Our Life...

{365+1} Project Life 2012 | Week 47

The week of Thanksgiving!

Week 47 of 2012 brought us memories of the kiddies picking out their treat after any meal, Sam the little Indian, and lots of cousin-sibling time for Thanksgiving!

... and lots, lots more family time. We spent the Thanksgiving weekend at my sister's house. We had our big Thanksgiving dinner, midnight shopping, and a visit to a doctor for Sam for his ears. On Saturday, Chris and I met with friends in Columbus to watch the Michigan/OSU game. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out too well for Michigan... until next time! Then on Sunday, we all said goodbye to an awesome weekend and all made our way home.

I put a couple of extra shots from Thanksgiving. The kiddies wanted a picnic in the front yard.

Product Used: Becky Higgins Clementine Kit Edition, Becky Higgins Design A page protectors, Zig (black & Bluebonnet),  American Crafts pen (Carrot), Hero Arts Shadow Ink (Tide Pool) , Avery self-adhesive index tab, Bohemian Typewriter Font.

{365+1} Project Life 2012 | Week 46

I still have a few weeks to share from 2012. I only have two more weeks to complete and that album is finished! No, I don't feel overwhelmed by being a little behind. It is actually fun to go back and work on recording old memories. I just love this project. I just let it flow and let Becky Higgins kits do the work.

Week 46 of 2012 brought us memories of Elsie writing in one of her many notebooks (that girl loves to just write and write), me volunteering in Elsie's classroom (every other Tuesday), Sam watching dinosaur clips and documentaries on Hulu (he really misses those Dinosaur Revolution episodes!), and a lunch date and a little playtime during recess (they were serving my VERY favorite from my school days, mash potatoes and turkey with gravy. Yep, still just as good even if we are a state away from home).

... The kiddies love their sleepovers on Friday night; after spending the afternoon with our friends, we then braved the cold to stand in line to meet the Big Guy; and while Elsie went to her basketball camp, Sam got a little Mom-Dad time.

I also included the 5x7 picture of them with Santa. So glad that they both love to see him!

Product Used: Becky Higgins Clementine Kit Edition, Becky Higgins Design A & 5x7 Vertical Page Protectors, Becky Higgins 3x4 grid cards, Martha Stewart Label Stickers, Zig Pen (black, Real Red),  Versafine Ink (Black), Bohemian Typewriter Font.

Getting Sketchy with a Becky Fleck Sketch.

The My Mind's Eye Team was given the awesome opportunity to play along with this month's installment of sketches created by the amazing Becky Fleck from PageMaps. Ummm... Sketches? Yes, PLEASE! I am a fan of any sketch. They just make the creative process flow with ease, especially when you just have to size your pictures accordingly and order. Perfect.

So here is my sketch that the talented Becky Fleck sent me...

Yep, it was a singler! Those are kind of rare for me to do {wink}. I pulled up my picture folder from last year and began to do a little searching. Within no time, I found a few shots of when Elsie and I had a "girls only" morning. She had the day off of school, but Sam didn't. We decided it would be the perfect time to try out that big bead store in the Square. I quickly sized my pictures and ordered. So this is what I came up with...

I already had these journal cards on my desk from the last Project Life page that I did with all my My Mind's Eye goodies. Perfect. Of course they were a little bigger than the "sketch," but totally workable. I just sized my bottom layer of squares proportionately so that they were bigger too.

 I spiced up the pre-printed journaling cards with some pretty little things, creating custom tags.

Since the theme of the layout was us making our jewlery, I drew a swooping line across the top of the layout and then stitched it with floss. I topped it off with a few enamel dots and the enamel tops from the My Mind's Eye brads. They are really easy to peel off. I just stuck my fingernail at the edge and peeled it back. I am sure you could use tweezers too. I really liked how that turned out. Just like us beading our string to make our little pretties; my bracelet and Elsie's necklace.

So there you have it, one sketch. One page completed. Another memory documented.

Project Life: Jade Edition

Have you heard the news? If you are a scrapbooker, then you probably have. BUT for some of you  (mostly my family & friends!), you probably haven't. Becky Higgins Project Life is making it's television debut! On March 25th, Project Life will be Today's Special on the Home Shopping Network. From what I have been told, it is going to be one slammin' deal to get you moving towards documenting your memories. There will be two lovely editions to choose from, Blush and Jade. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to work with the Jade Edition. Let me just tell you, it is amazing. Perfect for any pictures you have on hand. From baby boy to everyday, it just rocks. Here are some of my sample pages.

 

{Jade Edition: Baby Boy Sam}

{Yes, pictures of my pregnant belly *might* be featured. Umm. Shoulda thought about that before signing up for this one!}

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While I was working on these sample pages, Sam was so mesmerized and curious by each and every picture. He was especially captivated by the one on the "Meeting You" layout where Chris was holding up his head. He still randomly asks about that picture. He just doesn't understand why his Daddy had to hold his head up "yike dis."

 

{Jade Edition: Our Everyday}

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As you can see, the everyday was simply a month at a glance. I love that you can make Project Life whatever you want it to be. All you have to do is print your pictures, slide them in, and journal if you choose to do so. BAM. DONE. Just like that.

Be sure to stop by Becky Higgins' Blog to read more about Project Life and the rest of the goodies that will be featured on HSN. AND be sure to tune in on Monday, March 25th at 12:01am (yep, midnight rolling from Sunday into Monday for all you night owls!) You just *might* see some familiar faces. If you are not much of a night owl, here is the schedule for the entire day, just in case you miss it at midnight!

 

{HSN Schedule on March 25th}

Project Life will be sold during the Today’s Special time slots. HSN has ordered a TON of kits but no one knows for sure how quickly they will sell out. They will continue to present Project Life during these times, until it is all out of stock.   

*All times are EST and are 1 hour time slots.

12:01 AM - Papercrafting with Lisa Bearnson premiere along with Today’s Special (Project Life) presentation

1:00 AM - Today’s Special (Project Life) presentation

8:00 AM - Today’s Special (Project Life) presentation

12:00 PM - Papercrafting with Lisa Bearnson premiere along with Today’s Special (Project Life) presentation

2:00 PM - Today’s Special (Project Life) presentation

5:00 PM - Papercrafting with Lisa Bearnson premiere along with Today’s Special (Project Life) presentation

6:00 PM - Today’s Special (Project Life) presentation

9:00 PM - Papercrafting with Lisa Bearnson premiere along with Today’s Special (Project Life) presentation

10:00 PM - Today’s Special (Project Life) presentation

 

I really hope you will all tune in to watch!

 

{365} Project Life 2013 | Week 6

We had a day of jammies, lots of playtime and games with Gram DiDi, a little Moby Math and Raz Kids Reading on the computer for Elsie, saying goodbye, Snowman Sam, watching some 'toons with smelly blankie before heading to school, dinosaur digging, and some Girl Scout Valentines.

This week I used My Mind's Eye Collectable-Memorable Collection. It was a perfect match to the Becky Higgins Olive Edition. I just love it when things from different manufactures coordinate like they were made for each other. The colors were just meant to be together.

I went pretty light on journaling this week, because I included extra pictures and then a slice of Elsie's math work from school. This works for me, since I am usually so wordy that I need to type everything up just so that I have the room to fit it all! I know... Me? Wordy? Unheard of. HA!

I have more of my process, including how I did the perfectly spaced journaling on the weekly rundown card that is typed over on the My Mind's Eye Blog today! So please jump on over there to check 'er out.

Product Used: Becky Higgins Olive Edition, Becky Higgins Design D & A page protectors, My Mind's Eye Collectable Collection, American Precision Pen 05 (black), ColorBox Ink (Razzberry), Versafine (black), Bohemian Typewriter Font.

{365} Project Life 2013 | Week 5

We had "best friends", Mario Kart, Sam's first self portrait, a treasure from my Dad, Elsie's reading showcase, a special birthday, and Super Bowl Sunday ... all with Gram DiDi!

On Monday, the kiddies came running down the stairs... "Look Mom, we are best friends!" too cute. The big 6x8 is a scan of Sam's first self portrait that I have seen. It was him and Dad. Yep, another cute moment.

 

My mom rolled into town for a visit, bringing this awesome chair that my Dad rescued for me. Love. And who doesn't love a little ground hog art?

Product Used: Becky Higgins Seafoam Edition, Becky Higgins Design C & D page protectors, Studio Calico's February Project Life kit (Ground Hog journal card), Ali Edwards "Clebrate" stamp, American Crafts Dear Lizzy 5th & Frolic date stamp, American Precision Pen 05 (black), VersaFine Ink (Habanaro & Black), Bohemian Typewriter Font.

{365} Project Life 2013 | Week 4

Bring you some recent memories from January! We got to FINALLY watch some hockey, some Dino Lego love for Sam using the last of his money from Christmas, some more Dino Lego Love with handmade cages built by Elsie, jammie day for Sam, there was actually snow on the ground, two silly littles created a parking lot for the cars, and the first official Girl Scout cookie selling season for Elsie comes to an end.

This little guy loves to enjoy a fresh cup of "coffee" with me. Since getting the Keurig at Christmas, I have fallen in love with their Cafe drinks. I will have one in the afternoon, and Sam will have his own "coffee" ... a hot chocolate.

I got a little creative with the journaling here. On the backside of this, I have a 6x8 picture something special Sam drew. See... sometimes it is nice to work a little behind. It gives me the opportunity to plan my pages a little better with pockets. This side is Becky Higgins Design-C. Since there wasn't much to say about Friday's snow picture, I just put a little tag with the date on it. I used the 4x6 pattern paper to quote my little girl. "Mommy, Mommy! Come look and take a picture of our parking lot. The creators will sit up here." ... Yep, she is my daughter. Love that. We finished the week off with Elsie's cookie sales sheet. It turned out pretty dark, so I am actually getting it reprinted. I included her tally on a tag. Thin mints are the favorite from our customers!

During Christmas break, I took Elsie and Sam up to Chris' "fancy"  office to sell some cookies. Seeing that Chris has plenty of landfills to go to, and we don't have the ability to drive with him to all of them, Elsie wanted to write a note asking if anyone wanted to buy cookies from her. I slid that note in here.

On the other side, I included this fun piece of art work that is also from Elsie. She goes to the "kids" church in the basement and always comes back with these activity/follow along sheets. My personal favorite from this sheet is the "Go God" jerseys. I am sure this will end up in her own personal album, but this is a good place holder for now.  

Product Used: Becky Higgins Seafoam Edition, Becky Higgins Design A & C page protectors, Studio Calico's February Project Life kit (Today journal card), October Afternoon label sticker, Studio Calico Epic stamp set (""), American Crafts Dear Lizzy 5th & Frolic date stamp, American Precision Pen 05 (black), Hero Arts Shadow Ink (Wet Cement), Versafine (black), Bohemian Typewriter Font.

Winter Summary...

For 2010-2011.

With Spring just around the corner, why not do a Winter summary page? ... You know, for 2010/2011. I can't be too current when I scrapbook! It is fun to look back and see how much the kids have grown and changed though, all the while still doing some of the same favorite activities.

If you want to see a little more detail, jump on over to the My Mind's Eye Blog. I have my "Anatomy of a Double Page Layout" Series up! I hope you enjoy it; it takes a lot of time and energy to write those babies up ;)

Elsie's Upgrade

Earlier this week, we bumped Elsie up into her top bunk! She is now sleeping high in the sky, leaving lots of fun space underneath her. So what do we do for a little girl who LOVES to color, draw, and write? Give her a table!

And it can't be just any table. We pulled out some of my decorative tapes from My Mind's Eye, and went to town creating the perfect rainbow.

Looks like Elsie, doesn't it? She is BEYOND excited. We put the table in her room for a picture, and she immediately put her pencils and notebook on it. She was a little sad to see that I still had to put a few coats of Polyurethane on it to protect it.

Want to see more pictures and how I did this? Jump on over to the My Mind's Eye Blog today and see my step-by-steps.

{365+1} Project Life 2012 | Week 45

Another week from 2012 to share.

We had story time with the whole family, voting as a family, more dino love, one proud reading girl, and a visit from Bumpa and Gram DiDi for Veteran's Day.

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 The end of the week was full of Bumpa and Gram DiDi time.

I even added a little extra pocket for Friday's events.

AND even a little insert. Elsie's reading level went up from a "C" to a level "F" since September, and then again to a level "G" the very next day. Yes, a little odd to test and then re-test the next day, but it made her proud! I am sure this will end up in her album, but it is a great place holder until I do that.

I had a drawing from Sam to include. Let's just say that this is a rare item to find with him. Elsie draws and draws, but not so much with Sam. He even told me the story of what he drew. BONUS. Apparently, we have monsters in our basement. Yikes! I am not too sure who "they" are, but they are running from those monsters.

Product Used: Becky Higgins Clementine Kit, Becky Higgins Seafoam kit (parenthesis card), Zig Photo Signature pen (black),  Prima Chalk Ink (Fall Leaf) , Avery self-adhesive index tab, Bohemian Typewriter Font.