Nature Walk Pocket Mini

 

I made this sweet little pocket mini album using my Silhouette Cameo and a Silhouette cutting file by Lori Whitlock found HERE.  My inspiration?  It was the PRETTY LITTLE STUDIO Nature Walk Collection.  This collection's mix of papers in my favorite patterns and some of the cutest die-cuts and journaling tags I have ever seen had me chomping at the bit to create something that would really showcase them.  And I think this mini fits that bill perfectly.  It's tiny but it makes a B-I-G statement!

See that sweet little "love" tag? It's part of a sheet of stickers that really got the creative part of my brain jump-started.  In my whole conversion of the walk-in closet into my personal scrappy mecca, I came across a box containing quite a few random extra photos I had saved that tied in perfectly with what I call the Nature Walk "word association" stickers.  With my Silhouette doing all the hard work in the actual making of the mini album, all that was left for me was to get out my scissors and glue and start playing! 

I adhered these stickers that extend down from the mini to a sheet of my patterned paper and cut them out.  And since I did NOT have enough forethought to sew the tag onto my mini before I assembled the pocket, I simply sewed across the top of the sticker and glued it to my album page.  It looks like it is sewn to the page, and that is all that matters!

What does the number 10 stand for, you ask?  That is the number our his, mine, ours family has expanded to (not counting the newest generation that has come along).  Luckily, all but two of our birdies have feathered their own little nests and  are self-sufficient - except occasionally when they hear something is being cooked on the grill or in the oven...

 

Here is the tag that features our crazy family of 10:

 

 

But I'm jumping ahead...

 

I love this picture of Hunter from last year's vacation, and I love it even more against a simple white background with my PLS bunting flags accenting the page.  And, yep, there's another word sticker - sewn to the picture and then stapled for good measure! 

 

The journaling tags in the Nature Walk Collection fit perfectly in the pockets of my mini.  Because I was feeling extra creative, I decided to try my hand at making a few journaling tags and embellishing the pre-made ones, too.

 

And, whoo says the back of the tag can't be cute? LOL - see what I did there? Who-whoo.  Yes, I crack myself up.

 

 

My Pretty Little Studio papers cut so well in my Cameo. And, look, there are some more word tags - and the sweetest little deer diecut ever! 

 

 

And speaking of die cuts, I had to find some excuse to use this one on a page...

 

How does a rabbit fit in with football?  Well, ummm, see....when you play football, you have to run incredibly fast with the ball to score a touchdown.  Annnndddd - wait for it - rabbits also run fast.  There you have it - a connection that's as obvious as the nose on your face. Duh!

 

And now that I have cleared the rabbit/football connection up for you, I am out of here for the day!  If you want to see my mini featured at its "official" home - please check out the PRETTY LITTLE STUDIO BLOG!  And leave a comment letting me know what you think.  I would love to hear from you!

 

Until next time, happy scrapping!!!

Journal Updates with Pretty Little Studio

I am slowly but surely continuing on with my everyday journal - not everyday as in I add something to it every day.  But everyday as in I am using my Instagram and cell phone pictures (that I might not otherwise use for a layout) and including more in-depth journaling.  This smaller format is PERFECT for me.  It allows me to keep the time for each page at roughly thirty minutes (although that does lengthen whenever I decide to add cute little inserts that I can't seem to resist). 

 

Today, I am up at PRETTY LITTLE STUDIO showcasing several of my recent pages (yes, I am still a few months behind but I am getting there). 

 

Pretty Little Studio products are absolutely perfectamundo for my little hybrid wants-to-be-a-project-life-but-not-ready-for-that-commitment-yet journal.  Why?  Because PLS has tons (and I do mean lots and lots and lots) of die cards, journaling tags, tabs, word bubbles, banner flags - all things perfect for a little journal like mine.  Want to see?

 

The tags and die cuts from the NATURE WALK COLLECTION were perfect for this page about Little Lula who loves to tell me stories - all kinds of stories!  And her little face is so-o-o-o-o-o expressive that I love to photograph her whenever she is telling me a story.  Right now, Goldilocks and The 3 Little Pigs are two of her favorites.

 

 

Of course, I couldn't resist making a little pocket insert with these adorable Nature Walk die cuts and journaling tags!  How cute is that little bear???  And with two pockets, I have more than enough room to journal all I want.

 

 

 

And, Pretty Little Studio papers and products are also perfect for pages about bigger kids.  Like, much bigger kids.  Like, kids that are so big you might otherwise mistake them for adults.  Like...me.

Like...this page...where I am finally revealing one of my secret morning rituals to the world.  Nope, it's not about an expensive Parisian face cream that costs $250 per ounce.  It's much geekier and much more juvenile than that...

 

 

Notice the little decorative strips of paper at the bottom of this page?  If you guessed those are scraps that I absolutely could not throw away because I KNEW they would be perfect for some unknown project in the future, you would be 100% correct.  But they are perfect for this page so I am feeling completely justified about my scrap paper hording storage habits.

 

And finally, this last page - which is really just a page in progress...

 

 

If I didn't know better, I would swear the powers-that-be at Pretty Little Studio snuck into my Mama's house and found a birthday card from my childhood squirreled away in my old bedroom.  But, uh, I don't know who put the 45 numbers on the card.  Certainly not me....I can't possibly be that old yet.  Seriously.  Honest.

 

And that's it for me today.  Do you do Project Life or any hybrid form like this?  If so, what do you do to keep up and not fall behind?  I would love to hear your tips and ideas!

Envelope Mini Album

I cannot believe my daughter (the original middle child) got married last weekend!  It seems like yesterday she was playing Barbies with her sister or I was driving her to a soccer game.  I took so many pictures on her wedding day and the day before that I am overwhelmed with choosing which ones to use first for a layout - they ALL seem to be jumping up and down, yelling, "pick me first!"  So, for now, I will settle with posting this mini album I created several months back using my Sweet Lou's engagement photos.  If I ever make it back home from Michigan (where I am working for the next few weeks and trying NOT to freeze my very Southern heinie off) I plan to do a video tutorial...so stay tuned.

This mini was made entirely with standard business envelopes that I simply glued together and covered with scrapbook papers.  The cover was made by hand by cutting up a Priority Mail box.

You KNOW how much I love pockets where I can tuck extra pictures and tiny treasures, so of course, envelopes were a perfect choice as the foundation to my mini.  I created flaps, which I added to the end, for visual interest.

I love that the design for this album allows for both small pockets to tuck tags into (on the left)...

 

...as well as large pockets in between each page. That's a LOT of pockets!!!

 

In addition to tags, I made a couple of little inserts to tuck into some of the larger envelope pockets between the pages.

 

An extra large flap closure is a great place to hide journaling or include a "surprise" picture.

 

When the flap to this page is opened, this is what is revealed...

 

And the last page...

 

 

That's it for today.  But, before I go - I HAVE to (have to have to have to) share one last pic taken by our wedding photographer REBECCA MCCOY - this one of the happy couple (who were married at the fantastic SERENGETI RESORT outside of San Antonio, Texas - it's billed as  African Wine Country - and was as unique and fantastic as my wonderful daughter and son-in-law)

 

Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Thompson - I love you both with all my heart!!!