October's Shop Your Stash Kit...

So, as you may have noticed, I've renamed the kits that I make as Shop Your Stash Kits. There's a few reasons, and if you're a reader of my blog, you've noticed that I've been wrestling with what to call these creations. The short version is, I didn't want to use a name that I was not 100% comfortable with. There are ton of challenge blogs that all create themed kits, based on other companies' kits. I've done them, it's totally fun. But I don't want to imitate the amazing kits that others make, I just want to use up what I have. No challenges, no prizes, (unless you count all of the projects you make!) and no pressure. If you want more information on my process and what exactly I'm doing, I've made a PAGE to better explain how I go about Shopping My Stash!

Now for the pictures, and October's Shop Your Stash Kit!! Reality moment: this kit has been made for almost a month. Seriously... I'm in love with this kit, and the mood board that inspired it. I have SO many plans... But they have to start somewhere, and this is the lovely inspiration picture that started it all:

OMGoodness!! Isn't it just divine! So gorgeous, so Halloweeny without being all cheesy... I was just in love. Vanessa over at lbg studio created this amazing "Mood Board" and I swear, it spoke to me. I loved all of it from the apples (you'll see them!), to the pumpkins, feathers, woodgrain, stars, hot cocoa (which I'm totally translating into coffee...) and the patchwork. And those pocket scrapbook cards... that I may have just purchased because of this board. Look forward to a month of Halloween, Autumn and fun family pics!

Paper Top Row L-R:
Dancette (Spirited) - Authentique
You & Me (Stella & Rose) - My Mind's Eye
Remember (Lime Twist) - My Mind's Eye
Summer Dress (Indian Summer) - WeRMK
Polka Polka (Count Me In) - Sassafras Lass
Teal Large Dot (Dots & Stripes) - Echo Park
Juniper (Into the Woods) - Lawn Fawn
Clove (Nutmeg) - Cosmo Cricket
Tube Socks (Boyfriend) - Cosmo Cricket

Paper Bottom Row L-R:
Hoot of Owl (Witch Hazel) - October Afternoon
Picnic (Kraft Funday) - My Mind's Eye
Stripe (Uncharted Waters) - Glitz
Victorian (Random Collection) - Crate Paper
Big Sky (Open Road) - Crate Paper
Fun & Games (Kraft Funday) - My Mind's Eye
Grove (Countryside) - Studio Calico
Acorn (Nutmeg) - Cosmo Cricket
Fitting In (Boyfriend) - Cosmo Cricket

Shaped Paper
Smile (Lime Twist) - My Mind's Eye

Cardstock
black - American Crafts
Eggshell (Simply Spring) - WeRMK
reddish - American Crafts
light orange - American Crafts  

Embellishments:
Sculpture Flowers - Prima
Layered Stickers (Lost & Found 2) - My Mind's Eye
Circle Garland (Kraft Funday) - My Mind's Eye
Fla!r (Spooky) - American Crafts
Orange Chevron Washi (Amy Tangerine) - American Crafts
Chipboard Alpha - Sassafras Lass
Delights (Spice) - American Crafts
Dimensional Stickers - American Crafts
Word Stickers (Witch Hazel) - October Afternoon
Bingo Card - Pretty Little Studio
Various Die Cut Cards - Elle's Studio & October Afternoon
Mini Market Alpha (Pumpkin) - October Afternoon
Stickers (Hattie) - My Mind's Eye
Tickets (Kraft Funday) - My Mind's Eye
Twine (Kraft Funday) - My Mind's Eye
Kraft Borders - Anna Griffin
Happy Harvest Printable - Life Love Paper
FREE!! Back to School Printable - OneHappyMama.com Pin It

AUTHENTIQUE PAPER: A "Radiant" Layout!!!

I share this layout over on the Authentique Paper blog on Tuesday, and hope to send a few of you their way in order to possibly win a couple of sets of Authentique's NEW Authentic Life Cards. They are amazingly fun 3x4", double-sided cards with both journaling areas and fun images and quotes. Lovely little things really. Make sure you stop by this week for some fun! So far, the Authentic Life Cards come in the Harmony, Radiant, Classique: Pretty and Favorite Collections.

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Gossamer Blue Life Pages (January 13-19)

Sometimes, weeks don't go the way that you plan...We watched the football game, got Guinness groomed, hung out a bit, and my friend figured out what colors she wants for her wedding. A little bit of illness (it's been a bit crazy as of late) and the week was done.

I really loved all of the Gossamer Blue printables this month, and used them throughout the layout quite a bit. Xyron's Adhesive Dots made them a breeze to apply.

And those sweet wood veneers by Elle's Studio are pretty fantastic.

I'm not sure who makes that sweet kraft envelope, but I love it. My wonderful friend Brenda sent me a couple of them and I have been hoarding them for uses like this. Pin It

Gossamer Blue Life Pages (January 6-12)

This was a fun week. Mostly. We got back into the routine of non-Christmas vacation. Had a bit of 12th Man fever. GO SEAHAWKS! Miss I was able to go to TinkerTopia (and be on local TV!) and I figured out how to comb those My Little Pony dolls from Build-a-Bear (wig brush, warm water and detangler).

In the midst of the January Gossamer Blue kit, I mixed in some of my Elle's Studio stash, and whatever letter stickers I could find. This month uses some Fancy Pants chipboard, Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type and Basic Grey stickers.

If you are in the greater South Sound area, I suggest checking out TinkerTopia. It's a "Creative Reuse Center" that blends recycling and art. It's pretty darn fun!

I loved the sweet pics from this week. I love capturing honest, wonderful moments of pure joy. Pin It

Gossamer Blue Life Pages (December 29-January 5)

I started this year by snagging the wonderful Gossamer Blue Life Pages monthly kits. I really adored their Scrapbook kits, but life was getting in the way of me using them as much as I had liked... So I made the switch, and will scrapbook using past kits and my stash instead of the monthly kit. I had made a deal with myself, that if I didn't complete the four layouts needed for the Album Challenge, I had to give up my scrapbook kit until I could make that happen. I also really liked seeing the great things that came out of the Project Life style of scrapbooking, but really wanted my layouts to express myself, and think that the GB kits really do that.

This is the first full week of January. I started with Gossamer Blue's January 2014 Kit and their amazing die cuts! As you can see, we hung out, I added a few pics of what we did, and my sweet date with my oldest.

Can you tell that my littlest figured out how to snap her own pics?? I also have the same version that my oldest took when she was this age!! Too sweet!

Most (if not ALL!) of my pics are taken with my iPhone... LOVED the movie Frozen. If you haven't already seen it, I highly suggest going to see it!! Pin It

Life Pages Update-How I Plan and Organize my Weekly Scrapbooking

Over summer, I started doing weekly scrapbooking. I still have a few weeks to catch up from summer (maybe over Spring Break... Or a long weekend??) However, I started getting the Gossamer Blue Life Pages kit (I gave up my subscription to their AMAZING scrapbook kits to try this out for awhile. I love it! I found that I really need to organize my thoughts before I sit down and start working.

I started with this amazing planner from Marcy Penner. I print two per page, and paste them into a sketchbook that I keep in my basket. Since I'm using the GB kits now, I nixed a lot of the "stuff" that I had in the basket, and focus more on what's available in the kit, with of course, a few things thrown in like mini bags, sequins, enamel dots, etc.

The white GB box fits in one of the pockets, along with a paper cutter, my sketchbook, Staedtler markers (which I've had for over two years now and they are still kicking!!).

A few extra cards (just in case, but I really haven't used them) and my FANTASTIC! Xyron/Teresa Collins stapler. 

Xyron Adhesive Dots, photos (which by planning out my layouts, I only print what I will use).

And of course, at least one extra mini alpha. I love mixing those up and plastering them all over. Pin It

Photographs and Apps: How I Organize My Weekly Scrapbooking Part 2

Hello again! I'm back with Part 2 of how I make my weekly (or sometimes monthly when life becomes routine) layouts. Really, this is a collection of cool apps and tricks to make life a little more simple, and ways in which you can speed up the whole process. Especially when using your stash.

 

Apps:
I am in love with my iPhone. Seriously though, this little bugger is amazing. And all of the apps available?? LOVE!

Photo Taking Apps:
Hipstamatic

While I have Instagram... I really love my Hipstamatic app. No, it's not free, and yes, I've spent more than I'd like to admit on lenses, film upgrades, etc. But it's super fun. And you don't "have" to share your pics if you don't want. Often... I don't want to.

Photo Altering Apps:
A Beautiful Mess

This is really just an app to alter pics, use some filters, add some wording and images and have fun. Then you can Instagram or Facebook away and be done. I do however like this to alter some images, or add phrasing right when it happens. Sometimes the wording gets wonky, and its hard to straighten. I end up redoing it then, which is kind of frustrating.


Over

This app was free for iPhone users during the App Store's birthday week. So I didn't actually pay the $1.99 for the app. Totally worth it though. It's like A Beautiful Mess, but a little more user friendly. It has multiple artists' creating images and phrases for it, so you get more of a collection of varied items, rather than one point of view. They are pretty similar though. No filters on this app, and you don't have to make square photos, which I like.

The Essential Project Life App!:
PhotoDate 

 

If you haven't heard of PhotoDate... You really need to look it up. If you are doing weekly, or scrapbooking in general, and use your phone... This is HUGE! It actually tells you when you took all of your pics on your phone. So simple, yet soooo important. I can hardly remember what day it is, and this little app does it for me. Want to be accurate with the date stamper? Now you can! 

Apps to Make Life Easier:
PicFrame

Part of the frustration of scrapbooking weekly is the whole finding a photograph thing. It's kind of annoying how those little 3x4" pockets make printing a picture kind of impossible. This app is genius, as you can just combine photos together to either create a collage, stitch two pics together for a 4x6, or just print them on the cheap. The 99 cents for this app is amazingly inexpensive for the ease of use. There are some really great tutorials on how to use this app (my favorite at MySistersSuitcase), but it's pretty easy to use.
 

Costco

Costco is one of my favorite places to go. We seriously spend too much money there. But it's worth it when we normally buy the same things each month. And kids eat a lot. I don't know where they put it, but they eat. Anyway... I love Costco's print quality. I know it's not always the same quality as a "professional print lab"... But for the cost, they are really good. And the app is super easy to use. Plus, after using PicFrame, it's even cheaper!!

Walgreens

Personally, I am not a huge fan of Walgreen's photography labs. Mainly because they only print in glossy paper. And that bugs me. A lot. Probably because it's hard to photograph when the pics are on a layout. Totally a personal thing, everyone has their "thing"... Glossy paper is mine. The app is great though, and the service is really quick. When I really need a pic fast, I will send them here. Plus they have super late (some 24 hour) hours... Which is helpful. They are more costly than Costco's photo lab. Something to think about, but they do have coupons often. I always Google to see if there is an available coupon code to use before I finalize my order.

How It All Works Together:
Lastly, this is how I put it all together. I have scraps of paper about the size of business cards that I plan out my week. Arrows usually mean that I've moved something, or mixed up dates. Sometimes I draw silly things, scratch them out, add more. Often I totally change it all up. Any which way though, the sketches have helped me to stop printing 18 million photographs that I don't use. They aren't hugely expensive, but waste is waste. This has made me much more streamlined in my process.

Whew! Lot's of information overload. This week, I'll be posting the four weeks of layouts that I completed in about 24 hours using this process.

***Project Life is a system of memory keeping created by Becky Higgins.  You can learn more here*** Pin It

My Project Life Basket: How I Organize My Weekly Scrapbooking Part 1

I figured out the cause of my lack of mojo. An unclean room (since tidied!) and the lingering thought that I haven't really started my summer of Project Life... I like the idea of capturing what goes on during the week, however during the school year it's just not feasible. Not because I cannot keep up, more because life is a lot more monotonous, scheduled, the same each week.

And since I have a studio to work in, I really cannot drag all of my stuff downstairs, or other places. So I created a PL basket. Just enough stuff to create at least a month's of pages without having to have anything additional. I also kind of enjoy not being attached to my Silhouette (blasphemy, I know!!) for everything. I could just go buy the kits, but that's no fun!! I have the page holders, but really just want to use my stash for the filler cards.

Here's my basket!! It seriously has everything I need! I already made a month's worth of pages. In 24 hours. Seriously! Even my cute Xyron 1½" Create-A-Sticker Machine!!

And the other side.

I have quite a few pre-cut 4x6 and 3x4 cards that I made a couple of Silhouette magazine holders for (4x6, 3x4). Include a 6x6 pad of cardstock, and at least one of patterned paper, or the leftovers of one of my Gossamer Blue kits... And the month is set.  

A handful of various letter sets, used up (almost) and brand new. All small and rather thin. This way, I can put them on pics, pages, etc.

Random assortment of enamel dots, flair, Elle's Studio pieces, etc. Anything small and fun.

A date stamp and some sequins. In those little bags that come with sweaters.

Scissors, a ruler, corner chomper, Signo pen, at least one color of journaling pen (but who's counting... I have six on the other side).

Small cutter and 8.5"x11" cutting board.

Mini stapler and a sketch pad.

And here's the beginning of my pages. I'll have to show more this week. I'm super excited to start getting somewhat caught up!!

Tomorrow, I am going to share my tricks for organizing my weeks and my photos. I have a few Apps that I LOVE that make this whole process SO much easier. Especially when I don't have a great photo printer in my house.

And just because... My newly organized buttons and brads! I took out all of the tiny ones... Love the color, NEVER used them.

Don't they look all pretty now?!?!?! Although, I realized I really need more yellow buttons. That one is looking a little lonely.

***Project Life is a system of memory keeping created by Becky Higgins.  You can learn more here***


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