project life (week seven)...

Hello Project Life week seven!

Some random thoughts...

1. I love the Cobalt kit. I reach for those multi-colored cards again and again.

2. I don't love being behind with my spreads. We were out of town until Tuesday so I just got to week seven today. I like having last week's spread done by Monday morning (at the latest) so that I can start gathering and printing for the current week by Tuesday. Hello OCD tendencies.

3. This week was a particularly big mish mash of Valentine's Day and a last minute trip to Disney (My husband had some meetings down there and we tagged along with him). There's not a lot of extras this week. I'll save those for a slow week. :) And because of the extra mish mash of stuff I included a larger journaling card to "explain" everything in case someday we/I forget why something is in there. :)

4. I'm waiting on my Disney PhotoPass CD to arrive. Once it does, I'll add another layer of plastic in there.

5. Our trip was Thurs-Tues. I debated just focusing on Valentine's Day for week seven and leaving Disney for week eight but decided to stay authentic in my weekly spreads. I included Disney pics from Thurs to Sat in this spread and week eight will mainly focus on Disney pics from Sun to Tues and lots of Disney "stuff". You've been warned. :)

6. I didn't realize how much I would love adding layers of plastic in there. Seems kind of bare when I don't.

Moving on to week eight! I'm determined to be "caught up" by Sunday. :)

st. patrick's day subway print

Hello, hello! Is it too early to start thinking about St. Patrick's Day? I sure hope not because I made this subway print to share with you!

It's designed to be printed and displayed in an 8x10 frame, but like all of my subway prints, they have multiple uses. You can cut it down and use it as a treat bag topper...

or adhere it to some cardstock for a simple card:

You can also adhere it to a simple brown bag...

...wrap it around some markers for a fun "non-candy" surprise...

...or even take a circle punch to it and make some tags:

You can download the file here. Enjoy!

project life (week six)...

Here we are at week six of Project Life. As opposed to last, this week has lots of photos. I included two additional inserts--a 6x12 and a 4x12 (cut down from an existing protector). And it's official--I am in love with the Cobalt kit. :)

The week began with the Superbowl and ended with the annual gala to benefit the kids' school. I also included some pictures of Jack playing tennis, a photo of the kids with my parents and our table place card from the gala mounted on one of the journaling cards.

More gala pics here and two quotes from Kate. I also included a visual of The Voice, one of my favorite shows right now. (Helllllloooooo, Blake Shelton.)

I also included the invitation and program cover from the gala in a 6"x12" protector.

Last, I included a gas receipt and Kate's artwork.

I especially love this week's spread for the fun it represents and for its sheer simplicity. It only took about an hour for this to come together which, for me, makes this approach to everyday scrapbooking attainable and "doable".

Okay, on to week seven!

project life (week five)...

Welcome to Project Life Week Five. Week five was light on photos and heavy on "stuff" which is perfectly okay with me. (Week six is turning out to be the just the opposite. :))

I included a copy of certificate that Jack earned for completing an online course, a copy of the JCrew catalog (purely for its beautiful colors), and a paper that I found in my printer tray. (Kate must have been practicing her typing skills. :)) I also included a journaling card describing a service project that the kids' school did this week (bringing in a bagged lunch for a local soup kitchen) and the accompanying brown bag that Sam decorated for his donated lunch. (Still loving the layered look with the 4"x12" page protector.)

On the other side of that insert I added a picture of Sam from the local newspaper and some of Sam's artwork pre Super Bowl. (Yay Giants!)

The right side of the spread includes some artwork and a quote from Kate and a picture of the cutest Groundhog's Day treat from her teacher. I also included a picture of the Air Bud movie because it has been on repeat in the car all week. (I've never actually seen the movie but I can quote it verbatim at this point.)

And that's week five--a colorful mish mash of everyday life. One of the things I love about Project Life is that it allows me to gather, in addition to family pictures and mementos, bits of pop culture--books, movies, magazines, music, food, etc. These added "slices of life" will be so fun to look at in years to come.

Moving on to week six!

This post is participating in Project Life Tuesday at The Mom Creative.

on the nightstand...

Can you believe I've never read this or even seen the movie?! I actually know very little of the story which makes me all the more excited to read it.

And I LOVED The Kitchen House. I highly recommend it!

Are you reading something great? I'd love to hear!

project life (week four)...

Welcome to week four of Project Life!

This week I added a 4"x12" page protector (divided into 4"x6" sections) to accommodate a few extra pictures and notes. This was cut down from an American Crafts 12"x12" divided page protector I already had. This week I also used more of the cards from the kits (I mixed the Clementine and Cobalt) than in previous weeks. I mounted pictures and "stuff" on them and printed quotes and school work directly onto the cards instead of plain cardstock or photo paper. I think this gives the spread a more cohesive look and feel.

In addition to our everyday family pictures and quotes I included a few odds and ends. On the left side of the spread I included a scan of a shopping bag from Kate's favorite store, some writing that I found laying around in the playroom, a pic of Max and Ruby (a current fave right now), and a screen shot from the Lululemon site.

On the right side I included our grocery receipt from the week (which I think will be really fun to look at in several years), a valentine printable I posted here this week, and a copy of a duck that Kate colored at school. (I scanned the art, printed it on photo paper, cut it out and mounted it to one of the cards from the kit.) I also included a screen shot of the weekly weather forecast, which I wish I had done from week one. On the opposite side of the 4" x 12" page protector, I included a copy of a sheet that Kate did at school and a copy of a note from Kate to Daddy (that she dictated to Sam to write).

And that's week four! One of things I love about this project is seeing the finished layout come together at the end of the week and then turning the page and having a fresh, clean slate for the next week. Are you doing Project Life? How's your album coming along? I'd love to see!

This post is participating in Project Life Tuesday at The Mom Creative.

valentine's day roundup...

Here are three of my favorite Valentine's Day projects/printables from 2011.

valentine subway print with multiple uses

Valentine lunch bags and jokes

Hugs and Kisses

For more Valentine's Day ideas from this year and last, go here!

Have a great weekend!