Project Life 2016 | September 5-11

Hi folks! I'm back today with another layout from my productive weekend of catch-up scrapping. Today's layout is from early September of last year. I hate falling this far behind, but on the plus side... I have a plethora of kits and products to choose from so that has been fun to go "shopping" in my own backlog of kits!!! :)

For this layout, I chose to use the November "Emerson" pocket life kit from Citrus Twist Kits. The colors worked well with my photos for the week... lots of bright orange and blue. The exclusive papers in this kit were so fun!

This week's layout also included a 6x12 layout insert. I just LOVE 6x12 layouts... so let's just start with that, shall we?

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

And the 6x12 layout itself...

I started the layout with a piece of 6x12 white textured cardstock. Using a recycled plastic technique, I added some ink to the background, layered with some additional ink splatter and droplets.

Next I added a few strips of paper down the left side, and stitched them in place...

Under the photo I added my title, compromised of puffy alpha from the kit and an acrylic piece from Color Cast Designs. Below that, a cluster of wood veneer, paper and vellum hearts that are stitched in place. These heart clusters became a repetitive design element you'll see used in the overall layout as well.

Here is the overall 2-page spread...

And just the left page...

The kit included a pack of die-cut from Jillibean Soup. I used quite a few throughout the layout, including a cluster of hearts on the title page...

I added a few handcut vellum hearts layered on the die cuts and stitched them in place.

I had a few extra photos that I didn't want to eliminate from the layout so I added a flip-up pocket in the upper right...

The kit included a good variety of pieces to embellish my layout. I love the various textures between die-cuts, wood veneer and puffy alpha.

Here is the full right side...

To balance the title card on the left side, I added another card of layered and stitched hearts here...

I loved the "Tell Your Story" card included in the kit and wanted to keep that simple. I just added a few mini puffy hearts and some ink splatter...

And that's about it for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Project Life 2016 | September 18 NYC

I've never been a big fan of winter, but I have to say, I'm thankful for the gloomy northeast weather this weekend as it has allowed my first stay-home weekend in FOREVER! And I've spent it scrapping!!!

The layout I'm sharing today dates back to mid-September last year, when my family and I spent a day in New York City to celebrate my 40th birthday. Some of the products I used date back just as long... ok, not really. But I did go scavenging in my stash and pulled out some products that go back a couple years! Many of the products came from an old Citrus Twist Kits I horded and apparently buried in my stash. Yay for discovered treasures!!!!

Ok, enough rambling. Let's get to the layout already!

Here is the full left side, which documents our arrival in the city, the 9/11 memorial pools and the One World Trade tower...

A close-up of the title card...

Many of the papers you will see throughout the layout are from the old Crate Paper "Journey" collection (which was provided in the Citrus Twist kit), as well as some of the old Amy Tangerine "Stitched" collection. I did sprinkle in a few new products though... on the title card you'll see a layered tag and some lovely gold-dipped Thickers from the We R Memory Keepers "Urban Chic" collection.

More close-ups...

This day was a jam-packed tour of so many New York City landmarks that I needed a few inserts to summarize each stop.

First... here is how the inserts look stacked in the album. As you'll see in a moment, the top insert has some large letters floating in pockets so you see the NYC skyline behind them.

Here is the front of that first insert, which documents our walk through Battery Park, a water taxi ride and lunch...

Those big white cardstock alpha letters are from the Target dollar bins!

As silly as it sounds, our stop at Shake Shack was a highlight for me. Sooo good... hubby and I agree, the best burger we've ever had!

Here's the back side of that first insert, which documents our walk on the Brooklyn Bridge...

Here's the front of the second insert, documenting another water taxi ride to see the south-east skyline and the Statue of Liberty...

To create the skyline photos in multiple pockets, I edited my photo in Photoshop. I cropped my original image to 4"h x 9"w and then cropped that into 2 separate images that I could print- a 4"x6" (which I sliced in half) and the remaining 3"x4" for the 3rd slot...

Back to the layout...

In the photo above, you can see the little tabs I've added to each insert. I just punched these from some gold-foiled vellum, for a bit of interest.

Here is the back side of this insert, documenting our visit to Central Park, and in particular, my favorite landmark, Bow Bridge ...

Here is the final insert, a salvaged paper bag that I'm using to hold various memorabilia from the day. The mint green tabs are from Basic Grey. I really wish I had these in more colors, they come in handy!

And finally, the full right page of the layout, which documents our visit to Top of the Rock (the top of Rockefeller Center), the Rockefeller Center plaza area and Times Square.

That thin wood veneer with the city skyline is from a very old Studio Calico kit... probably one of the very first PL kits. I added the stamped sentiments using some Citris Twist stamps.

And that's it folks. I dug deep and used some old things from my stash. Kinda feels good!
And what do ya know, I think made room for some new shopping purchases!

Project Life 2016 | August 1-7

Hi all! It's been an incredibly busy few weeks (I turned 40, went to NYC, went to Connecticut, attended multiple family events, ran 2 5Ks) but things are finally settling down, and I'm happy to find some creative blogging time again!

Today I'm sharing a layout using the September Pocket Life kit from Citrus Twist Kits, along with their sprinkles kit from August.

Disclaimer- please forgive the photo quality. It's been cloudy and overcast for days, and my editing attempts to brighten were marginally successful.

Here's the overall layout...

And the full left page...

I picked my favorite pattern from the 6x6 papers to use for the title card and kept it simple with a vertical row of chipboard hearts and some of the beautiful Maggie Holmes gold puffy alpha. The hearts are from an exclusive Citrus Twist chipboard pack available in their shop.

The Pocket Life kit came with 2 thin wood veneer words. I chose to use the "hello" on on this card, but colored it a dark navy blue with a spray mist. The heart is from the Reset Girl die-cut pack also included the kit, which I stitched in place.

With the adorable cat paper in this collection, I had to include a photo of our little Molly.

Here is the overall right side page...

I used one of the exclusive 4x6 cards from the kit as a base for the card above. I sliced the yellow banner to tuck my photo underneath and added a bit of stitching to make it look more dimensional. The enamel dots throughout the layout were included in the August sprinkles kit. I love those gray marble-y ones!

The photo above turned out to be my favorite from this layout. I layered a photo frame (from the Cute Girl ephemera pack included in the August Sprinkles kit), a chipboard sentiment (from the exclusive Citrus Twist set) and more of the gold Maggie Holmes alpha, all on top of a full 4x6 photo. Simple, and I love the results!
And those gold alpha... gorgeous! I used sooo many letters throughout the layout and still have tons left!

This week also included an insert. I trimmed an October Afternoon page protector with 3"x3" pockets, and used it to document a hiking trip my daughter took with her friends. These printed photos came out a bit dark for some reason, but I likely won't bother reprinting. Sometimes I just need to accept and move forward!

Here's the front side of the insert...

I used a handful of hiking/outdoor pieces from Color Cast Designs on the insert. In the center, is their "Take a Hike" acrylic, layered over a heart from the Cute Girl ephemera pack.

The tab along the edge is from the Reset Girl die-cut cut pack, stamped with a sentiment from an old Citrus Twist stamp set. That bottom right card is one of the Citrus Twist 3x4 cards, trimmed down to 3x3, along with another Color Cast Designs acrylic.

Here is the back side of the insert...

Here's one last peek at how the insert looks in the album...

And that about wraps it up for this layout. Thanks for stopping by!