Write. Click. Scrapbook.

Flair

Hello! Welcome to the final day in embellishment week. Today I'm going to share ideas for using one of the hottest embellishment in the scrapbooking industry right now...flair! 

Flair is fabulous on layouts, but it can be used for so much more. Let's take a look!

 

Flair on Layouts

Besides the obvious of using flair as a decorative element, why not use it for part of the title in your layout. That is exactly what I did on my layout for the January gallery. Take a look at your word flair and see if you can incorporate a piece into your next title.  

How about using word flair as journaling prompts. I had a full set of flair that I used on one layout to record my current thoughts and activities...all 8 of them on one page. I'm going to enjoy taking a look back at this some day to see how I answered all those prompts.

There are many arrow flair designs and they are fun and easy to use. Try using it to direct your eye to a title, a little detail, or a photo. This flair has the words "one little word" and an arrow which directs the eye to my title and my one little word for the year.

You can use flair for the centers of shapes, just like buttons and brads. Celeste used a piece of flair for the center of her snowflake in this layout.

Use them at the bottom of your photos along with a geometric border, like Celeste did here. I like how it anchors the photo and draws your eye across the page.

Flair on Cards

Flair is perfect for cards too. Create a coordinated set using flair. Here is one card of an entire set I made and posted last year. Did you miss it? Visit this post to see the entire collection of cards I made with flair.

 

Flair in Home Decor

I've used flair in my home decor to. It was the perfect finish touch to this piece of framed subway art that I created using my cutting machine.

 

Flair in Jewelry

Did you ever think to use flair in your jewelry? I have always wanted a charm bracelet with all my "one little words" so I decided to make my own and incorporated a few pieces of "one little word" flair in with the charms. Fun, right?!

 

Flair Giveaway

I hope this has given you some ideas for using flair. Would you like to win some flair? Yes! I thought so. The flair I used for all of my projects is from {a flair for buttons} etsy shop.The owner has generously donated three sets of flair from {a flair for buttons}. One lucky winner will receive the following sets:

My Life Words 2 flair set.

My Life Words 5 flair set.

Tell Your Story 3A flair set.

To be entered in the {a flair for buttons} giveaway leave a comment on this post letting us know your favorite way to document your memories. The comments will remain open until 10pm Eastern Standard Time tonight. One lucky number will be selected at random and posted tomorrow. Please remember it is your responsibility to check and see if you were the lucky number. The lucky number will have until midnight on Saturday to claim your prize by sending us an e-mail at writeclickscrapbook at gmail dot com.

I hope you have found some inspiration for using your embellishments this week. Remember to come back tomorrow to see if you are the giveaway lucky number and for our February gallery reveal.

Buttons and Brads

I don't know what it is about January but I always have a desire to clean and purge items in my home. I enjoy purging my craft room and its purpose is two-fold; (1) it reacquaints me with things that I have forgotten I have but love (2) clears me of things I no longer find inspiring. With that in mind I thought it would be a good opportunity to share some ideas this week on using all those little treasures in your scrapbook space...embellishments!

Today we are going to look at ways to use buttons, brads and all those other small round doodads in your stash!

Let's get started! 

 

Ideas for Buttons

Buttons come in all sorts of colors, shapes, sizes, textures and are made in a variety of materials, like wood. I love them and use them often.

This first layout I used floral shaped button in my title as the dot on the letter "i". A simple but easy technique for using buttons in an interesting way.

I put my buttons to good use on this next layout. I used one as the center of my letter "o" which really dressed it up. I also used a couple buttons to finish the ends of my banner. For the perfect finishing touch, I threaded twine through the buttons holes and tied the twine into a bow.

I love how Celeste strung buttons on twine to make garland. I'm definitely going to try this technique.

On this layout I wanted to make a big impact with my buttons so I lined them all up in a row. If you have a large stash of buttons, this is a wonderful way to use them up. This would be great to try with shapes too, like hearts, stars, circles, etc.

Try filling a shape with buttons that are all the same color. On this layout I filled the sun with yellow buttons in varying sizes and one epoxy button. I like the texture and dimension that it adds to the layout.

Celeste used buttons mixed with circles in a variety of sizes to make a beautiful design that leads your eye from the photo down to the title and journaling.

I think we all agree that buttons are decorative, but they can be functional too. I adhered one to the front of a mini album and used it to wrap twine around for the closure. 

Ideas for Brads

Let's not forget about the ever versatile brad. They come in many colors, sizes, and patterns. They can even be covered in fabric.

Try using brads for the center of tiny flowers cut from patterned paper, like I did here.

Tip: I keep a pair of wire cutters at my craft table and cut the prongs off so I don't have to punch holes in my layout. I use glue dots to adhere the brads down on my layout.

Try opening the prongs of brads flat and adhering it to your layout with them showing, like I did in this layout. Doing this adds a lot of visual interest to the design. There isn't any need to punch a hole in your layout or cut prongs off with this method.

For the final layout I'm sharing today, I placed a fabric brad in the center of one of my letters. The fabric brads and smaller patterned brads are a great way to embellish a page. They add a variety of sizes, color/patterns and dimension.

I hope these ideas have you inspired and anxious to get your supplies out and get scrapbooking.

I'll see you back here tomorrow with some more ideas for other scrapbooking embellishments.

In Review

Hard to believe, but it is the fourth Saturday already. Which means we get to look back at the month and all that we have seen. 

Erin began the month with an honest assessment of Project Life and some terrific suggestions for how to make our 2013 efforts more successful. Amy wrote our journaling column this month, listing three resolutions that she made to improve her journaling this year. (And if Amy needs to improve, the rest of use are in trouble!! heehee!)

Sarah's week kept us all in stitches and helped remind us to let our funny bones show in our albums. Lisa finished the week with her photography article, and several good ideas for improving our self portraits--hopefully inspiring us to get out from behind the lens to be in our own photos.

Next, Diane offered us ideas for getting the men in our lives into our photos and onto our photos. Diane also provided the sketch from our gallery this month, with Marnie adding in a color scheme and a trendalert.

Lastly, Valerie built upon Lisa's suggestions for taking more self portraits by inspiring us to create self-pages. (That's a good term, no? Self pages? I suppose it doesn't matter what we call them as long as we make them, right?)

 

Before the calender turns its page, let's look one more time back at our gallery. The sneaks for next month's gallery are on the Facebook page, which means we are close to a new theme! Speaking of Facebook, if you haven't added us as an interest, please remember to do so. Without it, you won't see all our lovely posts! As a reminder, click open the "like button" so that it opens the drop down menu. From there, you have to choose "add to interests list." If you haven't a particular interest group yet defined, you can do so now (we might suggest "awesome scrapbooking sites"). Remember, once you do this, our posts will show up on your wall. Otherwise, the powers that be at Facebook want us to pay for you to receive our content. And well, that's just silly now.

 

As we walk together through the gallery, let's look for successful and inspirational elements. Things we can use to help make our pages better.

Look how Francine combines a font oft used in sports for a layout filled with soft hues and flowery elements. The juxtaposition is fantastic!

The little elephant in Aliza's title is the perfect example of how her pages are layered with details that need to be discovered by looking at them again and again.

Celeste is the master of shading. No one would ever believe this layout was digital. Never.

Marnie's layout celebrates the happiness of the moment with color, and cheerful elements. All working together to tell the story.

Francine's layout talks about making making the most of the mundane moments, which is brought to life by her use of the bright yellow. Such a little thing to help tell her story so well.

Did you notice all the little bits tucked under the middle of Celeste's layout? Helping to tell the story of her needing notes? Again, using tiny elements to help tell the story.

The new small size of Lisa's layout is awesome! The grey is the perfect backdrop for the red of the flowers, too, helping them pop off the page.

How many of you took photos on 10.10.10 or 11.11.11 or 12.12.12? Let Katie's layout inspire you to get them scrapbooked! And perhaps string up a few sequins like she did. They are so pretty. Clever embellishment idea.

Jenny's layout is a splendid journaling example. Such a tremendous idea! Emily's has a similar theme, listing advice for a former self. Christa focused hers on her 18 year old self. All of them are equally amazing. These are the kind of layouts that you will treasure for years to come. 

Kathy's layout has such a fantastic pairing of stark black and vellum elements. Each makes the other stand out more.

Do you see the same date stamp on Deb's layout as Katie's? While you are looking, notice all the arrows. They are so subtle, yet so effective en masse.

Valerie's layout is so tender. Perhaps made all the moreso by her not having used a photo. It just goes to show that you really don't have to have a photo to create a heartfelt, meaningful layout.

Did you read that Jennie used a photo that sits on her dresser? What terrific inspiration for us to do the same.

All the little wooden elements on Amy's pages help provide a warm coziness to her otherwise bright layout. It brings in the perfect bit of homeyness, especially when paired with the little houses. (And did you see that cute little face on her baby? Mmm!)

The bits of cloud, sky, and butterflies are so perfect for Diane's photo. Have you ever had a photo that so helped to guide your layout??

Christine's layout is filled with loveliness. The airmail edge helps give it the feel of a letter. The backwards staple and the hand drawn arrows give it a personal sense. Which goes well with the personal journaling! Unified layouts have such peaceful balance.

Paula's layout has a funny funny story. If you haven't read it yet, go now. We'll wait... Sweet, no? Have you had something old pop into your head lately? Perhaps the next time you do, you can hurry and make a page like Paula did.

Erin's layout is a reminder to take a moment and write about motherhood. Or something else equally important to you right now. Written with real heartfelt journaling. The kind Amy would be proud of.

Speaking of Amy, her layout begins as a letter to her daughter, but really is a chance for her to express herself. A nice way to let your feelings show.

Kelly's layout is a simple acknowledgment of a lovely characteristic of her daughter. Sometimes pages really can just be so sweet and simple.

Marnie's layout uses a font that is reminiscent of a Sharpie. What a perfect thing for a note one leaves one's self. Sometimes there really is a perfect font for a layout.

Lisa repurposed some old jewelry for her flower embellishment. What a terrific way to maintain a budget and be good to Mother Earth!

Thank you to the collective for some wonderful inspiration this month! And thank you, dear readers, for your loyal visits!

Playing Favorites

Favorites! We all have them: favorite activities, favorite foods, favorite music, favorite books, favorite movies, favorite places, favorite people—the list is nearly never-ending. Favorites are totally painless and so easy to scrap. They are even easy to sing about. Cue music..... Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. Brown paper packages tied up with strings. These are a few of my favorite things.

(You can thank me later if you find yourself randomly singing that song from The Sound of Music later today.) And without further adieu, here's some inspiration from the collective for scrapping your favorites:

Make A List

I challenge you to sit down right now, get a piece of paper and a pen, and write down five to ten of your very favorite things. Take a cute self portrait and make a fun layout. I did just that exact thing yesterday. Here's my result:

And one from Diane

Another from Jennie. I love all the little bits and pieces on this one.

I'm always impressed and inspired by Jennifer's talent in fitting so many photos on a page.

One Favorite Per Page

Lisa shares a favorite place.

And Amy has one too.
 

Celeste shares her love for coffee.

Jennifer made a layout about her favorite television show.

And Christine shares a favorite activity.

 

I realized today, in challenging all you lovely blog readers to scrap more of yourself, that you're going get to know the collective over here a lot better this week.

Don't Forget About Grandpa

Thank you so much for joining me this week as we talk about those manly pages and various ways to design, color and go outside the box with them as well.  It's our final day here and I wanted to make sure there is one important fella we don't forget - Grandpa.  I know for me personally, this is something I wish I had more of for my own grandfathers.  I have only a few photos and just a few stories to go along with them.  I'm trying to change that for my girls and get their grandpas not only in the photos, but also get some stories down for them as well.

My first layout isn't necessarily all about my father-in-law, but the love that my youngest daughter has for her grandpa.  She sees the "job" of being a grandpa as a rather glamorous one and hopes to attain that status some day (shh...don't tell her it's anatomically impossible!)

This next layout I wanted to create to show the connection that my girls' grandpa has with them.  They are so lucky to have 2 grandpas who not only love them, but truly want to be connected with them as they grow up.

Celeste created this layout as an ode to her grandpa and the wonderful person/man that he was.  What a great way to remember him.

I love the detail that Marnie used to create this layout about her daughter's love for her grandpa.  You don't notice it in the larger photo as much, but when she zooms in you can see that her daughter is holding on to her grandpa's hand for the family photo.  I love how Marnie focused on this small detail.

She went on to show another aspect of her daugher's relationship with her grandpa on football game day!  I know her daughter will one day look back and not only appreciate the photo, but also the layout and story behind it.

I think every family has that milestone even when a child surpasses their parents and/or grandparents in height.  I know my own daughter is inching closer and closer to grandma and she's beyond excited about that!  Marnie documents that here when her son surpassed his grandpa in height!

Have you documented your grandpa or your childrens' grandpa lately? 

Thank you so much for joining me this week and I hope you were able to draw some inspiration from the collective's ideas and pages.

And before I go, one last favorite manly line from this year's CHA show.  This one from a company near and dear to my heart, Pebbles and their I Love You More line.

Designing the Manly Way

Hopefully you enjoyed the collective's inspirational manly layouts from yesterday.  Today we're going to tackle the design of those pages we create for the men and boys in our lives.  I find it easy to splash a page with flowers, frills and butterflies for my girls and I on a page, but that isn't an easy decision when tackling the pages about my husband, friends and nephews on a page! However, never fear, there are many, many other options the collective is going to show you today to incorporate in your manly designs!

STARS

Because I'm married to the military, my first go to design element on my pages are stars.  Stars and stripes have been in my daily life for over 16 years now so it's no wonder I tend to gravitate to them!  In this layout I used not only small star elements, but also created a central/large star element in the design for added punch.

Celeste used arrows in this layout as well as simply an accent piece in her digital layout.  The stapled gold star is just the right touch to finish off this layout.

ARROWS

Arrows are a trend that have been around for a while, but seem to be making a big debut again recently. I love them as an accent, as a focal point and as they were originally intended - to point to something.

I used a Silhouette chevron/arrow cut for this layout about my husband taking over as a commander.  I wanted the arrows to be pointing down to the photos, but added a pop of color behind each strip.

Aliza used arrow strips in her layout to point to the photo as well.  I love the leading lines above and below the photo to draw your eye in to what's important-the boys in the photos.

Jennie took it a step further and incorporated not only an arrow embellishment, but arrow paper as well layered with other papers, photos and embellishments.  I also love the small layer of embellishments in the right corner that also incorporates a subtle arrow.

I love how Katie included not only arrow embellishments and papers on her layout, but also threw in a handful of hearts to go with those as well!  It's hard to get hearts on a boy page and I love how she incorporated both on this page.

SHAPES

There are all kinds of shapes, big and small, that can be used on boy and male layouts.  Whether it's a large central element like we've already discussed or repeating patterns, it's a fun way to add color, dimension and punch to a layout.

Amy uses large stitched circles, paired with smaller circles (the sequins) to embellish her layout.  It pairs so well with the layered papers and the photos in her layout.

Christine paired lots of different sizes and colors of circles on her layout.  I love the way the photos are in the center and the circles draw your eye to them.

Celeste went a different route with shapes and incorporated lots and lots of hexagons in her layout.  I love the repeating pattern and different colors she used throughout her layout.  She used the hexagons for not only an embellishment, but to house her title and journaling as well!

Finally, we're bringing it back full circle (slight pun intended!) from the stars we began with and looking at how Valerie incorporated stripes in her layout.  Like the other layouts using repeating shapes, she is repeating her stripes up and down her layout.  What draws you in is the way she uses various colors and patterns behind her already established pattern.  It complements so well.

This new line from My Mind's Eye CHA 2013 would be extremely helpful in getting those designs started for your next layout. 

What are some of your go to design tips and tricks for the layouts about men and boys in your life?

WCS is Getting Masculine Week

That's right, the mama of 2 girls and grew up in a house of girls is taking on masculinity in layouts! Everyone needs a good challenge, right? For some it might be 2 page layouts, for others it might be multi photo layouts, and for me it's bringing some masculinity to pages about the men and boys in my life!

So this week we will be looking at design, color (both masculine and feminine), and how to get those stubborn men and boys into those photos for pages.  The collective have some great examples of all of these topics to include in your pages and cards even.

I've also been scouring the sneaks and photos this week from CHA in Anaheim to look at some fabulous news papers and product lines available for your masculine layouts.

Without further adieu, today I bring you some in general, inspirational layouts about the men and boys we all know and love!

I made it a priority to get the man of our house in more layouts and started with this one:

It's ok to dig out some older photos too and scrap about that time period, or how your life has grown, etc.

I love everything about Jennie's layout about her son and his favorite jam! The stars, the stripes, the tags-awesome layout!

Celeste knows a thing or two about scrapping the men in her life since she is surrounded by them!  As the lone female in her house she has years of male scrapbooking under her belt.  And just FYI you will be seeing A LOT of Celeste this week!

I love this mix of fonts and colors in Amy's layout:

Valerie combined a great large title, paired with a smaller title along the side for her boy layout:

As a child of the 70's, I simply adore the viewmaster embellishment on Aliza's layout!

I think this starts us off in the right direction this week, don't you?!  I'll be back tomorrow with even more manly inspiration for you!

Before heading off today though, here is a look at one of my favorite new lines from Simple Stories - Urban Traveler

write.

I spent some time last week flipping through all of the layouts I made in 2012. Partly this was so I could write my 12 Favorite Layouts of 2012 post for my blog; partly it was to sort them all and get them into albums. Mostly it was to revisit the moments I’d captured on layouts, to see what I missed and what I did well and how I might improve.

One thing I noticed was that while I write a lot of journaling, I write what I think is important from the day, moment, or experience. Which is probably all I can do—write my version of the story, but still, it suddenly feels like my kids’ voices are missing from their layouts.

So I decided to set myself a journaling resolution: Find more ways to include my kids’ words, perspectives, ideas, and thoughts in my scrapbook journaling. To accomplish this resolution I’m going to: 

 

1. Pay better attention and write more stuff down.

I used to be really good at this, when my kids were all little. I kept notebooks everywhere and would jot down the funny things they said or did. As they got older, though, I somehow got out of that habit. So I’m going to work harder at getting back into this habit. Facebook and texting should make this easier, and I’ve just signed up for the Oh Life service, which sends you a daily email prompting you to tell that day’s stories. (Plus, as anyone who knows me knows, it’s not like there’s a shortage of notebooks in my life. I’m sort of addicted to buying them!) Capturing more stories when they are fresh—especially when I can remember the gist of conversations—will help me get closer to telling their stories.

Since I don’t do Project Life, I’ve resolved to make a month-in-review layout for at least one of my children each month, using the details I'll be writing down. Here’s the one I made for Kaleb’s December 2012: 

 

2. Ask my kids to write more journaling.

I’m the first to admit that this is tricky. I have three teenagers and none of them are ever excited about more writing assignments. (My youngest is seven, and he’s happy to play along!) It takes a little bit of patience (or a lot, depending on the kid) and a willingness to be persistent. The payoff is that you get an authentic slice of their personalities. Take this layout: 

I asked my son Nathan to just write down his ten favorite memories of a recent trip we took to Disneyland. Some of what he wrote surprised me (who would’ve thought that falling down in the parking lot would become a favorite memory?) and some of the things he remembered I’d forgotten. But what I love the most about this is how his writing voice sounds so close to the way he talks.

Make it easier for your kids to write their own journaling by:

• Asking them specific, leading questions. "What did you like best about the beach?" is easier to answer than a vague "write something about our Florida vacation" request.
• Getting them to write about something fairly soon after the experience. On the plane or in the car on the way home from a trip is a great time to ask them to jot down a few details.
• Giving them a suggested length. Top ten lists are good, for example, because they’ll know they only have to come up with ten facts. Or, ask for one paragraph or at least eight sentences or a half page.
• Creating fill-in-the-blank surveys.
• Using a format they’re comfortable with. One of my kids has awful handwriting, but he’ll cooperate better if I ask him to send me an email.
• Copying pieces from longer things they’ve written for school or their blogs. Or, if they are journal keepers, ask them if they will share something with you.
• Avoiding questions that can be answered with "yes" or "no." (This is actually for your benefit, because if they can answer in one word, they will, and then you might find yourself getting just the tiniest bit frustrated...not that that’s ever happened to me!)

 

 3.  Find new ways to tell stories.

This layout

was inspired by a flex slip (the little blue paper in the layout) my daughter Haley left in the car one day. The flex slip is a print-out the students at her school get each day with their grades; if they don’t have any F’s they can have a longer lunch or do other activities. I thought it told quite a bit of her life at the time—her class schedule, the names of her teachers, her grades. I tossed in a playlist of songs she’d burned for her car and a few random facts about her activities at the time, and it felt like I captured some of her life.

Putting the layout together made me start to think about how objects tell stories. Of course there’s the ephemera of daily life: what do you find in your son’s pockets when you do the laundry? Under your kids’ beds or in their backpacks? But you can also tell the story of an object, like an outline of where a  favorite pair of shoes was worn, the history of a beloved soccer ball, a catalog of scratches and dents on a bike.

 

Some of the other write. click. scrapbook. members also set some journaling resolutions. Aliza’s explained hers:

One of my recent goals is to document stories about my parents. It's always easy to do layouts about my kids, because they are cute, and funny, and mine, and it's easy for me to tell them how much I love them.  But at some point I realized that I have lots of stories from the generation before me, that are just as important, and just as much a part of me as my children are.

She shared two layouts that illustrate her resolution:

Her resolution made me think about stories I haven't told yet, about my parents and my husband's and about the things I've learned from them.  

Celeste also has a journaling resolution: to forget the who, what, and where and focus more on the why and how, like she does here:

 

Focus more on the why and how: I think that is the perfectly succinct way to state the best path to significant journaling.

So! Tell us: what are your journaling resolutions and how will you accomplish them? I hope you’ll share!

And now, the fun stuff.

That’s right, the fun stuff as in the products we use (or plan to use) in Project Life.

Thanks to recommendations from Christine and Deb, I’ve started using Oh Life. It’s perfect for me! I have it set to email me every night at 8pm. My kids are in bed, the day’s pretty much over, and I can sit down and write about anything memorable that occurred that day.

I love my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher! I bought it shortly after starting Project Life last year and have used it often, both for PL and regular scrapbooking pages.

I often use My Mind’s Eye label stickers like these. They come in many colors and themes. I love Jillibean Soup's Alphabeans. The small font is the perfect size for PL and I would love to get them in almost every color – five down, four to go! And I can’t forget Ormolu and Martha Stewart file folder labels.

My week 18:

 

Deb recommends the Uni-ball Signo 207 gel pen. She loves them so much I had to try them for myself. And she’s right. They’re great. I picked up the micro and bold and should’ve gotten the medium while I was at it.  I mentioned Deb’s template yesterday, and here is a direct link to the template for you to download.

Deb’s weekly spreads using Studio Calico's Project Life kit:

 

Lisa likes Marcy Penner's weekday printables, the For the love of: conversation digital kit, and Crystal Wilkerson's color combo #4 card set. You can read more of Lisa’s post on her favorite products here.

Lisa’s last pages for PL 2012:

 

Celeste likes these cards by Deena Rutter and these date stamp brushes. You can see more of her favorite products and other tips as well here on her blog.

Celeste’s PL 2013 title page:

 

Christine’s weekly go-to products are BIC Mark-Its,ATG Tape Glider, and Tombow Mono Multi glue.

Christine’s week 23:

 

So we’ve had confessions, to-do plans, great products and inspiration. What more could you want but…more inspiration! Write.click.scrapbook. is on Pinterest. And I’m always adding to my Project Life board, as well. I’ll also be posting my weekly spreads on my blog.

If you’re new to Project Life, you can go here to learn more straight from the creator, Becky Higgins. And you can read more of write.click.scrapbook.’s posts on Project Life here.

If you’re participating in Project Life, we’d love for you to leave a comment with a link to your blog/gallery so we can check them out. I’m excited for Project Life 2013 and I hope you are too!

My plan for Project Life 2013, AKA I will complete this album!

Hey there! I'm back today with my plan for Project Life in 2013.  After I figured out what didn’t work in 2012, it was easy to figure out what would make Project Life work better for me in 2013.  Warning: some of these things are really obvious. They’re also things I should’ve done from the beginning with 2012’s album. But I didn’t so I’m making a point of them this year.

• Weekly title cards. I’ve decided I’m going to create one simple title card I like, then replicate it for each week of the year. It'll be easy to tweak each week's card to fit the color scheme.
• Journaling cards. As I mentioned yesterday, I got way caught up in downloading all these super cute journaling cards. I was left with a giant pile of cards I’d printed, plus the cards in the Clementine kit. When it came time to choose my cards it took way too long to pick the ones I wanted to use. This year, I’m going to use the Seafoam core kit (I can’t wait for it to go on sale!) and then supplement it with some carefully chosen journaling cards. There are some cards I printed last year I turned to time and again and between those and the core kit, I should be set.  No more searching for cards.
• The receipts. And notes. And artwork. This stuff was out of control. I keep everything. I was excited to include it in my PL album last year except that I didn’t. I just let it pile up. So this year I’m going to be more careful about what I keep and then instead of throwing it in the file in my kitchen, I’m going to bring it down to my scrapbook area and stick it that week’s page protector so it’s there when I work on that week.
• My handwriting. I haven’t solved this one yet. Hmm, search for a typewriter at garage sales this summer? Until then, I’ve gotten some new pens and I’m hoping they magically improve my penmanship.
• My plethora of pictures. There’s really nothing I can do about this. I take many, many pictures. I’m always going to want to include them all. That’s what inserts are for, right?
• Use stamps. I've got plenty. I need to use them on my journaling cards.
• Taking notes/writing down quotes/journaling. I didn’t do a great job of writing things down this year. Combine that with a lack of blogging and it was a disaster when going back and completing weeks. This year I’m carrying a notebook, leaving one out in the kitchen and in my bedroom as well as on my scrapbook desk. I’m also journaling about my day each night (more on that tomorrow). My memory is not great, and while most of the time I can see a picture and remember what we did, I’ve come across too many where I couldn’t and I don’t want that to happen in 2013. I plan to include my children and husband more, too.
• Keep it simple. Stop trying to make it someone else’s style. My kids don’t care, they just want to see stories + pictures. That’s all.
• Keep up with it. This one is obvious but it’s also obvious I failed at it. I need to make a point to sit down each Sunday and work on my album.

So that’s my plan for 2013. Nothing earth-shattering, but hopefully keeping it simple will work for me. We’ve got a few Project Lifers on the WCS team. I asked them to share a few tips about what has worked for them with Project Life.

 

Celeste

“1. Use stock photography when you don't have a photo. I used movie posters for each movie we went to see in 2012

2. I did PL digitally in 2012. I already started prefilling the weeks for 2013 making a title card and adding a journal card and some filler cards. So I'm at week five. I'd like to do a couple each week to stay ahead.

3. I could not live without Valorie Wibbens stitched pockets. Also, I hope Emily Merritt makes her highlight of the week cards again for 2013! I bought a lot of In A Creative Bubble cards last year too!”

I love how Celeste uses the movie posters!

You can check out more of Celeste’s Project Life pages here.

 

Deb

“1. Printing photos. I purchased an Epson Artisan 837 and started printing my photos at home. I like that when I work on my layouts I can choose the photos, print and keep going rather than having to wait a few days to get the pics back. Before I had the printer, I would order prints every two or three weeks. Once I knew which pics I was using I would write out my journaling so that by the time the prints arrived, I was done except for sliding in the photos.

2. Get your kids involved. I haven't done this too often, but I'm hoping I'll talk my boys into participating a little more.

3. Use a template.  I sometimes print it out and jot down notes about which photo will go where so I'll know how many to print, where they're going and what size I need. The boxes aren't to scale because I made it to fit on a letter size sheet of paper. “

(You can find Deb’s template here, just right-click and save it.)

You can find more of Deb’s Project Life pages here.

 

Lisa

“One big thing I have taken away from this (my first PL year) is that this is my go to way to memory keep from now on. I will do layouts when I have a longer story that I want to record and whenever I just feel like it :) but the PL albums are the ones I will work in mainly in 2013. I am also pondering on just adding the layouts into the album also. “

Lisa wrote an awesome post about all the things she recorded in her PL album in 2012. If this doesn’t inspire you to do Project Life, I don’t know what will!  Check this out!

You can find more of Lisa’s Project Life pages here.

 

Christine

“My biggest learning from doing Project Life is to be flexible. I had all these rules that I made up in my mind and it made keeping up with Project Life really difficult. It doesn't have to be a 2-page spread every week. It doesn't have to be weekly. It doesn't have to be just pocket scrapbooking. I started integrating regular layouts right next to Project Life pockets. And also, do it your own way. I felt the pressure to get really scrappy, rather than try to keep it simple, when I saw what other people were doing. You should really just do it how you really like it, how it fits your style, rather than feel pressured to scrap how you see other people doing it. Because trying to do it other people's way is really hard for a whole year!”

You can find more of Christine’s Project Life pages here.

 

So there you go. A really long post chock full of tips and ideas for Project Life! Come back tomorrow for more weekly spreads from all of us as well as some of our favorite products to use in Project Life.