January Project Life

It's done! It's been done. I just ended up photographing the pages 3 different times because things kept going wrong! But it's done now and here for you to see =)

It's been two straight months and I'm still not sure how much I like this project. I mean I like it when it's done. But it takes sooo much time! And it means that I can't make layouts. Which is still my number one love.

Basically, I'm ambivalent. I'll keep with it for now. But I'm not sure I can make it through the full year. We shall see.

This first page was inspired by Elsie Larsen's title page. I loved the two photos plus the pretty cards. And I really really wanted to get some gold on here. The title and stars are on a transparency.

I used some of Shanna Noel's January BYOC cards from The Lily Pad and a freebie digital template from Jennifer Wilson at Simple Scrappers.

I went hunting for bits of purple and did some watercoloring on the grid side of a card.

My mama sent me the cutest card so I added some tabs directly to the little pocket and right in the middle of these two pages. I loved that it had the orchid purple flowers that tied in so well with those cards!

I was so confused about what to do with this page but I really love how the winner card came together. I also had a few more stories I wanted to tell but not enough photos or things to say so I cut down a 4 pocket page to two pockets.

I drew and then watercolored a card since I didn't have any photos of us having drinks. It might be my favorite card!

I made the top insert card by layering tape onto a white piece of cardstock.

And I got the idea for the AM/PM cards from Stephanie Baxter...I think.

I used some of my Paislee Press printables and more water colors for the Road Trip spread. 

I made the 4x6 insert card using these great Lindsay Letters stamps and some yellow and mint inks.

Writing around my feet was an idea I got from Molly Frances.

This spread is super busy to me. But I really like the date night one! I love these frame templates by Cathy Zielske. I have started to use them on a few projects, but I don't think any of them have actually ever been finished. I cut them up to next to nothing, but I got to use them!

And the final page is a full print of a photo of me and Mac. I overlaid one of the Sugar Rush png cut files. I played a bit with the opacity, and when it was printed I painted the "I heart U" with white paint.

Done until next month! I'll have to write a post about my process soon.

cheers & besos,

2013 Travels

Hiya! I want to share my latest page with you. It's my first for the month of February. After a full week of traveling at the beginning of this month, I was ready to be back home at my scrap desk.

This is something I whipped up late Sunday night on a whim. I was wanting to get crafty but wasn't really in the mood to get to the Valentines card I needed to make. So instead I flipped through my latest edition of Spark magazine (its part of the Simple Scrappers membership) for inspiration. There was an absolutely fabulous travel page that really caught my eye, so I decided to make my own version of it.

There are some similarities between mine page and the original one: the circle photos, die cuts in the middle of the page, bits of paper along the top and bottom, the "I am here" and geotag stamps. But that's about it. I more or less lifted the concept.

For the past few years I've been making a wrap up page of my travels for the year [2012 HERE] [2011 HERE] [2008 HERE] and it just so happened that all of my travels in 2013 were here in the US and also in the UK. I liked the tie in so I made a page featuring just those two countries and a blue/red/pink/gray color scheme.

I started out with a blank sheet of white cardstock and did some stamping and scribbling with a pencil. I also dropped some gray mist splatters to help fill out the page a bit more.

I layered patterned paper and die cuts together and added dimensions by roughing up the edges of the paper before gluing them down.

There are lots of bits and pieces, lots of embellishing on this page: baker's twine, brads, punched shapes, heat embossed geotags and some paper labels.

I punched all of the photos with a circle punch and adhered them down with foam squares to give them more dimension. And then added bits of patterned paper to the top and bottom of the page to finish it off.

I really like how this page turned out. I also like that it's nearly all stash stuff that's really old! The only new things I used were the airplane punch and the tiny Heidi Swapp stamps. All of the patterned paper was from my scrap drawer and I finally used those blueprints stamps! Plus I get to mark something off the old to do list. Sounds like a win-win-win to me =)

cheers & besos,

Blue Valentines

As promised, here are those blue valentines, one each for my Papa, my Popo and Grandpa by the River.

If they look similar to the pink ones from yesterday, then they should. I used the same basic supplies, only added a bit more mist to the one with the big die cut heart. I also handily used the positive space from that one die cut to add the “you”.

I have to tell you, washi tape continues to be one of my most favorite supplies. Its just so versatile, and of course, PRETTY!

cheers & besos,

Pink Valentines

I made some very special people valentines last week. These were so sooo easy to make. Washi + Die cut + Mist splatters + Twine and that’s all she wrote.

I was just so inspired by these great cuts and digital brushes from Studio Calico. They made these a cinch to whip up.  

The three of them are for my Mama and two Grandmas, such lovely adorable ladies who deserve some happy mail.

I also made a few for their male counterparts. But I’ll be share those tomorrow.

cheers & besos,

January Review/2014 Planning

How is it already February? I feel like I say that every month. But time flying by never ceases to amaze me. 

Already one month into the new year, and I’m just now getting around to sharing my plan for the year with you. I actually kind of planned it that way. I decided on the easing in approach. I didn’t want to over stress myself by trying to come up with all my plans during the busiest month of the year.

PLUS

I knew I’d be taking the Simple Scrappers Start Fresh class. I figured it would be helpful, but I really didn’t realize how much! I love my little planner with its dividers and neat little lists. I’ve already referred to it so much over the past few weeks.

So! What have I got planned for the year? Well let me tell you. [Imagine me licking my finger and flicking through my workbook pages just here]

There are some basic things I would like to accomplish in 2014.

First on the list is keeping up with my Project Life. I’m somehow managing to do this already. And that’s leaving me feeling very accomplished. It’s the batch tasking, tackling a little bit at a time, that’s helping me the most.

I decided on the Handbook approach again this year. I just love the look of these great little pages. Why mess with a good thing, right? I’ll be sharing my finished January pages and a bit about my process later this month.

Each month, I’m also planning to tackle a project. One of my unfinished projects or a new idea I’m really excited about. For the most part, these projects are a whole mess of mini albums. I have a lot of ideas for these but not a lot of time spent getting them done. There’s also a bit of catch up on older half started projects.

For the blog specifically, I’m planning to do one big card post a month. I drew up some sketches on the plane today (or was it last night....I have no idea the time’s all wonky right now) that I’m planning to use and re-use throughout the year. I intentionally made them basic so I could interpret them in a multitude of ways.

 
I’m also planning to do at least one process video a month. I have fun looking back at these. Making them just takes time. I’ve worked them into my plan so they’ll actually get done!

Since I just invested a chunk of change on Lightroom, I’ll be doing a lot of work this month specifically, on getting acclimated to the software and trying my hand at editing. It will also be part of my monthly process. I plan to edit photos for upcoming projects throughout the year.

Finally, I’m tackling all of the ephemera I’ve let pile up. It’s just sitting there in three different boxes, an unorganized jumbled mess. It’s time for me to do something about that. I’d also like to use it for one of those projects I have on the list. Incentive, right there!

So that’s where I’m going. And I have to say I’m really excited about it, as droll as those plans might sound to you. Not to worry, you’ll be excited about them each as they’re done!

And just as marker and a little recap for myself, this month I made 6 layouts, 19 cards and 36 Project Life spreads. That last number might seem like a lot, but they’re all of my December pages. I did not count them last month because they weren’t all finished. And darn if I’m not going to give myself “points” for the effort.

Do you have any big plans for your scrapbooking year? If yes, I’d love to hear ‘em!

cheers & besos,