Calico, a few random ones purchased in sets from Paper Issues, and some special ones from a couple card swaps I participated in recently.

I'm not sure of the best way to share all these, so I think I'll just dump them all in here and add notes underneath certain layouts where applicable. Here we go!

The first spread includes a sort of "intro" page, and two photos I happened to have leftover at the end. The right side is from Monday - all day traveling and I completely forgot to take ANY photos at the airport! Oh well. I made do with a couple terrible shots from someone's camera that night at my parents' townhome!

All of the above layouts are from Tuesday, when we ventured into downtown D.C. for sightseeing, all three boys in tow. It was quite an adventure! The weather was gorgeous, the sights stunning. I didn't want to limit myself when we took so many photos, made so many memories, so I just kept going until all my favorites fit! I included a 12z12 page protector to stick in all that "memorabilia" you accumulate when traveling, especially to museums. I love brochures. 

Wednesday we didn't do much, since Avyn got very sick. I'm missing one photo from the Tuesday/Wednesday page, as I got it from my sister after everything else was printed. I keep forgetting to print it off. Thursday we went to a local park that had a carousel and train, so that obviously deserved several pages! 

Josh and I were blessed with an overnight stay at the Washington Marriott, one of the hotels Dad is DoE for.  After traveling in with my sister Liz, and spending Friday touring with her, we thoroughly enjoyed the time alone Friday night (including a fancy dinner) and Saturday. Truly special time, first overnight alone since we had kids!

While we were away, my parents and siblings entertained and took excellent care of our boys. They picked strawberries, got haircuts, played in the water, and generally had a blast! 

I celebrated my 28th birthday on June 9, couldn't imagine a better day than with my family! I did miss my sister, though, whose birthday is only 2 days before mine (and two years later :)).The boys enjoyed the train at the mall, and I was happy to get my huge birthday Starbucks!

Isn't that Hello tag/card adorable? One of my swap buddies in a PL Facebook group made it. Perfect touch for the page about meeting the new foals. The blue arrow and black and white Smile card are also swap cards I received. 

Another day of multiple pages! Our trip to the splash pad couldn't possibly fit on one page. My boys adore the water like they're part fish. I adore using cute summery filler/journal cards!

We got home late Thursday night, and spent the weekend recovering (plus Josh worked), so I lumped Friday through Sunday in here too. Those CUTE diecuts are from a sweet friend who cut me a bunch of stuff on her Silhouette, since I don't have one! I want one. Like, really bad. Almost as much as I want Radlab. But thanks to an awesome birthday gift, I may soon be playing with Radlab! Can't wait!

If you made it all the way down here, you're probably either my family, or incredibly bored. Either way, thanks for looking! I'll be back later this week with weeks 25 and 26.