DOCUMENTING A TRIP WITH PROJECT LIFE

Last Summer, i left for London for a quick holiday. When i came back,with my camera full of photos and my head full of stories, i wasn't to sure how to document it all. Had it been a 2/3 weeks trip, i might have made a mini album. For a very big trip (like the 4 months i spent in Canada), it would have been a full 12x12 album. In this case, i decided to include those 4 awesome days spent in London directly to my Project Life album, treating it almost like a regular spread. A spread with just a bit more photos let's say. 

Curious about my process? It's super simple. Here's how to document a trip, PL style, in just 5 steps and a few hours:

1// Print all your favorite photos in a bunch of different sizes: 4x6, 4x3, 6x12... Put them in your page protectors. I myself arranged them by day, then hour, then just because one looks pretty next to that other one ;)

2// Grab your box probably full of hundreds of different Project Life cards, and start putting one in every empty pocket. Most of mine were from past Studio Calico PL kits, plus some from the Midnight edition and finally some from die cuts sheets. I like to mix and match, but of course you could stick to a collection or a color combo if that's more your style. Just remember to alternate between pretty cards just here to decorate and journaling cards so you can move on to...

3// Grab your favorite pen and write everything about your trip. Why did you take it? How did you get there? What did you do? Visited? Loved? Loved not so much? Everything you want to remember, you write! I use various techniques to help me tell the stories, like fill in the blank cards, top 5, quotes... 

4// Embellish! Letter stickers, enamel dots, stamps... Whatever you like best. Also, it's very much ok to put stuff ON your photos. White space was meant for that if you ask me. As you can see, i didn't embellish much. Mostly because i thought the photos were enough, but that's up to you.

5// Memories recorded! Well done. Go and make new ones now. 

I'm thinking Copenhagen right now. What about you?

SO, PROJECT LIFE...

So, Project Life. It was fun, some weeks more than others. I think the biggest issue for me was that my favorite part of project life (or scrapbooking) is the photos. And some weeks i struggled to take enough photos to fill a spread, which would then take all the fun out of making the spread. Maybe i should have gone with a monthly PL rather than weekly, but once I started i didn't feel like changing it all (i like consistency i guess ^^). Then came the whole medical issue thing which got me stuck at home doing nothing for months. Bottom line: my PL album ends in August. First i thought: well this is a massive failure. Then i went back to the album, looking at all the spread i completed. And realized i had  8 months of really cool memories recorded. So, hey! success! That's how i've decided to look at it.

 I even have some spreads i need to finish, and a few fun things i tried and need to share here on the blog, like that week i spend in London in July and documented PL style. Or the day in the life i did in August and need to add to the album. Maybe i'll gather some of the photos i took on Christmas and do a spread about that too. Keeping it simple, and fun! 

As for 2014, i don't have any 12x12 album in the works, but i'm thinking mini albums (like the Capture system from Basic Grey). Maybe divided in four parts (Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn) so i can take the best moments of each season and document those. What do you think? How have you been documenting 2014 so far? 

PROJECT LIFE WEEK 25

Week 25. This spread might be my new favorite (you know, until next week). I just love the look of 8 4x6 photos and 8 3x4 cards in the middle. What do you think? 

The spread came together super quickly once i had the photos. Hardest part was to pick pretty cards to go with them. Lots of different colors, but i tried to make them work together. Like for instance i picked a pink card for the right spread, so i added pink elements to the left one as well. Giving more balance. And lots of black and white and grey to keep things from getting crazy. Super fun to do. Here are more detailed shots:

Left spread: loved this little heart card from the Midnight edition, but i wanted more pink so i stamped these cute polaroids. At first i only did the three in the middle but it didn't look quite right. Then stamped all the way to the top and bottom. much better. do you use this technique too?

More stamps: directly on the photo (using stazon). 

Right spread: my nephew is the cutest. Also, he liked to stand VERY close to the objective of the camera. i'm okay with that <3. More photos with little tabs on them. The awesome "crosswords" pink card which i filled with key words from the event told on the bottom two photos. And the simplest black and white card with a flair on top of it. LOVE IT. Simple is awesome.

A little embossed stamp. love love this quote. also: pink + green + grey = LOVE

 Aaaaand: this badge is the coolest. right?

PROJECT LIFE WEEK 24

Still playing catch up here, with week 24 (mid June, i'm that behind!). One of the first true double spread of the year, i just had a few photos to play with, lots of journaling (and too many pretty cards to choose from). Honestly, i love the look of double spreads way more than single spread. But most of the time i don't have enough photos or stories to tell. So i'm glad June was a busy month (next week will be a double spread too, and one of my fave so far ;))

Left side: the biggest event that week was buying my first ever DSLR. A very pretty Canon 60D which i'm crazy in love with. Obviously i took a bunch of random photos with it the next days, so i made a little collage on Lightroom to include on a 4x6 slot. i also had some fun stitching the "i love my camera" on that blue paper. The cards are a mix of my Studio Calico PL kit, and cards from the Midnight Core Kit (LOVE that hello card!)

Right side is basically a bunch of random iphone photos. I love alternating between 3x4 cards and 3x4 photos. I just bought a bunch of Design F (these ones) page protectors so i could play more with the 3x4. So there are some spreads coming in with them. About this one: a selfie with a lollipop (i kind of got obsessed with them in June, completely because of the endless supply we had at work). Two shots of my Kindle, with a quick review of Mindy Kaling's biography (in short, it's awesome). My cat <3. And the two 4x6 slots are about the movie The East which i got to see at a film festival. Awesome, awesome movie (go see it!). We got to meet the director of the movie after, and he said some beautiful things that got stuck in my head so i wrote about that.

PROJECT LIFE WEEK 23

 Still playing catch up here, with a super simple spread. It was a pretty quiet week, filled with DIY projects, summer meals (yes, Mr Freeze are a meal. do you have Mr Freeze in the US?? i hope you do.). Also spent an afternoon with a dear friend of mine and somehow managed to only use two photos. i'm getting good at this lol. The rest of the week was work work work.

Supplies wise, everything is super basic. the two 4x6 cards are from the Midnight core kit. lots of black & white, i love it. The 3x4 cards are from a Studio Calico PL kit. love love that gold embossed card. The rest is just bits and pieces from my stash. the spread took less than an hour to make, so that's perfect! see you next week :)

HELLO STORY WEEK 2

Week 2 over on the Hello Story classroom had us worked on fill in the blanks. Which is super fun to do, whether you are 7, 25 or 50. And is AWESOME when journaling, or at least figuring out how to start to, is an issue for you. Which might explain why i was so productive this week! Using the class prompts and ideas, i so far did one layout and two Project Life inserts.

The layout is a first for me, on many aspects. First photo-free layout. First hey i actually managed to cut out that fancy title without making a total mess. And first heavily emotional, kind of creepy before i die list. Making that layout took me a month. Because as comfortable as i am with monthly to-do list, or birthday challenge list, this one felt way more serious. Like, you do not kid with a before i die wish list (or maybe we should? i still don't know). They were some things i din't need thinking of, they were on the list before i even knew i had a list. like #1: become a mom. Some others are super recent, crazy ideas of mine, and maybe i won't care for them in 20 years, but the 24 years old me do want to see them happen. So they made the list too, like #13 Hike the PCT. Some are very basic concepts: feel alive, enjoy it all, learn new things, but forgetting about them is so easy when you are so busy with the little tasks of the everyday. So they made the list too. I could have added more, and maybe less, but i think they are a good image of me right now, and where i want to go. About the right now: don't forget to add a date to this kind of layout! You'll thank your past self in ten years. Also, the L stands for my name (Léa).

 Well, lots of serious talking up there. Here are some fun details then: the layout was created on photoshop (because i don't like Word very much, but that's up to you.) The two fonts i used are Jellyka BeesAntique Handwriting and Traveling Typewriter. They're both free. I printed them on white paper and then hand cut everything the best i could (i do not have a silhouette, so it took quite a while. Because there are no photos,i picked two papers i LOVED (both crate paper)then glued everything down. A little bit of sewing (i do not have a sewing machine.)Basically, everything was handmade. I'll let you figure out how long this layout took me... ps: it was worth it.

I won't talk much of the two inserts i did, because you already saw the first one. I used it on my WEEK 22 project life spread, which you can see below or in its full version right here. Week 22 was my birthday so this specific fill in the blank file about me as a kid and me right now was kind of perfect.

The other insert i will show you in a little while, i am using it for my recent trip to London (which i will be documenting Project Life style).

So, congrats if you made it this far! Do you like fill in the blanks? Do you have a before i die kind of list? I'd love to hear about it! (so i don't feel so alone in telling my life around here ;))

PROJECT LIFE WEEK 22

Long time no see dear Project Life! I am crazy behind on my spreads, and by crazy i mean something like 10 weeks behind (i know...). It's ok though, because i have this awesome 4-steps technique to catch up saving my life right now:

1/ Get all of your photos printed. And hey because you have waited sooo long, you can probably get a good deal online (i myself use photoweb) rather than print them at home last minute like you do way too often

2/ Arrange all those photos in your pockets, inserts...

3/ Add cards in all empty pockets. If your are using a kit or PL Core Kit, then that should be super quick too.

4/ Find some time here & there to add your journaling, dates, stamps, embellishments... it can be as simple as you want (i am embracing simplicity right now, that's like my new favorite word)

Oh, and don't forget about 5/ share the finished spreads with us :)

So today i am finally sharing a new spread here, week 22. And as i write this, i have completed steps 1 to 3 for the 7 following spreads as well. Yay me!

Week 22 is a bit special because it was the week i turned 24. So i decided it deserved a little extra insert. I knew i wanted one of this 6x12 slot to be about my feelings towards birthdays as well as my 25 before 25 challenge. Both subjects i blogged about, so i just pasted the text, had some fun with photoshop and then printed it all on that cute pink paper. 

It was the other side i wasn't sure about. But in the meantime Ali's class Hello Story began and week 2 topic (of which i'll talk more on Friday!) ended up being perfect for it! That "Hello Me" piece was made with photoshop as well, using the class material + two photos of me aged 2 (i think) and 24. This was super fun to do, you can read the text on the photo below if you feel like it, should be clear enough (you can click on it ;))

 Because the inserts are quite text heavy, i didn't journal much on the actual spread, except to tell some bits and pieces about what else happened on that week, like my sister offering me a Kindle, which has already become my new best friend (my iphone isn't too happy about it). One of my 25 before 25 challenge is to read 10 new books, which thanks to the Kindle only took 2 months instead of 12 ;) I'll do a post about that soon(ish).

 Final word: that red card "take a picture" is GORGEOUS, i wish we could get a patterned paper with that print on it, and stickers, and flairs and... you get my point!

Have a great week, and don't forget, it's ok if you are behind on Project Life :)

PROJECT LIFE WEEK 20

Week 20, aka the week Elsie and Emma from A Beautiful mess released their new camera app, as you can obviously tell by all the edited photos of that spread. Beside that fact, it was a really normal yet extra stressful week for me.  But also a happy one, because i got lots of mail on that day, and mail always makes me extra happy, especially when filled with scrapbooking supplies! 

I don't know about the rest of the world, but in France May is symbolized by a little white bell flower called muguet (i think it is lily of the valley in english) which i adore, so i grabbed a picture of some and included it in one of my May spread! Do you have them too in your corner of the world? I remember as a kid going out with my parents every 1st of May to gather some in the woods, and then make little bouquets for our home. Happy, happy memories. Oh, and the smell is terrific too <3 

Supplies wise, i almost only used my Studio Calico PL kit from May and June. I also just got those cute bows from the Atlantic collection and i had to use of them. Cutest ever. The spread is extra simple, made in less than an hour. I really don't want to spend more time than that on PL because that is so not the point of it. And layouts already takes my days to complete, so i'd have to stop sleeping if i were to spent any more time crafting! And i love sleeping way too much.

PROJECT LIFE WEEK 19

I am SUPER behind on my Project Life. BUT, i have recently started using Lightroom and believe me, my (project) life has been changed, for the better! 

Anyway, i somehow managed to do a spread this weekend, unsing my May SC PL kit and some papers from 6*6 pads (Basic Grey and Studio Calico). Lots of little tabs and letter stickers for a super simple and extra quick to put together spread. I love when that happens!

Story wise, nothing much happened that week, i only worked 2 days thanks to some awesome public holidays. I also got to go to the premiere of the new Star Trek movie, which was pretty awesome! The rest is some random stills from the week: my little cat lying on my stomach, my crazy white legs in serious need of some sunshine, and the gorgeous view near my work (yes that it the Eiffel Tower in the distance).

PROJECT LIFE WEEK 18

May is my very favorite month, for a lots of different little reasons (i talked more about this on this blog post). So I decided i'd do a spread just to welcome it, using one of my very favorite picture of the month. I printed it at home then cut it to fit the pocket. Added a piece of 12x12 paper and that was it. Super simple, and pretty as hell in the album. Then onto the first spread for May (and as i am writing this on June 2nd, that means i am a month behind. Definitely need to work on that soon!)

 I am in love with the May PL kit from Studio Calico. The colors are my very favorite at the moment: grey, yellow, pink and blue. Used them all on this spread. Along with some 6x6 papers from Maggie Holmes (loving every single piece of this collection <3). The stamps are also from my SC PL kit, loving the # phrases (mostly because i'm a twitter addict so i use them all the time already). Nothing special happened on that week, except that it was NSD so i used the bottom of the spread to talk about that (and picked the one picture i had of both scrapbooking and star wars, so that was awesome to tell both stories). And that's it for this week :)

 

PROJECT LIFE WEEK 17

Week 17. I'm a tad behind i think, but that's ok. I havn't really been in a creative mood lastly, hence the lack of posts. The weather is terrible here in France, it looks like Mid November, which is highly depressing. And also gives terrible photos, sorry about that! Anyway the good thing about beeing beyond is that i get to scrap  a week where the sun was actually here, and the sky really blue. I really like this spread, i think lots of white on my spreads is really working for me.

The spread is pretty simple, only used my Studio Calico PL kit. I just received my May Kit, and boy i do not regret a single minute getting the PL stamp add on! That 3x4 photo frame stamp is AWESOME. Especially when combined with neon pink embossing powder! i looove neon! Best cure for a grey sky!

I'll be back tomorrow with a cute layout i somehow managed to do Saturday (that might have something to do with the excitement of receiving 3 boxes full of scrappy goodness on the same day!)

PROJECT LIFE WEEK 16

On to Week 16, boy this year is flying by way too quickly! For my week card i wanted to both document my favorite breakfast but almost my current favorite combo, so i picked a grey background and then some aqua, pink, and green. I really like this card!

I was also inspired by this spread by Elise Blaha to pick some kind of a weekly theme and theme use letter sticker for each day. I love taking pictures with the #fromwhereistand tag with my daily outfit (or maybe it's just a feet obsession thing) so i picked four and lined them up on my spread, then added the initial for the days (french days, in case you're wondering which day might start with a J lol).

The top left card i filled with a piece of vellum, i thought it might be nice to introduce some kind of new texture and look in the album, and since the rest of the spread was pretty full i thought a bit a empty space might be good!

And that's it for this week! Hope you had a great scrappy (or not) weekend!

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!