2016 Books [No. 02/02]

I have another book project to share! Continued from my [previous post], here's the backside of the 9x12 pocket page. It's much more colorful!

I used three cards from the [June kit] and I'm excited that the Book Review card is also available in this month's [printable]! I will definitely print up a bunch of these for my summer reading!

I also incorporated some of the new [Sunny Days] items on this bottom card. I thought the tag was so perfect, books absolutely make my heart smile!

I have two more book themed pages in my head. I even took photos! Think that's what I'll be scrapping next =)

cheers & besos,

2016 Books [No. 01/02]

I love documenting the books that I read. I did this [last year and loved it] so much I did it again with my [June Elle's Studio kit]! It features two book related journaling tags.

9x12 has become my new favorite pocket page size. Visually, the dimensions are just so pleasing to my eyeballs. I like this grid. It just feels right!

I googled and found as high resolution images of the book covers, as possible. It's hard to find large enough files! But it's good that I only printed these at 3x4 size.

For this spread, I used two [journaling tags], the [Shine Bright stamp set], a [patriotic acrylic star] and a [puffy heart].

My favorite detail has to be this tiny book. I used the test print of my journaling to cut out little pages that I stapled together. I think the [stamp] is meant to be sunglasses, but hey they work as reading glasses too!! This whole card is glued to the outside of the pocket. I couldn't bear to cut down that heart!

The bright pops of blue just liven the page up. I'm lucky that that [blue journaling card] so closely matches the cover of The Happiness Project!

I have the back side of this layout to share with you next. It'll be up on the blog in a few days. But if you're interested in the [kit] specifically, jump on it ASAP. Elle's mentioned that there are only a handful left!

cheers & besos,

September 27, 2015

I was really only intending to make one pocket page with the Elle's Studio Documented items. But once I started I couldn't stop! Here's the second spread I did using the [Documented Stamp] [Documented Journaling Tags] [Basic Journaling Tags-Gray] [Little Moments Wood Veneer] [Good Stuff Puffy Stickers] and [Little Moments Paper Stack].

I went into so much more detail on the [Elle's Studio blog] today so head that way if you want to read more!

cheers & besos,

September 26, 2015

In September, I decided I would do a [Week in the Life] type project in the week leading up to my birthday. Each day I'd tell a story about a different aspect of my life: work, family, friends, home, etc. 

I took all the photos, printed them, put them in pocket pages....and then nothing. Well, not completely nothing, I did do [one spread] using a Scrapbook Circle kit and another as my [31 facts at 31] post for the year. The rest of the pages have just been hanging out in the album unfinished. 

Until I received the Elle's Studio Documented products which just seemed perfect for a few of the pages! I used the [Documented Stamp] [Documented Journaling Tags] [Basic Journaling Tags-Gray] [May Monthly Kit] [Marie Alphabet Stamp] and [Little Moments Bits & Pieces] for this page. You can read more about it on the [Elle's Studio Blog] today!

cheers & besos,

Weekends at No. 1152

I’m so excited to share this page! It’s one of my favorites from the year. I love the design and the color scheme (so not my usual). The moments that were captured (me helping Matt cook!). And all of the fun Elle’s Studio products I used (puffy stickers!!).

Can I just say that I love the dash of purple Elle included in the Little Moments collection. Dear manufacturers, more purple please! I think adding it in small doses helped make this mage so much more fun!

I started out by making the 12x12 layout, using a Simple Scrapper sketch (due out in May!). It was originally a double page layout. But I decided to shrink all of the elements down and overlap them a bit to make a single page.

One of my favorite parts is the bisected background. I love that angle! It isn’t very harsh, but definitely adds some visual interest. I die cut the title from the white cardstock and backed it with an ombre pattern from the Little Moments paper stack. 

This page is actually an update to one I did last year. It was called Saturdays at No. 1152. Back then we had a cat and no dog. Now we have a dog and no cat. I think it’s so important to document these kinds of things, because you never know how much can change in a years time!

Having the other layout in mind, I decided to print my photos to look like the instax photos I had used before. I stamped labels below each photo and then “Perfect Weekend” (a stamp from this month’s Elle’s Studio release) below each. Then I added a simple note describing each of our perfect weekends.

The embellishing was simple, a tag from the monthly kit, Sat and Sun acrylic pieces and three wee puffy stickers (swoon!). I dropped just a tiny bit of teal and purple mist to finish the page.

And I thought I was done. I thought what I’d made was enough. But then I started flipping through the stack of journaling cards in the monthly kit and I saw that “Notes from the Weekend” one and knew I needed to use it!

I decided to add a 6x12 divided page protector alongside my main layout. I started with the notes from the weekend card, this time I journaled about this specific weekend which happened to be Easter.

We didn’t do much in the way of celebrating. The only way we marked the occasion was by making and eating Matt’s Grandma’s wedding soup. The top photo is of the two of us rolling tiny meatballs for the soup.

I journaled on the “File this Under:” card and made my own 3x4 card using paper from the Little Moment’s paper stack and a few puffy stickers.

cheers & besos,

Dreaming of Sunshine

It's the 10th today!! Which means, the latest Elle's Studio monthly kit is out! Along with a few fun goodies and the new design team projects!! Head over there to nab your loot, while the kit is on sale for $9.99. After midnight PST, the prices increase to $11.99. So save some pennies while you have the chance :)

Here's a divided page protector spread I put together using the kit. I don’t use divided page protectors in the traditional sense i.e. Project Life. Really, they’re just another tool in my creative arsenal. If it makes sense to tell the story in this format, then I will! I don’t think too much about it.

I chose a divided page protector because I really loved so many of the cards in this month’s kit. Four of them fit went really well with the story I was wanting to tell, and I threw a fifth in for fun and color!

Lately, I’ve been going through a bit of a hard time. I’ve dealt with anxiety and a bit of depression since I hit puberty. It fortunately, has not been a daily issue for much of my life. There have been months and years when it hasn’t been part of my life. But the older I get, the more these issues seem to decide to make themselves known. This last round of anxiety has lasted longer than any before. Obviously, it’s weighing heavy on my mind, so I can’t help but document it.

I thought the “dreaming of sunshine” card was such a great metaphor for my current situation. I’m truly dreaming of more sunshine, or in this case, a happier and more calming state of mind. I love that Elle included a card that highlights that not every day is “happy” or “the best!” The “This was not my day” card was great for adding my journaling. And I thought the “Weather Report” went really well with the set, continuing on with the weather metaphor.

One of my favorite products from this month’s release were the puffy stickers!!! The “real life” one was perfect for this page. It’s kind of hard to tell from the photo, but the “true story” is an acrylic word. This is one of the truest stories I’ve told in awhile, so I had to use it.

I added some thought bubbles directly onto my photo in white ink. It’s kind of hard to see them but I like that. It’s just some texture, and a bit of a visual cue as to what my head looks like right now. Crowded!

For anyone who’s concerned, I appreciate it. But truly I’m doing ok. Taking a lot of steps to get better. And really just moving forward and working towards a brighter April.

I’m still here. I’m still scrapbooking. I’m still making time to be creative!

cheers & besos,

Uber Puppy

The other day, I was inspired to tell the story of how we came home with Dixie. She just happens to be an Uber puppy. Uber was running a puppy promo: request a puppy driver and they'll show up with puppies! Leah (my boss) thought it would be fun so she spent most of the 3 hour window trying to get them to come. There was a lot of demand and finally she confirmed one of the last visits!

Our office is notoriously pet friendly and everyone was so excited for them to show up. We got 3 tiny visitors who were so cute and a little tired. I sent Matt a photo of one of the dogs and was so surprised to hear he thought one was cute and would consider adopting her. I left the decision with him. In the end, we came home with the sister of the puppy I met. But man do they look similar!

For whatever reason I decided to scrap this 9x12 size in a pocket page. I think I went in this direction because of the number of photos I wanted to include. (I'm thinking I should assess this 9x12 album. Right now it has 3 really random stories in it from 2 different years...)

I had a ton of journaling for this. It's her gotcha story after all! I filled 3-3x4 journaling cards front and back so decided to tape them together into a flip book. The top one is sticking out over the plastic page protector.

And the decorated card is made up of stuff from my scrap drawer and way deep in my stash. This rainbow paper was in a Studio Calico kit from 2010 I think. The heart is old Freckled Fawn and the "Heart You" is from an Ali Edwards Story Stamp.

I used my favorite white ink to stamp directly of my favorite photo of Dixie. Just look at her sweet smiling face!

cheers & besos,

Fit Introduction

Anyone else with a New Year's Resolution to become more healthy? You too?! Have you stuck with it? Because I'm proud to say I have. We're 3 weeks into the new year and I'm still on top of this whole healthy lifestyle thing. I contribute a great deal of my success to this new class I'm taking: Fit with Cathy Zielske!

I love me some Cathy Z. She's just so charming. So I was super excited to hear about this year long class. If you were familiar with her Move More, Eat Well class, this is the newest iteration of it.

Personally, I'm viewing the class and its' lovely printables as the accountability partner I need to make this healthy life goal a reality. Here's a peak at my pages. If you're in the class with me (which, please say hi!) you'll notice I'm not using all of the prompts. This group felt more manageable to me so that's what I'm sticking with.

I also love that Cathy gave us layered .psd files so the colors in the printables are customizable. Which I think is why I'm loving these so much more! I'm working on another year long project and the color scheme I'm going for is pinks/reds, yellows and blues. So that's what I chose for this project too.

I'm planning to update any progress--and any victories--here on the blog. So you can keep my accountable too!

I'm a little nervous about starting a new month in a different country. But I have a plan and I'm determined to make it stick. I'm trying to set myself up for success. And I promise to keep you updated on the progress!

cheers & besos,

WITL-Tuesday

In tandem with my 31 at 31 page, I decided to do a quick Week in the Life as well. This is still in progress. I'm just really bad at pocket pages when I have to a whole series of them! The photos are printed and in pockets. I just need to add one journaling card and one decorative card for each day. That's it! But I can procrastinate with the best of them so not sure why this surprises me still.

Anyway, here's the only finished page I have for WITL. It's a few photos, a journaling card and a decorative card. I used the October Mix Tape kit from Scrapbook Circle. It's a super simple spread but I like the photo heaviness of it. I hope I find the momentum to keep going and not let this fall into the scrapbook project wasteland!

Tessa blogged about this on the Scrapbook Circle blog. Head over there for more about this spread!

cheers & besos,

Thirty One at 31

I have a tradition. Every year I write xx facts about me at xx year. You can see my past pages here: 28 at 28, 29 at 29, 30 at 30. This year I mixed it up a bit and decided to scrapbook this using a divided page protector. All of the products are from the Scrapbook Circle Mix Tape kit & Cassette add-on. I blogged about this over on the SBC blog. Head that away for more about this page (which I'm loving!)

cheers & besos,