Project Life 2013....Week 35

Today I'm sharing Week 35 of my Project Life 2013.  I used the September Life Pages Kit from Gossamer Blue for most of the cards and embellishments.  

 The left page...

 The right page....

 Here are all of the 4 x 6 inserts.  This was a fun chalkboard card from the kit to use with some plastic letters to note the week #.

 Here I used a Medium White Parcel Tag along with stitched letters and a fabric embellished paper clip from my Pretty Paint & Paperclip Kit.  I love getting scrappy with my inserts that coordinate with photos of my projects in progress.

 More items from the GB kits...

 Here I used small phtos so the pretty floral border wouldn't be covered up.

 A shot of some texting and some flowers from my garden.

 Here I used the label stamp from the September Life Pages kit and a card cut from a 12 x 12 sheet of patterned paper. I stamped the label onto a Grid Paper Label, so easy to just stick to a photo.

 The weather for the week and some stamping on a 3 x 4 card.

 Lots of homework woes this week so I used some funny photos and a shot of Jordan's books she brought home one evening.

This week isn't too far behind us and I already feel like the girls have been in school forever.  So happy to have this week in the books.

Project Life 2013....Week 33

Today I'm back with some Project Life inspiration, sharing my Week 33.  My family is missing Summer pretty badly around here.  It just went by so very quickly it seems.  We're already planning our next Colorado trip for next Summer with two other families.  I dearly love looking back on my Project Life pages.  It seems like when you're in the moment, working on photos, they seem so familiar.....but when a few months have passed by I start to look at the photos with more of a nostalgic point of view.  Timeless treasures, these photos we capture. 

So here's my Week 33 sketch along with the photos I printed out.  Note:  My sketch pages are just for my own personal use and are not available as a download/printable product.  

 Here is how I start laying out my week.  All of the printed photos take their places first.  Then it's on to the filler cards and embellishing.

Here's my 2 page spread. For this week I used products from the September Gossamer Blue kits.  I remember feeling particularly scrappy while working on this spread so I used lots of embellishments, did lots of stitching and did a lot of tinkering around...treating each insert as it's own little scrapbook layout. Totally gives me my scrapbooking fix when I start to feel the pressure to create full size layouts. 

 Here's the left page.  I love that there is lots of white space even though there are photos in nearly every slot.

 The right page.  So many Summer memories coming back as I look at this again.

 Here's my main, dated insert noting week #33.  As alphabet sheets get thinned out, you find creative ways to note the numbers and missing letters. Here I mixed up alphabets, adding some stamping and word stickers and used the cute chipboard flags. A few ink splatters fill in some of the white space.

 Loved the alphabet and epoxy stickers from the September kits.  Some of my faves.  I'll still be using the label stamp from the September Life Pages Kit from here on out.  Here I typed my journaling and then tucked the label under the photo.  I used my Grid Paper Labels with green stamped ink.

 Here I used a cute photo I made using the Diptic app on my iPhone.  Josey has quite the way with little kittens.  She lulled this one to sleep in no time.  I used lots of stickers and a small manila tag + some stamps from the September kit.

 Jordan got her license so I taped it to a photo of her slinging mud in the Gator.  Heaven help us.

 Here I typed my journaling on a Life Pages card, a little reflection about Summer slipping away.  On the right I used the fun letters with my photo about salad in a jar.

 Lots of scrappy stuff going on here with stitching, stickers, stamps and those fun clips from the September Life Pages kit.  On the right I captured a photo of a locust, or that's what we call them here.  I used another Grid Paper Label with typed journaling and a date stamp.

 I loved piecing together the card on left, below.  Girl x 3 for the girls and their friend, love it.  On the right I made use of leftover stickers and sequins to make a sparkle insert.

 Below, the left card coordinates with a photo of all my garden veggies.  The pencil stamp is from the Gossamer Blue Life Pages Kit from September.

 Inserts for the week.  First up is a 5 x 7 insert with my niece's engagement photo. Finally, a place to put all those single photos you get from wedding invites, school photos, xmas photos, etc.

 On the back side I included the wedding invitation and a bridal shower invitation.  Just slipped them into the page protector, very simple and clean looking.

 The second insert is of the girls having fun on the mud road with the Gator.  I love using little pieces from the GB kits on inserts...it all coordinates with the weekly spread but in a mixy matchy sort of way.

 Lots of stickers to accent my journaling and photos.  I used the A Beautiful Mess app to alter my photo.

The back side of the insert is all about Jordan's camo quilt.  The day we got the fabric in the mail, we cut out all the pieces and she had it sewn together within a day.  That girl gets after it. The bottom left corner has an actual sample of the flannel fabric from the quilt.  

 More September Gossamer Blue kit items for two small inserts.  I love that we captured these photos.  As a collector of old quilts, I'm always sad that I don't know the history of a quilt. Here, we have documented the dates, photos, fabric samples and photos of the other fabrics we used.  A little history in the making.

Okie doke, another week in the books.  I'll be talking soon about devising a plan on getting caught up before the holidays.  I'll share how I caught up 17 weeks worth last year before the holiday season hit.  Many of you, like me, are taking on a December Daily type album.  I like to be all caught up so that I can work on my DD and have fun with it.  Some of you may not be able to get all caught up but hopefully I can share some tips to get you back on track a little.  Stay tuned.  :)

Introducing the Gossamer Blue 2013 December Memories Kit....

Edit:  I've updated this blog post to provide the direct link for the kit + a few more details.  Enjoy!

It's what a lot of us have been waiting for....the Gossamer Blue 2013 December Memories Kit.  The photo below shows the kit in it's entirety.   It's a big one, friends, jam packed full of wonderful holiday supplies to create your own December Daily type album.  

Details:  The kit is up for sale early today to Gossamer Blue subscribers.  Remaining kits will be up for sale tomorrow at 12:00 Noon PST.  The price for the kit is $99.95.  A complete kit description and more details + additional photos of the cut files and printables will be available at the Gossamer Blue site tomorrow. There will be a class for this kit that begins on November 1st.  Kits did sell out last year so I advise not to wait too long if you're interested this year. Kits start shipping on Monday, October 14th.  

This year's December Memories kit comes with a Studio Calico Handbook.  I love red for the holiday season so this one is just right.  It comes with some pages & extra inserts are included too.  Plenty to do a full month of December. I haven't opened all my inserts yet but I believe there are about 32 page protectors in various sizes.

 These are the 12 x 12 papers.  I love each and every one of them.  You get traditional holiday colors with the wonderful aqua color added in.  It's kind of that robin's egg blue which is my favorite color.

 These are my three favorite patterns.  I love, love that floral design because it's so unique.  The other two papers have gold foil accents which are so striking in person.  The kit is full of the gold foil accents, exactly what I was hoping for this year.

 This photo is not stellar but I have to share...there are transparencies and pretty gold and silver translucent papers in the kit.  These are always fun for mini albums.  The bottom one is full of 3 x 4 size  designs that be cut apart for individual inserts..or maybe a 6 x 8 insert, etc.  I'll probably make some pockets of out some, maybe adding holiday confetti in here and there.  Note: I might just be able to hook you up with holiday confetti....I'm working on my Noel Notions for my shop again this year. 

 There are a ton of 3 x 4 and 4 x 6 inserts.  The individual ones you see spread out are designed by our wonderful Gossamer Blue graphic designers.  All have vertical and horizontal orientation, depending on which side you use. The one on the right with the coffee cup, hello!  So cute. What I love about these is that they coordinate with the other kit items so wonderfully.  This entire kit was meticulously hand picked by Lori and it is fantastic, you guys.  If you worry about getting your money's worth....it's worth it.  There is something to be said about one stop shopping and this kit does the trick.  It all coordinates and comes in one box.  Done.  Easy.  Less stress.  That is worth a lot, right? Oh, the bottom 12 x 12 sheets are full of even more journaling cards that you can cut apart.

 See these?  I'm so excited about these cards.  I approached Lori about getting some patterned journaling cards in 3 x4 and 4 x 6 sizes and here they are.  Our graphic designer did a great job with these.  Horizontal and vertical orientation.

We all want plenty of alphabets in our holiday kit, right?  You get 5 total alphabets with this year's December Memories Kit.  Two red, one gold shimmer, one aqua and one chalkboard.  Woohoo!

 Totally photo worthy is this gold shimmer alphabet.  It's going to look stellar with all the gold foil accents.

 Embellishments are plentiful in this kit.  Just take a gander at all of these below.  If I was shopping for kit, all of these would be tossed into my cart.  So much more beautiful in person too.  Some are flat, some are dimensional.  I plan to organize all of my kit products into some fun, vintage boxes so stay tuned for that in an upcoming blog post.

 It's so hard to photograph anything with gold foil so please ignore the weird colors below.  These are some of the accents that I layed out for you to see....so pretty and shiny.  I love the woodland accents of the deer and trees.

 Here's my favorite embellishment package.  Look at that robin's egg blue color...the candy cane...the poinsettias.  So pretty and with such dimension.  I usually try to keep my regular Project Life pages flat but with a mini album, anything goes! You might consider adhering these to the outside of the page protectors so you can feel the dimension.

 I'm a button lover so I was happy to see these two packages.  You get chipboard, regular buttons and lots of fun shapes.  There's even some holiday twine to tie the buttons with....don't leave your buttons naked, okay.

 Have fun packaging up lists and receipts, extra photos,etc with all sorts of cute sacks.  Oh gosh, these are fun.  See that wood veneer?  That's an exclusive for Gossamer Blue.  So excited for that.

 Paperclips just make me happy. I'm loving the deer again + there are more gold foil dots on those chipboard stars.

Totally cruddy photo here below because these were spread out on my countertop with poor lighting.  But a very important factor.....the kit comes with numbers from 1-25.  I know this is a big question with holiday album kits.  You can see at the bottom left, there are lots of other little blank accents where you can finish off the month to 31 if you want to. I will be stitching over these as they're nice and flat.  

These four alphabets all have numbers too so you can easily finish off the numbers with kit contents.  

I worked with Lori and Elle from Elle's Studio to design the stamp set for this year's kit.  Great quality stamps and there a lot of images packed into this set.  My favorite part is the label at the top.  You can stamp one of these right onto a journaling card...or perhaps stamp them onto cardstock ahead of time and trim them out.....then you can fill in the left square with the "DAY #" stamp and add numbers.  In the event section you can write or type your daily activity.  All of the stamps in the row with the star fit into the left square of the label.  A regular office supply date stamp fits into the "DATE" section.  Fun stuff.  

Okay folks, there you have it.  The whole kit and caboodle.  I've shown you the entire kit contents so you know exactly what you'll be receiving when your kit arrives.  You. will. love. it.  You will.  

My plan this year:  I'll be doing a blog post soon in which I explain why I'm doing a separate mini album this year vs having my entire DD in my Project Life album like I did last year.  Just some food for thought.  I plan to make my page inserts in advance as much as possible and then for the rest of the kit, I plan to use the items for my regular Project Life so it will have a little holiday feel also....and the rest of the kit will be used for cards and packaging.  

Be sure to check the Gossamer Blue site out starting tomorrow for updates on the kit, the pricing, how the class will work, etc.  I'm so excited now for December.  I hope you'll join us!

Sharing Urban Autumn from Lily Bee Design

Hello friends, today I have something fun to share. My friend Amy Heller is back in the crafty world and she's got some exciting news.  After taking a break from the design world after her home town  tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, Amy is re-entering the design scene with a brand new line for Lily Bee Design called Urban Autumn.  I was so so thrilled when Amy asked me if I'd like to share in her wonderful news and create some fun projects with her new line. Look for blog posts using Amy's new line from me a little later in October.  

On to the awesome lineup or products.  This new line is so refreshing and fun.  The colors definitely speak Autumn but with a fun twist.  It's like a beautiful sunset, fresh picked Granny Smith apples, pumpkins and old barn wood all combined into one.  The patterns are so fun too with trendy triangles, apples, chevrons, woodgrains, arrows and stylish leaves.  

There are 6 double-sided papers. How fun would a little mini album be with all these designs nestled together?

 Take a look at these 36 double-sided 3 x 4 journaling cards! They'll be perfect for Project Life or for layering onto cards or scrapbook pages.  I love that "so cozy" one and will definitely be using that for a fireside photo.

 Stamps.  Enough said, who doesn't love a fun new stamp set.  I'm particularly loving the chevron leaves and the arrows...and the apples...and the ampersand.

 These wood veneer pieces will be fun to add to my Project Life inserts and cards this Fall.  I'm thinking some watercolor would look great on these.  Or maybe some milk paint that I have in my crafty stash.

 Last but not least there is a set of 6 flair embellishments.  Look at that pink barn wood. I love that one.  I think the ampersand one will be so cute for my Project Life, sandwiched between two photos of the girls.

Congratulations again to Amy for her beautiful new product line & welcome back to the crafty world! Thank you also to Lily Bee Design for sharing your wonderful products with me.  

On another note for today, be sure to check the Gossamer Blue website for the new October products and to check out the gallery projects.  There are some stunners in there this month from the Design Team.