..:: project life : week 5 ::..

Do you document the not-so-good moments in your Project Life album? This week I felt like I had to because it was a large part of the week!  So, here is what I did...

Week 5 right

I grabbed this piece of art off the internet. The artist is Brian Andreas, and you can purchase his stuff here.  I love his stuff.  I have several of his prints in my house, and have given even more as gifts! This is one of my favorites. It's about death, which was so much of what this week was about, unfortunately.  I love how the hearts are connected…those on Earth and in Heaven.  Love. I put this on the front of the card, with a tab indicating that there was more to this than just the front. I used a cloud as my tab, because it was an emotionally cloudy day.

When you take out this card and open it up, you get the story. It's not well written, but it's honest and it tells the facts. I couldn't do PL this week without including the stories of this day, even though it was a horrible day.

week 5 left

Also documented this week: super bowl, me home sick (also not so fun), the start of LOAD214 (fun!) and Bea's art.  I've decided that I will include 3-4 photos of my "LOAD" layouts in collage form each week of February! (more about LOAD here) And last but not least, I added a pretty awesome insert. :-) You can see the front of the insert in the photo below.

week 5 spread with front of insert

I used a coin protector, (something like these) a few cards from the Just Add Color kit (perfect fit), and a few cards from the Seafoam kit (that I cut to fit the windows). The whole front of the insert includes parts of photos that my One True Love took a uploaded to Facebook.  Have you noticed that when you look at an album on FB, it shows a bunch of little, square photos, even if your photos aren't square?  Well, that's how I got the idea for this insert.  When I went to the FB album, I saw all these parts of the guitar…in little squares. So, I copied that! I also used my Soul Mate's words on this insert. First, on the front, most of the text you see is from his FB post -- the captions on the photos. Then I did even more on the back (see below).

week 5 spread with back of insert

On the back of the insert, I used more Seafoam and JAC. I also used more little parts of photos. I took one photo that showed the whole guitar, printed it 4x6, and then cut it to fit the little windows. Then, the text on the bottom is what my Soul Mate wrote about the guitar (I took it right off Facebook, printed it out, and then cut it up)!  Love getting his words in there.

I used a mishmash of kits this week -- most probably came from the Studio Calico January kit.  If you have a question about a specific card -- let me know in the comments and I will try to get that info to you ASAP!

Would you like to see more of my PL spreads (just the photos of them)?  Click here.
Would you like to read about my PL spreads & see the photos? Click here.

..:: project life : week 4 ::..

 Keeping it really simple this week!

 I used mostly the Studio Calico January PL kit this week.

 Lots of white grid cards (cut up) for journaling on photos.

One of my goals for this year is to include more than just my point of view.  I want to include the voices of other family members as often as I can.  This week I had My Soul Mate journal a bit about a recent purchase of his. I included it and a few items from this purchase, on an insert (this week's insert is just a BH "G" pocket page with the two spots for vertical 4x6s cut off, and then I sewed the side shut).

I'm super busy completing layouts during this month of LOAD214!  I expect to share a few soon here!

TTFN!

..:: project life weeks 2 & 3 ::..

Holy catch up Batman, I haven't shared Project life in weeks -- so you get two today.

This week I tried out my new kit -- a Home Shopping Network exclusive -- Just Add Color (I bought it because I love the little squares)! So, I have design A on the left and the new one on the right (I have no idea what that one is called, sorry)!

We had all kinds of happy mail this week -- new stamps from Elise Blaha Cripe, and our new iPhones arrived!  It was also our first day back at school after an extra long break due to the weather -- so I snapped a photo there as well! This week I also included some memorabilia -- one of Elise's business cards behind the photo of the stamps, a tag showing my awesome new pajamas -- and the clearance price -- and I also included a list.  Wine really stands out, doesn't it?  And beer is on there twice! Oh my! (We thought it was funny, so I included it)

Our bird lost a few tail feathers (the first since we got him in November), Charlie had oral surgery, and we played a lot of UNO! :-)  I also have a bit of hidden journaling (some funny, but personal, remarks that Bea shared with us this week).  

I used a mixture of the January Studio Calico PL kit and the Just Add Color Core kit. Fun!

Moving on…..

Week 3 has an insert -- there was a birthday in the family! Above is the two page spread with the front of the insert captured. The insert is all about Lucius turning 6!

Snack day is a big deal in the life of a four year old -- especially because you also get to be the star for the day -- so I included it. C. took Bea to the birthday party for our nephew (I couldn't go because I am allergic to their cats), so I went to a crop in Central City with my friend, Bridget. Fun!

We got to babysit Brycen one day -- and C. showed Bea how to fold her laundry. There was also a bit of weather -- imagine that -- but it didn't stop C. from grilling! Pssstt…wanna know a secret? On this two page spread many of the stamped circles and words are stamped onto a studio calico card that is not really a "card".  Wha???????? you say! It's one of those cards that come in the PL kit, and say Studio Calico in the middle (may have even said the moth of the kit or something).  It has an orange pattern. It worked for the week, so I went with it.

Above is the week 3 spread, with the back of the insert showing.

I have week four (Jan. 22-28) nearly finished, just an insert to take care of (and I need a little bit of help from my One True Love to complete it)!  My plan is to share it with you next Sunday!

For the month of February I am participating in LOAD214. (LOAD = LayOut A Day). Our prompt for today was to scrap the everyday. My project life is all about the everyday, so this was an easy one for me! 

..:: project life : week 1 ::..

Holy New Beginnings, Batman! Project life is So. Much. Fun.

As mentioned before, my plan is to have my weeks go from Wednesday-Tuesday, and I will share on my blog on Sundays.  Yay! It's Sunday!

left

right

::This week's highlights:: WEATHER! Specifically the Polar Vortex! We missed 2 days of school due to the cold temperatures, which extended our already longer than normal Winter Break (I didn't complain)! The weather got it's own insert this week. I also started One Little Word this week, as well as another 365 attempt (both are reflected in this week's spread). We celebrated my MIL's birthday this week and I won a Silhouette Cameo from Studio Calico (Part of the 12 days of Christmas)!

::Supplies:: I used Design A page protectors for both sides.  For the insert, I used a Design G page protector, but I cut off the 2, 6x4 spots on the far right and stitched it up the side to hold the cards in. I mainly did it this way because I had the Design G on hand! :-) For this first week, I took a look through a few past Studio Calico Project Life (monthly) kits to complete the week (my January kit arrived just as I was finishing -- so I was able to add that lovely "start" badge!). Most of the cards are from December 2013, but there are a few others from past kits. I tried to stick with a red, grey, black & white color scheme. I used my Silhouette Cameo to create a see through element on my insert -- the cut was purchased from the Silhouette Store. I used stamps from several manufacturers including, Elise Blaha Cripe, Studio Calico and Pink Paislee.

::Techniques or Additions:: This week I decided to use a photo as my title card.  I don't know that I will do that all the time, but this time it just seemed to work out so I did.  I used some gelatos and a water brush to paint on a few of the cards. For example, the card was just black and white, and so was the circle stamp.

I also used Pinstripe Mister Huey's and a paint brush for the grey.  I used both the gelatos and Mister Huey's to splatter a bit of paint as well.

On the last card I have a photograph of a puzzle that my mom did.  I also included the actual newspaper behind the card.  It's not removable (I had thought I might do that, but then changed my mind). I used it like I might use patterned paper. The story is about how my mom saves newspapers for us (more on that in a different post) and how I often find the puzzles (specifically Sudoku) finished.  I love my mom and I love finding these reminders of her in my house (I don't see her as often as I wish I did)!

One last fun item I added this week.  I took some video of my daughter dancing to "I Love Rock 'n Roll" this week (she requested the song, of course). I took a screen shot of the movie to use as a photo, and I uploaded the video to You Tube.  Then I created a QR code and included that on the card, which will send you to the You Tube video to watch her dance!  Fun!  ((I will do that again, I think).

See the QR code on the bottom left?

My happy mail even made it in!  Hello Just Add Color!

Thanks for stopping by!  

:: project life title page 2014 ::

And we are off -- 2014, and a new beginning for Project Life has begun!

I almost didn't make it (and you could say that I didn't).  My goal is publish a Project Life update here each Sunday.  It's still Sunday.  So I made it, right?  However, this isn't exactly complete.  In fact, it looked a lot like this two weeks ago!  I know I want a family photo on the bottom right card. I think I might put our names and ages on the bottom left card, and I may mess with that 2014 card a bit more.

A little stitching with an Amy Tangerine template (US) and there is a card or two from her Cut & Paste PL collection I think.  Most of the supplies are from past Studio Calico Project Life Kits. The "Find Joy In The Journey" card is actually a business card that I got with an Origami Owl jewelry purchase -- but I thought it fit PL perfectly (even the color was great)! One of my most favorite things is putting the "stuff" from our life in our book.

The 2014 card is my favorite, but I'm not sure it's finished yet either.  It's a watercolor card that was in the last SC PL kit (Life-Love-Paper, I think).  I don't really have watercolors (other than my daughter's), so I used gelatos and a water pen.  It's super easy to paint with gelatos (have I mentioned how much I love them?)! All you need is a little chunk (really small amount) and a little water. I didn't have the right color of green/blue so I made it! I grabbed a couple of blue gelatos and a green.  I shaved a bit of each of them, added some water, and mixed.  I just kept adding a little of whatever color I think I needed until I got what I wanted. It was fun.  I will paint with gelatos again. To finish this card off, I might use some small stamps in some of the little squares.  Not sure (The 2014 numbers are from Amy Tangerine's Cut & Paste Collection, I believe).

In this post I showed a bit of what I'm thinking for organization, but I'm still working on a few other things.  I promise to post photos as I get closer to what I really want for organization! I am currently in the middle (but closer to the end) of my first week of PL 2014. My week started on Wednesday, and I will be going Wed-Tues for the rest of the year (unless something doesn't end up working for me), with sharing on Sundays!  So…….that means, I will be back next Sunday to share my first week!  So exciting. I love new!

Hope to share more about a few new additions to our family (no new humans) soon!

:: project life organization for 2014 ::

I'm back with a look at how I'm organizing for Project Life  2014. Have you heard of Traci Reed? She is pretty awesome!  I found an totally rad calendar/planner that she designed to help her organize for project life (for more information, click the photo to the right and keep reading)! I downloaded her work and quickly set out to make a planner that works for me.  It took a little editing in photoshop (since my weeks are going Wed-Tues.), but it wasn't too long before I was off and running!

I decided to make three planners this year, but I started with just one -- just in case this doesn't end up working for me!  I made this very similar to how I have made some journals in the past; chip board, card stock/patterned paper, and the cinch, that magical cinch.  Best recent tool purchase. Below are a few photos of my planner (with a bit of supportive text)!

I chose to have my weeks go from Wednesday to Tuesday this year (since the first is on Wednesday). My thinking is that I will have several days to complete the week (and photograph my LOs) before my goal of posting on Sunday. Yep, I set a goal to post all my PL layouts this year. I'm hoping this will give myself some accountability to complete!  We'll see how that works (I hope it works better than New Year resolutions that involve tread mills).  

I hope this journal and goal setting thing works for me.  As I mentioned in my last post, I am totally OK with missing weeks throughout 2013. But wouldn't it be magic if I could complete 2014? I think so. I will continue to use the momento app that I talked about in this post to help me out! It is a must have!

I'll be back soon with a post that includes my title page for PL 2014 (and maybe another DD update)! Hope you all had a Magical & Merry Christmas!


UPDATE 5.12.14 -- I've now used this notebook for four months -- check out this update.