Project Life 2016 | November 7-27

Hi scrappy friends! Today I am sharing a layout I just finished using the "Waverly" Pocket Life kit from Citrus Twist Kits.

Today's layout actually documents three (yes, that's right, THREE) weeks from last November. Almost the entire month. I apparently didn't take many photos during that time frame, and none of those individual weeks warranted a stand-alone layout, so... I just combined them into a single layout. And I'm OK with that.

Here is the overall layout...

Aside from the photos themselves, this layout turned out lighter than is normally my style. The kit included papers from the Maggie Holmes "Gather" collection, which is pretty colorful, but I was drawn to several of the exclusive cards in the kit, and so my color scheme developed from those, and focused on the lighter peach, pink and aqua, with lots of white.

Here's the full left side..

The title card this week uses one of the 4x6 exclusive cards from the kit as a base, along with the kraft die-cut that says "here." Using the Pink Paislee leatherette stickers, I added the rest of my title and stitched them in-place with gold thread. There's also a bit of gold ink splatter on the card as well. Super simple.

The card above was a 3x4 from the kit, to which I added some tiny letters from my stash (these are from an old Studio Calico kit) so that it reads "hello flat tire." Urgh. Not the best day! Below the photo I added a puffy sticker from Pink Paislee and some Maggie Holmes gold foil word stickers, both of which were provided in the kit. And of course, more gold ink splatter and stitching.

Below, I made (yet another!) pocket to hold ticket stubs. I just layered a bit of patterned paper on a 3x4 card and added some stitching down each side to hold it in place. I used a few of the gold word stickers to accent the linear pattern and that's it. Super simple!

Above, I accented a full 4x6 photo with a puffy sticker and some of the leatherette letter stickers.

Here is the full right side of the layout...

Again, just a bit of detailing on a 4x6 photo...

If you subscribe to the Citrus Twist pocket life kit, you may recognize the background of this next card. I cut a 3x4 piece from the drawstring bag the kits come in and stitched it to piece of cardstock for stability. The "gather" sentiment was already provided on the bag, and it was perfect for a floral arrangement I received as a hostess gift on Thanksgiving. A few gold word stickers and an exclusive cork piece was all it needed to complete the card.

Above, I used one of the 3x4 journalling cards from the kit as my base. It had a journalling prompt that was about exercise I think? It wasn't one that applied to this particular layout, but I liked the color, so I used it and covered the printed text with a gold word sticker. To the bullets below, I used the stamp set from the kit to add the "working, playing and loving" words. Alongside, I added a cluster of puffy hearts from the Pink Paislee set, and a bit of gold ink splatter.

The final card from this layout uses my favorite card from the kit. I just love the colors and the sentiment on this one!!! I paired it with a 3x4 photo of my daughter and her friend (I have no shortage of these Snapchat selfies, it truly is every day life around here!). To the card I added some ink splatter, a cork piece, and a die-cut leaf that was provided in the kit, which I stitched on with more gold thread. Finally, I added the "right now" sentiment using the stamp set from the kit.

And that's it for this layout. Thanks for stopping by!

Project Life 2017 | January 9-15

Hello scrappy friends! Yesterday I spent some time playing with the newly arrived February Project Life kit from Hip Kit Club. Such gorgeous goodies in this kit, and so many new products from the CHA releases... I couldn't wait to dig in!

I'm still flipping back and forth between the last few weeks of 2016 and the start of 2017, just going where inspiration takes me. Yesterday, inspiration took me to Week 2 of this year! :)

Here is the overall layout...

And just the left side page...

One of the reasons I love the Project Life format is that is allows (encourages?) me to document the everyday things that are a part of our lives. This week, I took the opportunity to document what we are watching and listening to.

First, the TV show "This is Us." If you aren't watching this show, find it, and WATCH!!!! It gives me all the feels.

I printed an ad for the show as a 3x4 photo and mounted it on a 4x6, using the right side of the patterned paper for a bit of journaling and embellishment. I added a strip of washi from my stash down the middle, and ink splatter, then layered some stickers and stitching. The "can't get enough" wood veneer piece is from Color Cast Designs.

I also documented the music my daughter and I have been listening to, which is the soundtrack to the musical "Hamilton." Seriously, we both have this on repeat all.day.long.

Again, just a simple cluster of stickers from the kit, and another wood veneer piece from Color Cast. To accompany the Hamilton album cover, I created a 3x4 filler card with some inspirational lyrics from the show. Using a piece of watercolor paper as a base, I added a light ink background using spray ink and a plastic packaging technique. I lightly sketched the letters in pencil first and then once I was happy with the layout, traced over them in navy blue ink.

Both of the cards above started with exclusive cards provided in the kit. The colorful card on the left was my favorite this month, so I chose to leave most of the pattern visible and just added a bit of embellishment at the bottom. On the right, I stitched along the printed hearts to give them a bit more interest, and then layered a cluster of puffy hearts as well.

The card below started with a piece of patterned paper from the Chasing Dreams collection. I really liked the words typed on some of the pink strips, so I carefully placed my photo in an area where key phrases and words were visible. I added some ink splatter, a sticker, stitching and another cluster of puffy hearts.

Here is the full right side, which is completely filled with photos taken before and after our daughter's school musical, The Lion King. It was a big event in her life, and fully warranted a lot of exposure.

And a few details from this side. Lots of (intentionally) repetitive details here... word and phrase stickers, heart clusters and stitching.

As you have seen, I used a LOT of the Maggie Holmes word/phrase stickers. The collection is called "Chasing Dreams" and the words and phrases go along with that theme, which was great for my photos this week. To go along with these, I typed a few of my own journalling phrases and words, and printed them on cream cardstock.

The card on the left in below photo started as a 3x4 exclusive from the kit. It had a large white rectangle on it, likely intended as a place for journalling. Instead, I cut a small square photo and placed it on this white space to mimic a Polaroid type frame. A washi strip and a few stickers, along with the sentiment on the craft itself, are just enough detail to add interest and color.

One final thing before we wrap up this layout. I had a few photo booth strips and some memorabilia from the play and cast party that I wanted to include. To hold them, I created this 6x8 pocket.

I simply layered patterned paper and stitched around 3 sides to create the pocket. The camera piece was cut from another piece of the patterned paper, and also stitched in place. The thread I used here, and throughout the layout, is a lovely copper. It coordinates well with the rose gold stickers from the Pink Paislee sticker pack. I added a couple puffy hearts to the camera lens because... why not!? I'm a sucker for puffy hearts! The tab along the edge is a sticker from the Pink Paislee set.

And that about does it. Thanks for stopping by!

Project Life 2016 | Oct 24-Nov 6

Hi all! I'm backtracking again today, finishing up another layout from 2016. For this layout I used the January PL kit from Hip Kit Club, along with a few bits and pieces from the Main and Embellishment kits.

At first glance, this January kit had a lot of pink and floral and butterflies going on. While that may not scream "Halloween" for many (any) of you, it actually worked great for my photos from this week. Our daughter dressed as a "social butterfly" for Halloween... so I happily ran with the butterfly theme! :)

The highlight of this layout is by far the insert, so let's start there! The unique thing about this layout... the base is actually a clear piece of acetate!

Here is the overall layout (with a white background behind it, for clarity)

To create this layout, I started with an 8.5x11 piece of acetate. To the left edge, I added a strip of washi, stitched it in place, and punched holes so I could add it directly to my album without a page protector. This layout is very "dimensional" so this was a great way to keep everything from being flattened in a page protector.

To the center of page, I added a piece of patterned paper (I LOVE this watercolor/script paper from Pink Paislee) that I also stitched in place. I should mention, for all my stitching this week, I used a gorgeous copper/rose gold thread. It's so pretty! On this paper I simple added my photo and the title, using the Studio Calico puffy alpha stickers.

Scattered around the layout I wanted to add lots of butterflies. Using the rub-ons from 1 Canoe 2, I added a few butterflies directly to my acetate background. To make some more dimensional, I rubbed a few onto some scrap acetate, fussy cut them out, added a crease down the middle and stitched them to the background.

The layout is very light and airy, which really works well with the butterflies (but is definately a challenge to photograph!)

Here is how the finished layout looks in the album...

And, now for the remaining layout....

And just the left side...

For the title card, I used that bold floral patterned paper and added lots of copper stitching. I also added another dimensional acetate butterfly, and a simple stamped sentiment.

Below, I used a 3x4 filler card from the PL kit and again, just adding a bit of stitching and stamped sentiment. A simple little addition to a really cute card.

This week included a couple hockey games that we attended. To hold ticket stubs from the games, I created a simple pocket. Using a card from the PL kit, I trimmed off the top at a diagonal (following the stripes), layered it over another filler card, and just stitched around 3 sides to create the pocket. A sticker and stamped sentiment, along with some journalling, add just a bit more interest.

I really love those Studio Calico puffy alpha!

Here's the right side page...

The card below is probably my favorite for the week. Using a piece of the Hip Kit Club exclusive pink floral paper as a base, I added a 3x4 photo to the left side. This photo is really just a screenshot from my daughter's phone. I often find a series of ridiculous photos like this, and I think it's nice to include these kind of "real life" things in my Project Life album. Alongside the photo, I just layered some more of the 1 Canoe 2 stickers and a bit of stitching.

To help tie everything together, I added 1 last acetate butterfly to the filler card below, along with a sticker banner and some stitching.

Finally, 1 last close-up from this week. Yet again, a cluster of stickers and some stitching, along with some puffy letters.

And that's it for this week. Thanks for stopping by!

Project Life 2017 | Week 1

Hi everyone! I'm thrilled to be sharing my first layout from my 2017 album! Not to say I'm done with 2016 because I'm still catching up on the last couple months, but I shifted gears for a bit and started 2017. Yay!!!

For this layout I used the September PL kit and paper add-on from Hip Kit Club. A repetitive theme for this layout was lots of gold thread stitching and lots of fussy cutting. So without further ado, here we go...

Here is the full layout...

And just the left side...

The Hip Kit I was using included a pack of large wood veneer numbers from Dear Lizzy, which was perfect to announce the start of a new year. I used some gold acrylic paint (called "Pure Gold" from Folk Art) to paint the numbers gold. This really helps tie them together with the puffy gold alpha letters used elsewhere in the layout.

To up the gold factor even more, I used gold thread for stitching throughout the layout, including on a couple leaves of the title card. Fussy cutting an extra dimensional leaf added some interest. I love how the stitching turned out... so pretty and delicate!

Throughout the layout I used a bunch of die cuts from Simple Stories, which were included in the kit. They were a great compliment to the Maggie Holmes "Gather" papers and exclusive cards in the kit.

The card above was a 3x4 card from the kit. I fussy cut some small flowers from one of the Maggie Holmes papers to add along the top and bottom edges, and added a die-cut and gold stitching.

The "Hello New Year" card above started with my favorite 3x4 card from the kit. I love the repetitive Hello in the varying colors. To add a bit more interest, I stitched over one Hello, and used the gold puffy alpha letters to add the "New Year." I LOVE how this turned out!

Above, I used one of the 4x6 cards as a base, with a few strips of paper layered and tucked under the photos to add some color. I fussy cut the "The Sweetest Things" sentiment from one from one of the exclusive cards in the kit, and added a cluster of a chipboard heart and enamel dots.

I like to add just a bit to my full 4x6 photos.

Moving on to the right side page...

There's a lot going on in the card above, so let me break it down. The base is created with 2 3x4 pieces put together. The wood grain on the left was a kit exclusive. The floral on the right is just cut from one of the Maggie Holmes papers. On that, I added my photos. I fussy cut the "Currently" from one of the exclusive kit cards, and then added the pencil die-cut from the Simple Stories pack, with a line of gold stitching. Finally, I added some gold puffy letters to for the rest of the title.

Just a simple little cluster on the card above, with a gold foil die-cut, chipboard heart, ink splatter and some enamel dots.

Above, I created a simple filler card. Using a strategically cut piece of the Simple Stories patterned paper as a base, I added some gold ink spltter and gold stitching along some of the radial lines in the pattern. At the center of the sunburst design, I added a circle sentiment, which I punched from one of the 3x4 cards in the kit.

The stitching is delicate but adds just enough interest to an otherwise plain card.

Finally, the last photo in this layout... a photo of my husband and I, which I embellished with some more fussy cut flowers, stitching and gold puffy alpha.

Lastly, I have a quick video flip-thru for this layout, and I talk about a few design principles that I use. You can check that out here...