Project Life Week 7

Week 7 was all about the Crate Paper's line "Fourteen", I mean, Valentine's Day!  Love the colors of this line - pink, red and aqua!

Here's the left side which features the kid's valentines we made for school with a new Stampin Up heart stamp and full heart punch.

And the right side with lots of pictures from our trip to the Texas Rock Gym and a visit with Great Aunt Joy! 

An insert to hold all of the cute valentines from this year - one side is for Wyatt's . . .

And one side is for Elsie's.

A few close ups.  Wyatt insisted on stamping all of his valentines by himself.  Thank goodness for clear blocks and washable ink!  He really did a great job.  He is so precise and particular - wonder where he gets that?  We had to stamp a lot, but we got what we needed.  Then he helped punch them out with the heart punch, glue them all on to the circles I had punched and glued all of that to the 4 x 4 square of incredibly old Stampin Up paper I had in my stash.  Label is from October Afternoon and hearts are punched out of Crate Paper with the heart to heart punch from Stampin Up (I think it is retired - I can't find a link).

Here is his completed Valentine.  Yellow letter stickers are from Jillibean Soup.  And a "this week" card with more Crate Paper and some washi I got at Michael's.

A cut apart card from one of the Crate Paper sheets and her Valentine. 

I added a large card with the backs of each Valentine so I could display their handwriting.  I was going to do some washi and have them flip up, but I really like being able to see them easily.  The tag and the yellow strip of hearts are all cut from a sheet of Crate Paper.

Still sticking with my standard calendar card and week number cut from the Blossom font with my Revolution die cutter.  The banner is hand cut.

They got new shoes and were dying to show them off.  Same Crate Paper, washi and the sticker is from Stride Rite.

Ahhh, doesn't it just make you proud to be mommy when your kids arrive at your bedside with new tattoos while still in their pj's?  Thank goodness they are temporary.  On the right is a rare photo of me and the fireman - Elsie took it, nice work little girl.

Simple card with some Crate Paper goodness - in case you didn't yet realize that this was Valentine's week!

Quote of the week - these are fun cards to do and I find that since I am forgetting what they say so quickly I have to write it down immediately!  Some more Crate Paper for a filler card on the right.

A visit with our 90+ year old Aunt Joy.  Doesn't she look amazing?  I hadn't seen her in ages and the Texas Rock Gym was so close, that we called on our way there in the morning and stopped by to see her on the way home.  She gave the kids cookies - so of course now they love her too.  So good to see her.  The flag is from Jenni Bolin.

And there you have it - Week 7.  I actually finished Week 11 last night but I have been traveling so much it has been hard to get the pictures and post everything.  More soon. Wanting to actually make a 12 x 12 layout soon but all I have been able to muster is some project life.  The new job I started two weeks ago (in addition to the current job) is taking up a lot of my time + two conferences out of state is I can manage!

Project Life Week 6

Week six was a little slow to start since the weekend scrapbook retreat pretty much derailed my Project Life endeavors as I completely focused on the vintage album.  All told, we were able to create 46 layouts over the weekend.  Most were vintage pages that I created with my mother by my side.  She writes the stories and I do the design.  Super excited that it is nearly complete - though every time I think I am done, we find another story to tell.  But that's a whole other post.  

On to Project Life.  I caught up with no trouble as I am printing at home and I am keeping a calendar with my thoughts, quotes and ideas for the week.  The other good part about this week, on the way to the retreat which is about 3.5 hours away, I got to stop at Archiver's and get some new goodies.  Hence the cute Amy Tangerine Ready Set Go happiness below.  

Still doing some close ups each week of any inserts that have more than just a photo.

I hate pea gravel!  There, I said it.  Finally captured my hatred on a cute Amy Tan piece of paper and some My Minds Eye letter stickers from the Lime Twist collection (so old I couldn't find a link!).

More MME letter stickers and the branding strip from the AT paper.  I hate to waste it, cause it's always so darn cute!  

New AT letter stickers- orange.  More MME letter and some MME washi from The Sweetest Thing collection.  The green is just card stock with the branding strip and a touch of washi.    

We literally were speeding as we came back in to town from the retreat to make the 7pm show of "Catch Me If You Can" at The Hobby Center.  It was a good play, not amazing, but the sets were fun.  On the right -  I'm a huge fan of Wonder Woman, have been since I was quite small.  Mom got me a set of WW mugs for Christmas and let's just say, they are getting A LOT of use.  They start my day off right.

Here's a close up of a date card.  I'm still using a hand cut banner, the calendar and my good ole blossom dies.  The backgrounds are all kraft cardstock that I have run through the big shot with an embossing folder.  Most of mine are from Stampin' Up.

I love a clean cabinet.  Here is a photo to capture a recent clean up.  Just added some washi and the rest of the branding strip.

Cardstock and a small piece of AT Ready Set Go paper - simple and it filled the space I had empty. The other card is the thank you from the baby shower.

This one totally made me giggle.  Wyatt was so engrossed in this drawing project he could barely stop!  This is me trying to get him to get in the bath!  More AT goodness.

The scrapbook nerd in me is totally coming out in this photo - I won a challenge at the retreat with this layout "She Love's Her Wheels" which used something like 11 techniques.  Such fun and unlike lots of challenges, I really enjoyed this one since I could incorporate it into what I was working on vs. making something simply for the challenge.  The white part is the inside of the card that my DH snuck into my bag before I left - he's so sweet.  I really am lucky.

Another cute piece of paper and an exclusive {heart} you stamp by Kelly Purkey from the December Cocoa Daisy Kit.  What they did while I was gone - park time!

The last one - a little more AT paper and a cool art photo.  And that's it.

Project Life Week 5

And on to Week 5!

I have had this paper from Scenic Route for, well, forever!  I have always loved it and was super excited to use the bits and pieces I had left over for a new project.  Love the oranges and greens, sadly the company no longer exists . . . 

So now for some close ups.

I used a journaling card from the Clementine Core kit that I got last year.  The color matched perfectly and I like including these "The Week" cards to capture what happened in an overview sort of way.  The card on the right is the shower invite that I cut to fit the pocket - honestly, it was just too cute to toss.

Some washi and a die cut from the Scenic Route collection and I was done with this photo.  It just needed a little something to brighten it up.

I still laugh when I look at this picture.  That cauliflower was freaking huge!  Arrow, paper and "a typical day" all from that same SR collection.  I think Scenic Route was ahead of their times with this one - it feels like it was designed for Project Life.

Love the quotes that Project Life helps me capture.  This card displays two funny things Elsie and Wyatt said this week.  I always think I will never forget the cute things they say, until the next week and I have no clue.

So Elsie had to go to the Dr. this week due to some constant tummy trouble.  She is fine, but we got to take an x-ray and have an entertaining conversation with Dr. Cook.  Journaling card from Studio Calico, letter stickers are from October Afternoon and Lilybee Designs.

Any week that involves new shoes is a good week in my book.  These babies were an uncanny perfect match to a dress I had but had never worn due to the lack of proper footwear.  Yeah! for amazing shoe deals at DSW!  Letter stickers are October Afternoon mini market.

Yummy bottle of wine we got at the gala and a fun card from Jillibean Soup - just added a touch of washi to keep things feeling cohesive.  

Dreaming of a new truck . . .  after I wrecked my ten year old baby this past summer due to a really dumb driver who decided to turn left from the right lane of a one way street, good times.  Oh well, a girl can dream.  Thanks to the hubs for getting a photo of ME to include in Project Life!

We tried some new pasta this week - that packaging was too cute not to capture.  And I am now completely addicted to the Paperclipping Roundtable (PRT) so I took a screen shot of that while I was listening.  Noell and Izzy are awesome and do such a good job each week.  Wish I had time to comment more on the blog!

So that's the week.  Really need to get back to some actual layouts.  All I have been able to accomplish these last few weeks is Project Life, life and work.  But I am off to scrapbook retreat!!!  I have a feeling I will get back on track over those three and a half days!  Yippee!!!

Cocoa Daisy layouts

I have said this before here, but I'll say it again - I do adore Cocoa Daisy.  I use bits and pieces of the kits for almost all of my pages now.  I hardly ever get supplies nearby because a steady stream of scrap happy arrives at my doorstep each month.  Oh what a happy day it is when the brown box arrives at my door. 

So I have been working on a few things and Just posted these over at the Cocoa Daisy Gallery - which is a completely awesome source of inspiration and ideas. 

OK - back to more playing in the scraproom before I have to pack things up for work and the gym!

Project Life Week 4

I have had all of these ready to go for ages, but it's always dark when I have time so I have been unable to get any good photos till today.  Thanks goodness for Sunday afternoons with sunshine and clouds.  Anyway, here is week 4.

Here's the left side.  Still sticking with the simple week card - same format for the whole book - this really seems to help cut down the time it takes me to get started.  The "4" is from the blossom alpha on the Quickutz (Now Lifestyle Crafts) on my Revolution die cut machine. It's retired so I can't post a link, sorry, but it is one of my all time favorites.    

And the right side . . .

Lots of Simple Stories SN@P supplies this week - most of all these came from my Cocoa Daisy Kits (as usual).  And now for a few close ups.  I really like these on other folks blogs so I decided to give it a whirl here.

The "today" card is cut straight for a Simple Stories sheet. I added some washi tape from My Mind's Eye "The Sweetest Thing" collection.  The igloo letters are from Jillibean Soup.  The igloo was in Wyatt's class at school - made from a table turned on its end and dry eraser ice blocks.  So cute!

More Simple Stories stickers and paper.  The orange paper and the blue paper above are from Heidi Swapp's "No Limits" line.  

I actually used my computer to type journaling this week.  Not sure if I will do that again.  It was a pain, but I do like that I can fit a lot of words on one card.

We had a surprise date day on MLK day and this card tells the story about letting go and being spontaneous.  Wanted to preserve that memory since it doesn't happen very often.

The picture is an original by Wyatt.  He was drawing pictures so I asked if he would draw one for our book and he agreed - so cute.  Love his image of our family.  Unusually warm weather - even for Houston.  Wanted to include a phone image anyway.  They are so "today" and I am sure will be fun to look back on years from now.

Had to capture this one - more simple stories stickers and Jillibean letters.  We were playing UNO and Wyatt was having such a hard time handling his cards - we grabbed the chip clip and it helped a lot!  We have been playing a lot of games as a family recently - trying to appreciate the learning to loose thing - it's really hard some days for them, especially Wyatt.

So that's it.  The week is done.  I am not really using a core kit this year, relying more on my supplies and the Cocoa Daisy kits that come each month.  I kind of like the mismatched feel of the pages as you turn them and that each week is coordinated unto itself.  

Project Life 2013 Week 3

Project life is going well.  Week three is all done and week four too (need to photograph that one).  

This spread uses supplies from the Cocoa Daisy August kit - lots of orange and blue in that one.  There are photos from a hockey game, Wyatt's sick day as well as the readers that Elsie has been reading each night.  Also shrunk down the photo collage project that one of the mom's made to give the Kindergarten teacher - so cute - each kid made a letter and together it spells out "Happy Birthday Mrs. Winkler" - love it.

The packaging from our new biscuit obsession, a photo of my new job at our house - toilet paper changer, and photos from dinner with friends. Two small white spots are the kids progress reports from school that I scanned and printed at 3 x 4.  I added a letter to each so you can quickly tell Elsie's from Wyatt's.  It took two cards to write up what happened this week - one on each side.

Ok, off to photograph week four and then to tackle weeks five and six since the four day scrapbook retreat where I focused exclusively on the Vintage album got in the way!  I should photograph that too.  One of my proudest accomplishments in the scrapbooking realm to date!

More Layouts with - fall Cocoa Daisy Kits

These were made with a combo of October and November Cocoa Daisy Kits. I love mixing and matching.  Having the kits out on the desk really helped me get these done.  

First up is a photo of me and my sweet friend Sean. Multiple stories to tell and the library card paper seemed perfect and spurred on the title "Check Us Out!"  

This one uses a Crate Paper sheet of tags that I cut apart and added some really old photos that my sister-in-law had given me of my daughter and her son.  I didn't know what to do with them and then I found a this on UK Scrappers - Shimelle's "And Now For Something Completely Different" September edition and this page just happened.  

This one was a product of the paper line and just wanting to get this fun story down.  Mom and I went to see Les Miserables - the play, not the movie, and took some fun photos.  I searched for a title from the songs and found Lovely Ladies and it seemed to fit in an odd sort of way.

That's all for now.