2020 Project Life: Week 10

For Week 10 in my 2020 Project Life album, I decided to try something a little different. I started with a digital kit that had been sitting on my hard drive collecting virtual dust since last November. The "In Good Company" kit designed by In A Creative Bubble for Feed Your Craft is beautiful and full of sentiments perfect for documenting times with friends and family. And since Week 10 was before the quarantine and there was plenty of togetherness happening in my life, I thought it was a fitting kit to use. Plus, all of the blues and purples matched my photos perfectly. 

The part of this week's process that was a little different from status quo was that instead of just printing the entire kit as-is, I decided to do some work in Photoshop first. I added some of the digital stamps to a few of the cards, added my journaling, and even created a few embellishments using the digital stamps. It's definitely not ground-breaking work here, but for me, it took a level of forethought that I'm rarely capable of achieving. 

Once all of the digital work was complete, I printed out only the cards I knew I'd be using for this spread. Then all that was left to do was trim everything out, and then add my photos, a title, and a few embellishments, just to keep the whole page from looking too flat.

For my title, I chose a set of gold puffy Thickers called Main Squeeze. I liked that the font was a little quirky and different enough from the other fonts on the page to not compete. I also liked that it added a bit of bling to the page.

I chose the 6x12 Cardstock Stickers and the Clear Sticker Book from the Maggie Holmes Heritage collection to complement this kit and used a few here and there to add some interest to the page. 

I also added a few gold staples here and there to bring in a bit more gold and to add some additional texture. One reason I don't typically do purely digital projects is that I like for there to be lots of texture and dimension, and while I know that there are digital products out there that mimic traditional textural bits, it's definitely not the same as actual texture. But by adding a few extra bits on top of a mostly-digital page, I was able to get enough texture and dimension to satisfy myself. Good to know for the future, for sure.

This page came together super fast after the digital work was complete, so I slowed down the video to nearly real-time. That way you can see all of the little details.



See you back here soon, but until then, happy crafting!

*Some of the links above are affiliate links. That means that if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links, a small percentage of that purchase comes back to me. Thank you for helping to support this blog!

2020 Project Life: Week 4

First of all, let me apologize for the tardiness of this post. I had every intention of posting this when the video went live, but life sometimes gets away from me and things fall through the cracks. This is one of those things.

Since I'm being honest, my blog has become a pretty low priority item on my to-do list. I mean, does anyone even read blogs anymore? I know I shouldn't be saying this, and it shouldn't really matter. But when there are a million different things vying for my time and attention, it's hard to justify spending time writing blog posts that no one will read. Okay...enough ranting for now. Back to the subject at hand.

Earlier this week I shared Week Four in my 2020 Project Life album on my YouTube channel and Instagram account. If you don't follow me there, you really should. Both venues get much more of my attention than this blog does...sorry not sorry.

For this spread, I used the digital "Around the House" kit from Feed Your Craft. It's not new, but it was something from my stash that I hadn't used yet, so it was like new to me. The kit was designed by Geralyn Sy of In a Creative Bubble, which generally makes it awesome. I'm a big fan.

Since I purchased the digital kit, I didn't have any stamps or die cuts to use with it, so I decided to grab another little-used item from my stash to make my own embellishments with. I chose the stamp set from Heidi Swapp's Color Fresh collection and chose an assortment of inks that coordinated with the kit. 

I stamped a bunch of the images and phrases from the stamp set onto a sheet of smooth white cardstock, then fussy cut them out and used them like die cuts. Perfect. I added in a few labels from my stash of (mostly) Citrus Twist Kit cut-aparts, and that was pretty much it!

I'm actually really happy with how this page turned out. It was fun to use some out-of-the-ordinary supplies (for me) and to create something minimal, but still beautiful.

You can see all of the details in the process video below.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope to see you back here soon!

My 2020 Creativity Journal

Last year around March, I decided to start documenting my creative journey using a *Happy Memory Keeping Planner. I wanted it to be a place I could turn to when I was feeling uninspired or when I started to feel like I hadn't accomplished enough in my creative life. Essentially, I wanted it to be a celebration of everything I had done throughout the year, all recorded in one place that I could easily reference when I was feeling low.

I often struggle with comparison and the feeling that I don't measure up to those I see on social media, or those who are accomplishing (what feels like) so much more than I am able to. And I don't think I'm alone in this feeling. We all have a tendency to compare ourselves with others, and when all we see of others is what they choose to show us on social media, it can seem like our own lives are pretty miserable in comparison. But of course, we all know this isn't true. 

So I wanted to create a place for me to celebrate my wins, both big and small. It was just for me, which is why I chose not to share it online. I created most of the pages in my free time, usually in front of the TV at night while Jesse was traveling. I had no intention of showing it to anyone else. 

But as I started making plans to do the same thing in 2020, it occurred to me that others might benefit from the idea. Memory planning has become a bit of a trend lately, so I thought perhaps others would like to see my own version of this form of scrapbooking. So I decided to talk about it a bit in my 2020 Plans and Goals video to gauge if there was any interest.

Still I was worried that others might see this as vain, or as a sleazy form of self-promotion. I don't want to seem like I'm shoving my own wins in others' faces or bragging. I'm not. I honestly don't think I have enough wins to be enviable. Remember this started as a way for me to pull myself out of the depression of comparison. 

Ultimately, I (obviously) decided to share my pages and deal with whatever fallout I may receive. There may be times when I feel the need to blur certain parts out, but overall, I want to be as transparent as possible, and REVEALING this part of myself is part of that. 

But I've blathered on enough for one post, so here are the details of this week's spread and my 2020 Creativity Journal in general. I'm using the Memory Planner Templates from Retro Hip Co. as the base of my album. There are lots of different ways you can bind these pages, but I've decided to hole punch each sheet and store them in a *Heidi Swapp Storyline album. I think this will give me the most flexibility as the year goes on.

For Week One, I chose a few supplies from my Feed Your Craft stash. I used the Makers Make digital cards and resized them to fit into my planner. Actually, I had resized them to fit into my Happy Memory Planner, which is a slightly different size from this template, but I made them work. I also used the stamp set from the Makers Make kit, as well as the Aster alpha and number sets and the What Day is It stamp set (no longer available) designed by Brandi Kincaid. 

I also had a little bin of random Dear Lizzy cut-aparts sitting in my cabinet, so I decided to use a few of those as well. Then I grabbed some coordinating washi from my stash and an old texture stamp from Studio Calico, and called it good. 

I hope you've enjoyed seeing this little peak into my Creativity Journal, and I hope it inspired you to celebrate your own wins, whatever they may be. 

Happy Crafting!

*The links above marked with an asterisk (*) are affiliate links. That means that if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links, a small percentage of that purchase comes back to me. Thank you for helping to support this blog!

2019 Project Life: June in Maine, Part 2

When I saw the "You Are So Brave" card in the Clear and Cloudy kit designed by Brandi Kincaid for Feed Your Craft, I knew I had to use it on the spread. This section of my 2019 Project Life album documents a trip Jesse took to Maine with a friend of his. They were there nearly a whole week, saw a couple of Phish shows, then hiked Mount Katahdin.

If you've never heard of Katahdin (I hadn't), it's the mountain at the end (or the beginning) of the Appalachian Trail. It's a steep rocky climb up something like 5,000 feet. It's crazy. And I'm so proud of Jesse for accomplishing this goal of his.

To document this page from his adventure, I used two of the cards from the kit. The "Brave" card, obviously, and a 4x6 card that looks like a topographical map, which I cut in half to make it fit a 3x4 pocket. I also used several pieces from the digital cut apart sheet that comes with the kit, including a tag, some labels, and a couple decorative circles.

To finish off the spread, I also added stamping from two other Feed Your Craft sets. I used the stamp set from the "Summer On My Mind" mini kit designed by Beshka Kueser to add a few sentiments around the page, and the "Head High" stamp set to add "you got this" to the picture of him rock climbing up the mountain.

I also added a few of the All Hearts Puffy Stickers around the spread. I love these things so much! I'm going to need to stock up, since my sheet is nearly gone already!

And that's about it! You can see the whole thing come together in the process video below.

Thanks for watching and happy crafting!

***The links above are affiliate links. That means that if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links, a small percentage of that purchase comes back to me. Thank you for helping to support this blog!***

2019 Project Life: June in Maine for Feed Your Craft

When I saw the new "Clear and Cloudy" kit designed by Brandi Kincaid for Feed Your Craft, I knew I wanted to use it to document Jesse's recent trip to Maine. He traveled there in June with friends to visit Acadia National Park and hike Mount Katahdin. The water/rain theme, as well as the bravery/"do your own thing" vibe of the kit was a perfect match for this section of my album!

I decided to document his trip right in our Project Life album. I could have made a separate mini album, but I thought that we would be more likely to view the PL album in the future. And since it wasn't a trip I actually went on, it seemed easier to just tuck it into the timeline of an existing album.

For today's project, I chose a double-page spread from this section to focus on. I wanted one with lots of water pictures and plenty of space to embellish. I actually had to remove one of the photos on this page, but not to worry; it will make it back in at some point.

Once I had chosen the spread to start with, the whole thing came together really quickly. I added lots of little bits from the cut apart sheet that comes with the kit, stamped a few of the  icons and sentiments from the coordinating stamp set, and that's about it.

Of course, I'll add journaling from Jesse once I'm able to. He's been out of town for work, so after he returns I'll get him to sit down and write out the stories of his trip.

And that's about it! Here's a video of my process so you can see just how quickly everything came together.

Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Crafting!

***The links above are affiliate links. That means that if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links, a small percentage of that purchase comes back to me. Thank you for helping to support this page!***

Feed Your Craft August Unboxing

The August kits are here! You can see all of this month's goodies, plus a few extras, in my unboxing video. All the products mentioned are listed below.

Brandi Kincaid for Feed Your Craft "Clear and Cloudy" Kit
Little Lamm Paper Co. for Feed Your Craft "Everyday Ordinary" Kit
Rainbow Heart Puffy Stickers

Head High Stamp Set
Chin Up Stamp Set

In a Creative Bubble for Feed Your Craft "Local Living" Digital Kit
In a Creative Bubble for Feed Your Craft "City Loving" Stamp Set

Caffeinated Stamp Set
Beshka Kueser for Feed Your Craft "Summer On My Mind" Mini Kit

***The links above are affiliate links. That means that if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links, a small percentage of that purchase comes back to me. Thank you for helping to support this page!***

Traveler's Notebook: Plant Killer for Feed Your Craft

I'm back with another traveler's notebook layout. This one is in a new TN I started just for fun. I'm really loving this format! It's so freeing! And it takes no time at all to put together a spread. You can count on seeing more TN spreads here in the future. 😊

Anyway, back to the spread at hand...

I used the High & Low kit designed by Brandi Kincaid for Feed Your Craft. It was perfect for documenting this story. And amazingly, it's still available in both physical and digital formats. Go get yours now if you haven't already!! (FYI, these are affiliate links 😊)

I used one of the stamps to do some repeat stamping to create my own background. I wanted a light grey ink, but the lightest grey I had was still a bit dark. So I chose to do a second generation stamp to get a lighter impression. I inked the stamp, stamped it once on scratch paper, then stamped it on my background. Easy peasy! And it got just the shade I was hoping for.

I used a couple of the journal cards as layers behind my photo to add some color to the spread, then embellished with some of the printable cut-aparts that come with the kit. So simple! But I really love how this one turned out.

You can watch my full process below:

Happy Crafting!

Can you even believe it?!?!

I am so incredibly excited to be joining this amazing group of women on the Feed Your Craft creative team. I have been a huge fan of Feed Your Craft for years now, so it is truly an honor to get to design for them. You can learn more about the other incredibly talented women on the team here, and be sure to check out the Feed Your Craft shop (affiliate link).