Project Life 2015 – Week 18

Subtitle: Don't forget the small stuff!

I’m keeping this post short and simple (unlike my pages). No time for a lot of writing, because I’m about to hit the road again. Well, actually, I’m about to hit the air. =) This time I'm flying to New York City!

Here is my two-page spread for Week 18 of my 2015 Project Life/pocket page album:

main kit used: Hello Cutie, a newsletter freebie* by Amy Wolff at The Lilypad

main source of word art: Ali Edwards

Here is a closer look at the left side of Week 18:

Here is a closer look at the right side of Week 18:

Oh, how I love the Project Life style of scrapbooking! If I were still doing an event-driven scrapbook, I probably wouldn't have used a single photo on these two pages. No big event worthy of scrapping took place this week, BUT lots of little things happened that I want to remember. 

Because of Project Life I'm recording the big stuff and the small stuff. You know what? I imagine it's the "little" things that my kids and grandkids will most enjoy seeing when they're older. Conversely, I'm fairly sure my kids will not be enamored with the zillions of photos I have of them opening presents on their birthdays and Christmas.

Thanks, Becky Higgins, for teaching me that everything about life matters, and for giving me a means of documenting it all.

Thanks, blog followers (all several of you), for stopping by! Enjoy your life and record it! ALL lives are worth recording – that includes of aspects of your life. 

(Some photos are blurred for privacy.)

*Many designers offer freebies suitable for Project Life albums via blogs, newsletters, fan pages on Facebook, and such. Google to find them and sign up to get the freebies.

Project Life 2015 – Week 17

Subtitle: How to make pages without embellishments

(In other words, making pages using the Project Life method . . . sorta)

Here is my two-page spread for Week 17 of my 2015 Project Life/pocket page album:

main kit used: Bloom by One Little Bird

Most word art is by Ali Edwards, whose stuff is available here.

Let me address the subtitle first. Here’s the back story (as it's cool to say now): I have a ton of photos for this week (nothing new there). And for some reason I feel compelled to tell the story behind every single photo I use.

After drastically narrowing down the number of photos to use, I opened two copies of Template A* (one for each side of this week’s two-page spread), added the photos, and told the stories. Then I sat back and looked at the two pages.

Look at them above. There is no room whatsoever for any embellishments, like flair or washi tape or fancy labels or flowers . . .. I guess technically the arrow is an embellishment, but no elements were added just for decoration, which is my definition of an embellishment.

What do you know?! I did this week according to the basic Project Life method, which is to put photos and cards into pockets (on physical pages) or onto templates (for digital pages), and then add journaling. Okay, I did the basic PL method with overkill. Major overkill. That’s just my style. I did save time by not using embellishments.

If you want to get more pages done in less time, use the PL method with fewer photos and less journaling than I did. In other words, don’t copy my style.

Here is a closer look at the left side of Week 17:

Here is a closer look at the right side of Week 17:

A side note: Bloom, the kit I used this week, included almost no embellishments. No money wasted there. =) Bloom doesn't have a lot of color either, just pink, orange, and gray.

Thanks for visiting my blog, and thanks in advance for any comments you leave. Enjoy your life and record it! ALL lives are worth recording.

(Some photos are blurred for privacy.)

Template A is available here for free!

Adding digital stamps to your photos

Subtitle: You CAN teach an old dog new tricks.

I love word art. I buy it like there's no tomorrow [Southern expression], right Peter? =) 

I buy sets of word art and use them in Photoshop on photos and journaling cards when I make my Project Life weekly pages. Here is an example from an earlier week this year: 

Specifically, the word art on the above photo is "game night" by Ali Edwards. What exactly is "word art?" To me, it means modifying words and perhaps using different fonts together so that the result is, well, pretty words.

Why use word art? The text on the right top of the above photo was sufficient to tell the story behind the photo, but, in my opinion, the addition of the "game night" word art took this photo up a notch. Also, if you glanced at this photo, you'd have a good idea of what it's about without reading the text block. So, word art is about adding interest and brief bits of info to photos.

Word art is fun to use, too. As I've mentioned before, I'm a SERIOUS collector of digital word art, especially that done by Ali Edwards and Rhonna Farrer. 

Besides using word art on my computer, I also use it on my phone. Many photo-editing apps include word art. For example, I made this for Instragram using a photo I took last week in Torrey Pines City Park (outside of San Diego, CA) and word art from the Vrsly:

Vrsly offers mostly inspirational word art, and it's usually done in brush script, often by known brush script artists. Every day a new Vrsly is offered for one day only. You can use it as is or as an overlay.

Sometimes I'm the last person on the block to figure out something. No, sometimes I'd never figure out something obvious if someone didn't tell me. 

Case in point: I have word art on my computer and mostly different word art on my phone. Who knew you can use word art from your computer on your phone? Thank you, Cathy Zielske, for this video that explains the process. Here's the photo she used as an example:

The white arrow with "LOVE" is from one of her digital stamp kits.

I did NOT know I could import the word art stored on my computer to my phone via Dropbox until I watched Cathy's video. No Photoshop or Photoshop Elements needed.

(The word art by Rhonna overlaps both computer and phone usage. You can buy her word art from her website for your computer, and it's available through her app for your phone.)

Now I can get more use out of the word art I buy for my computer, or, as they say, more bang for my buck. And that's a good thing, right, Peter?

Here's a photo I made today for Instagram showing my brilliant grandson who was piloting a boat on the Intracoastal waters off Jacksonville the other day, although he's only three:

The Ali Edwards' word art is from my computer to my phone via Dropbox. Love.

PS. I only have the free amount of Dropbox storage. For now I'll only transfer word art as I need it. In other words, I'm not copying all of my word art from my computer to my phone, because I'd have to pay for a much larger Dropbox account. And I'd be transferring until the cows come home [Southern expression].

Happy photo embellishing!

Project Life 2015 – Week 15

Subtitle: Using a non-Project Life kit . . . or NO kit for Project Life pages

Even to think about using a non-Project Life kit or no kit at all to make Project Life pages you will need a brain. Apparently a portion of mine has been missing for quite a while.

Before I commence rambling, here is my two-page spread for Week 15 of my 2015 Project Life/pocket page album:

main kit used: Magic, a digital Story Kit by Ali Edwards for March 2015

Since I started scrapbooking in the Project Life style in September of 2012, I have almost exclusively used digital kits designed for Project Life (also known as pocket scrapbooking) with one exception – I've continued to purchase word art kits, mostly by Ali Edwards. Boy howdy [Southern expression] have I continued to buy those!

For the last couple of months I’ve been struggling with learning to use a new computer, a new Photoshop program, and a new ACDSee program, all at the same time. The other day my overstressed brain felt sorry for me and gave me a little tidbit of very helpful information, perhaps so I wouldn’t shoot it or something. (I’ve been really stressed.)

So, there I was working through my normal routine in preparing Week 15. I'd chosen and edited photos, and then placed them on two Project Life templates (two pages = one week). Then I add words, in the form of journaling and titles.

Here's what the basic digital Project Life template looks like:

Here's how the right page of Week 11 looked after adding photos and some words:

I was now at The Dreaded Part – choosing which kit to use, specifically trying to find a PL kit* with papers, journaling cards, and elements that coordinated with the colors in the photos and the theme of the pages. That’s where I was on Week 15 when my brain said, “Donna, you're overthinking this.” I couldn't argue that.

Then my brain said, "Forget trying to find a kit on a certain theme, because your pages have no theme. They are based on weeks." No argument there either. In fact, come to think of it, I haven't done theme-centered pages since 2012. [sheepish grin]

Before I could say, "But what about coordinating the colors?", my brain said, "The colors in your photos are all over the place." Oh. No theme . . . no main colors . . . well, no wonder I have so much trouble choosing a kit!  

Me: "But, brain, look at that page above. I have to cover the turquoise and orange template masks with something.

My brain: "You don't have to fill blank spaces with a paper or a card. Just recolor the template spots that are visible."

So, what my brain was saying is that I don't have to use Project Life kits* to make Project Life pages. Who knew?? Seriously.

After more discussion with my brain, it has agreed to let me use kits and embellishments (because I love them and have many, many of both), IF I don't stress over which kit to use.

I'd been wanting to use Ali Edwards' Magic kit, which has 3x4 and 4x6 cards, although it's not specifically designed for Project Life. This week has nothing to do with magic, but I used it anyway. Here's a look at some of the stuff in the Magic Story Kit:

Here is a how the right side of Week 15 looked after I recolored the turquoise and orange that was showing after I added photos and words:

(I turned off the photo and text layers so you could see the colored pockets more clearly.) 

How did I choose the colors to use? I used the Eyedropper tool in Photoshop to sample some of the colors in the Magic kit. Then I used the Paint Bucket tool to recolor the template spots to light blue, gray, yellow, pink, and khaki where needed. 

I didn’t recolor two of the 3x4 spots because I had already planned to cover each of them with a photo. Also, I used a 4x6 card from Magic on one of the 4x6 spots because I like strips.

You could also recolor template spots by choosing colors from your photos.

Here is a look at the completed right side of Week 15:

I've also added embellishments here.

And, totally out of order, here is a closer look at the left side of Week 15, where I also recolored the template spots that weren't covered by photos:

I hope this very long monologue is helpful to you, if you, too, struggle with choosing just the right kit each week. If so, we can both thank my brain. =)

Thanks for visiting my blog, and thanks in advance for any comments you leave. Enjoy your life and record it!

(Some photos are blurred for privacy.)

* I define a Project Life kit as one that contains 3x4 and 4x6 cards. They may or may not also contain papers and embellishments. The basis premise of the pocket-style of scrapbooking is that ALL you need to make pages are photos and cards. The cards are for journaling about what's going on in the photos and for filling blank pockets. A "Project Life kit" may or may not be from Becky Higgins, although she owns the copyright on the term "Project Life."  

Project Life 2015 – Week 12

Subtitle: On being a grandmother (where everything the grandkids do is funny and cute and downright brilliant)

Here is my two-page spread for Week 12 of my 2015 Project Life/pocket page album:

main kit used: My Year in Pockets March 2015 Bundle, a digital kit by Britt-ish Designs

Week 12 was a good week. It included St. Patrick’s Day, which means we got to overeat on some of our favorite foods. Week 12 also marked the beginning of spring, although New York City did not get the message. Actually, it wasn’t very spring-like in Memphis either, as evidenced by the dreary first day of spring we had.

Here is a closer look at the left side of Week 12:

I love the photo on the bottom of Evie and Peter together. They’ve already established a strong sibling bond, even though they know how to push each other’s buttons.

If I were their mother, I would probably take a no-tolerance approach to them intentionally annoying each other. As their grandmother, though, I can roar with laughter, because they are funny (and clever) in annoying other. It’s fun being a grandmother!

Here is a closer look at the right side of Week 12:

I love the photos of Maggie Nell on the top. When she comes to our house, she always follows a routine, which includes looking under our bed for the cats, running through the house with “Ellie Mane,” and standing on the stool in front of my make-up mirror to put imaginary cosmetics on her face with every make-up brush I own.

Generally I didn’t want my kids bothering my stuff. But with my grandkids, I don’t care at all. I’m a lot more relaxed as a grandmother than I was as a mother. Sorry, kids! =) On the other hand, when you were toddlers, none of you could help their aunt write a paper on her laptop. My grandkids are so smart!

credits:

• Ali Edwards:
• random word art; new kits available here and older kits available here
• Amie Lamm-Griffin: weekly 2015 Brush Script Titles Cards
• 4x6 templates by Tracy Larsen and Lori Whitlock

Thanks for stopping by!

(Some photos are blurred for privacy.)

Project Life 2015 – Week 11

Subtitle: Stewing over a public vs. a private blog

Here is my two-page spread for Week 11 of my 2015 Project Life/pocket page album:

main kit used: I'm So Fancy, a digital kit by Traci Reed

I’ve had these pages done for several weeks, but I didn’t post them. For one thing, we’ve had stuff going on in the family (both good and sad), and various ones of our out-of town kids and grandkids were HERE in our house for two weeks. Unspeakable joy.

The other delay in posting was caused by a personal dilemma. I think most of my blog followers are doing so because of my Project Life pages. Those pages are increasingly including photos of my grandkids. Their photos are small since they are only a part of larger pages, so I don’t think they are prone to any of the Internet dangers of posting kids’ photos online. But you never know.

I really do not want to stop blogging, because (for some perverse reason) I actually enjoy blogging. I like to write – it is a creative outlet for me, as well as a way of preserving family history. And I particularly like to share my scrapbook pages in the hope that they will inspire others to record their lives through scrapbooking.

The easiest way to keep blogging and posting photos of my grandkids is to make my blog private, opening it only to family and friends. Some of these friends are people I’ve never met in person, but I value these friendships as much as I do the ones in “real” life. If you are in that group, I hope I won't lose you if I go private.

The downside of going private is that I’m going to miss meeting some new friends, ones I could only have met through this blog.

Another downside is that I will no longer be giving information and encouragement to readers who aren't family and friends. I know I am not a leader in the scrapbooking industry, but I hope my pages and tips and other sharings have been helpful to others. I’m all about supporting each other in the journey and privilege of recording our lives and memories. I would not be as far along as I am in this craft if it weren’t for others’ willingness to share.

I’ll probably announce when I’m about to go private so you won’t wonder if I just stopped blogging. Whether I announce or not, I hope you’ll request permission to have access to my private blog.

Back to Week 11  . . .

Here is a closer look at the left side of Week 11:

Here is a closer look at the right side of Week 11:

other credits:

• Ali Edwards: random word art; new kits available here and older kits available here
• Amie Lamm-Griffin: weekly 2015 Brush Script Titles Cards
• 4x6 templates by Tracy Larsen and Lori Whitlock

Thanks for visiting my blog!

(Some photos are blurred for privacy.)

PS. If you are a blogger, I’d appreciate your thoughts on private vs public blogs. 

Project Life 2015 – Week Ten

Subtitle: Just “winging it” does not lead to speed.

Here is my two-page spread for Week Ten of my 2015 Project Life/pocket page album:

We have had more snow this year than we’ve had in many years – not in terms of volume, but in terms of the number of occurrences. And we’d had a lot of ice. AND now we have potholes. The streets are covered in them.

Because of the snow, the extreme cold, and the potholes I haven’t completed any pages for my album in nearly two weeks. . . . You're not buying that, are you? I do wonder where those two weeks went. In my last post I bemoaned the loss of my short-term memory. This week I also bemoan the loss of whole weeks.

For Week Nine I didn’t use a single one of Ali Edwards' products. I made up for it this week by almost exclusively using her stuff. Why my obsession with her products? Because she is all about words and stories. So am I. (She's also all about photos, too, of course, but she doesn't sell those. You'll have to take your own.)

Her cursive and brush script words are perfect for pocket-style albums. They’re available here and here. (Click on the first link to get to her store. The second link is for her older products.)

Not only does Ali tell stories on her blog and on her personal album pages, but also she teaches others how to tell stories. As I’ve said before, I highly recommend a subscription to her monthly Story Kits. The videos will take the story-telling part of your memory keeping to a new level.

Besides the videos, I also love the products that come with each Story Kit. For Week Ten I primarily used stuff from the digital  version of two Story Kits – February's Gathering kit and March's AM/PM kit.

As I was looking at the Gathering kit, I had a bright idea that I thought would save time!

Here is the digital Gathering kit:

My bright idea was to use the colors from the kit to recolor the template base cards, instead of using the journaling cards. In other words, I changed the colors of the orange and turquoise rectangles on the Becky Higgins Template A. 

Here is what Template A looks like before and after recoloring the rectangles, adding photos, and adding some words and word art (click to enlarge a bit):

I don't like the big blobs of gold, gray, pink, and turquoise. To me the page looks rather plain or unfinished or something. Yeah, I know most people don't put this much stuff on four pages, let alone one. But I don't like it.

Not to worry – I just added a digital vellum sheet with dots under the photos and words, but over each template rectangle. And I added more stuff. 

Here is a closer look at the completed left side of Week Ten:

Here is a closer look at the right side of Week Ten:

For the record, my shortcut didn't save any time at all.

Thanks for stopping by! See you later, but I hope it’s not two weeks later! It all depends on the potholes. =)