A Few More Thoughts on Project Life

On my last post I mentioned my hope to actually have some time to scrapbook this week. I was actually able to work on my first week of Summer Project Life and have learned a few things.

 (Photo to make my point snapped at night with bad lighting)

1. Too many photos...or an abundance of photos for the first week. I think that I am actually going to end up having three pages not including the three-up insert. We did a lot that first week and I have so many photos! Besides the photos in the picture, I have a small stack to the left.

2. I need an extra style of page protectors. One that includes both horizontal *and* vertical slots for 4x6 photos. As you can see above I have a horizontal protector on the left, a vertical one on the right and the insert in the middle.
What I really need are these...

(Photo from Amazon.com)

that include both. So I added them to my cart. 

And then I saw this variety pack...

which has the style I want and a few other cool sizes and shapes! So into my cart they went. 

And now Project Life is on hold while I wait for my new page protectors. :) Which is fine because I have plenty to keep me busy including the planning and documenting of Project Life for now.

But since it is only a Summer Project Life, I don't feel in danger of "falling behind" at all. So I am going to push it to the side and work on some of the sketches using my new June Paper Bakery kit that just came in the mail.

Fun right? :) I know I will have plenty of time to scrapbook on Saturday because it is a special day. But more on that Monday.

And just a few fun photos from yesterday...

While Erin and her friend were at gymnastics, I wandered around the corner and up the street to a little independent bookstore. It is so rare to find a gem like this. A bookstore that just says "Books" on the awning. :)

And I picked up this book...

The premise seems really interesting and cool, but the reviews are definitely mixed. People either loved it or hated it! We will see which way I fall when I finish.
And as for books, this is my summer to be read pile so far...

Nothing better then a pile of books just waiting to be read. :)

And the last bit I want to share. I have a giveaway up on the Craft Your Nest blog. We are looking for more likes for our Facebook page. But I also love my blog friends, so whether or not you "like" our page (because I know not everyone is on Facebook or needs another page to like) if you just pop by and leave a comment, I will enter you in the giveaway. If you like the page, that will be two entries. And if you share the page, you get three. :)
Goodies include some new Elle's Studio including a stamp set, enamel dots and some cool retro journal cards that I have duplicates of from American Crafts.
So come on by and say "hi!"
And I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Summer Slacker!

That would be me :) Ok, well not really fair to call myself a slacker, since we really have been busy having fun so far this summer!
But since my design team projects are complete and I don't have any due for several weeks, I haven't been scrapbooking as much as I would like except for my Summer Project Life title page which I shared on the last post.
I do have projects planned and in the works as you can see here...

There is Project Life in the center with my PL planning notebook just to the left.
A big pile on the left with sketches I am dying to work with.
And down on the floor, I still have my Florida album in progress.
Tomorrow the kids are with my neighbor for a few hours since I will be watching her two on Tuesday. So my plan is to work on one or more of these projects. Most likely Project Life and then a sketch or two afterwards.

Do you find yourself scrapbooking more or less in the summer?

Just wanted to share another photo before I go. I love summer sunsets! Here is a photo from Saturday night from my scrapbook office. I looked up and it seemed as if the sky was on fire! This photo just can't do it justice, but I had to try and get a photo anyway.

And two movies we are looking forward to here...

and...

So darn excited! :)

Any movies you are looking forward to this summer?

Summer Project Life 2013

I finally made the decision to officially begin Project Life. But like I said in earlier posts, just a summer version for now. I think for me this could be the "December Daily" of Summer!
So far we are three weeks in and I have photos printed up for week one.
Definitely learning as I go here. I have decided from now on to print photos up two weeks at a time and order them on line. My first order was pricey for just one week getting them through a local place.
Here is my title page...

It's kind of tricky to photograph PL pages with the glare on page protectors. But I did manage to get a decent shot. I created the cards on the top left and bottom right from scratch using patterned paper and a variety of stickers.
I created the journal card as well. And actually had a mishap when inking the edges of the grid paper. I had already typed my journaling and then got a big smear of ink at the top. Instead of starting all over again, I created a border using the B side of the grid paper. :) Problem solved!
I have collected three different Summer lines over the years by Simple Stories and plan on finally using them for this project. Each line will go with a different month. For June I am using their newest release I {Heart} Summer.

The other two collections are...

100 Days of Summer and...

 

Summer Fresh. 

I think they will work out perfectly for this album. And I am looking forward to having a completed album of our summer activities all in one place! 

Like I said, I am learning as I go. I originally thought only one page spreads for each week. But now I am thinking it will be a mix of one and two page spreads. I guess we will see :)

Are you working on or have you done Project Life?

And summer Monday exercise with Evan continued this week with a bike ride together.

We finally went to pick up my bike where it had been stored for the winter. So between bike rides and runs, I think we have a good Monday morning routine going. I am actually thinking of adding in Thursdays for the two of us as well. :)

Hope you have a great weekend!
I will see you on Monday!

This and That!

Whoa! As I am typing this there is a freakish lightening storm going on outside my windows. It's a little eerie.
Anyway, I will start with a few scrapbook business items.
The new "issue" is up over at Paper Issues.

Here is a little collage of the projects the design team members on the blog hop this time around created. The sponsor is Persnickety Prints and the issue title is "Let's Get Persnickety". You can see all the details for participating and a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Persnickety Prints HERE. You can also link up projects either using photos printed by Persnickety Prints, any Instagram prints you have or fussy cutting. So lots of chances to join in! :)

Also, if you are on Facebook and are interested in some fun scrapbook inspiration, would you mind coming by and "liking" the Craft Your Nest Facebook page HERE! This crafty blog was started by my friend Dawn who just wanted to be inspired to use up her scrapbook stash. Cheryl and I  joined in as administrators on the blog and Facebook page. We are hoping that the page will complement the blog and help us share the challenges, giveaways, sketches and inspiration we post with more scrapbookers. Would love if you could help us grow!

On to the weekend :) I have some really bad phone photos to show you. My old beat up Android that is three years old and missing it's volume button, takes terrible indoor and evening photos. Anyway,
it really was a great weekend. Mike took a half day off on Friday and the four of us headed out to Six Flags amusement park. We were there for eight hours which is a lot of us, but we had fun :)

My daughter has no fear! She will go on any ride that she is tall enough at the age of five. The Highland Fling is one of them. And yes it pretty much goes upside down at one point. She went on this ride no less than six times! The first few times with Mike sitting with her. Then she wanted to go alone in her own bucket. And then...alone on the ride with no one else even on it in another bucket.
I am telling you we are in trouble with this one :)

On Saturday, we pretty much hung around the house except for when I went grocery shopping.

But yesterday, Sunday, was Father's Day. Now I haven't downloaded the pics I took of Mike and the kids yet. It was rainy here most of the day, so I wasn't able to get any good outside photos. Just a few inside while he opened gifts.
Evan made him a table for Father's Day. Yep, a table. A small little table using wood scraps. I have a terrible phone photo to show you...

Yep, that's a Hero Factory dude on top testing it out I guess. But it was so amazing to see Evan measuring the legs so they would be even. And then using a handsaw and sandpaper to cut and smooth them. Mike loved it!
I also made him a book on Shutterfly that was long overdue using photos from the U2 concert we stood in line for all day back in 2011. On the hottest day of the year with a heat advisory and everything. But so worth it to be this close...

to the Edge. And this is one of my favorite photos because he was looking right down at Evan when Mike took this shot! Love it. This is one of the photos in the book. I was so glad we could bring in cameras including our DSLR because who knows if we will ever get this close again!

Another photo I love because Adam is looking right at the camera :)
Anyway, if we are friends on Facebook, I plan on putting all the photos that were in the album up there in the next day or two to share. Almost two years later!

We also watched this movie for Father's Day together as a family...

and I really liked it. There were a few little things that bothered me, but for the most part I thought it was pretty good. Loved his sidekicks...the China Girl and monkey :) Evan liked it and he hates "The Wizard of Oz" :-O But he didn't like that one of the good witches became evil. He didn't think it was "fair". I was kind of surprised Mike picked this one since he is not a WofO fan either. But I think he enjoyed it.

And if you have read through all of that, thanks for stopping by today!
I will be back Thursday with a scrapbook project to share.

A Little Peek

at an upcoming project I created for Crafting Ireland magazine. It is either going to be in the next issue coming out on July 1st, or featured on their blog at a later date. So not too long until I can share the full project here.

Like I said in my last post, we are enjoying summer and keeping pretty busy. I placed my order for our first week of photos that are going in our Summer Project Life album. I am hopefully picking them up today so I can work on it this weekend and share completed pages next week here on the blog.

Now that it is summer, I am only planning to have new blog posts two days a week. Most likely Monday and Thursday, since those days seem to work the best with our schedule. They are also the days I do most of my blog reading. :) I may occasionally do an extra post here are there that might be non scrapbook related, but that probably won't happen too often.

As for my healthy living goals, lets just say that I am doing well with the exercise one for sure.
I have a good regiment going despite the kids being home from school, and am in fact trying to include them in exercise.

This past Monday was the second Monday in a row that Evan and I exercised together. He is wanting to go for runs/walks with me. The first Monday, we included Erin and she rode her bike. It was a little hard for her to keep up though. This Monday, my mother-in-law who lives close by, watched Erin so Evan and I could go together. It was really great to have that time with him. And Erin loves hanging out with her Mimi.
But so far this week I have also done an hour of cardio on Sunday and 30 minutes of strength training today. Tomorrow will be cardio again followed by strength training the following day. You get the idea. I am allowing one day a week off. And also throwing in yoga here and there. It feels like a good balance.

In May, I didn't do as well with fast food. After eating it twice in four months, I think I had fast food about four times just in May, and usually a Dr. Pepper to go with it. What I have learned though is that for the rest of the day after eating fast food I really don't feel so great. It's almost like my body was cleansed of it and then by reintroducing it, I could really feel the effects it had! Not good. And so here in June, I am just saying no!

My sleep goal, not so good. Up way too late every night this week so far. Most nights 12:30. And that is taking it's toll as well. I felt totally drained today despite exercising. So I think sleep needs to be a big focus for me. Sleep and less sugar!
It's kind of good to see where this journey of trying to live a healthier lifestyle is taking me. And seeing what I am capable of doing. Like push ups, man! My push ups used to be so wimpy. Now I am taking them down to the floor and back up from plank position. That feels good!

Well, I am off to get some much needed exercise, cleaning and organizing done.
Have a great weekend and I will see you on Monday! :)

More Doodlebug Designs...

Sharing my final project for Paper Issues made with the Fruit Stand line by Doodlebug Designs.

I used this Instagram photo I had on hand because of the cherries you can barely see on Erin's shirt :)
But I promise they are there at the top. Which made me think of that little pink tab sticker on the bottom of the layout, which developed into this layout.
I am finding that I like doing the 8 1/2 x 11 size pages these days. Especially when I want to highlight only one photo.
Don't forget! There is still time to link up your projects using a fruity theme or Doodlebug product Here at Paper Issues! 
The giveaway this time is one of two Doodlebug prize packs!

In Project Life news, I am getting ready to order photos from last week. I kept a journal of daily activities, and feel pretty sure that it won't be too hard to put the first week together. I am getting excited to do my first PL spread :) Here are a few highlights from the week...

Erin reading books with our wonderful neighbor. She is the best, and Erin loves her!

Trying to fit exercise in as a family during the weekdays. Erin rides her bike while Evan and I run.

Trip to Incredible Pizza with my incredible parents to celebrate Evan's birthday. Unfortunately, the best shot came out blurry, but I still plan to use it!

Tour of a local chocolate factory with friends :)

Breakfast at Panera (yes, that is my silly daughter dancing and watching herself in the window) before going on a trip to...

the zoo. We really had a fun week! And that doesn't count the play dates with neighbors and friends.
I am so glad we are going to have an album documenting this summer! :)


One last thought. It's been a while since I did a "Healthy Living in 2013 post." I think the last was beginning of May. I haven't given up, but let's just say May was a bit of a let down. I started working part time subbing at the kids school + all of the end of the school year activities and I kind of let a few things go.
I learned some important lessons about letting things go though, and will share soon. Either this week or next. I haven't set a goal for June and am going to try and just work on sleep, eating well and fitting in exercise as much as possible. So we shall see :)

Hope you have a great Monday!

Thank You!

As I mentioned in my last post, I was given the "Fruit Stand" line by Doodlebug Designs to work with for the new issue over at Paper Issues. So far I have completed two layouts and six cards!
Today I want to share my card set with you created for the teachers and support staff at the kids' school.
I have to admit that I wanted to be able to whip these together quickly since I needed them fast.
This sticker sheet helped make that simple.

Isn't that cute?!
So using that sheet, some enamel dots, stamps, stamp ink, my trusty circle and square punches from Creative Memories and scraps of paper from the line, I made these...

and these...

It is a basic formula I follow with my cards. Like I said, I love to keep my cards simple.
There is still time to link up your projects using Doodlebug product or with a "fruity theme".
You can see all of the details HERE.

Also, I did it!
I started Project Life this week, but just a summer vacation version. It's going to cover the weeks that the kids are off school. I think it will be a great way to keep track of all the fun things we do this summer. And I love the album we are using...

Doesn't that color just make you think of summer? :) So we are halfway through the week and I have been keeping a little journal that I write in each night. Plus, I am carrying my point and shoot camera everywhere. I plan on ordering prints every two weeks and working on the album two weeks at a time. I guess we will see how it goes.

And I finally decided to give "Bloglovin" a try for reading blogs. They asked me to paste this...
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
into a post so I can claim my own blog. So here it is. And I am in the process of finding the blogs I usually read. I think if it works out I will probably remove all the blog links from the side of my blog here eventually. Sorry, Barb. I know you read a lot of them through my blog rolls, but I am feeling a little overwhelmed by the lists sometimes :) 

Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you have a great weekend!
I will be back next week with another layout and I haven't forgotten about my Healthy Living in 2013 goals. :) So I need to do a post about that. Plus, I think I just may your scrappy opinion about some layout choices.
See you next week!

Paper Issues "Fruit Stand" with Doodlebug Design

Hi, Everyone!
Welcome to the Paper Issues "Fruit Stand" blog hop!
You should have arrived here from Lisa's blog.

If this is your first stop, you might want to head over to Paper Issues to start at the beginning. :)

We were so lucky to be given the fun "Fruit Stand" line by Doodlebug Design to work with.
I created two layouts and a card set for the kids school staff using this line.
Today I want to share one of the layouts with you. I will definitely share the other layout and cards within the next week or two.

All of the sweet fruit in this line made me think of these photos of Erin and our neighbor. They have been best friends for ages! I love doing grid and color block designs, so I mapped out my page accordingly bordering the photos with the title and a strip of Doodlebug washi tape that came with my package. I then decided to pop dot some of the fruit elements to give my page a little depth.

I shared this peek last week. But now that you can see the full page, I thought you might want a closer look. Here is the other close up.

So that is my first page.
Since I am the last one on the hop, now you can head over to the Paper Issues Facebook Page.For a chance to win one of two Doodlebug Prize packs you will:
1. Need to like Paper Issues Facebook page (if you haven't already!)
2. Like Doodlebug Designs Facebook page (and tell them Paper Issues sent you!)
3. Leave a comment on the Paper Issues blog post where you started the hop.

We would also love if you would join in and link up your Doodlebug projects (using any of their lines) or projects with a "fruity" theme on the blog post.

Thanks for joining in today!
I will be back with more projects to share on Tuesday!