:: hello april ::

hello green(er) grass.
hello light(er) coats.

hello fresh air.

hello open window (more often I hope).
hello april showers.

..:: project life : week 9 ::..

week 9

For week nine,  I took another break from the Studio Calico kit and used cards mostly from the Kiwi Core Kit (Becky Higgins).  I love this kit! So many fun colors! Isn't that heart card to die for??

week 9 left

I chose to use a photo for my "title card" this week, and then added the dates on a 3x4 card below. The photo was taken during one of our many coloring sessions. ;-)  Bea was sick, but not really sick, and home from school with Daddy one day this week. I snapped a photo of them on the couch just before I left for work. I like that I was able to get this story in the book. One of the many reasons I love PL is getting those little everyday stories down. Bea (or whomever reads this in the future) will know so much about our everyday lives! The Oscars were this week -- we didn't really watch it, but I thought I should document Ellen's "most tweeted selfie" from that night -- it was in my FB and Twitter feeds over and over…

Spring cleaning at work and a Pampered Chef party were also documented this week!

dates

week 9 right

On the right side, more coloring, wii yoga (notice the QR code - it links to a video of her doing yoga), building, and playing games. I am so lucky that I get to see Brycen on a regular basis, I love that he is in this album so often!  Happy mail from Elise Blaha Cripe arrived this week so I stuck her card on a black and white 3x4 card. Two of these cards have flip ups (see below).

peek a boo

OK, so, there are mistakes in the card above. I fixed them. Just too lazy to retake the photo. ;-)

peek a boo

This is one of my favorite photos/cards. I took a 3x4 card that just said him & her and I cut it up, put it over the TV, and then added another section for the sub heading. I don't know why, I just like it! (I also like that the beanie baby is playing). I used parts of that same cut up card on a couple of photos on the other side of the spread to help tie the page together.

Thanks for visiting! I'm thinking about working on a process video.  Let me know if this might be something that would be interesting to you!

See you soon with week 10!

..:: project life : week 8 ::..

week 8 spread

Have I mentioned lately that I love this project? This week is all about the weather (again), food, My One True Love, and family visitors. The February Studio Calico project life kit was not my favorite (but that's about the only month I can say that -- normally I love every part of the kits). So, I decided to break into some of the core kits, mini kits and theme packs that I've purchased recently (and I've purchased quite a few).  This week I settled on the Girl Theme Pack (Becky Higgins).

week 8 left

This week we had a date night and my wine spill looked like a heart.  :-)  We also ate some yummy food at home -- so I journeled about how much I love spending time with my One True Love, at home or out.  I love that "Love you more" card!  Perfect for this story!

I also purchased a bunch of the new Amy Tangerine Plus One Collection (from Paper Issues) and I put that to use this week.  The pink letters are part of this collection, and see that stitched card? That's one of her templates. Fun stuff!

week 8 right

That sunshine card is a journal card that I used a craft knife to cut around so that I could put the photo (a screen shot from my phone) behind the sun.  We had very strange weather this week -- hail, a thunderstorm, melting snow, warm and cold temps. I documented that with both pics and words.  I absolutely love the umbrella wood veneer and the little wood veneer drops of rain. FUN!

My brother in law and his family came for an overnight visit. Bea LOVES to play with the boys, and having a sleep over is even better!  My sister in law and I scrapbooked (fun!) and the men got to have some brother time. It was a great day!

This spread is a pretty straight forward, simple spread with nothing hidden and no added inserts!  That never happens!  :-)

Thanks for visiting! Check back tomorrow for Week 9 (I am trying to catch up with the sharing part of this project)!

Because if all the weather related topics on this one, I've linked up with Paper Issues: Pocket Full of Sunshine Issue. 

:: so lucky ::

I just love getting actual quotes into my layouts. love it. I also love Paper Issues and I'm linkin' this layout up over there, check it out here.

And I'm totally digging this green paper from Elle's Studio, no? I love it!  I paired it with some Amy Tangerine Plus One paper (6x6 pad, but I cut the paper so that it looks bigger -- there's almost none of that paper behind the big photo).

The Elle's Studio paper had several typed words on that little bit of extra that you cut off a 12x12 page. I used some of it in a couple of places.  And see those enamel dots??  I made them! :-)

What worked for me:
1. preheat oven to 325
2. place PERLER beads on cookie sheet with parchment paper (holes up)
3. bake for 30 minutes

Don't use pony beads (toxic and smelly) and don't use wax paper (not meant for oven).  The different shades of color actually require different cooking times…so experiment, and check often!

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

..:: project life : week 7 ::..

Week 7 included Valentine's Day.  

I have been saving this gift card holder since October, knowing I would use it in PL someday! Well, this week seemed perfect.  When you take out the card, the journaling is on the back (I had to cut a slit in the pocket protector so it could easily be slid out). When the card is completely inside, the heart in "love" is red.  Here is the two page spread, including an insert:

week 7

I used mostly the February Studio Calico PL kit with some embellishments from my stash (and a couple of cards from other collections).

week 7 left

I really like the photo of Bea in her undies and cowboy boots -- working on her valentines.  But, it was a "portrait" photo instead of horizontal. I wanted it bigger, and didn't want to cut off any of it -- so I made it go through several pockets.  

I had several "portrait" photos this week -- and in some cases, about the same thing, but I couldn't decide on a photo -- so I made a little extra room by adding some washi tape at the top to create a flip up (best part is that there is also room to journal on the back of the front photo)! I did this TWICE this week!

week 7 right

More weather and white board shots!  We took Bea to a The Lego Movie (we are so done with this weather)! I didn't really get a photo while we were there, so I took a screen shot of the movie poster so I could document that part of our week. 

I used my Tiny Attacher to staple the movie tickets to a plain grid card, stamped the word "tickets" on a tab and added that to the card so it would be easy to pull out (and so you would know something was there). The second flip up is also included in this shot -- with a quote from Bea as the journaling.

week 7

On the back of the insert, I included the three types of Valentine's Day cards that Bea gave out this year.  Each of these cards came with something to give away, something that isn't candy. There was an eraser with one, a very small pad of paper with another, and a pink bracelet with the Hello Kitty cards. I used a leftover pink bracelet as a decorative element (it's the pink line between the top and bottom of this layout.

Some fun stuff this week! Thanks for stopping by!

:: LOAD share part deux : it's a wrap ::

Whew!  What a month February was for my scrappy life!  I totally enjoyed LOAD 214!  For more information about LOAD you can visit this previous post. Today is just a photo dump, with a few words!  Here are several more of the LOs I created during LOAD 214!

LOAD13 : no complete sentences

LOAD15 : scrap a photo you've scrapped before (I used this in PL)

LOAD18 : get inspired by something not "scrappy"

LOAD20 : use a quote that's not a usual quote (the MagnaTiles Slogan)

LOAD22 (I was off topic this day)

I apologize if some of the photos aren't stellar.  LOAD keeps me so busy that most of my photos of my LOs are taken with my phone (at night) and with minimal (=no) processing.  :-) I am waaaayyyy to lazy to retake!  LOL

The next LOAD is in May!  I will certainly share more information about it as it approaches. It is so fun and worth a try (and now I am addicted)!

..:: project life : week 6 ::..

If you keep reading to the bottom of this post, you will see why I really love documenting life this way.

A layout inside a Project Life LO??  Wha?????? Yep, awesome. Here's how it looks in the spread:

week 6 spread

This week I mostly used the Studio Calico February Project Life kit. I did add a couple of things that I'd like to highlight. See the circle under the arrow pointing at Bea sleeping on the couch?  I needed something to "match" the "make believe" card and the dots on the 3x4 card on the far right. So, I found some paint…painted a bit of card stock and punched it with my 1 inch punch.

I also added a few cards from other kits (I think Honey) and I made a couple of my own!  See all those colorful polka dots below?  Those were all from one journaling card that I cut up and placed throughout the page.

week 6 left

But then I ran out of the perfect polka dot paper -- so I made my own!  I used a circle stamp in various colors to create the journaling spots on the two top photos (below). All of these dots were inspired by that lovely 3x4 polkadot card on the far right (below).  To that lovely card I added a heart (painted with that same paint) and then a little squiggle and boarder with my journaling pen (AC precision pen).

Weather. Batman. Games. Food. OMGoodness, I am ready for spring.  It seems like week 5 or 6 is when I feel like we just might be too boring to do project life…and then something happens to change my mind.  Keep reading for the something!

This week I was able to document the exact week that Bea jumped a developmental stage in her drawing. Up until this point, she drew her people as a circle with the arms and legs coming right off the head (no body) -- you can see this in the painting on the insert below.  But this week, she started adding bodies -- and I got it documented!  Woot woot!  Go Project Life!!! (You can see these new people in the 3x4 card on the far left of the photo right above this paragraph). It's even funnier because not only did she add a body -- she also added BRAINS.  Ha!  So funny!!!

I've said this before, I'll say it now, and I'm certain I will say it again : I just love adding all that "stuff" to my album (like artwork).  And this week I extra love that I was able to get this developmental milestone documented!

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.

:: hello march ::

hello longer days.

hello warmer temperatures (I HOPE).

hello 30 days of lists.

hello spring break.

hello saint patrick's day.

hello first day of spring.

hello new.

I've been waiting for you.

..:: 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.

:: i want to remember ::

 

I want to remember how much Bea enjoys her cousins!

I want to remember how very alike her and L. are, and how well they play together.

I want to remember the times C. and I get to have date nights. 

I want to remember the silly. The fun. The love.

I want to remember how I love spending time with him at home, too.  

Every. Single. Night.

I want to remember the way Bea and Brycen interact and enjoy each other.

I want to remember the excitement of watching Bea begin to navigate the world of letters, sounds, reading, writing and rhyming.

I want to remember how quickly this happened, so I don't forget to stop. Remember. Enjoy. Appreciate. Document. Participate.

:: LOAD214 share ::

This month I have been participating in LOAD214 (LayOut A Day Feb. 2014).  What's that? Well, each day I get a prompt from the great Lain Ehmann, and that day (before midnight) I do the layout and upload it to a flicker gallery.  Yep, a layout, in one day, twenty eight days in a row!  I participated in my first LOAD last May and I made it quite far into the month before missing a day.  So far this month (and it's almost half over) I haven't missed.  Yes, this means that in 12 days I have completed at least 12 layouts (I have used two Project Life layouts for this fun game as well). I thought I would share a few with you now, and a few more later!  Here we go…

LOAD1 :: imperfect photo

LOAD3 :: no title

LOAD5 :: use something old (one itty bitty piece of paper is old)

LOAD10 :: Black and White (no color)

LOAD4 :: 30 minutes or less

There's a taste of what I have made this month!  Many of the other completed layouts are from projects that I am working on.  I will share those in another post when the projects are completed.  If you have any questions, ask in the comments and I'd be happy to respond! Thanks for stopping by!

..:: 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!