Project Life 2014 | week 1

27 March 2014

Twelve weeks into 2014, and I’m so glad that I’m finally getting around to sharing my Project Life spreads with you guys. Better late than never, right?

Week of: 1 January to 5 January 2014

What happened this week: We celebrated the New Year, along with lots of other random activities, including lots of good food (one of our favorites!).

Left-hand side:

Techniques used: I created my own weekly title cards in Microsoft Powerpoint and printed it on white cardstock. Then I stamped the dates with my Amy Tangerine roller date stamp to finish it off. I also ran several of the journaling cards through the printer for my journaling.

Those gold thickers are from American Crafts, and the “Celebrate” glitter card is from Mambi. Splashes of glitter for the New Year!

Right-hand side:

Rather ironically, I made a mistake on that journaling card with this quote by Neil Gaiman. The last line didn’t get printed, and you can see how I filled in the last sentence with a black pen in my own writing. But ah, we live and learn.

Thoughts: I’m enjoying the combination of handwriting and typed journaling. I’m currently behind by several weeks, but this process has been so much fun and I’m slowly getting caught up.

Stay tuned – more updates to come!

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Supplies used: MAMBI specialty cards, Amy Tangerine Cut and Paste mini kit, Amy Tangerine Remarks alpha stickers, Amy Tangerine die cut shapes, Maya Road kraft jotter tags, Basic Grey candy buttons, washi tape, American Crafts gold thickers, Studio Calico Printshop 6×6 paper pad, Dear Lizzy 5th and Frolic 6×6 paper pad, Midnight Edition Core Kit, Studio Calico wood veneers

Tools used: Project Life Design A page protectors, American Crafts white cardstock, HP printer

Project Life is a memory-keeping system created by Becky Higgins. I’m embarking on this year-long project to document all my memories in 2014. You can see my other Project Life posts here.

Project Life | the title page

20 January 2014

We’re about three weeks into the New Year and I’m finally getting around to sharing my title page on the blog.

I was able to put together the title page on New Year’s Day. I had my photos printed and ready to go, so it was just a matter of moving things around on the page and deciding where I wanted them to go.

As I mentioned in this post, I’m mainly using the Design A page protectors this year.

Overall, I kept things pretty simple with a handful of selective embellishments (namely, thickers and wood veneers), and a black-white-coral color scheme.

Funnily (or not), I’m already behind on my weekly spreads from all the travel I did a couple weeks back. But I’m really hoping to catch up soon! With how simple I’m planning to keep it, catching up shouldn’t take long at all.

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Supplies used: Midnight Edition Core Kit, Studio Calico wood veneers, Chic Tags Everyday Life II journaling tags, American Crafts thickers, Basic Grey Fresh Cut 6×6 paper pad

Project Life is a memory-keeping system created by Becky Higgins. I’m embarking on this year-long project to document all my memories in 2014. You can see my other Project Life posts here.

Project Life | the plan for 2014

3 January 2014

Project Life and I have a little bit of a history.

I started Project Life in the middle of 2012, but quickly fell off the bandwagon a couple of months later.

In 2013, I determined to document life (both in my 21 list and my New Year’s Resolutions) but ended up failing miserably on both counts.

But in 2014, I’m determined to stick with it and finish the year. So I’m setting myself up for success.

Here’s how:

Decide on a core kit. This year, I’m using the Midnight Core Kit, together with the Cut & Paste mini kit and Maggie Holmes mini kit. I was torn between getting the Midnight or Sunshine core kit. But I eventually decided to go with a more neutral kit so I could mix the kits instead.

Have a system and make it work. Since I don’t have a photo printer at home (yet!), the plan for photos is to upload and print them online each week. I’m hoping to accumulate my journaling and thoughts throughout the week, so putting it together once I get my photos will be a breeze. I will probably put the week together in one sitting, instead of little bits throughout the week. Also, since I’m printing my photos online, chances are I’ll mostly be working on the week before, instead of the current week.
Have a limited selection of embellishments. I’m narrowing my slew of embellishments so there aren’t an overwhelming number of decisions to make later on during the year as the months go by.

Stick with one design of page protectors. I’m mainly using Design A pocket page protectors. Because I realized that having a variety of page protectors to choose from makes for far too many decisions which really end up stressing me out instead. But I might throw in a different design once I get the hang of things.
Blog about it! I’m sharing all these thoughts with you because I really want to be accountable and make it to the end of 2014.
Be flexible. I’m reminding myself that a plan is after all, just a plan. So while I may have this plan written out, I’m open to making changes to make this work once I actually get started.

This is a very rough idea of what I plan to do this year. But altogether, the key is just to keep things simple. The fewer decisions to make, the better. The pretty creative stuff can come afterward, once I settle down into a routine for this.

Here’s to documenting 2014.

Friday Favorite no. 010 // CHA summer

26 July 2013

As you probably already know by now, I pretty much don’t scrapbook at all nowadays. And I’m really working on changing that. But in the meantime, I still love being inspired by all the amazing patterns and products out there. And because the CHA Create-n-Connect show just ended yesterday, I’m picking a few of my favorite new releases (in no particular order) to share with you guys! (:

1. Amy Tangerine and Dear Lizzy with American Crafts

As always, Amy Tangerine and Dear Lizzy have some great new collections. It’s even cooler that they have Project Life mini kits now. Pretty sweet.

2. Flea Market by Maggie Holmes for Crate Paper

I’m pretty big into gold right now. So I love that Maggie Holmes’ Flea Market collection has some generous doses of it!

3. Project Life Sunshine Edition by Elsie and Emma from A Beautiful Mess

I fell off the Project Life bandwagon more than a year ago. But all the truly sunshine + happy colors in this Sunshine Edition might just be enough to make me hop back on again.

But in addition to the usual favorites, I love discovering “newer” brands that I don’t look at a lot.

4. Cut & Paste Adorbs by My Mind’s Eye

I love the color scheme of this collection. Such a good mix of pinks and greens and aquas, mmm.

5. Cut & Paste Flair by My Mind’s Eye

This collection has the cutest nerd glasses, which is my favorite part of this preppy collection. I might get some of this just for those glasses, I tell you.

6. Dapper & Dan by Glitz Design

This collection is such a nice mix of greens, blues, and neutrals for the BOYS. Plus, I’m really digging those geometric shapes and the mustaches (!!!).

7. Finnley by Glitz Design

Also by Glitz Design, Finnley is a fun, fresh take on trendy colors with woodland animals thrown in the mix. So excited to see some of these brands that I don’t usually go for.

Well, that’s all for me for today! Now excuse me while I go and earn some dough so I can splurge on these collections later! (;

I hope your Friday is bursting with creativity and sunshine!

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Life is often full and busy. But I like to take time to enjoy some of my favorite things. So Friday Favorite is a weekly series where I share my favorite(s) for the week. Check out my other Friday Favorites here.

21 projects // DIY personalized phone cover

22 July 2013

We’re taking a break from the food posts this week and doing a DIY! (:

To be honest, I’ve had this planned out for awhile now. In my head, that is.

Soon after I got my spankin’ new smartphone, I purchased an inexpensive transparent plastic phone cover from one of the shops along the street with grand plans to turn it into a DIY.

So several months later, I finally got round to doing it. I mean, you need to save these kinda things for summer break, right? (But now that summer break is over and summer school is underway, I’m actually getting around to blogging about it. It’s one of those things, you know.)

But my procrastination aside, my guesstimate tells me that including the printing and cutting, this DIY took less than hour from start to finish. Super simple. Which I totally love.

Supplies:

Plastic transparent phone cover
Patterned paper
Cutting mat
Pen knife
Scissors
This template
Pencil + eraser
Inks + embellishments

I started by printing this template from Google images. I opened the image in Powerpoint, resized and test-printed it a couple of times before getting a size that fit the cover. (I’m sure there’s a less trial-and-error method to get this done, but this method worked for the non-techy girl.) The size that I eventually settled on was 14.4cm by 9.08cm. Then I cut out the template and measured it against the cover to ensure that everything was fitting right. Just a note: I printed the template on regular printing paper, but I would recommend printing on thicker paper like cardstock so it is easier to trace later on.

I have plenty of 6×6 paper pads so I picked my favorite patterns and simply traced and cut them out. I used Dear Lizzy’s older Neapolitan and 5th and Frolic collections. The turquoise paper from 5th and Frolic is a little thicker than the Neapolitan ice-cream cones patterned paper, so it was a little harder getting that into the case. Learning from this, I would definitely pick paper that isn’t too stiff, which would affect the fit of the paper in the case.

For the ice-cream cones, I stamped a sentiment from Amy Tangerine’s Sketchbook clear stamps with Hero Arts neon pink ink, and inked the edges with Versacolor’s mint. For the other turquoise one, I simply included a sticker from Dear Lizzy’s Neapolitan accent and phrase sticker book.

As a girl who loves variety, I love that I can exchange the patterns whenever I feel like it and have endless options to choose from. This is definitely one way to enjoy all the patterned papers I love on a daily basis.

4 down, 17 to go.

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21 DIY projects are part of my 21 list, a list of 21 things I’m working to accomplish during my twenty-first year. Check out my other 21 DIYs here.

paper + parcels // chic tags

8 June 2013

The fact that I love paper + parcels really isn’t a secret. And as Julie Andrew sings in The Sound of Music, brown paper packages tied up with string are definitely some of my favorite things.

But when you get both at the same time? It’s like Christmas come early.

So I was super excited when I found out that I’d won not one, not two, but FOUR of the newest tag collections from the Chic Tags giveaway on Stephanie Howell’s blog.

But I was blown away when I actually got my parcel on Tuesday – an envelope fully stuffed with packet after packet of paper goodies. Too much goodness in one envelope. Seriously.

I’m really excited to use these and work them into my scrapbooks. Anything to get back to this whole scrapbooking thing that I’ve been missing out on big time.

For more Chic Tags inspiration, check out their blog!

Happy (Inter)national Scrapbook Day

4 May 2013

National, or International, Scrapbook Day (NSD) happens once a year on the first Saturday of May when scrappers all over the world come together to celebrate their love of this craft.

And while I don’t scrapbook as much as I like to anymore, I enjoy keeping up with all the novel things going on in the scrapbook world.

And since it’s National Scrapbook Day, I thought I’d share some of my favorite scrapbooking supplies! Paper isn’t even on the list because that’s one of my scrapbooking must-haves. While some of these collections are ~~a little~~ a lot older, these are still some of my favorite things that I reach for whenever I work on a project, whether craft-related or not.

Stamps
I’ve resisted adding to my collection of roller stamps, but clear stamps are a huge favorite. I love what I can do with all the variety and combinations. So. much. fun.
Inks
What are stamps without inks, yes? I’m totally waiting to add this amazing gold ink pad to my stash.
Washi tape
So fun and easy to use. I use them for everything and I quite love my ever-growing collection (;
Mists
Mister Huey’s mists are some of my current favorites. These add the perfect touch of messy splatters without actually going overboard.
Wood veneers
These add the perfect touch of dimension without being too bulky.

Supplies: Dear Lizzy roller date stamp; Amy Tangerine roller date stamp and Ready Set Go clear acrylic stamps; Dear Lizzy Neapolitan chevron patterned paper; washi tape; Tsukineko Brilliance Dew Drops; Hero Arts Neon Pink ink; Studio Calico Mister Huey’s; Studio Calico wood veneers

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Many scrapbook companies and bloggers are having lots of neat challenges and giveaways all day today so look out for them! I don’t participate much mostly because of the time zone but it’s lots of fun seeing what everyone one else is up to anyway.

Happy (Inter)national Scrapbook Day!
And happy weekend – may the creativity prevail!

CHA winter 2013 favorites

19 January 2013

With CHA Winter just wrapped up earlier this week, I thought I’d share with you some of my favorites from this show.

I’m always so blown away by all the amazing new releases each time. And after I get over my excitement of all the new products, I always remind myself to save money so I can get everythinggg when they hit the stores (haha).

I think I have too many favorites this time around. But anyhow, here we go.

Dear Lizzy, Lucky Charm collection by American Crafts

Source: americancrafts.typepad.com via Amelia on Pinterest

I really like the look of the phrase stamp somewhere near the top. And oh, those thickers near the middle, and that mini-album book.

Amy Tangerine, Yes, Please collection by American Crafts

Source: americancrafts.typepad.com via Amelia on Pinterest

More of those daybooks and puffy stickers in the top row. And the clear stamps in the middle (I’m always excited for these!). And the thickers and alphabet stickers look pretty cool.

Again, these designer collaborations always get me really excited because I really like Amy Tan and Liz Kartchner – good stuff.

Sundrifter, Here & There, and Snippets collections by Studio Calico

I’ve been a fan of Studio Calico for awhile and I’m really liking they’re new collections as well.

The stamps are always a favorite (:

Source: studiocalico.typepad.com via Amelia on Pinterest

From top down, the stamps are from the Sundrifter, Here & There, and Snippets collections respectively.

Source: studiocalico.typepad.com via Amelia on Pinterest

Wood veneers are always a hit.

I didn’t include the patterned papers because they’re all so lovely but you could can check them out from the links I included above.

And please don’t get me started on the Handbook line. The oilcloth covers sound exciting and the inserts look pretty amazing. I can’t decide whether I like the inserts for the Here & There, or Sundrifter collection better. Maybe this is the perfect ~~excuse~~ motivation to scrap an event I’ve been procrastinating on.

Sn@p! by Simple Stories

Source: simplestories.typepad.com via Amelia on Pinterest

The Sn@p! binders are pretty amazing. This makes me seriously consider switching up Project Life to this size.

Technique Tuesday by Ali Edwards

Source: aliedwards.com via Amelia on Pinterest

Ali Edwards pretty much outdid herself with all the new stamps she designed for Technique Tuesday. You can check out the rest here (here for the video) and on her blog.

While I’m still working on getting started on Project Life for 2013, the new Project Life core kit editions are so great and seriously inspiring. I don’t know which is my favorite – yet.

If you couldn’t already tell from most of my favorites, I really really really love stamps. Maybe you could call me a stamp ~~hoarder~~ collector.

Thank you for letting me share some of my CHA favorites with you! What are your favorites from the recent CHA show?

I hope your weekend’s been amazing!

Project 52 / #25

8 September 2012

After being away from making layouts for way too long, I finally dug deep into my new supplies from Two Peas in a Bucket and made this layout (:

Project #25: Taste of Pua

Supplies: Bazzill basics cardstock; Mister Huey’s mist; American Craft thickers; Crate Paper Story Teller patterned paper; We R Memory Keepers baker’s twine; Amy Tangerine clear stamps; Dear Lizzy date stamp; Versacolor ink; Studio Calico wood veneers

I thoroughly enjoyed putting this layout together; it reminded me of how much I love making paper things.

And I love everything about this layout – from the repeating stamped background with that yummy mint ink and new Amy Tangerine clear stamps (so much fun!) to the wood veneers (again, love these!), and all the memories wrapped up with all the food we ate in Pua <3

I hope your weekend is amazingggg!

CHA summer 2012 favorites

29 July 2012

CHA Summer was so last week, I know.
(For those of you who don’t know, CHA stands for Craft and Hobby Association, is held twice yearly and is where new products are released.)

But I couldn’t help but share some of my favorites from the new releases – time to start saving money for all the pretty paper goodness! Plus some lovely embellishments and stamps, of course (:

First up, American Crafts: I’m absolutely loving these American Crafts collaborations with some amazing designers – Dear Lizzy and Amy Tangerine are definitely all-time favorites!

From Dear Lizzy, 5th & Frolic

Patterned Paper

DL_5thFrolic_Paper_Blog_1

Gold foil vellum, Pow! Glitter patterned paper, and Ruffled Crepe Paper.

LOVE the colors of these – I can totally imagine using them on everythingggg.

Amy Tangerine Ready, Set, Go

Patterned Paper

Stamps and die cut bits, yes please!

AT_RSG_Embellishments_7

Another daybook to store all those memories (:

AT_RSG_Embellishments_10

Studio Calico outdid itself this time with three new collections, complete with mists, wood veneers, mistables, and their newly released Handbook.

Year book Patterned papers

School was so two years ago. But I still think the colors and shapes on these are great! I especially love the pie-chart patterned one on the top left.

We all need another date stamp, don’t we?

Datestamp

And more wood veneers. Perfect.

330055_WoodVeneer_SpeechBubbles

Crate Paper

Sleigh Ride Patterned Paper

These are three papers I can especially imagine using on my Christmas cards this year!

Acorn Avenue Patterned Paper

At first I thought I liked the On trend papers the best of Crate’s three new collections, but then I realized that I liked Acorn Avenue better. But honestly, they’re all really good (:

It’s so hard to pick favorites, I tell you. But these are some of the ones I especially can’t wait to lay my hands on. I bet you can’t tell that I especially love patterned papers and stamps, haha (;

Here’s to an amazing week!
xo.