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4/30/14

My Mind's Eye: April Mini Album


My husband and I recently celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary with an overnight getaway.  It was so nice spending some time together and I of course had to document this occasion.  As I was looking through all of the amazing My Mind's Eye collections, the overlays from the Record It! "Here is Happy" Journaling pack popped right out at me and I knew they would be fabulous in a mini album.  I didn't have too many photos from our little trip, so the overlays added a nice visual effect to my book.  Putting this book together is super fast and easy since there is very little trimming or cutting involved!

Let's get started!


1. Start by gathering your supplies.
I am using the overlays from the Record It! "Here is Happy" collection, as well as some journaling cards and 6x6 paper pad from the Record It! "Just Splendid" collection.  I love how versatile the MME products are!  You will also need a hole punch, two pieces of 4x6 chipboard and two book rings.


I printed off five photos from our trip and then paired them with 5 overlays and 5 journaling cards.  I wanted to keep consistency throughout my album, so each spread will be:  journaling card - overlay - photo.  I also grabbed an extra overlay to use as a cover/title for my mini album.  



2. Add your title onto an overlay.
I chose to use the chevron overlay as my cover page and adhered my title "seven" and a wood veneer onto the front.


3. Adhere a 4x6 piece of patterned paper to each piece of your trimmed chipboard.
These two covered pieces will be the front and back of your book.  I trimmed a piece of patterned paper from the "Just Splendid" paper pad to 4x6 for my cover page and used a 4x6 journaling card as my end page.  

**Tip: Save the chipboard that comes in paper packages just for book binding and covers.  The chipboard adds some stability and thickness to the book.**



4. Add your journaling and embellishments and adhere your pages back to back in the journaling - overlay - photo order.


4. Punch holes in your photos, overlays and journaling cards.
Now that your pages are adhered together (with the overlay between the journaling card and photos), you will want to punch two holes on the left hand side of your book.  Be sure each adhered page and overlay is facing in the correct direction to make sure you don't add your hole to the wrong side.

**Tip:  To get your holes perfectly centered, grab two 4x6 cards and punch a hole on one side.  Then flip your top card over and punch the second hole, using the first hole as your guide.  This will guarantee your holes will be equal distance from the edges.  See photo above for a better visual.**


5. Add your book rings and you are all finished!!

Here's a look at my finished book...




I love the transparent effect of the overlays.  They add so much interest to the photos!!

Thanks so much for joining me today!!  I hope I have inspired you to create a mini album using these awesome overlays!!  Let me know if you have any questions!  Can't wait to see what you create!





4/29/14

Esprit Magazine

I am so honored to be featured in the newest edition of Esprit Magazine.  I've been in quite a few online magazines, but actually holding my hands on a print copy is pretty amazing.  The magazine is a French scrapbooking magazine and is full of inspiration, ideas and articles.

My interview covered two pages and included some of my favorite layouts and Project Life spreads.



Thank you again to the wonderful ladies at Esprit Magazine.  I am so humbled and honored that you chose me to be a part of your magazine.  Here's to hoping more magazines come back in print style.  I miss them dearly!

4/28/14

Glitz Design: Embossing Vellum

Hi there!

I'm guilty of owning a manual die cutting machine but not really using it.  I love it when I do use it, but it sits in the top of my craft closet and unless it's out and in plain sight, I'm not likely to remember to use it.  

Luckily, Glitz Design challenged us to emboss this week so I actually remembered to get my die cutting machine out!  I thought about doing a few different embossing techniques, but in the end, vellum won out.  I love vellum.  And embossing on vellum is just beautiful.  I used two different embossing folders to create two different patterns on my vellum.  I cut down my vellum into smaller squares and used it as a backdrop for my photo.

Here's a look at my finished layout, as well as a few detailed shots....



The vellum adds such a softness to the page.  And I love how you can see the patterns of the embossing folder, but it's not distracting.  


I added an oval Carpe Diem frame around my photo to break up the sharp corners of my page.


I finished this layout by adding my journaling around my vellum squares, creating a border around the main focus of my page.

Be sure to hop on over to the Glitz Blog to check out Magda's amazing project today!!  And the design team will be back all week for more embossing inspiration!!

What about you?  Are you a fan of vellum?





4/27/14

Project Life Resources

I'm a big fan of having resources right at my fingertips.  I've written quite a few Project Life related posts over the past two years and I thought it would be neat to categorize them and make them simple to find.  You can obviously use the labels on my sidebar, but again...I like convenience and if it's right in my face, I'm more likely to click it.  :)

I plan on adding all my future posts to the correct labels, so these links will continually be updated.  Just click on the link below each image to be taken to the corresponding posts.  There are several posts per photo, so be sure to scroll down for more inspiration!!  I hope this is helpful!!





4/24/14

You Color My Life Beautiful...

 It's safe to say that I just enjoy creating.  I love having assignments and deadlines and projects to work on.  And when I don't have any of those lined up, well...then I just make up my own challenges and play along with challenges from some of my scrappy friends.  

Yesterday I shared my layout from Marcy's Jumpstart challenge.  I love the way it turned out and am inspired to play with my scraps more often.  

My sweet friend, Wilna, shared this cut file freebie a week or so ago and I couldn't wait to use it.  I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do, but I loooooove the way this page turned out!!

Here's a look at my layout..


I started by cutting out my title on a piece of 8.5x11 white card stock.  I typically always cut on white because it just makes it an easier starting point.

Next, I was inspired by the title and added some watercolors to my background.
From there, I played around with the placement of the cut file trying to figure out what photo I wanted to add with the title.  Then I remembered I had these extra photos I had printed for my Two Peas Project Life spread last weekend and knew they would be perfect for this page!!  The photos are of my daughter and her sweet face from the last year.  I just love looking at them all on one page and this is by far my daughter's favorite page. Ever.


I used pop dots to adhere my title to the page to add a little depth and dimension.  So flippin' fun!!


Since the title was so bold, I scattered a few smaller embellishments above and below just for added interest.  I also typed up a little note to her and added it at the bottom of the page.


Be sure to visit Wilna's awesome blog and shop for so much incredible, amazing inspiration!!  She's one of the most talented, artistic women I know!!

4/23/14

Jumpstart 4 with Marcy Penner

So, you all know that I love challenges, right?
Well, I couldn't pass up Marcy Penner's latest Jumpstart this week!  I frequently have the desire to create something (like every.single.day), and her challenge was perfect because a) I needed to clean up my desk and b) I already had a photo printed and ready to go.  Printing photos often gets in my way of "making stuff".  I've contemplated getting the Epson Picturemate for some time now, but haven't quite taken that leap yet.  

Here is my "clean off your desk" layout!  

I used Maggie Holmes' Styleboard collection for this page.  I had lots of bits and pieces scattered all over my desk from a project I had just finished and I knew it would good perfectly with my photo.  I started by building a paper layer base onto my background. I love paper layers and actually wonder why I don't do this method more often.  I love how you can see little bits of the patterned papers and colors, but that it's not too overwhelming or distracting from my photo.  My typical layering pattern consists of neutral-bold pattern-neutral-photo.  Using smaller scraps of paper in this combo created such a fun and playful background, I think!!

All of the embellishments were on my desk, as well and I just grabbed and placed...trying not to overthink their placement!

And that's it! My Jumpstart layout all finished and ready to be placed in an album (or maybe just placed on top of my ever-growing piles of layouts).


4/22/14

For the Love of White Space...


It's no surprise that I'm a big fan of white space.  I love starting with a blank white page and adding paper layers, colors, photos and embellishments.  Embellishments are my favorite and I think a white canvas lets you add as may embellishments as you would like!  

This week at Glitz Design is all about white space.  And I took this challenge very literally.  When I started my layout, I knew I wanted one photo in the center of my page with very soft embellishments at the bottom of my photo.

Here's how it turned out...


I added a small piece of mint green washi at the top of my photo just to break up the top whiteness a little.  A small sticker, heart and date stamp adorn the bottom of my photo, again to break up the white and ground my photo.

I could have added a few paper layers, or even more embellishments, but I really wanted to take a minimalistic approach to this page.  Sometimes a photo is all you need.  :)



4/21/14

Challenge: Using a Large Title




Thank you so much to those who played along with my last Recipe Challenge!!  Recipe challenges are my favorite!  They are easy, fun and take all of the "guesswork" about what to use out of the equation!

Check out all of the lovely projects.  I love how everyone has a different take on the recipe even though the same types of products are used!!  

(Listed from left to right)


My next challenge for you is to use a large title on your project.  My layout below all came about because of the three words "Yes You Can".  I hear these words in Pure Barre all of the time and they usually resonate with me all day long.  One day when I was feeling crafty, I thought about allllll the other things I should be doing (think: laundry, cleaning, planning dinner).  My kids were in preschool and my husband was out of town.  I had the house all to myself and all I really wanted to do was create (which is all I really ever want to do).  So I thought to myself "yes you can"...and so I did!  :)

I started by cutting out my title from a few of my favorite patterned papers and then grabbed out a few photos and embellishments.  I wanted my title to be the statement of my page, with the photos more of an afterthought.  Usually my photos speak the majority of my story, but today, these words are what I wanted to convey on paper.  

I used two "crafty" photos that I had in my photo box.  Really anything could have gone here....so I just used what I had available.  A few simple embellishments, some journaling and my page was done!

Here's a look at my finished page:





Super simple page, but the words speak volumes to me.  I have this page sitting up on my desk to remind me that the little things can wait....  :)

What about you??  Can you think of a title that resonates with you or your life right now??  If you are up for a challenge, I would love for you to play along!!  Anything goes....just as long as you use a large title!  Get creative and have fun!

Please link up your projects here and tag me on Instagram .  
There isn't really a "deadline" per se....just link up when you can!!  Can't wait to see what you create!

Happy crafting!  

4/19/14

Two Peas: Milestones Project Life

I'm up in the Two Peas gallery today sharing a very fun and festive birthday Project Life spread and insert.  The theme this week is Milestones and celebrating my girls' 5th birthday is about as big as they get (to her, at least).  She counted down this day for months and months and just couldn't wait to be the big "5".  I knew I wanted to include something fun in our album to celebrate her birthday and as I got started, I realized one little spread or insert wouldn't do her or her big day justice!!


I went a little crazy and included two smaller page protectors and one 12x12 page protector.  For the first one, I uploaded a bunch of photos of her over the last year into Picmonkey and created several 4x4 collages.  You can see a quick little tutorial about how to create collages in Picmonkey here.  

I used a collage in each pocket, so I ended up with six picture collages.  Most of these photos are in our book from this year or last year, but I just think it's so awesome to have them all together in one insert.  Plus, I'm kind of in love with photo collages....


The next insert is a Design J page protector.  I loved that this page protector included square photos, and I wanted to continue that look from the first spread.  I kept this insert simple by using 4x4 photos and a few journaling cards.  I also created a confetti pocket by dumping in some punched confetti and sewing up the top.  I added a gold thicker "a" to the middle of the pocket for a pop of color and to break up that confetti a little.


This is a look at both the front and back of the insert together.  I love the overall "party" look of this insert.  It definitely screams birthday, right?


To finish out this birthday section, I wanted to include a few photos of her birthday party.  I thought about including them in another insert or spread, but I felt the first part of this section was already so busy that something "calmer" and "simpler" would be better.  I decided to print off (yet again) another photo collage and added it to the middle of a piece of white card stock.  I used some Dear Lizzy foam thickers to spell out "party" in the bottom right hand corner and called it done.  It's pretty simple, but I think it works perfectly with the craziness of the rest of this spread.


Happy Saturday!

4/17/14

My Take on Art Journaling...Part 2



This art journal is my new favorite project!  I love the look and the thought behind each page.  It remind me of my mini albums in some ways.  My take on this art journal has continues to have more of a "scrapbook" approach and I am totally fine with that.  It continues to shows my style....lots of white space with fun pops of color throughout.  It's simple and beautiful (to me) at the same time.  

Although I create many pages, Project Life spreads and mini books, this journal has a totally different feel to me.  It's a place where I can get down exactly what I'm feeling right at that moment.  I don't have to worry about the supplies I use or trying to make it a certain way.  I just create and that's very freeing and exciting.  Some days I will make a few pages in my journal...and some days I will make one that is super personal to me or for my children.  It's a little place where I can write notes to my kids, myself or my husband.  It's "my" journal and I just love it.

Today, I wanted to share a few more pages of my art journal, as well as a quick little video walking you through my book.  You can see images of the first pages in part 1 of "My Take on Art Journaling" here.











Anyone else currently taking the class at A Beautiful Mess?  If you've posted your album on your blog or in a gallery, leave me a link! I would love to check it out!