Wednesday, October 16, 2013

It is started!

Well, lucky for me, doing my Project Life pages is easier than blogging.

After my last post, I really did go pick up the pictures and I really did get these layouts done that very same night!  The hardest part was getting my pictures printed!  Seriously.  I need to stay on top of that.

Here they are.
                                   

 
Cards for this layout are from the Cinnamon Kit.  "The Hall Family" was created using two sets of Close To My Heart stamps in brown ink and sticker letters from Creative Memories.  


 
Cards for this layout came from Dear Lizzy Polka Dot Party Mini Kit.  "Picture Perfect" is stamped with a CTMH stamp in black.  The sticker letters are from Creative Memories.


The upper left title card on this layout came from the Amber Core Kit.  The other two cards came from Amy Tangerine Cut and Paste Mini kit.  The "You Are Here" stamp is from the August Studio Calico Project Life kit and is stamped in brown.

Wish me luck!  I'm off to do more layouts!  Cheers!




Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Fancy is fun, but simple is done - Project Life

I started Project Life in 2011.  I bought two kits - one to use for 2011 and one to use to work backward into 2010.  I knew I loved the concept, but when I began to work in the albums, I was really in love.  I had so much passion about it, I even made a video.


I absolutely loved that my (then) six year old could finally look at a family album that included him!  You see, I had been a traditional scrapbooker since 1997ish.  My wedding and family were all documented and pretty current until that third baby arrived.  Then I just couldn't keep up.  So between 2005 and 2011, there was nothing.  I was overwhelmed and couldn't seem to get going again.  Enter Project Life.  It was so easy.  I just sat down once a week, picked the best, or perhaps the most important, 7 pictures of the week and sent them to be printed.  Easy.  Sometimes I got crazy and added in extra pages if I needed them.  But mostly, that was my formula.  7 pictures and the kit.  In 2012, I kept seeing all those cute pages online where the creative genius scrapbook gurus took Project Life and added their zip, zing and personal stamp to it.  Somehow I let that get to me.  Despite my advice in the video, I started trying to be like them.  I started cutting up paper from my stash.  Or buying rubber stamps to complement my albums.  I went right back into my old traditional scrapbooking ways.

Guess what happened.

It is now October of 2013 and my 2012 album is still not finished.  I only just started printing pictures for 2013.  How did I fall off the wagon for something I'm so passionate about?  I got overwhelmed.  I fell into the comparison trap.  I forgot the very thing that made me love it to begin with; simple is done.

Now I have no album for 2013.  I have no record of all the amazing and funny things my kids said this year.  I have no documentation of my blessings for this year.  And that makes me incredibly sad.

So, here is what I'm going to do.  I'm going to devote myself to using the amazing collection of Project Life core kits and mini kits I've continued to accumulate this year to get current, stay current and then try to spend 2014 catching up on those back years.

Ambitious?  Yes.  But if I can remember to keep it simple, I can totally do this.

And I'm going to keep you updated on my progress.  When I feel like getting crafty, I will make quick lunchbox notes or home decor projects.  But my albums are no longer up for comparison.  They don't have to be a masterpiece.  They are mine and I want to be able to review them and share them quickly, not in 5-10 years.  7 pictures and the kits. They will be perfectly imperfect and done, just the way I like them.

I'm off to pick up my first print order now.  I'll keep you posted.

Cheers!

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

What does the fox say?

Are your kids obsessed with this song too?  It has hit the local elementary and middle schools here.  After we finished enjoying the video last night, I thought it would be fun to send a lunchbox note to school today.

Here is what they got -
Isn't that fun?  I can't wait to hear what they thought about their notes today.

The blue base is cut with the Stampin Up TopNote die.  The little letter stamps are by Hero Arts, the "fox" letters are by CTMH.  The punches are by Stampin Up.  The large oval for the fox's belly is the inner circle from the Creative Memories cutting system middle oval using the red blade.  All papers are random scraps from my stash.

The original idea is not mine, I found it here - Marella Taylor



Cheers!