Project Life, Weeks 7 and 8

Two more weeks! At this rate, maybe I'll be caught up with the blogging by end of next week, and I can start posting each week as I complete it.
I also had a moment of insanity and ordered the Jade Project Life kit from HSN last week. At first, I thought about doing a 2012 album, but then my brain returned from its coffee break and remembered I already have plenty of digital pages scrapped for the last couple of years. I do want to complete a baby book for each of the boys at some point, but I'm holding out for the Baby Editions, if I even do those in paper.
Then I remembered all the boxes and envelopes full of photos from my childhood and teenage years, before digital cameras took over. I think I'll begin sorting through those, and figure out a way to get them all in an album(s) with the Jade edition. Because obviously I need another huge project to fill my spare time.
Week Seven

 

This week I used another insert to document Valentine's Day. Since Josh worked all day, I focused on the three people I love second-best in life - my boys! We went to the park, decorated hearts, and spent quality time together. I love all the pretty cards I worked into this week's spread! Most are from Studio Calico's February Project Life kit.I also included a cute chevron camera die-cut and some wood veneer I picked up at Paper Issues (my new favorite online scrapbooking shop!).

Week Eight

Week eight documents my latest shopping loves - Paper Issues and TJ Maxx. I also dipped into digi again, with a printed speech bubble card from Michelle Godin's Snarky Snippets: Awesome and a hashtag card by Traci Reed. I also got a little washi-crazy this week. Well, crazier than normal. 

Project Life, Weeks 5 and 6

Chugging right along, after this post I'll be caught up to the halfway point with posting! I'm staying current with my album so far, and love experimenting every week with new products and techniques. So much fun to play with paper stuff again!

Week Five 

On the left side, I started with a Seafoam title card, Dear Lizzy Fancy glitter foam Thickers, a Twine and Ink star (from a Studio Calico PL kit), and my Smash date stamp. The first 4x6 photo is all digital, with lovey-dovey goodies from The Lilypad's February BYOC. The little boy journal card is from This&That by Lori Whitlock. Then more digi embellishing, a Seafoam journal card, Smash stickies, washi, a little Chic Tag, vellum arrow from a Studio Calico kit, and a Pebbles word label.

Love this layout! This week I really delved into my digital supplies, inspired by the beautiful stuff in The Lilypad's February BYOC (Build Your Own Collection, a whole bunch of coordinating, mix-and-match digital supplies released every month). The top right 4x6 and the second 3x4 cards include digital elements printed right onto my photos. The top left 4x6 includes some more bits from This&That line by Lori Whitlock. I'm super proud of the hidden journaling pocket I created with my favorite washi on the top right! See that little tab? Cute, right?! I stuck a vellum arrow, Dear Lizzy brad, and Tim&Beck alpha stickers on top of my pocket. 

Also seen on this side: Seafoam journal card, Studio Calico labels and calendar card, more washi, and lots of alpha stickers! I'm kinda obsessed with them, especially the tiny ones. So perfect for Project Life! Oh, and I prettied up the calendar card with a stamp from Studio Calico's 34th Street kit. 

Week Six

 

I dabbled with spray ink and masks this week. Not entirely successfully, but I think the title card is pretty :). The number is American Crafts Jewelry Box Thickers, and the Week letters are Martha Stewart (hurrah for Michael's clearance!). A mix of Studio Calico February PL kit, Seafoam, and one printed-out journal card. Those sweet little circles are also printed out, from the Dotted: Love Edition by Amy Martin. I even managed to size them currently to use the only circle punch I own. I'm ridiculously proud of that hybrid accomplishment. The kitchen photo is decorated with elements from Karla Dudley's Damselle collection.

I thought those Facebook status cards by Peppermint Creative added the perfect touch! Added two more Studio Calico cards, some tags and badges from Evalicious, and of course the washi! 

I managed to include some actual ephemera this week, a discharge summary from the doctor for Riah, a birthday party invite, and a couple tickets from a men's dinner my husband took our oldest son to. The invitation lifts up to reveal a collage of photos from the party.

Thanks for looking!

Project Life, Weeks Two, Three, and Four

In my effort to catch up, I'll cut down on the monologue this time :) - just a few brief comments and notes after each week's pages about what supplies I used. 

Week Two

Lots of photos this week, as we celebrated my son's 4th birthday party! I used quite a bit from my Seafoam kit this week, along with a few cards & embellies from the Studio Calico Project Life January kit. More of Lili's photo collages. And washi. You won't see a week without washi. I even worked in some digital washi on the 4x6 collage in the bottom left slot of Week 3's left side.

Week Three

Lots of pictures again. My parents were visiting over weeks 2 and 3, and we did a lot of fun activities. My life isn't usually so exciting. I was excited to use that adorable "Hello My Name Is" card this week (from the SC January Project Life kit), for my son's actual birthday. 

Week Four

I used an insert for the first time this week! Walgreens came out with a new app (or at least it's new to me), Printicular, which lets you select images from your Instagram feed and print 4x4 matte photos in one hour! Pretty much changed my ever-lovin Project Life, uh, life. I really like the quality and feel of these 4x4 photos, although I'm not always thrilled with the quality of their regular 4x6 prints.
A friend in my Project Life Facebook "support group" sent me a goodie envelope packed with journal cards, tags, etc. and I worked in a couple of those this week, along with my regular stuff.
Wow... goodbye January!

Project Life, Set-up and Week One

So I decided, again, to get over my guilt and resurrect this blog. I want a place to post my Project Life pages, because I LOVE doing them and I want to talk about it!
No pressure on myself at this point, no big plans - just my own little corner of the web to share my crafty adventures.

My Project Life Setup

Cover Page

I know everyone has a different basic "plan" for Project Life, and I figured this is a good place to start. I'm using the Seafoam core kit, big pack of Design A page protectors, and a WRMK 12x12 Aqua album. 

I also subscribe to the Studio Calico Project Life kit. I've known since last fall that I wanted to start this project in 2013, so I jumped on the waiting list waaaay back when it was first announced (early November maybe?). I love getting a coordinated set of supplies every month with fun embellishments, matching alpha, and cute journal cards. 

Week 1 spread

I also usually work in a little hybrid fun each week, whether that's a whole journal card(s) or some word strips, tags, or other embellishments I print and cut out. I usually use Designs by Lili's photo collages to arrange my pictures, and sometimes I add a digital stamp or embellishment on a photo before printing. 

Most of my printing is done through Walgreens, I love the 1-hour convenience. I also print some at home, on my little photo printer. For hybrid stuff I use the awesome Epson Premium Matte Presentation paper. 

Week One

I decided to start with Monday, December 31st, to keep a full week together. Plus it was fun to document how we "closed out" 2012!

For my cover page and Week 1 spread, I used cards and embellishments from the Studio Calico kit and Seafoam, plus a couple other pieces of paper from my stash and digital items I printed. The NYE card uses Designs by Lili's Photo Collages 4. My favorite cards are the pieces I cut from my kids' art project! Oh - and lots of washi. I love washi tape. 

The potty people on my cover page are spritzed with various spray inks, and I designed my own little "you right now" cards for each of my kids. If I ever get a decent photo of me and my husband, I'll add that somewhere. 

So that's week one! I plan to catch up my blogging by posting a few weeks at a time until I'm current. 

World Card Making Day

I couldn't not make cards today, since it's World Card Making Day! Paper Issues on Facebook also inspired me to blog and share my creations.
My mom is visiting this week, and we enjoyed time together today, including a trip to Michael's and Hobby Lobby (one of my favorite mother-daughter activities!). I fit in a little crafting time before supper, and this is what I came up with:

So I'm still a little obsessed with washi tape. That's okay, it's awesome. The top and bottom card were created mostly with Simon Says Stamp's May 2012 card kit. And did you notice the pretty glitter clouds on the middle card? I used Mod Podge for those. Holds the glitter perfectly without shedding!
Now I'm off to enjoy the time with my mom! Happy crafting!

Currently...

Photo Collage template by Designs by Lili

Currently, I am...

• Reading Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness and Satisfy My Thirsty Soul by Linda Dillow.
• Writing in my new planner from Paper Coterie.
• Playing Chefville on Facebook, and Words with Friends on my iPhone.
• Watching Vampire Diaries on Netflix, and season premieres of my favorite shows this week. 
• Trying to be patient, and remember that God created my children with their own unique personalities, and He chose me to be their mother.
• Cooking another Pinterest recipe, Crockpot Pizza. Definitely a success!
• Drinking a Coke my hubby brought home for me. So sweet of him!
• Calling my mom, the WIC office, and my therapist.
• Pinning these Whole Wheat Pumpkin Spice Latte muffins, this pretty Twinkle, Twinkle card, and the cutest DIY Instagram-inspired necklace.
• Tweeting about contests to win craft supplies or pretty things. Which is pretty much the only thing I use Twitter for nowadays. 
• Crafting in my Smash book, documenting our family trip to Indiana. A little hybrid, a little washi tape, lots of journaling on little note cards.
• Scrapping a page about Riah and my dear friend Ashley's daughter Grace meeting and becoming friends, and how I wish we lived closer. 
• Doing too much, never enough, cooking, cleaning, dishes, laundry, cuddling kids, playing blocks and trains, being a mom. 
• Going to the grocery store, to counseling, to the park.
• Loving my family. So intensely, dramatically, sometimes frustratingly, but always loving them. 
• Hating how I always blame myself and pile on the guilt. 
• Re-Discovering the joy of crafting with my hands, creating jewelry and papery stuff. 
• Enjoying my son Avyn's language explosion, and his sweet, affectionate personality. 
• Thinking about some advice I've received, and how perfect it is. 
• Feeling tired, as usual. A little introspective. Sad about some things. Excited about new opportunities.
• Missing my sister so much. She left Wednesday to go home and start a new job, across the country, and I don't know when I'll see her next.
• Hoping for some time to reconnect with Josh this weekend.
• Listening to an awesome Pandora station my sister shared with me, full of my favorite worship songs.
• Celebrating Josh's birthday on Friday. 
• Smelling coffee in the morning, every morning. Somewhere along the way I developed this habit that I have no desire to break. 
• Thanking God for a precious two weeks with my sister. For my husband, who isn't perfect but who tries, and talks to me, and loves me unconditionally. 
• Considering the future of my blogging and scrapping. Big thoughts, but just tumbling around in the back of my mind right now.
• Starting a new job, working part time in the Childcare ministry at my church. 

My post today was inspired by a challenge issued by Ali Edwards, and I thank her for the inspiration to document a slice of my life right now - and I challenge you to join in!

Living the Length and Width

Today, I was inspired by Ali Edwards' post for the Big Idea Festival over at Big Picture Classes. Here's the quote she shared by Diane Ackerman:

I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.

This resonates with me from the angle of fully appreciating the stage of life I am in now. Rather than trying to simply get through it, or longing for some hazy better day in the future, I want to live the full width of my life right now. The highs, the lows, the sort of boring, everyday in-betweens.

My life is full of everyday-ness. It's so easy to impatiently look ahead, to anxiously anticipate the next "big event" - visiting family, going to the museum, MOPs meetings, etc. So I just "live the length" of the days in-between, trying to hurry them along, and miss out on all the precious "little" moments each day - the width of my life.

Like this moment, when Cai decided to blow bubbles out the door since I wouldn't let him outside to play (it was muddy from recent rain). Avyn loves bubbles, and soon joined him, exclaiming over each round of bubbles. I stopped writing to capture this sweet moment, so rare now - usually they'd rather fight and argue!

Something else Ali said really hit home for me, too.

When I'm sad or angry I'm letting myself feel it fully and when I feel on cloud nine I'm letting myself experience that amazing joy and really basking in it. And I'm taking care of myself along the way. - Ali Edwards

How often do we skip taking pictures or recording memories of the sad times, the frustrating days, the times when you want to wring your kid's neck? Personally, I'd rather gloss over those moments in my life, get through them and never look back. But I think that's cheating myself out of a legitimate, inescapable part of life - and maybe cheating myself out of a lesson God wants me to learn.

I created this layout for another Big Idea Festival challenge this week (Cathy Zielske's "Get Real" challenge). It documents a not-very-fun memory, but it's real. It's what happened, like it or not.

As a mom, I think I have the hardest time with that last sentence - "taking care of myself along the way." It's too easy to let that slide, to feel guilty about doing something fun that's just for me. Or even doing something necessary that's just for me! At the end of the way, I'm often too tired to think straight, let alone focus on delving into my Bible study or soaking up a good book.

This is an area I've been wrestling with for a while. I've discovered (well, admitted) that I'm prone to allowing crushing guilt to take over my life. But the old saying is so true: "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!" When I take the time to care for myself, I care for my children better. They love having a happy, relaxed mama! I'm not talking about regular manicures, hour-long bubble baths every day, long weekend excursions with girlfriends, or just frivolous time-wasting. I'm talking about intentional, specific, purposeful taking care of myself. Feeding my soul, taking care of my body and mental health. It's important.

And that's all the soul-searching I can manage for today! Are you participating in the Big Idea Festival right now? I'm finding so much inspiration, and hope to share some more with you soon.