PROJECT LIFE WEEK 14 +15

And here comes another week of Project Life. Two even, as a matter of fact. There wasn't much to say about the beginning of April, so i just did one spread. The big news was the beginning of Spring, the blossoming flowers... so i went with a very springy color theme. Most of my supplies this week are from my stash, like this yellow paper which i used as a background on my last layout. The bubble card and arrows are all from my April Project Life kit. And that April calendar is a cutie i found online and printed. And as always, a bit of washi, a few stamps and letter stickers. Love this spread!

THOSE ARE MY FAVORITE

Hello! Moving on to layout #2 of my Glitter Girl adventure experiment, this time with a 2 photos layout. I pretty much followed the sketch she used because it was oh so beautiful and you know i love a good square design. The yellow paper was one of the 3 backgrounds i had picked, and then i added the blue ombré one, and the soft grey which was a nice complement to my photos. I'm super proud that i also used that purple piece from Dear Lizzy because it was one of my favorite and i had hoarded it for a while. i've been using it on a few other projects since, proof that the first cut really is the hardest one.

Embellishment wise, lots of bits and pieces from Dear Lizzy, some labels, dots. I picked two alphas, including this gorgeous white glitter thickers from Maggie Holmes. Probably my favorite ever (just like the title say lol). At first my title simply was "Quiet streets are my favorite", but then i decided to had a few other handwritten words. Might i say that this is the first layout ever on which i like my writing? Crazy. At that point i felt like something was missing to perfectly balance my layout so i added the "ottawa' at the bottom and a few more handwritten words. Perfect. I love love this layout, so i guess thank you Glitter Girl!

In case you missed it, layout #1 is right here: ps. i love you 

PS. I LOVE YOU

Last week (or was it the one before that?),i was super inspired by Glitter Girl adventure. Deciding what supplies i'm going to use sometimes take me forever, because i'm looking for that perfect piece of paper that will perfectly match my photos. Except there is no such thing as perfection. So i followed glitter girl rules, picked 3 background papers, a few more sheets to layer... alphas (i might have picked a bit more than GG did, i love those too much). Then choose my photos. Including those three random shots from my trip to Washington DC. 

And that's the story of how i did my first three photos layout. Which was how so simple to put together once the photos were on it. I added very little embellishments compared to most of my layouts (including the one i'll post tomorrow, i went crazy with the embellishments!), and called it done. I'm thinking that this layout will be the closing one of my Washington album, and if i have a few other random shots left, i might add a divided page protector on the side to put all of this photos. Might be fun!

Don't forget to stop by tomorrow for layout number two!

PROJECT LIFE WEEK 13

Week 13 already. Time flies huh? Nothing special happened on that week, until Friday at least! What was supposed to be a quick drink with a friend ended up lasting a bit longer and involving a few more drinks and tapas. In other words an awesome night with my girls :)So i focused on that for my spread, because that's what i wanted to remember from that week.I actually had a hard time doing that spread (that's why i am posting it on Tuesday rather than Monday by the way). The main issue was the very pink photos (that's how the bar's lights were, nothing much i could do) and i had no idea what to put next to it. Ended up picking that black camera patterned paper, then a pink card from my kit and so on... Three days later, my spread was done. Let's be honest, out of the 3 days, the most decisive moment was the last hour, during which the whole spread came together. Big procrastinator over here! I really need to become more efficient doing those spreads, some layouts i did this weekend actually took me less time than this spread! (BTW, i CANNOT wait to show you my last layouts, favorite ever!)

NEW YORK CITY

The story behind this layout is a complete scrappy nightmare. It started 2 months ago with this red and cream background and the dark blue piece, which had an horizontal orientation at the time. The plan was to tell the story of our first road trip to Toronto, with 3 pictures of various size of the car, us... arranged on the blue piece in a very "square" design. I hated it. the layout was very "cold" and "masculine" to my taste. So i tried moving the picture in a more freestyle way, adding a few paper with a more girly touch (like this multicolored one from Amy Tan). But it still sucked. So i left it in a corner of my desk and stopped thinking about it. Then a few days ago i saw it. And decided to change it all. Removed the photos. Changed the orientation of the blue piece and added the teal paper on top (mostly because i decided i wanted to use those teal glitter thickers). Then chose new photos, of New York this time. Added lots of bits and pieces to embellish the layout , my title (which i moved at least 5 times, unable to decided if i wanted it on the left or on the right). And what felt like 2 centuries later, i called it done. Let's be honest, i still don't love it, but i don't hate it either.  

What would you have done? Gave up from trying to make it better from the start? Stayed with the original version even though it was ugly? after all, it's just paper. So maybe i just went a little overboard...

SPOTTED: APRIL 2013

A couple things i've had my eye on lately.

Print from KelliMurayArt and Urban Outfitters. 
Swimsuit and dress from Asos. 
Kindle and What Katie Ate on Amazon. 
Iphone cases from RiflePaper and rug from Urban Outfitter.

PROJECT LIFE WEEK 12

Week 12, aka green is king. 

I think my obsession with green will be over soon, mostly because i won't have any more green supplies to use. But this spread was super fun to make. All the cards are from my PL kit from Studio Calico, except for the quote one which i printed at home. This is a quote i've loved for a long time but it felt extra perfect to tell the story of that week, which wasn't really the happiest of week but life can't all be pink and i want to tell the story anyway.

The rest of the spread is super simple. Some washi tapes, letter stickers, brads and dots and a few stamps here and there. See you next week!

HELLO FALL

The other day I felt super crafty but clearly not super inspired so i went straight to Pinterest and saw this layout i had pinned a few days before. looks like it was scraplift time! A pretty literal one for once.I first went looking for a big square photo from my stash and found this one i took my first day in Washington during the early beginning of Fall. Which was the same theme of the layout i was scraplifting lol. Next step i went through my stash of papers to find 8 matching my photo and the theme.  Some are from Dear Lizzy, some from Amy tan and some i can't remember. Then sewed around each (while watching Doctor Who & Game of Thrones obviously).I also wanted to frame my picture but with a softer look so on top of the papers i added Vellum. Added my title and some bits and pieces. And 3 flairs from A flair for buttons. It's good to go back to basic design from time to time.

PROJECT LIFE WEEK 11

Week 11, aka the week i only wanted one 4x6 slot. So i took a needle and some thread and sewed a little. Hello DIY design. :)

Took like 15 minutes (would be 15 seconds if you're lucky enough to possess a sewing machine) and is a great way to bring diversity to your album if you're getting bored of the same design and didn't bought lots of different sleeves (i only have design A and the nine 3x3 squares). After 11 weeks of doing PL, i realized that i have usually a lot more portrait format photo than landscape (mainly because 99% of my pictures are taken with my iPhone), so using those four 4x6 landscape slots hasn't been easy. I know i could simply put two 3x4 cards in that space but i do like it better with a "physical" border between the two. Hence the sewing. 

For the one and only 4x6 slot, i knew from the beginning i wanted to use this picture i took from my balcony on the day i got stuck at home because of the snow (that's the main story of that week, told in french on the journaling card so i just thought i'd mention it in english here ^^). Also knew i wanted "snowed in" as my text. Instead of adding it afterwards using stickers, i wrote my text on the photo using Photoshop. If some of you are curious about that, i did a post a while ago about some tips to add text to your pictures :).

The rest of the spread is super simple. Lots of cards from my March PL kit (that's my favorite so far). It looks like i'm starting to like green also, especially mixed in with blue. Oh and that picture right above is my cat, Lola :) She's my favorite <3 (which is pretty much what my journaling says, but it's in french so... Very little embellishments since the cards were pretty "busy" on their own. And that's it. Keeping it simple!

OFF TO TORONTO ISLAND

A few weeks ago i took an online scrap class by the lovely and talented Kirsty, called Telling Tales. it's just 6 pounds, is pretty awesome, and the money goes to a charity! In other words, i highly recommend it.

Anyway, one of the prompts was all about blocking it out so that's what i tried to do one this layout.I started with my 3 pictures which i matted with the same yellow paper (from Yes Please). Also found this blue card on my stash and decided to use it. Went looking for something to journal on to. Cut out a tag on a Studio Calico paper (from the 6x6 Sundrifter paper pad). Decided i wanted to add some pink and found the camera from Yes Please. added a card under it. All i add to do left was add my title (i knew from the beginning the space at the top would be used for the title). Then some more arrow stamps to help your eyes navigate on the layout. The two big ones were embossed with gold powder. loving the look!

Funny fact: i was NOT planning on using this side of the background paper. I bought it for its A side which is a lovely teal color with lots of anchor. But the B side ended up being perfect for this layout so well i guess it's no big deal. 

PROJECT LIFE WEEK 10

Week 10 aka the week we though Spring was finally here. Except it wasn't. But more on that next week. You might have noticed (or not), but i skipped 2 weeks. I didn't have much to say about those 15 days, pretty much no picture so i went ahead and moved to week 10 ( it did took my like 2 weeks before i gave up trying to do something with the nothing. But by the end of the year, i really won't care if some weeks are missing, as long as the important memories are there!)

I was still working with a square pocket so i went ahead and printed 3 instagram pictures with my selphy (perfect size with the border for the PL pocket) I am REALLY loving this white frame trend around the photos. So i went ahead and did the same for the 3 other pictures. And might keep on doing it for a while.

I used a couple cards from my PL kit and some patterned paper for the background. The two washi tapes are also from my PL kit (and originally from the last Dear Lizzy collection). That multicolor striped one is awesome! Added a few stamps here and there, and that's pretty much it. Ended with a Dear Lizzy flair that i put on top of the pocket (because i don't like the look when it's under).

Ps: how cool is that giant Yoda picture? Spotted it in Paris, had to take a photo obviously!