Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Traveler's Notebook: March 2018

Today I have another spread in my 2018 traveler's notebook insert. If you missed the previous month's spreads, you can find them here and here.

For March, I wanted to document my new favorite toy. After years of searching for a vintage model, I finally broke down and purchased a WRMK Typecast. The red model was just too beautiful to resist.



I used a bunch of old stash for this spread. Basically I just started searching for anything with a typewriter on it or with typewritten print, and these were the first things I came across.



I also used a Kelly Purkey stamp from one of last year's kits (no longer available), and of course, my favorite Elle's Studio Dated Stamp.



Even though I started without having any clue where this spread was going, I'm really happy with the way it turned out. You can see my entire process below.



Happy Crafting!

Friday, June 8, 2018

"Stay Wild"

When I got the May Citrus Twist Kits Pocket Life Kit, I had no idea how I was going to use some of the papers that were included. The Wild Heart collection from Crate Paper is beautiful, but it's not really my jam. We don't have a lot of tropical scenery here in Indiana.

So I went through my stack of printed photos to see if I could find anything from our past trips to Florida or other vacations that I hadn't already scrapbooked. Instead I found this photo of Jesse and I from one of our very first trips to our favorite Indiana State Park, Turkey Run. It's not exactly tropical. I don't even think it was taken in summer. But it worked.


The page came together through just playing around and seeing what I liked. I didn't really have a plan, just a pile of papers and embellishments and some time to play.



I won't say it's my favorite layout ever. It's pretty simple and not terribly creative, but I do like the way it turned out.



You can see my entire process below:




Happy Crafting!

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

2018 Project Life: Week 20

I'm back after a little break for life stuff to share my week 20 spread!

The last few weeks have been crazy around here. There's so much going on! Ultimately, it was all just too much and something had to give, so I decided to step away from the blog and Youtube channel for a week to give myself a little extra time. Hopefully everything will be back to our normal amount of busy going forward!

You may have noticed that I skipped Week 19. That was the week of Week in the Life, and I don't want to finish that week in my Project Life album until I've finished my Week in the Life album. I'm giving myself lots of time with it and trying to make it fun and interesting instead of just another chore to get done, so it may take me a little while to complete it...and that's okay. So I'm moving on to Week 20 in PL and giving myself grace.


Week 20 was definitely one of the busy, though not the busiest of recent weeks. I find that I tend to take fewer photos during weeks where there's a lot going on. I guess I'm too busy living life to remember to document it.


But I think this also has a lot to do with mindfulness, or a lack thereof. I'm not very good at staying in the moment and truly enjoying things as they're happening. I'm usually too busy thinking about what's coming up next or worrying about the other things on my to-do list. I'm sure we're all guilty of this. 

I think it takes practice to over come it. We have to actively practice being mindful, which can be really hard to do. I started reading a book on mindfulness earlier this year, but ironically, things got busy, and I didn't have the time to devote to the exercises it required. 


I need to pick that book up again, and when I do (and can remember the name), I'll be sure to share it here. It helped a lot at the time, especially in dealing with the loss of our dog, Foster. I'm still grieving for him, but the book helped me deal with the sad memories as they came without allowing that sadness to overtake my entire day. 


I definitely need more mindfulness practice in my life. I've also picked up this book and this magazine recently. Now it's just a matter of finding making time for them.

Now that I'm done with that tangent, back to the spread. :) I used a mixture of all of the Citrus Twist Kits Pocket Life Kits that I've received to date for this one, as well as some washi from my stash and this adorable Taco Lover stamp from Chic Tags Planner Addict shop on Etsy. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the way it came out. 

Here's a look at my process: 



Happy Crafting!