My Project Life planner...

This post is long overdue so I thought I better get it in gear for you guys.  Many of you have noticed my new planner system that I've been sharing at the top of my Project Life posts.  Today I'm sharing my system and what works for me.  

PLEASE NOTE: My planner pages are something I created as a need and they're just for my personal use.  I'm not too skilled at all the techno ways of sharing files so I'd hate to get myself into something that I can't handle.  Marcy Penner is about to debut a new Project Life calendar system though and it will be on her blog soon.  So be sure to check that out, I'm sure it will be a good system.  

Here's what I was using before I got started my new planner system.  I used a simple notebook to sketch out the Project Life inserts.  Then I would jot down what photos I wanted to use where.  I noticed that I was consistently writing in some of the same things week after week like the dates, my inserts, the check lists, the week #, etc.  So one day I just started drawing it out with text boxes in a word document.  I know, fancy.  It's a wonder I got as far as I did.  

I needed a notebook/planner to keep my inserts in so I found some simple, sturdy but plastic binders at my local Staples.  These are the size that will hold my new, printed 5.5" x 8.5" Project Life planner sheets.  There were all kinds of refill pages, plastic inserts and more.  This particular type of binder has 3 rings and lots of colors to choose from.  I looked all over for my Franklin planner but I couldn't find it.  I found it just this week so I might switch to that in the future with an actual calendar that fits.  We'll see what the new year brings about.  I'm not sure if I want to keep my calendar in with my Project Life stuff or not. There are lots of options though for binders like Franklin Covey planners, Filofax, office supply store brands, and Target had some cute sturdy cardboard ones.  

Here's what the inside looks like when empty.  

Here's what my planner looks like when first opened.  I purchased a velcro pocket insert and in that I keep an assorted style and size of sticky notes.  I use these to make notes if needed and I stick them right to my planner pages. 

 I also purchased lots of these inserts which include pocket inserts, clear page protector inserts, and tabbed divider pages.  I got enough to cover 4-6 weeks worth of Project Life weeks.

 I print off my weekly planner pages as needed, usually 4-5 weeks at a time.

 Here's how I insert the pages into my planner.  I start with a tabbed divider insert, then add my 2 planner pages for 1 week, then a pocket divider then a clear page protector then another tabbed divider insert.  This is the system for one week.  I repeat this for 4-5 weeks so that I'm prepared.  So here you see Week 38...next would come this same set up but for Week 39, and so on.

When I'm ready to do some Project Life planning I grab my Project Life planner, my calendar and my iPhone.  Most of my photos are now taken with my iPhone but I make note in my calendar if I have some on my big camera too.  

 Here's what a week of events might look like in my calendar.  I have a monthly calendar at the front of each monthly section where I keep all of our appointments, birthdays, ballgames, etc very neatly.  On these daily pages, I scribble in what photos I took, little quotes or things I want to remember.  I usually update these pages once or twice a week.  If you ever get behind, these scribbles will become like gold to you.  Trust me.  I was 17 weeks behind last year and my calendar saved me.

 Here's what a weekly sketch might look like.  I start with a blank slate for the week then just work my way though my photos.  I have a little system of dots and squares that I mark in my calendar and kind of make a mental count of how many 4 x 6 photos I want versus smaller photos.  It's a little time consuming but oh so worth the effort.  I mark down any birthdays or big events in the daily section (see the bullet list on the left side marked Mon-Sun).  On the right I make note of any extra inserts I want to add.  I know I'll have inserts when we have a birthday or holiday celebration, a party or special events like the first day of school or a dance.  Once I have my layout planned for the week I email my photos from my iPhone to my computer email.  I then save those photos to my iPhoto program, edit and print the photos. You can see the checklist section below on the right where I check off when I've emailed photos, printed, completed and blogged a weekly spread.

Behind the planner pages I add in any collected items like receipts, tags, postcards, invitations, ticket stubs, wrappers, etc to the pocket page.  This is where I have noticed a big difference with my new planner.  I keep track of the collected items much better now.  I may use them or I may trash them but at least I've made an effort to gather the items in one spot. 

When I'm ready to print my photos I keep my calendar and planner by my side.  I check off the photos as I print.  I usually start by printing all the 4 x 6 photos, then all the 3 x 4 photos so that I can print 2 to a photo, then the squares, etc.  I don't use any Photoshop when editing sizes of photos, I do it all with my iPhoto program.  I use a lot of apps too like Diptic, Instagram, A Beautiful Mess, etc to do some cropping and journaling.

I slip all my photos into the clear page protector.  Now everything is one place and I'm ready to rock and roll. 

When I'm ready to work on a week of Project Life I take my calendar, my Project Life planner, my photos, etc to my work table.  I take out my photos and use my weekly planner page sketch to lay out my photos.  If you're interested, I'd be happy to do a part 2 post where I show you how I complete a week of Project Life....like selecting embellishments, making a dated insert etc.  

Once I'm done with a particular week of Project Life I insert the planner pages into one section of my planner that is for all my completed weekly spreads.  Once in a while I'll have an insert to finish or have something to add and this is where those post it notes come in handy.  

And that's how I roll with my Project Life.  Feel free to ask any questions in the comments section and I'll edit the post with answers.  I hope this was helpful to you.  Thanks for stopping by.  

Recipe...Roasted Strawberry Parfaits

I'm back into my meal planning since school is back in session.  This recipe for Roasted Strawberry Parfaits from Spoonful sounded intriguing because of the roasted strawberries.  It was a definite hit with the family so I thought I would share.  The Pinterest link for this recipe is here.

Here are the roasted strawberries.  I was curious to see if there was any difference in roasting the strawberries in the oven with the brown sugar versus just adding some sugar to the strawberries to bring out their natural juices.  The roasting was fabulous.  It softened the strawberries and brought out lots of juice which when mixed with the brown sugar created a really nice, sweet glaze.

I followed the rest of the recipe to create the pretty parfaits.  I used lowfat vanilla yogurt instead of the plain greek yogurt.  I used pretty little half pint jars to layer my parfait ingredients.  A perfect breakfast for the girls on busy school mornings.  These would make a great dessert too.

 For the granola, I found an empty box in the pantry but no granola.  The LIST people, it's called the list.  Write it down.  Geez.  Anyway, I crumbled up some firm granola bars and that worked just fine.  See the honey layered in with the strawberries.  I like to use local honey that is collected just down the road from us.

 I used gingham lids and white rings to fancy up the jars.  So cute.

I'll definitely be adding this to our breakfast and snack menu often.  Hope you enjoy!

September Gossamer Blue...Project Life Week 30

I'm moving right along in sharing my Project Life weeks and for week's spread I used items from the September Gossamer Blue Life Pages Kit only.  There are still kits left in the Gossamer Blue store so there's still time to pick up a kit whether you are a subscriber or not.  Take a look at the kit contents below....it's jam packed full of journaling cards, embellishments, alphabets, stickers tags, tiny paper clips and many exclusives like our own Traci Reed designs + the exclusive Elle's Studio stamp set (with concepts by me).  :)  All of the cards are double sided for vertical or horizontal orientation.  

Let's get right to my Week 30 pages.  This is my weekly planner sketch which includes no inserts for this week. I have a few ticket stubs saved but those will easily fit into my 2 page layout. 

This is a good time to address the issue of subscribing to just the Life Pages Kit.  Is it enough?  Do you need other kits?  After completing about 4-5 weekly Project Life spreads which included inserts, I would say that you would probably have enough journaling cards to cover most of those weeks...that is if you add in lots of photos like I do.  There are 25 (3 x 4) cards and 7 (4 x 6) cards included in this month's Life Pages Kit.  You'll see with my future Project Life weeks how I added to this kit with other GB kits.  So my answer.....if you only want to get the Life Pages Kit, it will mostly likely get you through the entire month.  

Here's my 2 page spread, I kept it pretty simple this month as we were about to head out for a week long vacation.  

 Here is the left page of my Week 30.  I used a photo in all but one slot.

 This is the right page of my Week 30.  Here I used photos in every slot.

 This is my main, dated 4 x 6 insert.  I used an exclusive GB Life Pages 3 x 4 card in the horizontal format for the top layer along with some stickers, hand cut letters and chipboard accents.

 I was particularly excited about this label stamp from the Life Pages kit this month.  I requested that it be designed to fit onto an address label stamp and Elle did a fantastic job of making it fit perfectly.  The stamp easily works with my Grid Paper Labels and Notebook Paper Labels in the my shop too.  I found that you can run a sheet of my paper labels through a typewriter and get 2-3 lines of typed journaling.  You can see that I used 2 lines below.  There is just the right amount of space for an office type date stamp too.

 Here I used a Life Pages 3 x 4 card and a manila tag, both from the Life Pages Kit.  The word stickers are also from the kit.  A little bit of stitching finishes off the tag.  This journaling card is placed adjacent to a 3 x 4 photo and fits into a 4 x 6 slot.  You can totally use the 3 x 4 cards in a 4 x 6 slot.  I typically will adhere both the photo and the card to a thin piece of white cardstock.

 Some more 3 x 4 inserts with mini Instagram photos.  On the left, I used the A Beautiful Mess app for the chevron pattern and word on the photo.  On the right you can see more stamps from the Life Pages stamp set. I just love the colors in this month's Life Pages Kit.

 If you do decide to purchase other kits, Traci and Lori did a fantastic job in coordinating the colors to match up with the other kit items.  That's what I love about using more than one on my Life Pages...it all coordinates but I am still able to achieve that mixy matchy look I love so much.

Please note the right card....Jordan made a boo-boo in her text message to me and I laughed for a week straight!!

 On the left, I got a hair cut.  It's rare to see my hair that straight so I have to snap photos.  I rarely straighten it like that ever because my hair is too curly.  On the right I had a little fun with a mini sack from the Life Pages Kit.  I trimmed the sack down and stitched it onto a journaling card.  Inside I tucked in movie ticket stubs and a small photo of the movie we saw.  I used a tiny paper clip to hold the items together.  Thank you Lori for including those paper clips for me this month, I love them!

Note: The Conjuring was quite scary....based on true events so it was bone chilling.

 On the right, below, I snapped a photo of Josey's new dresser.  We found this 1920's stainless steel beauty at a vintage sale and got a really good deal on it.  Now I need to find some other stainless steel accents for her room.  On the right, I stamped a journaling card noting how we left for our Colorado trip 10 hours early.  It was a great lead in to Week 31 which captures our vacation.

If you're so inclined, Ali Edwards' Week In The Life 2013 is happening this week.  You can read all about it here.  I opted not to join in this week as I feel I capture my weeks pretty well with my Project Life + I want to catch up on my vacation photos and get my craft room all tidied up for the upcoming Gossamer Blue Daily December kit coming soon.  I love to follow along with everyone's projects though so I'll be watching closely.  

I've also been doing some extensive menu planning this week.  Now that the girls are back in school it makes our schedule a little more crazy.  There are late practices, lots of homework, volleyball games, school board meetings and it all just makes meal times tricky at times.  I've worked out a pretty good plan for all of September and October since our weekly schedule is basically the same every week.  I'll be sharing my new plan soon.  

Also, new kits and other items have been trickling into my online shop.  Thank you so much to those of you who have placed orders.  Thanks for stopping by.  See ya soon.  

Project Life 2013...Week 29

My Project Life Week 29 is in the books.  For this week I kept it very simple so that I could catch up on a few weeks before we went on vacation.  We were knee deep in Summer activities which included trips to the lake, picking the first of the garden veggies, grilling, going to the movies, celebrating my parents' 49th wedding anniversary and getting school physicals. 

I used handmade journaling cards from my stash for any filler cards which made the spread come together quickly.  

 I used lots of my Grid Paper Labels for easy typed journaling.  Some weeks it's all about getting the photos and stories captured in a quick manner.

 I used a manila tag from my shop for the title insert along with some chipboard letters.  The starburst sticker with typed journaling is also from my shop.

 Here I used a Green Postcard Tag to create a vellum pocket.  The tag size fits perfectly into a 4 x 6 slot.  I inserted lots of price tags and clothing labels from a shopping trip for the girls.  A typed Grid Paper Label was stuck on the vellum for some easy journaling.

 New garden pickings here along with shots for the girls.

 Here I used a Large Manila Tag trimmed down for an insert with a mini Instagram photo.  I used the Beautiful Mess app for the journaling on the photo.

 A shot of our first radishes on a handmde journaling card + the weather map.

Here I took a handmade journaling card that I had in my stash and stitched on a strip of vellum to create a fun pocket.  I slipped our movie tickets inside. The Grid Paper Labels are perfect for adding journaling to the little vellum strip.  On the right I snapped a photo of the movie poster while at the theatre.  

That's it for today.  My next few weeks of Project Life will feature products from the September Gossamer Blue kits.  I'm working on photos for my Project Life planner so look for that post this week sometime.  Plus I have lots of cards to share this month that I've been creating for gifts.  See ya soon!

Boutique Item....Pretty Paint & Paperclip Kit

Today I have a special little Boutique Item to show you.  Boutique Items are hand crafted items that I will be featuring in my shop in very limited quantities.  Last week I had fun fiddling around with my watercolors, fun fabrics and a few select items from the cubbies of my little shop.  It all started with the pretty little watercolored paper flags and some beautiful fabrics I had in my stash.  The result is a dainty little kit which features 2 fun ways to package up some special gifts.  

There are enough supplies in the kit to create the two creations below.  On the left is an embellished paper sack perfect for a little stack of cards, a wrapped gourmet chocolate bar, a little bundle of quilting fabrics, notepads and more.  On the right I have a wrapped clear card box that is suitable for a stack of handmade cards.  Of course you can mix and match the kit contents all you like as well.

 The gift sack has the watercolored paper flag which has been stitched to some pretty fabric.  Fabrics vary from kit to kit, no two are alike.  There are lots of layers you can create with the Latin/English vintage dictionary page, the index card and paper doily.  I added glitter to my clothespins and attached it right to the sack.  The yellow flower is an extra item from my stash.

 The clear card box I created has fun little layers starting with a simple piece of grid paper, a paper doily and layered tags.  I edged the Kraft tag with white ink and stamped on a handmade sentiment.  On top is the fun arrow tag that comes in the kit.  It has dimensional arrows stenciled on with modeling paste from my Art Journal Kit.  The gold paperclip accent has a stitched on piece of fabric flag.  No two paperclips are alike in the kits.  The yellow flower is from my stash.

 So now I have two beautiful gift packages ready to be used.

 I hope you will enjoy assembling your kit items.  I think you'll like the unique accents in this kit.  If you decide to create the two projects I showed above, you'll love that you'll find extra stitched paperclip flags in the kit.  You get a total of 6 clipped to a vintage Rolodex card.  The kits are available in the shop now in limited quantities RIGHT HERE.

The modeling paste that I used on the fun arrow tag is from my Art Journal Kit.  I recently sent these to school with the girls for their advanced art classes and I think they'll have using these supplies.  I'm planning to get my art journal back out and do some watercolor sketches soon.  I love the quality of the paint brushes too, they're better than any beginning brushes and have held up very well to all of my artsy projects.  There's just a few of these kits left in the shop & I won't be restocking these kits in the future.

Some other items that I used in my new kit today that you can purchase alone are the Dainty Doilies, the Small Kraft Tags, Large Kraft Sacks, Rectangle Hang Tags, Small Clothespins and the Clear Card Boxes.  You can find those listed throughout the shop HERE.

Thanks for stopping by.  If you want to join in, we're chatting about a Daily December type kit that will be coming soon to Gossamer Blue.  The Design Team projects for September have been uploaded to the galleries also and there is a LOT of eye candy.  I'll be sharing my September projects here on the blog soon too.

I'm also tidying up my room so I can work on the long awaited post of my Project Life calendar and work area.  Many of you have asked....the planning pages that I've been showing at the top of my Project Life pages are for my personal use only.  I may try to work out something to share them in the future but for now it's just something I fiddled with for my own needs.

September Gossamer Blue...notepad & card ensembles

Edit:  Thank you stamp is from an Avery Elle stamp set.  :)

Hi everyone.  Today I'm off to the girls' first volleyball game of the season but first I have some fun projects to share that I created for the Gossamer Blue September release.  All of the new kits can be purchased at the new website store HERE.  

I just hand delivered these two sets of office themed notepads and cards to our school secretaries.  They LOVED them and were so appreciative.  For my gift packaging you can see the gift sacks I created in this post.  I used my Gray Polka Dot Gift Packaging kit found in my shop for the supplies.  

On the gifts.  I absolutely loved the little 6 x 6 paper pad from Hello Again line from Carta Bella.  This is from the September Bits & Pieces Kit which is still available.  I also used some of the Fancy Pants die cuts from this kit.  I also used the big Fancy Pants flair badges from the September Add-On Kit #2. 

For the cards I cut large square card bases so that a lot of the patterned paper would show on my card.  Love the mix of the office supply look paired with the pretty florals in the Hello Again line.  I stamped the memo image from the Main Scrapbook Kit and another image from my stash for the thank you.

  Small Manila Parcel Tags and some enamel dots finish off the cards.

 For the notepads I used more of the pretty office theme and floral patterned papers + stamps from the Life Pages Kit.

 I love the fun, raised embellishments.  Notepads are a good place to add all these bulkier, dimensional items.

A stamped pencil down the side of the notebooks finish off the fun little gift.

Hope you enjoy!  I'll be back all month long for lots of Life Pages inspiration, lots of cards, more Boutique Item posts and a few new items for the shop.  Thanks for stopping by.

Weekend Inspiration....

Hello everyone, my family is enjoying this long holiday weekend.  It most likely will mark the end of all the fun Summer activities like going to the lake, vacations and the lazy days.  Volleyball tournaments will soon fill our weekends and football games & Friday night lights will be here before we know it.  As we are taking it easy this weekend, I've been enjoying some inspiration and thought I would share......

Gossamer Blue September Release
The new kits are now up for sale.  You can check them out here & feel free to browse around our new website and message board.

Here's a different glimpse at some of the kits...the Main Scrapbook Kit. Love the Carta Bella papers and sticker sheet in this kit & the enamel dots have such fun colors.  If you're a Project Lifer you will love the additional 3 x 4 sheet that you can cut apart for extra inserts from Carta Bella.

The Add-On Kit #2.  The My Mind's Eye paper, little epoxy stickers and the Teresa Collins sticky notes in this kit were so fun to work with.  There's a fun, exclusive wood stamp in this kit too. 

This is the Main Add-On Kit with fun chipboard stickers, a beautiful selection of sequins, beautiful papers and more. 

 The Bits and Pieces Kit was a favorite of mine this month.  Even more MME journaling cards to cut apart for Life Pages, the adorable 6 x 6 Hello Again paper pad, a great stamp set from Teresa Collins and the Heidi Swapp letters are so great to work with.

 The Life Pages Kit, the best one yet in my opinion.  Jam packed full of colorful journaling cards, stickers, alphabets, an exclusive stamp set, tags and the cutest little paper clips ever.

 Perfect for office themed spreads, back to school pages and all of the products coordinate beautifully with our other kits.  My guess is this kit will go quickly.

Jot Magazine

This is the second issue of the online paper crafting magazine....full of ideas, beautiful photos, stories and inspiration for the modern day memory keeper.  You can find the link to Issue #2 HERE.  I was so thrilled that some of my cards and my Mini Typewriter Instagrams from my shop were showcased in this issue.  I'm definitely charging up the iPad this weekend so that I can soak in all of the fun projects. 

Flea Market Style Magazine

Always love when a new issue comes out.  There's some really cool junkin' ideas in this issue.  Definitely a good find with plenty of junky inspiration. 

Fall Inspiration

Looking forward to Fall?  I've recently pinned lots of new, inspiring photos to my Fall Pinterest Board. I'm ready to paint my front door a new color & redecorate my fireplace mantel.  

Take a Picnic
I'm a picnic lover and I've recently created a new Picnic Pinterest Board full of beautiful picnic sceneries, picnic quilts, picnic baskets, food displays and more.

Well, enough computer time for me.  Enjoy your weekend everyone and happy shopping to you Gossamer Blue fans.