Pebbles Garden Party Guest Design!!!

Today's the day - it's finally here!  Is it Christmas again already? Not exactly - although that is what it feels like for me!  Today is the reveal day for Garden Party on the PEBBLES BLOG, and guess who the featured guest designer is?  Me-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-!!!!!!!!!!!  I've got to tell you, that is the best way to start off a Monday - ever!

Now, I'm not going to do a lot of talking in this post (because I have three projects to show you), except to tell you that the GARDEN PARTY COLLECTION is every bit as fresh and bright and pretty as it sounds!  The Pebbles patterns always mix and match well, making layering (and layering and more layering) easy-breezy, and Garden Party is no exception.  The hardest part of each project for me was choosing which papers I was going to use because they ALL look perfect together!  

Without further ado, here are my Pebbles Garden Party projects:

First is my layout - spring flowers aren't the only things blooming around here!  My 13 year old daughter is suddenly starting to look like a young woman, so this spring collection was just what I needed to create a layout about her.

Yep, I layered my little heart out!  I love adding bits of symbolism to my layouts, and the self-adhesive BUTTERFLY and "tweet" bird were perfect!  And I have to tell you, the glittery foam THICKERS that I used for my title are some of the prettiest I have seen yet.

Here are a few close-ups:

For my second project, I chose to do a Project Life layout.  I have just discovered Project Life and am really loving it now that I have things somewhat figured out.  Pebbles creates wonderful journaling cards, but I wanted to show that you can also cut up your regular papers and use them for Project Life spreads, too!  

Of course, I've got that little layering obsession so lots of things seem to end up attached to the tops of my pockets rather than in them!  Repeat after me - there is no wrong way to scrapbook.  And the journaling POCKETS WITH INSERTS and MINI ENVELOPES  were so unbelievably adorable (and functional) that I couldn't resist!  Just look at how cute these are:

So....what do you do when you have one extra pocket left over with nothing to put in it?  Well, if you are me, you fill that space with several pretty vellum and adhesive FLOWERS.  Why?  Because they are pretty.  And I like pretty things. *smile*

Did I machine stitch over that pocket so that the back side cannot be used?  Um, yes.  Yes I did.

Finally, my third project, which was created with the help of my handy-dandy Silhouette Cameo.  I made a spring purse with packets full of sweet treats to give away to little ones at a recent party.  Seriously, is this not the cutest way to bring little treat bags to a party?!

I created my treat bags by starting with this PEONY PAPER, which I cut up and sewed to my other patterned papers.  The Garden Party PHRASE AND ACCENT STICKERS and MINI-CLOTHESPINS dressed my little bags up beautifully!

Have I mentioned how much I love layering?  I have, haven't I???

Whew!  That's it for me.  I hope you have enjoyed these projects and, if you have, let the ladies over at the Pebbles BLOG know what you think!

Project Life Week 6

I told myself back in December that I would give Project Life a try.  And I did try it, right on cue, the first week in January.  Annndddd...my layout, or whatever you want to call it, for the first week was just awful.  Nothing felt like it was coming together correctly.  So I shoved it to the side and tried to forget about it.  I tried very hard. But - I really like the idea of Project Life or Pocket Pages.  My "regular" scrapbooking tends to focus on my thoughts about a person or thing, or I create layouts simply because it makes me happy to do so; I stopped chronicling everyday events on my layouts quite awhile ago.  I wanted to find a way to still keep track of those events and this seemed like a good way to do that.

I tried again, and what you see is the end result.  And you know what?  I LOVE it!  It took me awhile to finish.  I am a slow scrapper anyway, and I could not resist embellishing.  The end result, though, was well worth it!  This is what I started doing to help me along.

1.  I keep a daily planner so that I can write down different appointments and design team deadlines.  I started writing a sentence or two each day in my planner about something (or some things) that stood out to me.  This takes less than a minute, and I can refer back to it when I am creating my weekly project.

2.  Whenever I take an Instagram or cellphone picture that I think I might want to use, I immediately email it to myself.  This not only gives me all the pictures I plan to use right in my inbox but I know by looking at my email exactly what day it was sent.  

3.   The first time I tried this back in January, I was using papers that had a weird beige cast to them rather than a true white.  The papers had no journaling cards and no solid patterns that would allow me to make good journaling spots.  For me, the color scheme and patterns made it very difficult to match anything up.  While my colors don't have to match perfectly, they shouldn't look "wrong" together - for lack of a better description.  This time, I used a collection that had lots of tags and cards; the colors weren't an off shade that made them clash with other collections either.  Things went much more quickly with significantly less muttering and gnashing of teeth!

I may backtrack and re-create the first five weeks later on, but right now I am just happy to be moving forward!

I primarily used FANCY PANTS Wonderful Day and Trendsetter collections to create my week's project.  Here are a few close-ups:

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut the number six and the doily used on this:

I love big journaling spots like this that already contain a cute graphic.  Of course, I couldn't help layering an extra cloud sticker to the top of my card!

This tiny bag that is holding my journaling tag was simply glued to the top of my pocket.  The bag came with some scrapbook supplies I received in the mail, but it was so cute I couldn't throw it away.  I added a few gold rub-ons and tiny enamel dots to dress it up.  I love how the cheerful stripes of the tag show through the bag, don't you?

This is the right side:

It was important to me to include a few personal words of encouragement to myself as I am on a quest to start living a healthier life.  Because they were personal, I enclosed them in this sweet envelope that I embellished:

And that's my Week 6!  I have no idea if what I created was right or wrong or even if there IS a right or wrong with Project Life, but I am happy with the end result and that makes it right to me!

PRETTY LITTLE STUDIO DESIGN TEAM INTRO

We are instroducing (and re-introducing) ourselves over at the Pretty Little Studio BLOG all this week.  And, to celebrate the start-up of the new design team, we will be having fun give-aways and discounts that you don't want to miss!  A-n-d...a few of us have even gotten brave and cleaned up our craft spaces a little bit so we can show it to you, including me!

 

I have really been working steadily to keep up with my little Instagram journal, and having containers at hand full of bits and pieces like these from Pretty Little Studio...

 

...ensures that I can get a page finished quickly without sacrificing any of the little details that I love to add.

 

I have told you before, I am a s-l-o-w scrapper but I am usually able to get one of these little pages finished in 30 minutes - even with my random daydreaming and getting side-tracked by a) Pinterest; b) a "Mommy, I have a question" from a child (or husband); or c) taking a break to beat the next Candy Crush level.  Here are two of my recently completed pages for your viewing pleasure:

 

I love that all of the different Pretty Little Studio COLLECTIONS coordinate so well with each other - such as the ones on this page from the Monsieur and Birthday Cake Collections. My little squares actually came from the packaging insert that contained all of my Monsieur Collection papers.  They were perfect for this small format!

 

 

That's it for me today!  Enjoy your shortened work week and can't wait to see you over at the PLS BLOG!

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!

Project Life Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the PRACTICALSCRAPPERS and SCRAPTOWN LADY Blog Hop!  We thought it would be fun to combine forces and share projects with you that have our design teams’ takes on one of the hottest scrapbooking trends around:  Project Life. 

Whether you are a “Project Lifer,” are interested in Project Life, or just want to find out ways to use all those fantastic Project Life types of products and ideas on your own projects, we have a hop FULL of inspiration and creativity! 

We’ve got a fabulous prize, too - a $25 gift certificate to Scraptown Lady’s shop, which is stocked with awesome scrapbooking supplies!  What do you have to do to be entered in the drawing?  It’s easy! 

1.      Be a follower of Practical Scrappers; and
2.      Be a follower of Scraptown Lady; and
3.      Visit all the blogs, starting with Practical Scrappers and ending with Scraptown Lady, and   leave a comment at each blog along the way.  

We will be hopping until Sunday, June 30^th at 11:59 p.m. CST.  The grand prize winner will be announced on Tuesday, July 2^nd! 

 If you get lost along the way, just check the complete list below to get you hopping in the right direction:

 Practical Scrappers: http://www.practicalscrappers.com/

Christine Freet Meyer: http://scrappingwithchristine.blogspot.com/
Erin Morehouse-Kislingbury: http://girlpaperscissors.blogspot.com/
Charissa Miller:  http://www.akihasmommascraps.com/
Nicole Laha: http://www.shezigzags.blogspot.com/
Claude Campeau: http://www.imzadi481.blogspot.ca/
Lanette Erickson: http://stacksofscraps.blogspot.com/
Malika Kelly: http://www.malikakelly.blogspot.com/
Danielle de Konink: http://picsandcheesecake.blogspot.nl/
Lisa Peeples: http://www.snappinandscrappin.blogspot.com/
Mary Pat Siehl: http://siehledwithakiss.blogspot.com/
Wendi Robinson: http://scrappydayinparadise.blogspot.com/
Julie Comeau: http://lepetitmondedeglamotte.blogspot.ca/
Kim Ryden: http://www.rydenkim.blogspot.com/
Ruth Bonser: http://scrapmachine.com/
Krissy Clark McKee: http://krissyclarkmckee.blogspot.com/  That's me!
Marcia Dehn-Nix: http://onescrapatatime-bymumsie.blogspot.com/
Cathy Harper: http://www.alteredplayground.blogspot.com
Rhonda Van Ginkel: http://snapwhiz.blogspot.com/
Scraptown Lady:  http://scrap-town-lady.blogspot.com/

 If we have inspired you so much that you “need” to do a little shopping now, SCRAPTOWN LADY is offering 20% off all orders during the hop!  The sale runs from now ‘til midnight Monday.  Enter “code20” to receive your discount.

 

And, as an extra prize, if you start following my blog and leave a comment, you will also be eligible to win a free project life online class with my dear friend, the amazingly talented LISA WILKINSON.  An example of her wonderful work can be found HERE.

 

Now, for my take on Project Life....well...er, the whole keeping up with a year long project every.single.week. was a bit intimidating to me.  But, what I decided I DID want to do, was keep a small journal-type scrapbook with all of the (numerous) INSTAGRAM pictures I take that usually end up sitting on my phone forever and ever.  Using a smaller SNAP album and having a quick way to document the stories behind my day-to-day Instagram photos was very appealing to me, so that is what I have begun to do.  This is my start; let me know what you think:

So far, I have used a combination of AMERICAN CRAFTS and PRETTY LITTLE STUDIO papers.  Why?  Because they were already on my work table and I had lots of scrap pieces sitting out - perfect for a smaller format like this!

Because this is my "everyday" album, full of my "everyday" thoughts - I have committed myself to journaling about them all - the good, the bad, and the ugly!  Kind of scary, but also liberating in a way.  And if I don't want anyone else to see it, I'll just put it on a pretty tag and stick it in a pocket.  That makes everything better, right?!  Right!!! (For the record, though, the journaling on this tag was quite happy - just saying!)

I love using random left-over bits and incorporating them into several pages - something I also tend to do with my 12x12 layouts.

 

That's it for me!  Ready for more inspiration?  Okay!  Your next stop is: 

Marcia Dehn-Nix: http://onescrapatatime-bymumsie.blogspot.com/

Happy hopping!!!

 

Project Life with Lori Whitlock

About a month ago, I bought a tray at a craft store for under a dollar. It was originally $12, but the back part had splintered off and the store was really just trying to get rid of it. I took one look at it and knew I HAD to have it. I didn't have a clue what I was going to do with it, but I definitely had to have it! When I saw Lori's Project Life cards, I immediately knew what I wanted to do with the tray. It was perfect for those cards! I quickly sent her an email that was the equivalent of a grade-school kid with their hand raised in the air, jumping up and down, and yelling, "pick me, pick me!"

Now, I don't keep a project life album. I think they are a WONDERFUL idea, but they are simply not for me. Quite frankly, keeping up with one initimidates the heck out of me! But, a tray filled with Project Life cards? That I could do! My schedule has been jam-packed full lately. And while I may not always have the time to devote to a full layout, making a card or two at a time is easy, and fast, and totally cute!

I added door pulls to the bottom of my tray to give it feet. I simply cut off the screws with a hacksaw. I'm sure the idea lodged firmly in my brain after seeing it somewhere on Pinterest.

My papers came from Echo Park's Charming and Graceful collections from the This and That Line (designed by Lori, of course), and I used her brand new DOILY BANNER. I added some twine and a few buttons, and I wrapped the doily banner off-center around the side of my tray for a festive look.

The opposite side of my tray has different embellishments added. This time, I fussy cut several of the circles and a border from my EP papers.

As you can see, I covered the inside with more EP papers and added paint around the top edge of the tray (allowing it to drip slightly down the sides for a more antique-y, less polished look). Of course, the outside of the tray was just too deliciously distressed to completely cover up - so I chose embellishments that would highlight and compliment it!

And my cards? Those are where I have been having the most fun!

I used the PROJECT LIFE 4x6 cards and reduced the size by one inch so they would fit my tray (app. 3x5). For some cards, I added journaling on the back side and a picture on the front; for other cards, I chose to add embellishments on the front and a picture on the back. I even created a pocket on one card. The best thing about these cards is that there is no wrong way to use them! And Lori made the decorating process even easier by adding wonderful phrases for me to use, such as these in her SO HAPPY TOGETHER set!

Are you ready to get started on your own Project Life project? Whether you use a tray or an album for your cards, it's more affordable than ever. Why? Because Lori's having a sale, that's why!

That's right, now through February 29th, you can save 25% off your purchase in Lori's STORE if you use the code: BDAY25.

Now go! Leave! Step away from your computer and go live each day to the fullest! And remember, it's not only the occasional vacations or holidays that make up our lives; it's the small, everyday events and the people we see and interact with day in and day out that make up each of our unique, richly flavored stories!