Project Life 2016 | Beach Vacation

Settle in for a marathon post peeps! Today I'm sharing a week in my Project Life album that documents our beach vacation from earlier this summer. I constantly see people question how to document a big event, like a vacation, within their Project Life album. Or if they even SHOULD. Personally, I'd never want to leave a big hole in what is otherwise a summary of our year, so I always include it. I just add smaller inserts as needed.

For this layout I gathered supplies with a fun tropical color scheme. I started with the Simple Stories "You Are Here" collection and purchased the 6x6 paper pad, card pack (which includes some die cut pieces), wood veneer and cardstock sticker sheet from that collection. I also purchased a handful of acrylic pieces from Color Cast Designs, from their May release. The colors and theme were just PERFECT! As I went along, I also pulled in a few things from my stash- alpha stickers, washi, enamel dots and some additional acrylic pieces.

So without further ado, here's our 2016 beach vacation. This spread includes a traditional Design A left and right page as my "bookends" to the week, plus 5 inserts to summarize each day.

Here's the full left page, which documents our travel and arrival in Myrtle Beach. The title card here was simple, layering some cardstock stickers from the Simple Stories collection, a strip of washi and an acrylic piece from Color Cast Designs. The wood veneer alpha stickers are from Bo Bunny.

Below, a small photo I grabbed off my daughter's Snapchat, and on the right, a simple strip of gold vellum and wood veneer hold our room key. I think that veneer disc is from an old Citrus Twist kit.

As I mentioned, this layout includes a bunch of inserts... 5 to be exact. I used 3" square pocket pages for all of the inserts. To the edge of each, I added a tab (punched from the Simple Stories), labeled with a day of the week roller stamp from Studio Calico. Each day of our vacation is documented on the front of an insert, with our evening activities on the back side. I love how these look stacked up in the album!

Insert #1 front (Sunday daytime)...

I also added a white circle acrylic piece to indicate each day of the week. Those pieces are from Elle's Studio, and can be found here.

Below, one of the many acrylic pieces from Color Cast Designs, I've used throughout the layout...

Insert #1 back (Sunday evening)...

I used a few of the Simple Stories wood veneer pieces throughout the layout. For each piece, I used a wood stain marker to stain the wood to a deeper tone. These pens can be found at Home Depot type stores, and are used to "touch-up" scratches in wood cabinetry or furniture. I love the deep, rich color the wood veneer has once it is stained!

Insert #2 front (Monday daytime)...

My favorite element from this insert is this little pocket...

I saved a bit of sand from the beach along with some of the tiniest shells ever, and added them to one of the pockets, backed by a piece of vellum. I also added a couple of the super adorable acrylic fish from Color Cast Designs, and then sealed the pocket shut with my Fuse tool.

Insert #2 back (Monday evening)...

Insert #3 front (Tuesday daytime)...

Insert #3 back (Tuesday evening)...

Insert #4 front (Wednesday daytime)...

Below, another stained wood veneer piece. Most paper and cards used throughout the layout are from Simple Stories, but this one behind the flamingo is from Elle's Studio.

Insert #4 back (Wednesday evening)...

The card pack from Simple Stories included a handful of 2" square cards. I love these little journalling ones, in the card below, and used several throughout the layout, layered with washi, stickers, wood veneer and enamel dots.

Those sunset photos are some of my favorite from the week. The colors were just amazing, changing every few minutes! I really love the look of square pocket pages, but sometimes a photo just can't be cropped. When thay happens, I adjust the borders when I'm editing, so that I can stretch the photo over 2 squares!

Insert #5 front (Thursday daytime)...

Again, more acrylic from Color Cast Designs. I loved the "sun" "sand" and "surf" script pieces together, so I choose to use them all one 1 insert.

That wood veneer anchor is also from Color Cast Designs. I stained it just as I did the other pieces in the layout.

Insert #5 back (Thursday evening)...

And finally, here is the full right side page, which documents a few miscellaneous things that didn't fit in elsewhere, plus our departure and travel home.

The 3x4 card below is a leftover from a Citrus Twist kit.

I love the simplicity this full 4x6 photo with some alpha and acrylic. A great way to finish off the layout.

Here's a collage of all those inserts pages together!

And...Phew! That's about it for this layout!

If you are contemplating documenting a vacation or big event of your own and feeling overwhelmed, check out this post, where I've previously shared my process.

Thanks for stopping by!