Project LIfe 2013: Week 34, August 19th-25th

The majority of this week was spent on vacation in Colonial Williamsburg. I was very careful in selecting what photos to include for this layout, I started with well over 200 photos from our trip, and just chose my favorites from each of our activities. I just try to keep it as simple as possible. I also kept this week simple by only using items from a pre-selected kit. Just like with week 33, I used the Studio Calico Marks and Company Project Life Kit. The only extra elements I included are the light blue stickers, the cork heart, and the mint green embroidery thread. Sticking to a kit really sped this layout up for me.

Now onto Project Life:

Full Layout:

Left Side:

Left Side Close-Up:

 I embossed a little onto this card, using the awesome 

stamp set that came with the kit. Don't you 

just love white Zig embossing powder?

This title card was made stamping onto Vellum with black 

Stayz-On ink, and doing four really quick and simple cross stitches. 

The rest is just teal letter stickers and a die cut Dear Lizzy card 

laid on top of a white piece of patterned paper.

Right Side:

Right Side Close-Up: 

Just some simple backstitching onto a pre-punched

 kraft tag included in the kit

Let's talk using Project Life kits. Do you like using kits to speed up the process? Are you more of a fly-by-your-seat-of-the-pants kind of gal? What are some of your favorite kits to use? Have you ever tried making your own little kit BEFORE you start putting it all together?

Thank you so much for stopping by today. I appreciate you being here and leaving comments. I hope you have a fabulous weekend. I will be back tomorrow with some more scrappy goodness to share.

Happy Scrappin'

xoxox

Toni

Project LIfe 2013: Week 33, August 12th-18th

Oh how I have missed y'all over this long, hot, muggy, North Carolina summer. Life has gotten crazy busy and hectic these past few months. With both kids home, I feel like all I have done (while in North Carolina this summer) is play entertainment director, referee, clean, and cook. I am sure other mother's out there in blogland can relate to this phenomenon. They say it gets easier when they get older, but mine are nine and thirteen, and nope still not easy. They have their awesomely sweet moments, but this summer they both had some let's say...interesting moments as well. Regardless, I did love having some extra time with them, and I tried to just live in the moment and just soak it all in:  The good, the bad, and (the semi-frequently ugly.) So thankful that I have Project Life to record all of this fun stuff.

The kids and I were fortunate enough to take a long vacation to our home state of Washington this summer. That was such an enjoyable and fun-filled experience. We also took the kids to Williamsburg, VA for a week for some historical sight-seeing and a fun day at Busch Gardens as well. That is such a gorgeous amusement park...if you have never been, I highly recommend it.

Things are getting back to normal now. The school clothes are washed, the house is semi-clean, the kids are back in school, and this momma is proud to admit that I am loving it! Yup, just loving having some time to myself and an empty house during the day. Any other mom's out there proud to admit to not missing having their kids home? Gotta give me some credit for a little honesty. I believe in keeping it real peeps.

Now onto Project Life...

Full Layout:

For this week of Project Life, I kept it fairly simply by sticking to a kit. I used the Studio Calico August "Marks and Company" Project Life Kit. The only items not included in the kit are the light blue number stickers, yellow embroidery thread, Studio Calico wood veneer stars, and Basic Grey Capture label stickers.

Left Side:

Not the best photograph clearly, if you look closely you can see an image of my distorted camera in the & pocket, LOL. Going with it however. Everything was fairly simply on this layout. The yellow stitching in the upper pocket was time consuming, but very simply, and required a needle, embroidery floss, and one episode of Under the Dome. My hubby and I are loving that show, and no I have not read the book, so no spoilers please!!!

Right Side:

How are you doing on Project Life? Are you horribly behind like me? Yes, I am super behind, it is driving me crazy, but I am slowly getting caught up. Little by little and picture by picture. My least favorite part is editing photos, and I felt like I was going to be doing it forever since I had around 12 weeks to catch up (now down to 10.) My solution was to just edit and print photos one week at a time, or two weeks at a time at most. That way I am not so frustrated with editing, choosing, and developing well over 125 pictures at one time. 10-20 in one sitting seems to be the sweet spot for me.

Let's talk photo editing...Do any of you have any photo editing tips? What works best for you? I really need some pointers to make this process go by faster...and don't even get me started on my 7 years of photos on my computer that are not organized (like 90% not organized.) Oh dear.

Thank you so much for stopping by today. I will be back again tomorrow with Project Life week 34 to share and Saturday I will be popping in with some scrappy goodness. I hope to see you here.

Happy Scrappin'

xoxox

Toni

Card Share: Using Studio Calico's Valley High Card Kit

I have a few cards to share with you today that were all created using the awesome Studio Calico Valley High card kit. You can find that HERE. As of August 7th, 2013 there are still kits available for purchase. I especially loved the stamp set this month, and found it highly versatile. This month's kit also came with a watercolor set. I did not use that for any cards yet, but I had fun experimenting, and I know it will get much use in the upcoming months.

Now onto the cards:

For this card, I hand stitched stems and leaves 

using green thread from my stash.

I used a pen top for a stamp on this card to get 

the little dots,  I will use that trick again.

I have never made a starburst pattern on a card

before using paper scraps, but I really like 

how this turned out.

Loving the confetti that was included in this kit, the 

"Happy Birthday" wood veneer is from the 

main scrapbook kit.

This card was very fun to make. I used a different 

stamp set for the border, (it is from the Inked 

stamping class offered at Studio Calico this 

past July. I fussy cut some of the flowers 

and adhered them with pop dots.

I really like the look of stamping on this subtly

patterned paper. Love this look!

Thank you so much for stopping by today. What kinds of cards have you been making lately? Do you like to use kit clubs for cards or scraps? I use both, but the Studio Calico card kit is my absolute favorite. I just love their stamps and choices of paper and embellishments that coordinate. I have also found that you can really get a lot of bang for your buck using scraps as well. Next week, I will share some cards made with scrap paper previously used on Project Life layouts of traditional scrapbooking layouts. It is always such a great way to use up some of our bits and pieces. I will be back tomorrow with some layouts to share with you, many were created using Noel Mignon scrapbooking kits. I hope to see you here. 

Happy Scrappin'

xoxox

Toni

Project Life 2013: Week 25, July 17th-23rd

I have missed y'all so much. Summer is just flying by and I am back in sunny and humid North Carolina sitting at my desk. I have one week of PL to share with you today. This is one that I completed in June, but just have not shared yet. Onto Project Life Sharing:

Full Layout:

Left Side:

Right Side:

Supplies Used This Week:

• American Crafts glitter tape in Sky
• Mint washi tape by WE R Memory Keepers
• Studio Calico Roundabout Project Life Kit
• Studio Calico Printables from Roundabout
• My Mind's Eye enamel dots
• Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher

Let's talk Project Life today. How are you all doing with Project Life? What is and what is not working for you?

Until next time...

Happy Scrappin'

xoxox

Toni