Project Life: July Layouts

So, August is halfway over. I am definitely feeling it. August is a sad month. Summer is coming to a close, and I can’t help but feel like I didn’t enjoy it the way I usually do. I don’t remember the last time I sat by a pool with a summer beer or fruity mixed drink. I’ve got that summertime sadness (oh, ohoohoh).
As much as I enjoy the crisp weather of fall, I am stressing about the passing of time.
ANYWAY, a new month means last month’s Project Life layouts.

Only two major things happened in July: My friend Tracy’s wedding and our trip to Virginia.
So this was a short month of layouts, only really focusing on those two things, with a spread for random photos I took throughout the month and didn’t want to leave out.

 

I’m pleased with this layout as a whole, because I incorporated both the Sunshine core kit and some Studio Calico cards and embellishments. A particular favorite is the diamond wood veneer…perfect for a wedding! I also trimmed some portrait style photos down to 3x4 so they would be used in the layouts without adding more pages. I rounded them, which made them smaller, but I love the way they look. Sometimes, the pictures tell more than a journaling card can.

Out of this spread, only the grid card and heart card on the left are from the Sunshine kit. The title card is from the Summer cards and the rest are from various Studio Calico kits. I love the way it looks.
I’m also super pleased with the vertical page on the right.

Left page is ENTIRELY Studio Calico and I love it. The Thickers I used on the top left photo are from an Amy Tangerine collection, but everything else is SC. I love adding Thickers to photos. I also love my sister.

More small photos in the journaling card spaces. Love it.

Finally, the random moments that didn’t fit with the other layouts.

Ending with the vertical layout means starting with a vertical layout next month. That stresses me just a little bit.
I feel like I’m getting the hang of it, though.

Also, I’m still trying to find the best way to photograph my layouts. So many bloggers do it and they turn out great, but I end up with a lot of glare. Hopefully, I’ll find the perfect balance of light and background soon.

Project Life: June Layouts

Now that it’s July…it’s time for June’s Project Life layouts!

My photos for June were very sparse. I printed way less than I usually do, and I didn’t even use all of them.
I guess the fact that the book is so huge already is getting me nervous.
Because of this, the layouts are all pretty simple.

The first layout focuses on my trip to Virginia, specifically the journey there.
I used the June wood veneer from Studio Calico’s Hello, Hello kit. I love the way it looks.
The “enjoy the adventure” card and date washi tape was also the perfect addition for this page.
I printed out a few Instagram photos with the full intention of using them in another page like last month, but they were all too random that I decided to stick them to some cardstock, which you can see on the bottom right.
That particular paper was designed by Crate Paper.

 

I was super excited to do the Virginia Beach layout because I purchased the Project Life Summer Themed Cards back in May and have been anxiously waiting to use them…they are so stinking cute! I kept two of my Sunshine Core Kit cards (“Today is Beachy”, using the cutest Thickers I got for 1.50 from Marshalls), but the rest are Summer cards.

 

I once again used Design D for my vertical pictures, and I can’t stress enough how much I don’t like using these. I don’t find them aesthetically pleasing and I also hate that I then have to use at least 3 photos on the other side. I miss my Design G, but I don’t want to let these go to waste. Maybe they will grow on me. And I don’t hate using the cards vertically, because I’ve gotten some cute ones through my SC kits and themed cards. Still, something about them…

I ended the month with a layout dedicated to spending time with my friends. The top and bottom have different focuses, and I probably could’ve done pages for both, but I condensed it so that I could start fresh on the left side next month.

I enjoy these layouts and the memories, but I felt a little uninspired. I always try to bang it all out in one sitting, and that can be good or bad. The great thing is, I can always go back and change the decorative cards, add more journaling and embellishments, or just play around a little more with the way the pictures are placed.

For now, this works just fine!

Project Life: May Layouts

Another month of 2014 is, literally, in the books.
This month felt a little harder to work on and I know why.

 

Aside from my birthday, May was a fairly quiet month so I didn’t have a ton of photos (like I usually do) to go through.
On top of that, I worked a lot more with the vertical Project Life pocket pages (Design D) which means that both sides need to have the right kind of photos and cards. It did eventually work out, but the Sunshine Core Kit, as much as I love it, doesn’t really have horizontal cards to work with. I am able to turn some of them on their sides, and some of the journaling cards are grids, but it just doesn’t feel the same. I previously worked with Design G, which has space for both vertical and horizontal photos. I ran out, but I have to say that it was probably a more favorable way for me to incorporate portrait style photos. Still, it is fun to think outside of the box and this allowed me to work with some cards from my Studio Calico Project Life kit (Camelot, from last month). I know I’ve said this before, but it’s hard for me to stray from the core kit I’ve dedicated myself to this year. I want everything to be cohesive, but the cards I get are so great, I would be crazy NOT to use them!

 

Another new addition to the book is the use of the Design J pages, made for 4x4 Instagram photos. I love using these, small as they are (they look more like inserts than parts of the story I’m telling), because I think that 4x4s are the cutest prints and I have a lot of memories in my IG feed. I look forward to using these more next month.

 

Since I didn’t have a lot of photos, I used some snapshots of texts from Brad and Maria, really nice ones about life and encouragement that I’ll be glad to have saved in the future. The last couple pages of my month always seem to be a mish-mash of photos taken throughout the month. My first ice cream cone of the year, my usual bedside set up, some work stuff I’m proud of. On the bottom photo, you’ll see that I used two journaling cards that are designed to be horizontal, and they were from my Studio Calico kit. Luckily, they flow with the design cards from Sunshine (even though they are turned on their side, it still looks good). Mix and matching isn’t so bad after all!

When I went to put my book back in the bag I carry everything around in, it was SUPER HEAVY. And I’m only 5 months in. I think I will be able to finish the year with this album, but there’s a good chance a bookshelf won’t be able to hold it…unless it’s on the bottom shelf. I didn’t think pictures could be so darn heavy. You live and learn. I’m happy to do these random event layouts, but next year I might do a photo-a-day or a a layout for a week instead. It might keep everything in order a lot better than printing 50+ photos every month and feeling the need to use most of them.

Scrapbooking On the Side: Instagram Album

As you know, I love me some Project Life. My passion for all things Becky Higgins, Project Life, or
embellishment-related (like a Studio Calico membership…more on that later) is at an all-time high.
It feels like forever since I’ve worked on my album, but May ends in just a few days, which means my pictures are prepped for printing and I’m excited to finally utilize some of my Instagram-friendly pocket pages this month.

And speaking of Instagram, Brad got me this great We R Memory Keepers Instagram album and pocket pages for my birthday and I finally got around to making my book! The inspiration is 100%% from TracyXO at The Single Girl’s Scrapbook. If you’re not reading her blog, hop to it! Her layouts (and her scrapbooking motivation) are inspiring!
A while back, she made an album focused on the IG hashtag #fromwhereIstand. I loved the idea, so much so that I began to lust after the album and wanted to make one of my own. I was ready to even go through and find any of my feet photos…but then I realized that my most used hashtag has got to be #NOTD (nails of the day). Those who know me know how much I love nail art, and I loved going through my IG feed and finding my favorite nail art.

These mini albums are adorable. When I picked mine out, I got it in one of those bundles on Amazon (where you save money by purchasing related items, in this case the photo pockets to match). There are various colors.

 
 

What I did/used:
We R Memory Keepers Instagram album
1 pack of 4x4 photo pages
1 pack of 2x2 photo pages
We R Memory Keepers IG card set in Indian Summer
4x4 photos (printed off of the Walgreens app straight from Instagram)
2x2 photos (printed via grids on PostalPix app straight from iPhone)
Fiskers Paper Cutter to separate the 2x2 photos

This project just took about 2 hours to do. Unlike my Project Life layouts, this is more photo heavy, with less journaling and even embellishments. For the first time ever, I wrote on the actual picture, something I’ve seen done multiple times but was always a little scared to do. I think this was the best way to try it.

I love the idea of doing this and having a little book that documents my nail art. This month has been pretty low-key in terms of my nails. I spent over a week with naked nails and, in fact, they are actually naked now. I truly love nail art and nail polish, but sometimes the inspiration isn’t there or my nails just need to breathe. As I get older, I know that other things will become priority over nails and so it will be nice to have something to look back on, as nail art has undoubtedly been a definitive part of my life for the last few years. Life is truly about the little things.

If you’re interested in making one of these albums, I recommended taking a look at your Instagram and seeing what types of photos/hashtags you use the most. Maybe you take photos of different coffees you’ve tried, pet photos, or whatever you love the most! Obviously, it can be random, but it’s fun to have a little book dedicated to what’s most important to you at that moment, even if it’s something seemingly silly!

P.S. While I put the album together, I took some square shots on my phone and turned it into a Flipagram.
You can check it out on my Instagram right here!

Project Life: April Layouts

It took me one afternoon of coffee and New Moon to finish my layouts for last month.
I am very pleased with the work I did for these layouts…it’s fun how many options you have, even if you’re using the same photo pocket pages over and over. You get to personalize it and make it your own and it’s just great.
Part of me is bummed that I didn’t wait until this past Saturday, which was National Scrapbooking Day.
All sorts of fun events, sales, and hashtags were going on. I still contributed a few of my layouts to the cause, but it would’ve been fun to spend the day (which was otherwise completely lazy and not busy) scrapping with everyone!
If you’re in need of some inspiration, check out the hashtag #NSD10K on Instagram. There are so many inspiring layouts, from Project Life style to good old-fashioned paper and picture.

Anyway, on to my layouts!

I’m really glad that I purchased these page dividers that correspond with my Sunshine Edition core kit.
While the dividers themselves aren’t strong enough to flip a page in the book, they add some organization between the months and they are just so darn cute. I added one to the past three months and this particular one went well with the flow of the pages. April was a good month for memories, so I’m excited with this simple beginning!

 

I ADORE the color scheme of this layout. I wish I had gotten the whole page together.
On the top, you’ll see photos from when my sister and I got lunch at a local place during the week before her big move.
We drove past this old market that is still open (Maria loves the way it looks, can you blame her?) and it helped me narrow down the colors I chose to journal and decorate with!
I also unintentionally did a lot of Diptic and DblCam work on the first page, and I’m glad I did…I love two photos in one!
I’m also trying to get comfortable putting stickers on the pictures…you can’t go back once you do, but I don’t regret placing that “Don’t Forget” sticker on the top right photo, it holds a small memory that I’ll be glad to have. The Road Trip layout was a first for me. Yes, there are a couple of journaling cards on the left, but the entire right side is photos. I took so many, and I didn’t want to leave all of them out! I had fun using the Fiskers Paper Trimmer my friend handed down to me to make all of the pictures fit into each slot on the page. I use this device at least once a month, for cutting paper that I want to use instead of journaling cards or trimming annoying pieces off of pictures, but it was soooo useful this month. Usually, I use a corner rounder punch to mimic the look of the cards, but I liked keeping the whole thing rectangular this time around. You don’t lose much rounding corners off, but I like the way these look.

Again, I really wanted to utilize as much pictures as possible. Journaling is super important to me for PL, but I wrote a lot about the trip in my actual journal, so I didn’t feel the need to rehash or even decorate each page with cards.
The two 4x6 cards on the right are perfect as is. Besides, the pictures themselves tell a story.
Again, I used the Fiskers to even everything out. I love the look of the photos in the journaling card pockets.

I print A LOT of photos each month. Usually at least 75. I definitely don’t need that money, but I usually get a discount the more I print, so whatever. The final layout for the month has a bunch of random (but pretty/memorable) pictures to close the month out. Four journaling cards tell the stories behind each photo, since they aren’t cohesive.
And, as I mentioned in the previous layout post, I broke out a super tiny bit and added two 3x4 cards from a small pack of We R Memory Keepers cards that I have. The core kit I use doesn’t have any horizontal designs (I suppose some can be turned that way and no one would know, but then the other side would be wrong), so I took a deep breath and stuck these suckers in there. They helped tie that page together and it still looks nice and matchy.

So those are most of my layouts for the month!
Hopefully, when I post May’s layouts, I’ll find a better place to take the photos and more natural light to play with.
The pages tend to get a bit glare-y, so they are hard to capture if too much light hits.
It’s a process, and you learn all the time!

Project Life: March Layouts

February’s layouts really took up a huge portion of my binder. I started (and still kind of am) worrying about not being able to fit everything in the one book. Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with splitting up the year in a couple of books, but I’d ideally like to have everything in one. That’s just how I roll. It’s probably obvious, but Mexico is the reason why the month went on for many, many pages. I now know I could’ve done a smaller book focusing just on the vacation, but that’s the fun part of doing this…I’m learning!

 
 
 

A few more things I’ve learned in the few months of Project Life (for me):
1) When it comes to pictures, less is more. I’ve been printing close to 100 photos every month. I don’t regret having the extra photos (I know they will be put to use somehow), but I learned that it’s best to keep it cohesive. If I really love the random photos, they can go on a layout at the end of the month. Otherwise, it’s nice to focus on the big moments.
2) Embellishments are fun! One of the great things about Project Life is that the core kits are filled with beautiful, fun, and creative cards that are decorative enough to focus on just those and the cards. However, it’s really nice to add those little touches! I’m having fun throwing stickers on cards and even on pictures. And, in case it isn’t obvious, I LOVE chipboard and foam letter stickers. They are so much fun. It’s nice to have a 3D effect going throughout the book.
3) Part of me is a little crazy and wants to stay cohesive with just the Sunshine core kit, which is hard because I now have 3 additional core kits for future use. I know many people mix and match their core kits, but again, that’s not really for me. However, I am having fun playing with craft paper and cardstock for additional complimentary fillers.
It’s good to be open about this…it’s not going to be perfect, and that’s what’s fun about it!

A New Month/Project Life Progression

It’s officially the fourth month of 2014…I’d say time flies but I always do and it always is.
It seems like just last week I was posting about how I wanted to start a Project Life album, and now I get to work on March! I haven’t posted about the book in a while, so I figure I’ll show you a sneak peek at February’s layouts (Mexico took up WAY TOO MUCH SPACE and I’m worried the year won’t fit in one binder now).

 
 
 
 

I have so much fun doing this and, when looking back on it with Brad, I was so glad that I started it. Printing the photos out, journaling, and putting them together is not only fun, but it reminds me of the good things in life. I have stories written, both hidden in folded cards and out for anyone to read. Being able to read and remember the little things I might forget, even looking at the photos, is super special. Becky Higgins has quickly become one of my creative idols.

Can’t wait to get this one started!

Project Life: Month Completed/On to the Next!

I have to be honest, I’m actually kind of excited that February is such a short month. As soon as I finished putting together my January PL pages, I was ready for more! It took a while for me to finally have some time to put January together after coming back from Mexico (work has been giving me a lot more hours, which is nice), but I was a machine once I sat down with everything. Here’s a peek of January!
 
 
 

And here’s the little mess I set up for February’s pages!

My collection of scrapbooking materials has grown in the last month.
Archival ink pads, a label maker, 8 different colors of archival journaling pens, and so many stamps.
The best thing about Project Life is that you don’t really need to embellish…the cards are decorative on their own.
However, adding your own flare is one of the best parts!
I have over 100 photos for February…this should be interesting.

P.S. For those of you that follow me on Facebook, you probably saw that Becky Higgins, the creator of Project Life, regrammed a photo of my nail art, inspired by the Kraft edition core kit. Such an awesome moment!

Project Life: And we’re off!!

Now that a new month has begun, that means it’s time to start constructing the first month and pages of my Project Life binder! I have been anxious (in a good and a bad way) for this time to come and it’s finally here!
I’ve talked about my preparation for this pr0ject on the blog a few times so far.
You can read about that here and here.
Pictures were printed and picked up on Saturday.
The photo pages have been opened and inserted into the book.
Now, I just have to construct it!

The first thing I did was go through all of my printed photos and date them on the back.
To change this/make this easier this month, I’ve started saving them in my PLFebruary folder with the dates on the photo. It will definitely help me tell a story of each day or week.

 

After adding all of the photo pages from the big packet, I started to go through my Sunshine Core Kit to find with cards I wanted to use for my first (and last, though I only picked a couple) page. This is the most fun, but also most stressful, part. I want the pages to flow but there are also so many different designs and colors that it’ll be hard not to throw everything in and just go crazy!

Finally, I added some photos from the first few days of the year and some notes about it. The journaling cards are filled with my general goals for the year with this project and what any reader should expect to see a lot of in the book.
(Even though it will mostly be me and my family and friends.)

This is what I’ve got so far.
I have to say, doing this is making me want to have a lot more cohesive photos for this month. I think it will be easy, especially with my trip to Mexico next week! And it will help with page construction because they literally will tell a better story. Some pages are going to have a theme, such as monthly reads and nail art.

Sidebar:
This Recollections rounded corner punch might be my best purchase of the year so far.

I don’t plan on using it for every photo, but I love the look it gives.
It also helps the book flow, since all of the cards in the kit are rounded off.
I was worried that I would screw up the photos, but this awesome tool makes it basically impossible.
If you’re in the market for one, check it out at Michaels!