Project Life 2013....Week 1 + new ideas for PL

Hi everyone & Happy Super Bowl Sunday!  For those of you doing a little blog hopping today I thought I'd share my 2013 Project Life Week 1 + a few of my ideas for mixing my Project Life up a bit this year.  You might want to read through to catch everything. This is my 2 page spread which you may have seen in my last post which uses the February Gossamer Blue kits.  

This year I've decided to just take clues from my photos and see what happens with my pages.  Since Project Life is my main form of scrapbooking, with just a few traditional pages added in here and there, I am choosing to get more creative with my 2 page weekly spreads.  

More like a traditional 2 page layout....
One thing that you'll be noticing is that I'm treating my 2 page spread more like a traditional 2 page scrapbook layout.  My patterned papers are more coordinated and everything kind of flows together.  I've been making more of my own journaling cards but using purchased products here and there also.  There will be some weeks that I know I will maybe need to just reach for purchased products too & that will be totally fine. No rules this year, just having fun with it all.

Calendar Card.....
A big change that I'm making this year is that I'm not taking up two slots for a weekly dated card + a Week in Review card.  I'm combining the two into one 4 x6 slot which I'm going to call my Calendar Card.  Here I will note the week number, the dates that this particular week covers (like Jan 1 through Jan 6) and I'll include an additional piece that has a list of week in review items.  If space allows, like for my Week 1, I'll add in another small photo, a quote, some stamping, etc.  My Calendar Card will always be placed in the upper left hand corner of my 2 page spread.

Here's a shot of some of my 3 x 4 inserts.  On the left I used a manila tag from my shop with a small Instagram photo and typewriter journaling. The Large Manila Parcel Tags from my shop fit onto a 3 x4 journaling card with some space.  The XL Manila Parcel Tags can be made into 3 x 4 inserts by simply trimming them down to 4" and they're already 3" wide.  The insert on the right uses a Rectangle Hang Tag with a stamped image, stitching and stapling.

Wild Card.....
Now a close up of this 3 x 4 insert.  This card has been placed where I would normally leave a slot open for my Week in Review card.  But now I'm leaving a slot for what I'm calling the Wild Card. My Wild Card will be used for anything I choose.  I may need the spot for an additional photo or story but if space allows, I'm hoping to include an off the wall item I found for this week....maybe a little piece of artwork that I did for an Art Card.....a fun photo I took like this mini Instagram of a sketch I did while making some notes.....maybe I'll experiment with some mists, paints or other art supplies....maybe I'll create a fun collage with leftover supplies.....maybe I'll include a fun quote.  The sky is the limit hence the name Wild Card.

On to some 4 x 6 inserts from this week.  Gotta include the shot of my black eyed peas that we always eat on New Year's Day for luck.  I've continued the tradition from my folks.  Journaling was typed on a Grid Paper Label. I've added 4 new label types to the shop this week, you can see them all here.

Here I included a Diptic collage that I created with my iPhone. Circle label was ran through my vintage typewriter.

Here I started with a bright yellow tag that was on our new garage door part that broke.  It was too bright so I covered it with a stitched on flap of vellum.  I layered a simple index card on top of that with typewriter journaling + another circle tag.  I really enjoyed using the Studio Calico January Project Life stamp this week, so many fun & tiny stamps.  Quote stamp is from Ali Edwards.

Here I used more of my scrappy supplies from the Gossamer Blue kits, including the My Mind's Eye doily stamps.

Stitched pockets....
Another item that I'll be utilizing this year for Project Life is stitched pockets.  I like using vellum for the   pocket portion because you can tuck in items like this used gift card + punched hearts and still see them.  The vellum helps to hide bright colors or items that may not coordinate with your spread.  I've got some Tag Pockets up in my shop that I'm looking forward to using too.  Nice to have on hand. The right card is from Evalicious with stamping, punched heart & sticker number.  Oh and those wonderful enamel dots.

Here I have (2) 3 x 4 inserts that I kept very similar because the two photos were of similar content.  I typed right onto my photos with my vintage typewriter.

That wraps it up for this week.  Thanks for stopping by today.  So tell me, are you changing things up a bit for your Project Life 2013?  I'd love to hear your fun ideas.