Project Life | Week 23

Today I'm sharing week 23. I can't believe how much of my stash I'm making my way through. When I keep items on my desk I tend to use them more. Like that June wood veneer. This week I have 2 double page spreads because my sister graduated so I documented a spread of my week and a spread with photos from her graduation.

Left side; planning, sunshine, trip to the greenhouse, Supernatural, rain, Gracie being adorable (as always).

Right side; a layout, another book, a dead bird, a new solar light, wedding invitation, and planning for next week.

Graduation insert; I continued the blue/grey/black theme into this section of the spread. I love that it keeps things cohesive.

Left side; I stamped the date along the line of the t, added some stars and a chipboard banner. I pulled some chipboard pieces from various story kits and used cards from my stash. I chose some of my favourite photos, including that hilarious face swap of my sister and her boyfriend.

Right side; I journaled a little about the events of the day and made sure to include photos that included me. It was a great day, and while sometimes I look at these photos and see nothing but flaws in how I look, I embraced my One Little Word (brave) and got in front of the camera to be a part of these photos with my people.

Thanks for coming by to see this spread. At some point a scrapbook of photos for my sister will be made. She asked, of course I want to do it for her. Have a wonderful day!

Project Life | Week 22

Today I'm sharing week 22. Simple, mundane details of my life.

Left side; I used some labels I made using this set of Kellie Stamps and the colours from the Craft Story Kit (which the title card came from).

Right side; I documented the beginnings of my coffee cup album, the succulents, the finishing of my week in the life album, new Kellie Stamps, breakfast with Gracie and my new favourite love story. Overall a great week.

Thanks for coming to see this spread. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Project Life | Week 21

Today I'm sharing week 21. This was the week that I chose to document Week in the Life, and instead of excluding it from Project Life I chose 1 photo from each day to cover the week.

Left side; I used some grey and gold stickers with the days of the week on the center of each photo. I cut the Sunday-Saturday card on the far left from 4x6 to 3x4. I wrote highlights, on the card next to it I stamped "week in the life" as a simple reminder that this was the week of week in the life.

Right side; more of the same thing I did on the left. I used the Movie Night Stats card to document the only movie I watched during the week.

Thanks for coming by to see my spread. I love that Project Life allows me the freedom to be as simple or as elaborate as I want to. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Project Life | Week 20

Today I'm sharing week 20 of my Project Life. I'm always surprised how much of my stash I'm actually using now that I have minimal new product coming in every month.

Left side; I used mostly pieces from the Go Story Kit (the kit is no longer available, but you can get the digital stamp here).

Right side; this side covers our weekend trip to Calgary. Mostly food, and a photo of the succulents from Sunday when we got home.

I used a vellum pocket from a SUPER old Studio Calico kit to create a flip pocket for some tickets from our trip. I used some sentiments from the Go stamp set (digital linked above) and a diamond clip to hold everything in place.

It flips up to journaling about the trip. I love how it turned out. I just used some washitape to hold it all together. Simple. Done.

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Thanks for coming by to see this spread. I hope you have a wonderful day, and I hope that you sign up for at least the free portion of #littlesummerjoy. It's going to be so much fun and I wouldn't want you to miss out on it!

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Project Life | Week 19

Today I'm sharing week 19 of Project Life. This week I kept things super simple, lots of photos, short stories.

Left side; I added some labels to photos I wanted to journal on. I like including snapchats because they have words right on the photos already.

Right side; more snapchats and photos. I love that U R PERFECT card. It went beautifully with the silly snapchat faces.

This week was super simple and took very little time. I love that it's mostly photos and little stories. Thanks for coming by to see this spread. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Project Life | Week 18

A little late with this post, but today I'm sharing Week 18. I love the pink and orange combination on this layout (though I could have gone with blue and green and pulled from the photos). I'm not that person who's super into colour matching, or editing my photos so they look "perfect". I just roll with them.

 Left side; I used an old Kellie Stamp to stamp Week on my title card. I used some pieces from the Week in the Life Kit and past Story Kits (join the waiting list here) and some pieces from old Studio Calico kits to complete this spread. Since cutting my subscriptions down to just the Story Kits I've actually been making use of my stash.

Right side; I love those two cards with Ali Edwards' handwriting on them, and I love the faces the kids are making in the 3x4 photos. They're obsessed with the silly snapchat faces and insist on doing at least several every week.

I've been keeping my spreads pretty simple and doing them in 4 week chunks. I like the idea of documenting weekly, but in about a month at a time. It gives me more enjoyment for the project because it feels less like something I need to do every week, and more like something I can carve out time to work on and actually enjoy.

Thanks for coming by to see this spread. I'll be back on Wednesday with my projects for Kellie Stamps June release.

Project Life | Week 17

Today I'm sharing Week 17. This week I used the Spring Time digital cards from The Crafty Pocket (available here) and a card I made with some patterned paper and a die cut from the Inspire Value Kit by Becky Higgins (here).

Left side; previously all of my title cards had the week number stamped onto them, but I had these pink alphas on my desk, and they matched so perfectly that I couldn't help but use them on my title card. This week is close to overflowing with photos of Gracie and I'm totally okay with that. Otherwise I'd have an empty spread. The flair is from this set by The Crafty Pocket (also comes in a coloured set).

Right side; It started off warm and spring like, but snowed by the end of the week. The hello spring card is used in a slightly ironic sense, but I still love it. Sock's collar was frayed to the point of falling off when I pet him so we need to get him a new one, but I still documented the breaking of his old one. Gracie is in the habit of sitting at the table with us if she's tried to get our attention and we ignore her.

Thanks for coming by to see this spread. I hope you have a wonderful Monday!

Project Life | Week 16

There's just something about black and white spreads that makes me so happy.

Today I'm sharing week 16. Sorry for the glare, I was in a hurry to photograph this spread and the sun wasn't quite where it usually is when I photograph pocket pages, so I have some glare and no time to fix it. This week I used mostly black white and grey cards with the odd pop of colour.

Left side; I had this wooden April piece from Studio Calico from last year's April kit. I decided to just use it up on my title card for this week instead of hoarding it until I finally just give it away. This week I didn't take many photos but included one of the models Jon recently painted (it's easily my new fave) and the mermaids Tori and I created. She loves making one of everything for everyone in the family (which ends up being 10+ mermaids, butterflies, bunnies, etc.). On the bright side it keeps her busy for most of the afternoon and she loves making crafts.

Right side; The kids are also in love with Snapchat. They love face swapping, or being a puppy or a rabid bunny rabbit. Emmett makes the funniest faces. My Week in the Life kit arrived, I read Me Earl and the Dying Girl, Gracie cuddled Jon (so cute) I got my flairs from The Crafty Pocket and I documented Jon's Dad's birthday this week since I forgot to include it last week.

Sometimes I look at my mostly repetitive spreads and think "this is so boring and mundane, why would anyone find this interesting?" I'm sure you don't think it's interesting, but in the grand scheme of things, it'll be fun to look back at this in 10 years and see what we were up to. I imagine Snapchat would be much different by then if not obsolete or less popular than it is now. Jon's Dad celebrates his birthday based on the Chinese calendar (13 months instead of 12) so his birthday is never on the same day (which is interesting to me but also confusing).

Anyways, enough of my ramblings. I hope you have a wonderful Monday!

Project Life | Week 15

Today I'm sharing Week 15. Since cancelling my subscription to Studio Calico, I don't feel overwhelmed with the amount of cards I have sitting around waiting to be used (even though I have a dozen or so Becky Higgins brand core kits to use). I feel like my spreads come together much easier because I don't have as many supplies to use, and I don't feel obligated to use them.

I love Ali Edwards' Story Kits (info about that here) and the stories they encourage me to tell. Based on my photos for this week (all were taken during the week) the Craft Story Kit was the perfect one to tell the stories of what I was creating this week. Since I subscribe to both the stamp and the physical kit, I get the digital kit for free, so I printed off a few of the backs of the cards to fill in this spread. 

It was actually fun to document a week centered around everything I was creating. But of course because I forgot that we celebrated Jon's Dad's birthday this week until after I finished the spread, so I'm adding that particular moment to next week.

Thanks for coming by to see this spread. Have a wonderful day.

Project Life | Week 14

Today I'm sharing Week 14. I kept this week mostly simple, but did cut apart a couple of cards and stamp in a few places.

Left side; Here's the left side. I love the teal/aqua or whatever colour they're calling that now. Maybe it's blue? Anyways. I loved that "be awesome today" card from Studio Calico. It's silver foil and I love how the colours look together.

Right side; I used a couple of stamps from the Tough Story Kit (digital stamp available here) and some cards from my stash of old Studio Calico cards.

Maybe it's because I'm writing this much earlier than I usually get up, or I just don't have much to say about this spread, so I'll just end this post here. I hope you have a wonderful Monday, even if you got up earlier than usual and words are hard.

Project Life | Week 13

Today I'm sharing Week 13. I've seriously been trying to use my stash, and get some things off my desk, so my spreads lately have had the addition of a few embellishments here and there, and I've stopped hoarding cards from Studio Calico kits from almost 2 years ago.

Left side; I loved that ampersand card so much I didn't want to use it. I almost took it out of this spread, but after I stamped on it, there was no going back. I added some labels I made using Kellie Stamps (this set) and (this set). I used these same labels in my Day in the Life album and they've been sitting on my desk asking to be used.

Right side; kept it rather simple. Added a flair from (this set) by The Crafty Pocket. I just put a couple glue dots on the edge and stick it down. Adding a foam dot to the back makes it too thick for the pocket pages, but would be fine in a chunky mini album.

Thanks for coming by to see this spread. I hope you have a wonderful Monday!

Project Life | Week 12

I feel like this spread was a little rushed, and is therefore a little unfinished looking, but I'm currently in the middle of a creative slump and so this layout was a tiny bit forced and I think it shows in most aspects. Oh well, here's week 12.

Left side; March was the last month I received a Studio Calico kit, and then I cancelled my subscription to the documenter kit. I liked using the month cards for my title cards during each month and I'm going to miss using them, but I really want to use more of my stash of cards instead.

Am I the only one who feels like those cards that have half a pattern and a small white space need something on the pattern half? Even though it already has a pattern on it. I keep leaving them plain because I try not to keep a TON of embellishments around so I never feel like I have the perfect piece to complete it, or it's something cheesy like "the best day". I did however, use a flair from The Crafty Pocket (available here) on that cute little triangle card that dictated the colours of cards I used for this spread.

Right side; I'm not really happy with this half of the spread, but it's done and that's what counts. Lately I haven't been taking too many photos, (all I do is work, read and craft) and I haven't been making many notes about what's happening during the week. I've been trying to just make short notes in my Get to Work Book (the new version isn't yet available, but here's a link to the shop). My notes are usually "family dinner - Wong" or "drinks - Goodman" and that is usually enough to jog my memory, but sometimes I don't even make those notes and can't remember what happened that week when I go back to write it all out. Which is also fine because it's not about all of the details, it's about the overall story. I can't tell every story about a particular week, but I can give an overview of the highlights.

Thanks for coming by to see this spread. Tomorrow I have a Kellie Stamps post, and links to some projects I made using this month's stamp sets.

Project Life | Week 11

Today I'm sharing week 11. This week I included an insert because we had a slightly busier weekend than usual. I discovered that most people use their weekends to drink and play boardgames and laugh at seriously inappropriate things. It was so much fun.

Left side; I'm seriously trying to use my stash. I used the Craft Story Kit from Ali Edwards (no longer available) and some Studio Calico pieces to complete this spread. I love the stamp from the Craft kit. I've always loved Ali's handwriting, and that "Made with Love" stamp perfectly describes everything I make, ever. 3 layouts and several more pans of Rolo Pretzels Sandwiches (which are delicious, we made them for Christmas).

The front of the insert. The photos aren't in order (the top photo would normally be at the bottom) but I'm totally okay with how they're positioned. The journaling explains the order of events, and that's all that matters.
The bottom right card says "hahahah" over and over. It was originally a 4x6 and the other half of the card had blank space for journaling or a photo. I cut it in half and used the opposite sides (slightly different tones of the same colour) on both sides of this insert. I love that they both just say "haha" over and over again. Perfectly describes this weekend.

Here's the back of the insert. We tried a new game, and we love it. It's called Pirates Cove, and we hadn't tried it because it looked "hard", but it's really super simple. Then there was a round of Channel A (and it was awesome) followed by a short game of Cards Against Humanity (first person with 4 black cards wins and the game ends). It was such a fun couple of days. The bottom center card is the other half of the "haha" card. The colour is a little different but still fits into the spread.

Right side; On Sunday night, we went to my brother's place for family dinner to celebrate Jon's birthday. We had pizza and cake and played a couple rounds of Carcassonne (one of our favourite games). We were supposed to go to the movie after but someone got the times wrong so we just went home and when I opened the door of the truck the game fell out and dumped in the dirt (obviously I snapped a photo before helping clean it up) and then we just played some Mario.

Thank you for coming by to see this spread. I've really enjoyed sharing two Project Life spreads every week (my attempt at catching up a little because I was late to start sharing this year) and I've got some pages from 2011-2013 that I haven't shared, so I've been considering sharing monthly pages from those albums on Fridays. Which would be super helpful to me because I haven't had a ton of time to do anything beyond just my normal Project Life pages, and I like sharing three times every week. I'll keep weighing the pros and cons, and you'll just have to come back next week and see what I share! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Project Life | Week 10

Today I'm sharing week 10 of my Project Life. I can't believe April is almost half over already. Where have the last four and a half months gone? Today I used mostly Studio Calico, but the top left card came in a past Story Kit.

Left side; just kept it pretty simple. Journaled on photos, added a digital stamp from this Kellie Stamps set. I've talked previously about the "bowls of supplies" on my desk. The bottom right photo is the plastic bowls I picked up from Walmart. I love that they're not too big, they're cheap, and they're clear so even if I have them stacked I can see what's inside.

Right side; added some wood veneer banners and little stars from a past Studio Calico kit.

Thanks for coming by to see this spread. I hope you have a wonderful day!