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!

Just a Peek!

I am participating in my first "issue" on the Paper Issues Blog this Sunday, and am finding I am a little nervous about it :)
Here are two peeks at one of my projects. The one that will be featured on the blog hop!

For all of you scrapbookers, can you guess what line I was given to work with? :)
I have a few other projects I made and will share those over the next week or so.

Now like I said previously, I am finding May is high on the busy scale. Right up there with the month of December. Between finishing school and Evan celebrating his birthday yesterday,  (my boy is now 11 and I just can't believe it!) I had two field trips to go on last week.
Erin's kindergarten class went to a park for an all day excursion. And the only photos I have from that day are still on my phone. Forgot to bring a camera.

But Evan's field trip to our state capital is another story. I did bring my Canon point and shoot camera for that trip. After a two hour bus ride, we arrived at Jefferson City. I have driven through before but never visited the capital.

It's actually quite lovely outside...

as well as inside.
And I really love the lounge with the mural by Thomas Hart Benton.

It's such an amazing representation of Missouri history. The good and the bad :) You can read a little more about him and the story behind the mural *Here!* I really found it fascinating. And for Evan, who loves art and architecture, this trip was fascinating for him as well.

There was also gorgeous stained glass!

Then we went up to visit the Governor's mansion and gardens. And what I love most about Evan's social studies teacher is that she really puts things into perspective for the students. While everyone was voicing their opinion that "it must be nice" to live in a house like that, she reminded them what a huge job and responsibility our governor had. But in a respectful and thoughtful way that caught their attention.

The view from his gardens :)

It was just a really great field trip in all and I personally felt like I learned a lot! I've felt that way on several of their field trips this year. :)
Really glad I could go on this one!

Hope you have a great weekend! I will be back next week sharing my Paper Issues project :)

Hello!

Felt good to have a blog break during such a busy time!
But today I am back with a layout created using Sketch #4 and the May kit from The Paper Bakery.
I am also definitely linking this layout up over at Paper Issues because it definitely fits the theme of Everyday Life!

Here is the sketch by Juliana Michaels.
And here is my take...

I decided to just have one photo and then use two of the Maggie Holmes overlays in place of the other photo blocks. The overlays are backed by one piece of patterned paper and one piece of vellum. My journaling is actually written on top of the overlays though. Then instead of four squares behind, I layered some of the die cuts from the kit and a tag I received for becoming a new subscriber. Yep, I decided to go ahead and subscribe. The price is reasonable and I really love the site. I've liked the last couple of kits, but had already had a lot of the product. So I know the kits are my style. Plus there is always fun flair! And I just love the sketches!

Journaling:
Erin - you put a tutu on Curious George and insisted he was a gril! You also insisted that George needed to be buckled in when riding with us in the car! One day I caught George waving to me from the backseat. So cute!
So I did finish a layout or two over the holiday weekend. :)

Speaking of Memorial Day, I pulled out a photo of a friend I want to share.

This is from before the days of digital photos. 1997 to be exact. My friend Jim was in the Air Force and was stationed up in Great Falls, Montana with his wife and son. I had been friends with them for many years. Mike and I decided to make a trip up to see them, and they took us to Glacier National Park while we were up there. Talk about beautiful. Montana is just beautiful period! We took this photo of Jim there. Unfortunately in 2003, he lost a battle to cancer. But when I think of him, I always think of him how he appeared in this photo. Strong and proud. A man of honor and faith. He was and always will be a hero to me and this Memorial Day I remember him and his family! The world lost a great man and I miss him still.

I hope you had a great holiday weekend!