Project Life beach album using the HSN Dear Lizzy mini kit

Hi there! I have wanted to share projects with you but my laptop died a few weeks ago and I have been waiting for my hubby to fix it. He wasn't able to so I should be getting a shiny new laptop this week. Yay because I've been in withdrawal! I'm using his computer so please excuse the lack of photo editing on today's post but I was too excited about finishing my mini vacation album not to share it with you.

I used the Dear Lizzy mini album kit that came from HSN. I'm not crazy about the pink album for a beach vacation so I will probably switch that out for a different color but for now, it works. I did add in a few other products from my stash - new and old things - but the mini kit worked great and I even have some 3x4 cards leftover since I used the front & back of cards quite a bit.

Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions! Click the photos to see them larger. (I left a few pages out for privacy reasons.)

I got the idea for the date written in the sand from a woman in a Project Lifers group that I belong to on Facebook. I love that group - they are full of advice, inspiration and tons of nice women.

These journal cards are a little plain for my taste (specifically that green one on the right side) but by this point, I was running out of steam on this project and just wanted to get it done. 

On the bottom left photo, I used one of the new Project Life Overlays from HSN. I love those!! I highly recommend getting them if they get restocked.

Thanks for looking and let me know in the comments if you have any questions.

I'm linking up with Paper Issues.
I'm also linking up with the Week-2-Week challenge to use a quote card.
Linking up with The Mom Creative for her weekly Project Life link up.

Project Life | Week 23

What a busy couple of weeks we have had. It included a week beach vacation with my whole family which was a really special time but I have to admit, I missed my PL supplies. We made lots of wonderful memories though and I have already ordered my photos from it so I can get started on my mini PL album.

I spent a day getting the house back in order when we got back and then I jumped right back into scrapping. I used the Maggie Holmes Collection 6x6 paper pad from Crate Paper plus a few other things thrown in. When I first got this pad in my Citrus Twist Project Life kit, I didn't think I would use it but while I really don't like some of the papers, I really do like some of the others so I'll use what I can and give the rest to my daughter. This layout went together pretty quickly right up until I had to do that 4x6 Father's Day title card. For some reason, I was stumped and had no ideas. It took me a week of thinking about it and cruising Pinterest and Instagram before I finally came up with what I did. I don't love it but it ended up a little better than I thought it would.

Click any of the photos to see them larger. 

Left Side - I used my Cameo to cut the "so dramatic" title

Right side

I'm linking up with:
The Mom Creative
Stuck on Us Sketches Project Life Challenge to use arrows on a page
Paper Issues

Thanks for stopping by!


Products Used

InLinkz.com

Project Life | Week 21

I've been so busy with all sorts of other crafts lately that I have neglected my Project life album. I miss working on my album but I've enjoyed the other things I've been doing - a last minute 8x8 Shutterfly book for my brother's birthday, a super cute handmade onesie for my new nephew (I will blog about it but I have to tweak some things on it first), my daughter's birthday party, and helping my church with preparing for their awesome Vacation Bible School which my daughter had so much fun at.

I participated in a virtual crop on Monday and that is when I finally got back to work on my album. If you are on Facebook, go like the Two Chicks Designs page because they have some super cute shirts for sale plus they are one of the hosts of this Monday crop that is going to be a regular event. I even won a prize - yay!

These pages are pretty simple this week because not only am I trying to get caught up but I just didn't have any great ideas for this week. I don't love this page but I don't hate it either and I'm ok with that. That photo in the bottom right seems to need something but I haven't figured out what so I've just left it for now. Click the photos to see them larger.

Supplies used
BH Midnight collection
Sn@p letter stickers (Memorial Day title & baby shower card)
Silhouette cameo (dance phrase)
various washi tape, circle letter stamps and other stickers from my stash

Thanks for stopping by. I am linking up with The Mom Creative - stop by there to see more fantastic Project Life pages from many bloggers.

Project Life | May 20-26

This week's Project Life page came together a little quicker, even though it was in bits and pieces of time that I managed to squeeze in throughout the week. Whatever helps you get it done, right?!

Now I have a lot of kits - Seafoam, Jade, Blush, Honey, Studio Calico monthly kits (I usually pool all these together) and other random cards from printables and MAMBI collections, etc. When I sit down to do a week, I like to pick one collection and go with it. So while I have a lot of product, limiting myself to one collection limits my choices so that makes things easier.

I've shown you how I decide what to print and the size so once I have my photos printed, I look to see if I have a common color throughout. I have two little girls so pink is usually a common color. <wink> But you never know, sometimes my photos are darker, sometimes there is a lot of green if we were at the park...you get the idea. Anyway, I like to have my 2 page spread coordinated so I pick 1-2 colors that are found in the photos and use that as my starting point for choosing the collection to use.  Now for the week of May 27 that I am working on right now, there is a hodge podge of colors so I went neutral and used the Midnight collection so I can add color in with embellishments. I'll post that next week.

At the beginning of this year, I had planned on using a different collection every month because I liked the idea of having a whole month coordinated. That didn't last because as you read in the paragraph above, I have a lot of kits and every time a new one would come out, I would want to use it right away. I still like the idea of using one collection each month so maybe I will do that next year.

Now on to the week of May 20. Enjoy and let me know in the comments if you have any questions.

I am linking up with The Mom Creative.

I am also participating in the Phone Photography Project, which is a great class to help people improve their smartphone (iphone or Android) photography. I know I use my phone more than ever now to take photos because I always have it with me.

In this month-long workshop, you'll learn to take better photos with the camera you always have with you as you document your summer adventures—with help from 32 incredible instructors. On top of daily smartphone photography challenges, you'll also enjoy:

• dozens of tips and tricks from the pros for taking better photos with your mobile-phone camera
  
• 60+ photography app reviews for iPhone and Android, so you know which are worth your time and money*
  
• dozens of project ideas for getting photos off your device and into your world
  
• interaction with 32 experienced iPhoneographers and Androidographers, and hundreds of fellow students in a private classroom and on Instagram
  
• giveaways, contests, discounts, bonus downloads, and fun fun fun!

You should definitely check this class out. 

Project Life | May 13 - 19

Last week was super busy but I went to a crop on Friday night and was finally able to get a few pages finished. This page took me longer than I would like and I'm not really sure why - I think I just wasn't feeling it even though I'm satisfied with how it turned out. It's not my favorite but I'm ok with that.

I used mostly the Becky Higgins Project Life Olive core kit with a few other things thrown in from my stash as well as from my Studio Calico Project Life monthly kits.

Full layout without the insert.

 Left page plus front side of an American Crafts 6x12 insert.

Right side plus back of insert. The color of the Grow card wasn't the right shade of green but I really wanted to use that card on my landscaping insert.

I decided to try something different with my title card this week because after 2 years, I'm getting a little bored with the same style of title card every week. I never label my pages with week numbers because sometimes I combine weeks if I don't have a lot of photos or stories to document.

The bicycle 4x6 journaling card was cut using the Silhouette Cameo.

I'm linking up with The Mom Creative today.

I still have 3 weeks to catch up on in my album but I'm hoping to get it done this week.

How are you doing on your album?

Project Life | April 29 - May 12 (covers 2 weeks)

I'm a few weeks behind but I'm hoping to make up some ground this weekend. This was a fun week to work on because I used Blush cards with new and old embellishments from my stash. I love the girlishness of the Blush collection and it works great for my two kiddos. You will also notice that I combined two weeks here. I didn't have a lot of photos in either week so by combining them, it saves space in my album, helps me catch up faster (yay!) and I don't have to worry about trying to fill a bunch of empty slots.

The Process
I thought I would also share my process for prepping a layout. I made a simple template by using Microsoft Word and making a table. Then I look through my photos folder and write down what photos I want to use. I also use the Momento app on my iPhone which tracks my Facebook status updates. This helps me to remember if there are any stories I want to share that didn't necessarily have a photo to go with it (funny things my kids say, etc) and those get added to the list.

Once I have my list compiled, I start to map out where I think I want everything to go. I do this because I print my photos at home out of convenience and this helps me figure out what size to print them and if I need any inserts. I already recycled the sheet I used for the finished week below but here is a copy of an upcoming week that I will be printing photos for soon. I know it is a little light to see but I use a pencil when I am doing this so it is easy to erase if I change my mind.

 Now on to the fun photos!

April 29 - May 12 Full page

Left side 

The title card was the backside from the week before and I liked it so I made it work for this week. I made the May by hand cutting the banners, adding Sn@p letter stickers, My Mind's Eye washi and twine. The "S" is artwork that my daughter brought home from school. The letter was about 10 inches high so I scanned it with coordinating pink cardstock behind it and then printed it as a 3x4.

Right Side

 

 I embellished with a doily, My Mind's Eye stickers, Dear Lizzy butterfly and more Sn@p letters.

That Imaginations heart sticker is a few years old from my stash but I loved the sparkle. The flair and wood heart are from my Citrus Twist Project Life kits.

Thanks for stopping by! I read every comment so feel free to say hi and let me know what you think. :-)