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Happy Saturday! What a terrific week we have had with Monika and The Twinery! We hope you enjoyed all the ideas and found inspiration a-plenty! With another week done, we are just in time for scrapbook! Saturday. Today we have a sketch, a color palette, and a trend alert. Three things to help your pages come alive and come together.

 

SKETCH

This month's sketch comes from Kathy's layout in our gallery. 

I was excited to create my own layout with Kathy's sketch. I knew I could stay pretty true to the basics, but that I would need to put those tilted photos back on the grid (I am not so good with askew!). It came together quickly! I even left the grey and navy as I loved them so much. Hopefully yours will be so fast, too!

If you would like a layered template, all ready for a quick layout, just click here!

 

ROGYBIV

I have been perusing home reno sites this month and saw this color combo 

and knew it needed to be our September color pallette. I love the drenched hues and the bold colors balanced with the soft greys.

Look how great it looks on a layout!

 

TRENDING

This month, there were 6 layouts with doily elements in the Looking Back gallery. Guess that means it's my turn!!

Thank you for stopping by! I hope that you will take a moment to make a layout or three!!

PREPPING FOR A GOOD YEAR day five: birthdays

Funny thing, birthdays. They come once a year. On a specific day. Bringing with it a specific age. (For most, that is. Mine hasn't moved in a long while. Do you think I need to bump up to 35 this year instead of my usual 29? Nigel is going to be 14 which makes me think that 29n needs to become 35b. Oh, how that math is keeping me honest'ish!) Coming once a year means you can count on them (for better or worse), which makes birthdays prime candidates for pre-planned pages!!

This year, if all goes well, we will celebrate 5 in house birthdays. We sometimes travel to family for a birthday or two, but this week is about planning for scheduled events, which means I am going to ignore the potentials, and stick with the for certains.

Let's get starting planning our layouts.

 

COLOR

Each child in our family has a fabric birthday banner. A few years back I was inspired by Pottery Barn's fabric birthday banner, so I made one for each of my girls. Then Nigel asked for one, too, so he didn't feel like a second rate citizen (hahaha! hard to be 6 years older than a princess or two!). Their banners come out every year the night before their birthdays and then stay for the week. Poppy's is purple, Lavender's pink, and Nigel's blue, green, and grey.

Last year, we added a personalized poster for each child. It stood next to their gifts on the table, and now sits atop their shelf in their bedroom. Here are the girls' posters.

You can see that the colors match their banners, which means the color palette for their party decor is well set!

 

DESIGN

My littles still have parties, with 5ish friends that come help celebrate. They have already picked their themes and activities which will help me know what to expect for their layouts. Further, I usually try to get a horizontal group shot, and then vertical individuals of each of the party goers. I will see if I can fit everything on one page, but realize I may have to venture into the two page layout category.

Nigel hasn't done an official party for a couple of years. Instead, he opts to take a friend to the movies. And now that phones have cameras I can get a picture while we are there. (He is much less bothered by my snapping a phone pic than hauling out my big camera.) His layout will just need room for one phone photo which means it will be more square than usual.

Richard's party will be a family affair with dinner, presents, and cake. His photos will include a food shot, a cake shot, and then some present-opening photos. These are the highlights for his birthday. A few years ago, I realized that I wasn't very good at buying him presents, so I began a new tradition of thematic gifts. His presents are small, low-budget, and must fit within the theme. The first was "As Seen On TV." Others have included "Go Go Kitchen Gadgets," "Dinner & a Movie," and the least successful, "Welcome to Hollywood" (which was tooth whitening and sunglasses!). Knowing that the presents play a fun part of the day, I am going to plan for a five photo layout: four presents, and a kids n' dad photo. I will let the food/cake shots be their own layout.

I am not a big center of attention girl, so my party will be a family dinner of grilled steak and seasoned potatoes. With a gluten free brownie for dessert. (Oh, how I miss my baked goods... sigh... ) My gifts are homemade cards and a Yagoot gift card (my froyo of choice). There are only so many Yagoot layouts a girl can make, so my birthday layout will just need room for a picture of the meal and my family.

 

LAYOUTS

The Birthday Person

The first three layouts that I put together will incorporate the subway art and a vertical birthday photo. My kids each have their own books, so I went ahead and made them each the same. Even if they all went in one book, they would be separated by a month each, so that they are the same isn't too crazy, right? I left the layouts relatively plain as the subway art has lots to read and lots of different fonts.

The Birthday Celebrations

Now, we need some birthday celebration layouts! Remembering all the planning details, let's put together some layouts. In order of appearance on the calendar...

And with that, all our birthdays will be recorded on time and in cute ways!! Who knew I had it in me??

 

I hope that you have had a fantastic week. I have appreciated you comments and your input. Hopefully you have gained a new strategy for completing some of those pages that we know we can count on year after year.

Additionally, I have long understood that organization in my home frees my spirit. This week I learned that the same is true of my scrapbooks. Fear of event layouts has a way of weighing down my spirit and causing me to hide from my photos. But with all that we have accomplished this week, I feel fulfilled and ready for all those layouts that I love to make! Please tell me if your experience is the same.

I hope you have a wonderful autumn. Amy will be here tomorrow for some journaling love and Francine will be here Monday to start a new week!! Thank you, dear friends and readers, for stopping by!

PREPPING FOR A GOOD YEAR day four: holidays

Happy day! I am so glad to have you back!! I really appreciate your company this week. I hope that you are having fun thinking about ways to stay ahead of your event photos! I cannot believe that I am going to have a football season captured, 10 school events taken care of, and by the end of today's post, 9 holiday layouts! That's right, today is about the holidays.

Looking to my beloved google calendar, I listed the holidays that we will celebrate this year:

1. Halloween
2. Thanksgiving
3. Christmas
4. Valentine's Day
5. St. Patrick's Day
6. Easter
7. Mother's Day
8. Father's Day
9. Fourth of July

Event photos. Which means I am scared away and therefore fail to properly record. But in prepping for the nine holidays, I set aside my concerns and dove head first into creating some layouts. Because the approach to each layout is unique, we will evaluate their designs one at a time.

I am hoping that there will be lots of crossover for your holiday schedules, too, so perhaps we can both use up the layout ideas!

Let's get started.

1. Halloween

Halloween is a big deal at our house. I have nearly as many Halloween decorations as I do Christmas decorations!! Every year we go trick or treating, and all three of mine will dress up. Because they change their mind on costumes about 6000 times a day for every day in October, I decided to go with a basic Halloween color scheme. To best capture the costumes, the photos will be vertical. I usually try to get the same sort of shot for each costume, so I felt safe going with three similarly sized photos. I also know that a layout with three kids need equal representation lest one feel more beloved than another... For a three vertical photo design, I opened up to my sweet friend and inspiration, Jody Wenke! and found this which seemed perfect! I even opted for a graphic element for my title in honor of Jody's creativity!

2. Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving at our house is a food day. Turkey, potatoes, vegetables, pies, more vegetables, more pies. Every year, I end up with tons more food photos than people! And they tend to be horizontal so that I can get lots of food in each shot. When I was visiting Teka's blog, I found a layout that had a big focal photo. Making it a four photo instead, I now have room for the turkey, the trimmings, the pie, and a place setting. We have repeating decor that is traditional in its colors, so I just followed that palette for my layout.

3. Christmas

A few years ago, I put my camera away for Christmas morning, but now realize I can't remember much about the presents or the morning. So this year, I am going to get a few more shots of the kids and their excitement. Knowing I will have several photos, and knowing that I am not very comfortable with two page layouts, I went looking for a sketch. I found this one at SketchSupport.com. I took a few elements off, but stayed otherwise relatively true to the sketch. I kept it whimsical and light as our morning photos will be in our coordinating pj's!

4. Valentine's Day

When I was peeking at Jody's site, I saw my favorite layout and thought it would make a sweet Valentine's layout. Each year, the girls get a love shirt for the day, and we make homemade Valentines for their class. I figured this page could go either way. Or maybe it will house a picture of them reading the love note that I promise myself every year that I will write. Maybe this will be the year I do!

5. St. Patrick's Day

St. Patty's day at our house is mostly the hat and shirt! We have a giant tall Suessian hat in two tone green. I think it will match these colors well. Thinking that the hat is tall, I left room for a long skinny photo. And I will squeeze a little journaling in there, too. I didn't want it to be too plain, so I added a little subway-art effect on one of the rectangles. Do you like the bit of pizzazz?

6. Easter

I am realizing as I type this, that we dress for our holidays. Halloween costumes, Christmas dresses, Christmas pj's, Valentine's tees, St Patty's tees, and now, Easter dresses. Goodness, I suddenly feel so shallow. Thank heavens for Old Navy and Target so that the budget survives!!

I digress... Nigel is past cute shirts and ties, having moved into the land of white shirts and a dark suit. So I thought this page could focus on the girls. I picked traditional Easter colors, thinking the pastels will allow Lavender to still have pink on her outfit, and Poppy with her purple will fit right in! Again, the photo needs to capture my apparent need to shop and dress, so the photos will be vertical. I had a journaling square, but then wondered how much I would say about their dresses? If necessary, I will add one back in later.

7. Mother's Day

I have talked about my Mother's Day present before--a complaint free trip to the park for mom and kid photos. For this one, we sometimes go in Sunday dress, sometimes come home and change. And if we do that, everyone picks a favorite outfit that allows their personality to shine through, so the colors may be varied. To maximize my chances for success, I prepped with a grey page with elements neither too formal, nor too casual. I could have gone vertical or horizontal on this one (I will have both) so I just picked horizontal for fun! I did round the corners to soften the look. And I made sure to change up the direction of the shadowing so that it didn't have funky in between spacing.

8. Father's Day

We love Father's Day at our house! It means we grill a juicy steak dinner for Richard and he is good to make a big scene when he opens the kids' homemade cards. I wanted a layout that could be flexible for either of these photo ops, both of which would be a horizontal shot.

I didn't have a particular idea in mind for the design, so I went browsing online, and found this layout. I loved the vertical rectangles--they gave the feeling and warmth of a pieced quilt. To maintain that thought, I selected colors and patterns that would feel collected. Curated, if you will. I mimicked the stitching, too, for that added sense of a quilt.

9. Fourth of July

The final holiday layouts is the Fourth of July. We have celebrated our last three years in Utah. So while I don't love traveling that far, chances are, we will be there next year, too. Which means we will go to Day's Market, buy a package of fireworks for the kids, and then head over to the church parking lot to light them. And while I may go vertical for photographs of big (real) fireworks, our parking lot show is more smoke bombs and snappers, making nearly all the photos horizontal. And plentiful. Which meant I could do a repeating grid. Adding in some patriotic colors, and we have ourselves a festive and fun layout!

 

Wow. Who knew that event layouts could be so fun? I had a great time picking out colors and hunting for designs. In fact, I realized as I was making these layouts, that I needn't fear event layouts. They are a terrific excuse to use iconic colors and patterns, and don't need to be any fancier than any other layout I create. I am certain that the lack of storytelling and the multiple photos have been stumbling blocks for me. But in making these 9, I realized that the photos can carry a bulk of the story weight, and that is okay. Just because a holiday photo doesn't come with a particular story, doesn't mean the photos can't be scrapbooked. Nor do I have to pick just one great photo. I can use grids to add lots of photos. Repeating successful strategies isn't boring, it is brilliant! Grids work and they fit my design aesthetic, so they are awesome. 

I hope you will all take an evening to put together your holiday layouts, too. Especially if event layouts have scared you like they did me. I have been scrapbooking for more than 13 years, and putting these layouts together as a group has taught me so much about my perceived deficiencies. I really feel like I made a breakthrough!! Thank you for taking the journey with me!!

Tomorrow will be our final day of our "Prepping for a Good Year" week. I hope you will join me for one last set of ideas and layouts!

Have an incredible day!

 

scrapbook!

For many of us with school age children, this seems to be one of the busiest times of the year. And for those of us with kids in fall sports, our driving/sitting/watching obligations fill the leftover minutes quickly. Despite our hectic calendars (or perhaps because of them?!), our photo pile grows taller and taller. Wooed by the perfect lighting of August evenings, we take lovely summer's end photos. Tasked with school shopping and meet the teacher nights, we take milestone photos. And squeezing in those last minute summer todo items, we document document document. While our pile of photos grows, our time to scrapbook shrinks. 

But do not panic! Soon, the schedule will resume regular programming. And until then, we are here to help you! Today we bring your three challenges to help you put together pages in no time flat! Armed with your photos, and a story to tell, this week we bring you three design starters that we know will be just the nudge your page needs to come together quickly.

 

SKETCH

This month's sketch has room for eight photos! Looking to Erin's Summer Lovin' Gallery layout, Hiking in Bedford, Donna created a template that is perfect for a collection of photos.

Using Donna's sketch, I put together a layout in record time and didn't have to sacrifice any of the photos that I really wanted to include.

Keeping the same orientation, I completely made use of the photo grid, but left out the right side background paper in exchange for some lovely white space. Doing so created some breathing room which allowed for a bigger embellishment, and also more room for journaling--you know how I love my words!!

 

Katie also made great use of Donna's sketch.

Look closely at how Katie rearranged the photos. The shot of Maya in her life jacket takes center stage as it is just a hint bigger than the others.  At first glance, I thought Katie must have sacrificed a photo to get this, but she didn't! There are eight there, just like mine. Isn't it fun to see the difference little changes can make? 

Before we leave Katie's layout, I can't help but notice some other little details. The sunshine is cut out of the red, and the yellow is adhered from behind. Not only does this mean she didn't have to cut and glue each of those tiny little sunshine rays, but it also adds a very current feel, emulating the silhouette trend. And in the center of the sun, behind the button, Katie cut around and around, then pulled the paper forward, allowing for extra contour and depth. Oooh, it's the little details that take a layout from great to fanfreakintastic!

And as always, you are free to right click the sketch up above to save it or if you prefer a layered template, we have one for you, too, that you may download here! Please leave us a comment and a link so that we may see your work of art!

 

ROYGBIV

This month, I fell in love with the colors in Katrina's Summer Lovin' layout, Picture Perfect.

Grey as a color is practical and calm. Blue is harmony and contemplation. Green is hopeful and signifies life and growth. No wonder this layout makes you breathe a bit more deeply and linger a little bit longer.

Here is my color layout.

I know the color element are small, but I love how they shine! And hope that you see that using color doesn't mean using COLOR!

 

TRENDING

This month there was a huge trend in the gallery! Look through these layouts and tell me what they have in common: Vivian, Kathy, Diane, Celeste, Valerie, Christa, Keshet, Donna, and Marie. I'll give you a minute...

...

See it?

...

You guessed it--background graphic elements: grids, graph lines, hexagon outlines, circles, lines, these layouts have them all! Such elements are especially beloved around here as they add a clean graphic nature to a layout without a lot of visual clutter.

I added some lines to a layout and love how it looks!

If you love the look, check out the backside of your patterned paper. Chances are better finding it on the reverse!!

 

There you have it! Three reasons to scrapbook today! Really, I mean it! You will be glad you did, and I can't wait to see your layouts! Soon, please? :)

Summer Trend: Triangles

Coming up with my theme for today I was browsing my favorite inspiration site, Pinterest. I was hugely inspired by the triangles that are popping up everywhere in knit tops, quilts, posters, jewelry, and fabric patterns. Instead of using them as an embellishment I wanted to translate them into a scrapbook page background without being too literal. I have a love affair with stripes and wanted to merge the two. Instead of using stripes as a background I would translate them to long acute isosceles triangles:

 

Details

For this layout I wanted to use bright bold colors to represent my trip to Spain last summer. After I found the perfect papers to represent the trip, I made the triangle background by printing and cutting out a template triangle on printer paper. Once all my triangles were cut out, I adhered these to a piece of plain 8.5 x 11 cardstock and trimmed 1/4 inch off all sides so I could matte it on a piece of white cardstock. I then stitched around all the edges.

 

Next, I grabbed my photos and arranged them how I liked I realised the colors in my background were a little too bright and competing with the bright colors in my photos. This is where White Spray Mist is your best friend, at least it is mine. :) I gave it a few sprays lightly misting the colors to tone them down a bit. Still I worried (I know I worry too much) the photos would be lost so I popped them up on pop dots to give them that extra oomph they needed.

Because there was so much to look at on this page I wanted to keep the journaling short and sweet. I felt this one sentence pretty much summed up the reason I made this page.

 

Additional Inspiration

If you are still hungry for more triangles here is a layout by the talented Emily Spahn:

A little Blurb from Emily: I fell in love with Teka's page immediately. I knew that I wanted to flip her sketch to have the triangles going vertically, with a little blank space at the bottom for my title.  I had originally planned on creating long, acute triangles like Teka used, but after seeing this image on pinterest, I decided to go with smaller right triangles instead. The most challenging part of this layout?  Having to recall some geometry skills that I hadn't used in years in order to make my triangles the correct width!  So while my final layout looks very little like Teka's page, her fabulous triangles were my original inspiration!

Don't worry digi scrappers we haven't forgotten about you! The talented Marnie Flores made a page with the downloadable template below:

 

Sketch

If you would like to play along, please, be my guest! Here is a sketch for you to use:

If you prefer, you may download a layered template here. If you would link it up in the comments, I would LOVE to see.

scrapbook!

Happy Saturday! Summer is moving along happily with hot dry days in most of the United States. How is your weather? Scorching? rainy? both? No matter your weather outside, I hope your hearts and lives are fair and sunny!

This past week has been a quiet one around here after logging nearly 6000 miles on our car since school got out! With so much time away from home, my scrapbooking time has been very limited. But with such an incredible July gallery, it was easy to put a few layouts together in record time! Please, won't you join me in some quick and inspired layouts?

 

SKETCH

Donna put together a sketch based upon Marie's darling layout.

A nine-photo grid is perfect for those summer events that can't be captured with just one picture. We had a handful of teammates who took the challenge to use the sketch. Look at their great work!

Celeste moved the grid to the center and added polaroid frames which created a strong sense of stability to her layout.

Deb's layout kept the grid to the right, and she added little bits of layers under and over the edges, all in delightful summer hues.

Amy switched out the photos for journaling bits. What a clever way to help you move the story along with different aspects of the story taking center stage as the story unfolds.

I left my version off center as well. I loved the chance to make use of a few of the many sequential photos I seem to take at the water slide. (I didn't think all 32 needed to go on, so I narrowed them down some, but honestly, I could have used all nine photos with just one slide down. Oh, I love my high speed button!)

If you would like to play along with the sketch, please download it here. And then leave us a comment and a link so that we can see your work of art!

 

ROYGBIV

This month, I fell in love with the colors in Diane's layout.

Maybe I was lured in by the hammock, but I really loved the bright vibrant splashes of color. I felt the wood grain added a textural quality that not only grounded the layout, but also added to the organic quality.

Wanting to let the colors shine, I went with a white background. (Oh, that, and I love me my white backgrounds! teehee!)

For this next one, I found a banner that had all the colors (and more!) in one element. Adding a little woodgrain to the title, and some dark teal blue for the journaling, and the same happy sunshine translates in a whole new way.

Oh, how I love color. I  hope this color palette will inspire you, too!

 

TRENDING

This month Alexandra used some chipboard clouds on her layout. Shaped clouds have flown under the trending radar for a few years, but are holding steady as a viable trend. In varying shapes and textures, they add a lighthearted element to your layout.  

 

There you have it! Three reasons to scrapbook today! Really, I mean it! You will be glad you did, and I can't wait to see your layouts! Soon, please? :)

easy summer scrapbooking with a sketch

Two summers ago I did a series of posts on easy summer scrapbooking where I shared ideas on how to scrapbook when you are short on time.  If you'd like to read those posts you can find the first one in the series, here.  So much of what I shared that week is still very pertinent to my life, since I am the mommy of three boys, one of whom is only 3 months old.  I simply don't have as much time to scrapbook as I'd like.  But when you love something as much as I love scrapbooking, you find a way to work around the problems and just get it done! 

Over the course of my three summertime daily posts, I'll share my three favorite ways to get scrapbooking done quickly, starting today with sketches.  I love sketches, and they are my go-to method when coming up with the design part of my layout.  Today I have a new sketch, layout, and a card to share with you.

First-up, the sketch:

Download a digital template of this sketch, here.

Here is the layout I made from the sketch:

Obviously, I made some changes to the photos, and the location of the journaling, but I can honestly say that this layout came together very quickly.  About an hour all together, which is fast for me!

Lastly, I also made a card inspired by this sketch:

I'll be back next month with another idea for scrapbooking when you are short on time.  Until then, if you feel inspired to create something with this sketch, a layout or a card, share it with us in our flickr gallery, or link to it here in the comments.  I'd love to see what you are creating!

scrapbook!

The Everydaily II gallery knocked my socks off with so many incredible pages. I couldn't wait to get in there and start scrapbooking all the ideas.

 

1. MAY SKETCH

This month's sketch comes from Emily Spahn's layout. With its layers and full sized photo, you could use your favorite papers and a favorite uncropped 4x6 and be done in no time.

You may download the layered template here.

 

Here is my layout. I stayed very true to the template. Even in color scheme. Why improve upon perfection, right?

 

 

2. FULL SIZE PHOTO

This month there were several layouts that used uncropped 4x6 photos. I counted 13. How many do you spot? Are you inspired to just grab an already printed photo and start working? I did just that.

 

3. PRINTABLE

What would a month be without a printable to help you scrapbook your daily life? That's right, you can trim these down for journaling cards, use them for mini book covers,or...

  

...use them as notecards as Monika did. Add a bit of washi tape and call it cute.

You may download it here.

 

Here are your three challenges recapped:

Thanks for stopping! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

scrapbook!

 

Oh goodness, what a fantastic baby week! Not only did I get to see all the amazing layouts and projects from our team, but I also got to hold a tiny 5 pound baby, and loved loved loved every minute of it. I am often sad that my tiny baby stage has passed. Was I the only one to shed a tear or two while reminiscing?

(To ward of my sadness, I went ahead and slept through the night and left the house without a need for a diaper or wipes and cheered right back up!!)(Mostly.)

 

I am excited to be back with you for this scrapbook. Saturday! We have three new challenges for you that will hopefully help inspire three new pages for your albums! Back to the gallery we go for inspiration...

 

1. April Sketch

This month, we are going to base our sketch and template upon Celeste's gallery layout. Not only does this template work so well for showcasing multiple photos, but it also seems like a perfect sketch for a card.

And for your scrapbooking pleasure, we have created a layered template for you. Click here!

 

2. Trend Spotting

I often pretend to not care about trends. But that doesn't stop me from noticing them! And Diane's gallery layout uses two hot trends beautifully: hexagons and chevrons. I double dog dare you to use at least one of them on a layout! And if you try putting both on one layout, be sure to measure your proportions carefully! For example, Diane's use of the hexagons is bigger than her use of chevron, and is done is a faint hue, both of which let the patterns add to her page and not take it over.

 

3. April Printable

Monika kindly created a printable for us this month. Gosh, she is just so talented!

If you would like to take home your own copy, you just need to click here!

Look at what a cute layout she made using it!

 

Thank you for stopping by! And because you know I don't issue a challenge I am not wiling to accept, here are my layouts to go with our challenges! I hope they help inspire you to create your own!

1. April Sketch AKA Just Call Me Celeste!

2. Trend Spotting AKA Hexagons and Chevrons Sitting In A Tree

3. April Printable AKA I Love It All, Too!

 

Enjoy your weekend! Here is a challenge reminder (to add to your Pinterest account)!

Thank you, Studio Calico!

Hi! It's Celeste here introducing this week's mini album sponsor, Studio Calico. An amazing kit club that truly raised the bar for kits and design teams, it is quite simply a tour de force. Expanding their brand with products with a signature design and distinctive style, Studio Calico has become a mainstay in our scrapbooking world. We are grateful to them for sending us kits to play with this week!! We are so lucky to have their support!

Studio Calico sent Christa Paustenbaugh, Erin Sweeney, Lisa Kisch and me a lovely box, filled with their February kit called Daydream Believer to create a mini album.

This light and airy kit includes brand new products from Dear Lizzy and Pebbles, beautiful handmade butterflies, and a vintage letter card in a soft and dreamy color palette. Add in the exclusive paper designs from Sassafras and Studio Calico, a frame stamp, and mistable trims from Pink Paislee and you have the making of a gorgeous mini-album. As of press time, you can still purchase this kit here.

I was so excited when the box arrived! I opened it up and just soaked in all the loveliness. Then I began thinking of what I could create with it. Since the colors are quite feminine and charming, I decided to put together a little mini-album about me.

First, up I needed to find an album. I chose this woodgrain journal from Studio Calico as the base of my project.

I knew I wanted to do a little favorites snapshot of my life right now. I saw these iConic Banners from Audrey Neal at Design House Digital and my mini-album idea really began to take shape!

When I make a mini album or even a page really I usually sketch out an idea. I also tend to use a simple formula for my mini-albums repeating the same basic page foundation throughout the album.

I sketched out this formula - the mini-album size was 4x8 so that dictated the shape. I left room on the end so that the rings would be added. I knew I could swap out the journal card and the photo and change the direction of the banner title.

I needed some journaling cards to add a space to write. I chose these Violet Seeds journaling cards by Sara Gleason. The colors and designs went so well with the Studio Calico kit. I arranged eight of them on some Matte Premium Presentation Paper and printed them out at 3.5 inches by 2.75 inches.

Then I did the same with the iConic banners. I layered a piece of patterned paper from Robyn Meierotto's kit Happy Day underneath and added a shadow before I printed to make it look like the title was cut out. I used Gennifer Bursett's Toolbox vol. 2 frames on all of my photos as well then printed them out to size.

Then I simply assembled my pages according to the sketch! Changing the orientation of the pages up as I built them and leaving room on the edge closest to where my rings were going to be for holes. I used my handwriting on each card and added tickets and buttons to the pages for little pops of color. Here are a few of my pages.

For the cover, I had every intention of painting that wood grain and using it as a base. I am horrible with paint and ended up with a gloopy mess. So I decided to cover the front with paper and added a scallop to mimic the scallop on the inside pages. I cut the title font out by hand using the font Blackout like the titles on the inside pages. Then I added a button - something else you find many of in the book and the gorgeous handmade butterfly to the front.

And that's my little mini about me using this gorgeous kit from Studio Calico. Tomorrow we'll see something completely different from Lisa Kisch. Until then keep crafting!

P.S. Audrey Neal has sweetly offered to give one lucky reader a set of these iConic banners from her store to play with. Leave a comment below and you'll be entered to win. The winner will be announced on Saturday. Thanks Audrey!