Project Life - July 7-12, 2014

This is my layout for July 7-12, 2014.

If you notice, this week's layout really isn't a whole week. It is only 6 days. Sunday's pictures paired up better with the following week, so I went with it. Easy to just adjust the dates and move on.

This week I used Sweet Shoppe Design's Hello Sunshine kit for the base of this week's layout.  Getting my money's worth from Ali Edwards' Edge Sentiment brushes as well. 

For this page I altered the bottom right 4x6 photo to be a 8x6 photo. wasn't sure how not to stretch the corners of the photo, but to get the photo block that size. Something I need to look into! Good enough  for this page though. 

Glad to have another summer week done for my Project Life album! 3 and a half summer weeks to complete and I will be caught up!

Hello Story - Hello Me

I took Ali Edwards' class at Big Picture Classes, last September called Hello Story. 

Here is a layout I created using the Fill in the Blank prompt.

Now I blurred the journaling out because of privacy reasons. No need for the internet to know my parents' and siblings' names and where I live, right? It was a printable fill in the blank journaling block that Ali included in the class content.

This is pretty much as scrap lift of the layout Ali did in the class. I believe she did 8.5x11 2 pager, though.

The page is made from a Little Bicycle collection. The alpha letters are Heidi Swapp magic resist and some old MM. My friend Kelly hooked me up with the wood veneer heart and arrows to finish off the page.

I really enjoyed this class. I have yet to finish up all of the content from this class, but I still have a wish list of pages I want to complete for it.  Totally worth the money!

Cards made from leftovers

During the Stash Bash event, I went through a lot of my stuff, purging and cleaning, and throwing away. 

When I got to my stash of pages in progress, I found a couple of layouts, I just didn't want to finish. I didn't have stories to go with them and the photos just were not important to warrant space in my albums. And I am afraid to say album space is soon to be a problem.

There were also a few things that had been hanging around forever. Things I always made the excuse that if it didn't make it on a layout, I could always use it to make a card...

Finally I decided I wasn't going to put those things away, lost in the abyss. I was going to use it or get rid of it.

Here is what I made.

The card bases of these cards come from Michaels. They have had boxes of plain card bases with envelopes for $5, which makes my cards making easy.

The first card, I had rubbed the a strip of happy off a rub-on sheet and had the left over sheet that you could still ready happy off of.  Used this along with some leftovers from an SEI kit. Added a little stamping from a birthday set from Technique Tuesday and this one was done.

The next three cards were created using the parts from a layout. I had originally had pictures of the seals and sea lions from Sea World, but the page didn't really have a story and I didn't want to create a page for every animal that we saw that day. Used a Fiskars water edge punch for the first two and stamped with the same TT birthday stamp set. For the third seal layout I used some alpha stamps to create my sentiment.

The Bambi cards was from another layout I dismantled. I think it will make a cute baby card.

The ice cream cone card, was made from a shaker box sticker my mom had passed onto me. Made a quick and easy card.

The flower card was made from a punch out sheet. Something else that was passed onto me. With a button in the center, another quick and easy card.

The last card used a popsicle stick that has been in my stash since my very first scrapbook retreat in 2003! It had holes in the ends that I used to attach to the card with brads. I had some present die cuts I was also about to put in the donate pile that worked with the card. Again, easy.

So there you go. Cards made, and stash used up. Gotta love it!

Procrastinator Challenge - still in progress

In Stash Bash, I found one of my biggest problems in my process. You can see it in the photo below.

See the paper rack in the middle? Those are my pages in progress. These are pages that there is something that the layout still needs to be complete. Some are dates, most are journaling, others it is a title and for very few it is finishing touches.

So how did it get this way? 

I struggle with journaling at crops.

I get a lot of pages started and to almost completion but I can't finish it because I can't get my mind quieted in a group event to decide what I want to say. 

Sometimes I know I need my computer to fit all the journaling. 

There were even a two layouts that I had no story for, and actually dismantled the pages and threw most of it away, not wanting to finish it or have it take up space in my album! GASP! (More on the left overs for this on another post.)

Look at the pile of layouts that just need journaling and the date! And these are the ones I considered high priority stories. 

Here are the rest. The ones on top are low priority stories. Things like Disney character meetings and such. 

The bottom layouts require more to complete them. 

I have then vowed that I am not to create one more layout that can't be completed. I hope to be able to  bring as many layouts to completion before starting new projects. That includes December Daily. 

Hoping to share these layouts completed soon!

I Want to Remember.. You & Me

During the Stash Bash event at Simple Scrapper, one of the daily chats had a speed scrap.

I totally needed this challenge. It had been FOREVER since I had sat down and created a layout from start to finish. No excuses!

So the challenge was Jennifer Wilson would give a parameter of what was to be used on the page a step at a time given a certain amount of time to complete.

I was to find one 4x6 photo. This would normally be a bit of a challenge for me since I tend to print after I know what I want to scrap, but since I had been sorting a purging photos earlier that day, the photo I used, was on my radar.

Second step was to do some kind of treatment to a white background. I chose some Heidi Swapp color shine in a coral color. 

Then we had a couple of minutes to pick 2 patterned papers. I selected two that I recently purchased from AC  from Shimelle's collection. The colors matched the spray I used for the previous step. The trick later stated in the challenge, was that the papers were only to be used as embellishments. 

Luckily the cut apart cards qualified, and I punched a word using a tab punch from the other. That punch was hard to do. I had a full 12x12 and I was cutting into it for a tab? This is something I NEVER do! It felt good to use it up though.

The next parameter was to use 4 types of embellishments. Something flat (my metal & paper clip), something long (washi tape), something with words (sticker phrases from Cosmo Cricket), and 3D (enamel dots I had leftover from my Studio Calico December Daily kit).

The last part of the challenge was to make a title with a large word embellishment (stamped words worked so I used an Ali Edwards' stamp) and two other alpha stickers.

This is what I made.

And I finished it. 

In. One. Hour.

Is it perfect? No.

Are there things I would have done different if it weren't for the challenge? Yes.

Do those things matter? No.

Now journaling is something I struggle with if I don't think about it before putting the page together. I didn't have a lot of time to think, being a speed scrap and all. But that is where Story Stamp comes in.

 I signed up for Ali Edwards' Story Stamp. I used to be a subscriber to Technique Tuesday's Studio AE stamps, but opted out when some of the stamps they were coming out with, I didn't find as useful and figured I could purchase the ones that I knew I would use at the higher price point. I have always been a fan of Ali's stamps and loved her Hello Story class, so I went for Story Stamp. I have not regretted it. 

I got the content the week of Stash Bash and devoured the content before my stamps had come into the mail. This month's theme is Prompts and one of the stamps says "I want to remember". This was a great way for me to get a list of things I wanted to remember about my grandmother and me. 

We did not have a great relationship. I was disowned by her right after I got engaged to my husband over 12 years ago.  There are things that I want to remember despite the ill feelings and that is what I wanted to capture here.

So I have to thank Jennifer Wilson and her Stash Bash event and Ali Edwards' Story Stamp for this completed page. Thank you!

Stash Bash - During

Here are some photos that I took during the event. 

Challenge #7- Clean Sweep 

Make boxes for trash, sell/give. Set timer for 20 minutes and declutter a space.

I have a bag for recycling as well, which got very full over these 5 days! As well as three give away piles, my mom (has a scrappy business where she can give stuff away as prizes if never opened), donate, and my kids.

This was an easy declutter area to do first. Don't know if I was ruthless enough, but I did have a handful of clips empty by the end!

Also tackled my white paper scraps. I pulled out all the stamping paper and full sheets of 12x12 for backgrounds and purged a lot of unusable scraps.

I also attacked my card stock scraps. Going from the orange box to a container that was repurposed for them. I had to eliminate a good number of scraps to get them to fit!

That was for challenge #9- The Office Space

Reorganizing a supply so it is more efficient in the space.

Here is an after shot of my card shelf. The right of it is the most impressive of it all! I got rid of a box worth of stuff!

Another must area was the book shelf. I organized all the professional photos. My son's are organized by school year, the Santa and Bunny photos are all together and in date order. All of the portraits are organized as well. I also purged an idea day by day calendar off the shelf.

It was a good start. There are more areas that were cleaned up and I will show more soon! I have things to share every day for the next week or so. So come back soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

Before Stash Bash

My MIL gave me the class, Simple Scrapper's Stash Bash, as a birthday present, and it did not go to waste! 

I took a bunch of photos of my scrap space before the event. There were a variety of challenges that could be completed over the five days with three focuses- use up your stash, manage your stash, and extreme make-over. My main focus was managing my stash, with a touch of using my stash.

Anyhow, I took these photos to act as my before to show the change after completing. Proof that I completed some challenges.

This is the view of my room when you walk into the door. Not too pretty, huh. There are things that are working in this space. I love my green shelf that holds my cricut cartridges and name plates a friend of mine made me at the classes she hosted and I attended. 

  

The photo of the left shows my MM shelf that totally works for me. I store all of my Distress inks, Stickles, embossing powders, buttons, paints, spray inks, and more within easy access and reach.  Below that I store my card stock, my kitted papers for projects I am working on, and my OLW album on the right, and patterned paper for the most part on the left. The bottom 3 are by theme. Travel, Baby/kid, and Wedding.

The photo on the left are my Stampin' Up! and other wood mounted stamps, as well as some Tim Holtz sets. On the shelves, I house my plastics for PL, Disney page kits, predesigned page kits, and more patterned paper mostly from Cosmo Cricket and SEI. On top are my misc. inks, markers, and mini embellishment cases for eyelets, brads and more.

   

It is hard to get a good picture of my closet. It goes deep on both sides behind the doors. On top is where I store most of my albums with completed pages. 

On the right photo you can see piles of things. Most of my card making supplies are on this side of the closet. There is a shoe organizer cabinet on that side of the closet. It holds my dies and embossing folders. On top is a clip it organizer and a stack of thickets and other alphabets.

On the left is a photo of the book shelf in the closet. The bottom holds the magazines that I haven't been able to purge quite yet, as well as sketch books and my idea binder. Above that is a box of Sizzix dies, professional photo prints (school, sports, portrait studio, Santa, etc.). On the top are "kits" in over-sized baggies. They tend to be collection pieces I have left over from Basic Grey POTM kits, or just pieces I have purchased (some won) that are all from a particular collection or just coordinate together. The box on the side is Becky Higgin's baby kit that I am using for my daughter's first year album. The file folders hold memorabilia and things saved for specific events. 

On the right, this is one side of the closet. There is a punch holder hanging, some sizzix on the floor and my totes (empty) to use for crops.

This is opposite my table. It houses my cricut, sizzix big shot, and sewing machine. I have to clear at least one of them off to use any of the three, so this isn't working so well for me. Under the table is my kids' stash. I have limited to giving them things that fit in a shoe box and a 12x12 one inch paper holder. They tend to want to shop my stash anyway, and I didn't want to use them as an excuse to hold onto things I don't love any more.

The table itself....

I have my carrying tool case that holds my adhesives (glue dots, dimensional adhesive, etc.), tiny attacher, chalks, pens, corner chomped, and more. In the middle are 2 boxes I am reusing that were the perfect size for Project Life cards. My mom found this date stamp holder which I love having in reach.

Then there is this mess on my desk. The shoe boxes are for scraps. The top card stock and the bottom, patterned paper. Next to it are my pages in progress. That is a topic for its own post. Then there are my printed photos next to that.

Another problem area in my space is the floor behind my table. It currently has my PL albums that are complete, more kits, stamp binders, memorabilia for PL 2013, and newly purchased items that haven't been put away yet. As well as my washi tape case.

Here is the last part of my space that I have to share. Behind the door, I have a shoe rack that holds my large punches. I love this solution for these! Next to the door, I have a chest of drawers that got repurposed in this space. Drawer #1- photos.  #2 ribbons and fibers. #3 sewing supplies. #4 adhesives and tape runners. #5 memorabilia. 

 On top are some Studio Calico Project Life kits as well as some mini PL kits.  The rest is ribbon.

As you can see, I have many problem areas in my space and too much stuff. I want to purge enough stuff to get rid of a few boxes worth and have what is there, easy to find.

Thanks for making it through this monster of a post. Hope you enjoyed a look into my space, even with the horrible state that it is in! Will share some of the changes I made with Stash Bash soon!

Project Life - Sept. 15-21, 2014

This is my Project Life layout for September 15-21, 2104.

This week I used a free kit called Sunny Days from Sweet Shoppe Designs as the base of my layout. I had realized the last few weeks had been pretty Madeline heavy and since it was Aaron's birthday week, I made a conscious effort to take more photos of him this week.

 This week I copied the graphics from a class I participated in and used Ali's Edge Sentiments (40% off at Designer Digitals this week!).

I used the title from a free journaling card from Paislee Press as well as some brushes from Traci Reed.

Because of the Birthday photos, I have an insert this week.

Thanks for looking! 

BTW- This week I participated in Simple Scrapper's Stash Bash, and I have tons of stuff to show from the event. That will come soon!

Project Life - Sept. 8-14, 2014

Here is my Project Life layout for September 8-14, 2014.

This layout uses another free kit that I found at Sweet Shoppe Designs called Pretty Little Things.

The second journaling block is a screen shot of the quiz my son took at his book club. Love when I can add bits that were paper into this album without the work of scanning!

The gold arrow comes from the free kit Just be Me from JB Studios, (you like the Facebook page to get it free).

When I did this page I realized my daughter was wearing the same shirt in all of the photos. The thing is, they are not all from the same day. I did laundry and she wore the same shirt again. Oh, well. Just shows the girl needs some new fall clothes!

And there you have it. Another completed layout in the books.

Thanks for visiting! Hoping to take some photos of some paper projects that I have been working on. It has been to long!

Project Life- Sept. 1-7, 2014

Here is my Project Life Layout for Sept. 1-7, 2014.

For this weeks layout, I used the the free kit "This Week", from Sweet Shoppe Designs. 

I have been struggling a bit these days, taking photos in the beginning of the week. Wasn't sure I was going to have enough photos this week to make two pages. Instead I used the vertical PL template since I happened to take more of them this week.

On this page, I actually took the bottom two photos after the fact to have them. They tell the story for this week, so it doesn't bother me. When you have a week of really sick family, you improvise.

I used a brush from Ali Edwards from her  One Little Word class from last year.

Keeping it simple, that's how I like these pages to look. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Project Life - August 25-31, 2014

Here is my Project Life layout for August 25-31, 2014.

For this week's layout I used a free kit from Sweet Shoppe Designs that was designed by Kristin Cronin-Barrow called Optimistic. 

For the first journaling card, I used a card that was part of Ali Edwards' Big Picture Class called Hello Story digital elements.  I also used the digital element, "celebrate the USA" that Ali Edwards' had free on her blog.

Used an Ali Edwards' edge sentiment on the first photo.  Last "photo" was a screen capture from our computer. 

Thanks for looking! Hoping to do something more crafty, less digital later this week.