Project Life Week 2: Then

 Hello! Thanks for stopping by! In case you missed my first couple of posts on how I do Project Life, let me review. On the left side, I do our wedding of almost 25 years ago. On the right, I do current events. Today is a left side, I was working with very old photos and memories, both a bit faded and worse for the wear.

 You can click on any photo to make it larger.

 Here, I sewed the photo directly to the mount, and wrote the names in a Bic marker.

 More sewing, a little stamping and embossing, and more of my hand writing. This is all just Stampin' Up! cardstock that matches the Amber Project Life Edition I'm using.

 Here you can see an Amber Edition journaling card on the left, and a patterned paper card cut from my paper stash. I have no intention of only using Amber stuff in this album. I enjoy mixing it up and using stuff from my stash.

 I love to staple things together, and it couldn't be more perfect for PL because it's flat. I stamped on the card on the right, and I think that gorgeous brad is from Prima.

 I try to use vintage dictionary paper on every page. It's one of the elements I will use throughout the album.

On the bottom of this picture is a K&Co adhesive border. I LOVE these things for PL. They are flat, and come complete with glitter. Plus, they are each 12 inches long, so you can easily use just one on a two page spread.

So, that's the old side of Week 2. I'm caught up with my album right now, and am enjoying it so much! Most weeks, I show improvement, and my pages look a little better than the week before. Also, I'm getting much better at remembering to take pictures of our daily life. I hope eventually to always have enough photos for a two page spread of current events.

Teacher Christmas gifts

 For Christmas last year, Wilson's teachers all got mini journals and note cubes. The stamped image is non-denominational. It reads, "Feel the magic of the season." I was hoping that wasn't offensive to anyone. No one threw their mini journal back at Wilson in an offended huff, so I think they worked out.

 They will definitely have plenty of places to write things down. The stamp is a Gina K. Designs stamp.

 Next year, I won't make any of the gifts Christmas themed, unless they are an actual Christmas item. The ribbon is Stampin' Up! I can't remember who makes the die, but it's in a little folder, and it cuts and embosses on one pass. I love it to death.

 Mini journals are useful. I use a fall themed mini journal as a food diary. I am trying to pay attention to what I eat. I generally eat way over or way under my daily calorie quota. You'd think this would work out to a nice, even weight, but it doesn't, at least not when you are overweight to begin with. I think it works perfectly for skinny people like my husband.

It's a beautiful day here in Pueblo. Right now it's 45 degrees, and we're looking for a high of 74. Colorado's weather is truly fabulous most of the time. Our weather and geological impressiveness are why everyone wants to be here, which is why it's so expensive. Anyhow, I think it's nice enough to get outside and take some Project Life photos. For the past month, the weekends have not been conducive to outdoor photography of paper. Rocks, maybe. Paper, no. Scissors, perhaps. .

Friends are flowers...

 All five of these cards use stamps and supplies from the very first Gina K. Designs Stamp TV kit. Some stamps I tire of quickly, but I have loved this kit for years.

 I have been trying to use stuff up lately, and it's not easy, I tell ya! When you have as much as I do, and you, too, probably, I'm not sure it's even possible. GKD usually avoids super trendy stuff, so the stamps hold up over time.

 The STV kits are jam packed with supplies. You can just make cards forever and still have leftovers! These lilies won't ever be out of style. And don't even get me started on the iris stamp below-love that thing!

 I have recently joined three new Project Life based kit clubs. SHHH. I know I shouldn't have, but they were irresistible! Also, I need to infuse my stash with some fresh, new stuff.

I'll be sure to tell you all about them when one arrives, which could be as soon as tomorrow, if I'm lucky! I doubt it will be full of pink and brown, don't you? These colors still sell well in my Etsy shop. What's in style with papercrafters is not always what the general public is looking for. That's a good reminder for all of us-the people you craft for don't know or care if you're using the latest and greatest!

Christmas in April?

 I make Christmas cards all year because Christmas sells in my Etsy shop all year. Last week I sold both Christmas and Halloween items. This card features mostly Melissa Frances stuff with Bazzil Bling as the base, and SU! organdy ribbon. Those are real vintage buttons, too.

 This is another card featuring A Muse Studio's Nordic Noel. I love that deer image-it looks so great embossed.

 Gina K Designs stamps. I think these were in the very first Stamp TV kit. I used to love those things! I'm sure I still would if I ordered one. They were a great deal, too. I think I have six or seven STV kits.

 This card is all a|s. It's little and square and elegant. The photo is a little overexposed, but the colors are palest blue, a creamy latte and black.

More GKD. Earth tones are my second favorite colors to work with, after pastels. Brights and jewels don't appeal to me much at all. This card is also smaller than an A2. Anything smaller then A2 has automatic cuteness factor in my book.

It's so cold here today. It kind of came as a shock to me because I've really been enjoying the spring weather. Today it never made it out of the thirties. I'm done with the cold! Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer, 58 degrees. I hope so.

Cherished Memories

 I never, ever tire of using Crafty Secrets images on my cards. They charm me to pieces every time. I have even bought some of these cardstock cut out sheets twice. *LOVE* Those are vintage buttons from my quite extensive button stash. I finally quit buying them, because even I had to admit that I probably had enough.

 This card was a stash clean-out pure and simple. Remember those Making Memories metal embellishments? Well, back when they were actually on trend, I was a hoarder, so I never used them. Now I use whatever I want without a second thought. In five years, I don't want to be forcing myself to use things I would have enjoyed using at the time I bought them.

 The flower I used here is from my oldest SU! set. It's actually housed in a much deeper clamshell case. I think it's called Bold Blossoms.

 This stamp set is called Noel, and it's from A Muse Studio. It's gorgeous, and I love embossing it. If you are looking for terrific white embossing powder, try A Muse Studio's-I love it. I used SU!'s Winter White for about 11 years, I've always loved SU!'s EP. However, I think I like the a|s even better. I'm so glad embossing is trendy again. I never quit embossing, even when it was unfashionable.

Here is another Crafty Secrets image, plus a die cut from PTI's Love Lives Here set.

I hope you are enjoying your spring, and that you have a lovely Easter with your family. We always have a wonderful Easter get together with our whole family.

Project Life Week 1 New

 So, for those of you unfamiliar with Project Life, it's a scrapbooking idea that you document each week in your life instead of just birthday's and Christmas. Some people try to take a picture every day. Some people are very regimented, others are more free form. PL can be anything you want it to be. I think the coolest thing about it are the page protectors (even though mine keep ripping). You have all these little cells to work with instead of trying to fill a 12 x 12 page.

Above, you can see the intro card for the first week of January. It has the dates for the week. I used some old cork letters and an A Muse Studio mitten die cut to jazz it up a bit.

 The next 4x6 section has a picture of our bird feeder. Troy gor me the pole for our anniversary and the finch feeder for Christmas. Garry and Mary got us the suet feeder for Christmas. We are bird dorks; we get a lot of enjoyment from watching our birdy friends.

 These two cell give a little info about the week and the pictures. I keep a notebook to write down thoughts and events as they happen. I have to do this because I am about 10 weeks behind right now and I have a terrible memory.

 Then, when I sit down to do a week's page, I flip to that week, print out the pics from my camera and phone, and jot down some tidbits on my journaling cards. That pic of Ross's ankle makes my heart flip flop every time I see it.

 This is a perfect example of what PL is all about. You can have book after book of your kids opening presents, or you can have documentation of the way they really spent time enjoying each other. Skyler spent seven hours cleaning and organizing Wilsons' room, and when they were done, they played Legos.

 This is just one of those funny little life things that you wouldn't normally scrapbook, but Troy and I had a lot of fun reading all the fine print on this card and remembering what an ordeal they were to use. We were grownups before cell phones came into regular use, and this was a pretty fancy way to call long distance when away from home.

Remember to click on the images for a better look. I will try to get better pictures of next week, I realize that these are overexposed.

Project Life Week 1 Old

 Here is the two page spread for Week One. My pictures are better this time than last time, but I still need to work on them. This spool is a little too high for me to get the right angle. I need to stand on something next time. You can see them a little better if you click on them.

 I plan to put old pictures on the left side and new pictures on the right side. So these are wedding pics. By the way, the first three of my PL page protectors have ripped. I am not at all pleased with the quality of the holes; they should be much stronger. So far 100% of them have ripped through the top hole. This is not a ringing endorsement for the quality of Becky Higgins page protectors. Has anyone else had this trouble?

 And these are pics from the first week of January. I'll share more on these in my next post. I didn't want this post to be too long or overwhelming for my reader.

 I cut down one of our wedding invitations here, and added some typewriter journaling.

 Here we are coming down the aisle as Mr. & Mrs.

 The night before the wedding.

 Cake time.

 Whispering sweet nothings.

Filler block.