Project Life 2014 - Week 6

I can honestly say that this has been my favourite Project Life layout to work on for 2014. I love the kit, the colours, how easy it came together, the way the lettering 'pops', the patterns on the cards, pretty much everything about it makes me smile.

I was lucky enough and ever so grateful to receive some of the Azure core kit in my goodie bag at Camp.Paper.Scissors and fell in love with it immediately, so obviously I was quick to use it and get it into a spread.

There were a few discussions at camp about whether or not we like to use our own handwriting on our layouts. I've always preferred to type my journaling as I like things consistent and neat (yes a little OCD). However, as my youngest was busy playing on my iMac, I decided I would step out of my comfort zone and handwrite on a few cards. Not so bad, I coped lol!

I was a little short on photos for this week but found I had plenty of other fun things to use. My eldest, being such a sweet soul, gave me a feather... That went in. We had been watching The Block and he had made a funny comment about carpenters... That went in. A hilarious little guy on YouTube made me laugh with his message to Mums... That went in. A Facebook status about an unwanted visit from a pesky rodent... That went in too. I find there are always ways to fill the pockets even if I haven't been snap happy during the week. You just have to think outside of the box ;)

Anywho, I'm off to catch up on some blog reading and snuggle in my cosy bed while watching some Real Housewives...

Sweet dreams guys :)

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Project Life 2014 - Week 3

I am all snuggled in my bed with a nice cuppa. I have my Dusk aromatherapy candle burning next to me with the beautiful scent of lavender and rose calming me and helping me relax while I work on my blog. It's been a busy few weeks and sometimes an early Sunday night in bed chilling is exactly what helps me recharge my batteries for another week.
I have been quite surprised with how much Project Life I have actually managed to do considering my days have been so full. I have been working on it a little each day, 10 minutes here, half hour or so there, whenever I get a spare moment at night and the kids are in bed. It's my 'down time' and I so look forward to it; makes my heart happy.
So here's my week 3 layout that I completed last week.

I used my Copper Mountain Studio Calico Project Life kit which matched perfectly with this week's photos. You can check out the link for it here...

I threw in a few other bits and bobs from my stash along with some digital elements to jazz up the photos.

I used my trusty Close To My Heart Flip Flaps on the right hand side page. One in the 4x6 size and the smaller one was a 2x2 to cover a small note and some journaling that was a little personal about a rough day I had. I purchase mine from the lovely Petra Corcoran and you can find the link to her Close To My Heart page here.

Now this candle is starting to make me sleepy so best I keep this short and sweet and say goodnight. I hope you all have a fab week and get some of your own 'me' time.

Nighty night peeps :)

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Project Life 2014 - Week 2

I have finally gotten the chance to blog my week 2 of Project Life. It's been a little hectic here with school starting back last week for my 8 year old and catching up on my 'to do list' that had been pushed aside while the school holidays were upon us. But now I'm finding my swing again and settling back into routine. My Mr 3 has been happily playing with his trains and constructing, deconstructing and then reconstructing his tracks (what would I do without his train sets lol). So it's given me a quick minute today to do some blogging WHOO HOO! Or should I say CHOO CHOO hahahahaha! Okay, my sense of humour is a bit warped today from this Melbourne heat ;-)
Now while I'm about to go and run out the door for school pick-up, I thought I'd at least start this post and share how I've been going with the new Project Life album.

For this layout I used my Copper Mountain Studio Calico kit which I absolutely adore. I know I keep saying that I love these kits but I honestly just can't rave about them enough. The matching embellishments included are so cute and make putting my weekly layouts together so simple. I've found now that with my subscription that there seems to be more included than when I first initially joined. Now it could just be me but I'm sure others subscribers would agree with me on that.

I also used my diecut 'Week' words that will be available again in my store real soon. I am planning on having more embellishing goodness available to purchase in the next few weeks when I reopen my store. I have been sketching, making and playing with some ideas that will be perfect for your Project Life pages... So watch this space peeps! ;-)
Don't forget to hop onto my Simply Bella Facebook page and 'like' it so you can keep up to date with my store opening and posts of all things Simply Bella.
Thanks for taking a look peeps and hope you all have a great scrappy day! :)

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Project Life 2014 - Week 1

What a wonderful start we had to the first week of 2014.  I can already feel that this year is going to be an amazing one...  You know how you can just feel a shift in energy?  Last year wasn't so pleasant, with lots of ups and plenty of downs.  So this year, I can sense a big change in the air, very different to how last year began.  I am so glad that 2014 has started in such a fun and positive way, a sign of great things to come I believe.

I started my Week 1 from midnight of 2014.  We stayed at home this year, having a very quiet and relaxing New Year's Eve.  What a great night it turned out to be...  Lots of chatting, laughing, singing and music...  Oh and not to mention quite a bit of alcohol consumption LOL ;)  We had a wonderful fireworks display that could be viewed from our backyard and we even got the telescope out to check out the beautiful moon and gorgeous stars.

We took a road trip on the weekend to visit close family friends and had such a lovely time.  It got a bit stressful at the beach as there was a sudden weather change and it started blowing a gale so my youngest didn't deal too well with sand being blown in his face (neither did I for that matter) LOL.  It was nothing a little ice cream couldn't fix.

For the layout of Week 1 I used some of my Studio Calico kits, mixing it up with Blue Note and Cuppa.  I'm sticking with this subscription again this year as I really do love them.  I've been really pleased with each kit I have received.  It has actually stopped me from impulse buying when I am trying to declutter my stash.

So, now I am about to start working on my Week 2 and 3, which I will post about later in the week.  I'm also playing with my One Little Word (lots of thinking involved with that one) and my Move More, Eat Well, Jumpstart class (that one was a little bit of a struggle last week and got slightly neglected).

Are you working on a few projects at once?  I would love to hear how you juggle them.

Happy Monday peeps :)
xox 

Project Life 2014 - Cover page

  

Yay, it's here!  2014 and a fresh start, new Project Life pages and another chance to document our adventures.  It's always refreshing to start the new yearly album as I always feel motivated by new beginnings.

I kept it simple for my cover page for Project Life 2014.  I think I'm pulling back on embellishing a little and not sure why, that's usually not my style.  Maybe it's because I want the photos to stand out a little more.

I'm also going to add some flip-flaps to two of the 3"x4" photos with stats on each family member.  These will include age, height, likes, dislikes, etc.  I've seen this done on other pages and I think it's a fantastic idea to see how we change each year.

To keep track of my weeks I am using this simple template that you can find here.

Hope you are all as excited to start your new Project Life albums for 2014 as I am and I can't wait to hear how you are going with them.  Have you changed your approach?  Are you trying a different style?  Will you do it weekly or monthly?

Cheerio peeps and happy 2014 PL-ing!

xox

Project Life 2013 - Week 28

I never did get to finish my Project Life 2013 album.  I intended to have it completed before the year's end but it didn't quite happen.  I thought I would be disappointed that it sat unfinished, looking at me while I started to work on my 2014...  But to be quite frank, I'm actually okay with it.  I really don't mind that it's STILL sitting there looking at me, getting completed when I have the time and urge to work on it.

I think the reason that I'm so content with this is because I still get to flick through it and remember what fun adventures I had last year.  This makes me smile.  I've needed to remember those times recently.  I've needed to reflect on the important things and be truly grateful for how lucky I am.  I've needed to look at those two gorgeous faces that I created and feel blessed that they're mine.  I've needed to have this album still in progress, out on my desk, staring back at me, helping me to focus on the positive and how wonderful life is.

So I will continue to keep it out on my desk, along with my 2014 layouts.  I will keep plodding along with the weeks I haven't finished and I will keep smiling as I flick through my pages.  This is why I do this.  Not only to document for my boys and future generations, but also to help me remember... As sometimes I tend to forget how truly blessed I am.

Missing but still in action...

Where have I been lately?  What's been going on?  Why haven't I blogged or updated my Facebook page as often as I normally do.  My apologies peeps, please let me explain..

Firstly, I have been spending some much needed quality time with my boys, trying to be the best Mummy I can be, enjoying these holidays that are upon us and taking some time out for myself.  I have needed to focus on some new challenges that we are facing so taking a break from everything, including social media, has been exactly what I have needed to ground myself, do some soul searching and gather my thoughts.

Let it be known that I haven't stopped my memory keeping adventures.  I have still been documenting, taking photos and journaling.  That has been a MUST for me to ensure I keep what sanity I still have LOL.

I have started my Project Life for 2014.  I am also taking part in Cathy Zielske's Move More, Eat Well, Jumpstart class and let me tell you, I am absolutely loving it!  I am again giving Ali Edward's One Little Word a shot and am much more determined and attached to my word this year, which I will write more about this in an upcoming post soon.  I am endeavoring to blog all about these projects over the next few weeks.

For now I am just going to continue enjoying the school holidays with my little ones, this awesome summer weather we're having and giving myself some attention and 'permission' to relax.

I am excited about 2014 and what this year is going to be about for me and my family with so many things to look forward to and embrace.  I can't wait to share my creative adventures with you all again this year and would like to thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for following, reading and commenting.

I'll leave you with a photo I recently seen on Facebook that I adore...  Exactly how I feel about 2014.

Happy 2014 peeps :)
xox

Project Life 2013 - Week 27

Short and sweet with this post...  I'm wanting to get out and enjoy that beautiful sunshine that Melbourne has been blessed with today.  Isn't it funny how your mood always lifts when there's a little Vitamin D to be taken in?  Well, mine does anyway and I'm planning on taking full advantage of it today :)

My week 26 was so much fun to work on, I think it was because I allowed myself to just go with the flow and not limit myself with particular kits or colours.  As you can see, I used bits and pieces from lots of different kits and amazingly enough, they all work together SO well.  I'm not going to list them all as I'll be here all day, but if you would like to know about something specific, please don't hesitate to leave me a comment and I would happy to give you details.

I love the simplicity of typing text onto my photos before printing, especially when it's a week where I have lots of journaling.  I'm finding myself leaving lots of 'white space' for this when I take my photos now and I can always crop them down if I decide not to journal.

I have absolutely and utterly fallen in love with the Flip-Flaps from Close To My Heart.  The beautiful and always inspiring Petra Corcoran introduced me to them (in the past I have just made my own) but these are so convenient and come in a range of different sizes.  Sure beats getting the sewing machine out LOL!  They are especially good if you have a photo heavy week or even want to hide some personal journaling.  If you would like to order some, I'm sure that lovely Petra would be happy to help you out...  You can contact her here.

I also have to add that I finally got to spend some time on my December Daily Foundation pages last night and am planning on doing some more again tonight.  I can't wait to share some photos with you over the next day or two.

Until then, happy creating! :)

xo

Project Life 2013 - Week 44

This week I am pushing myself and feeling under the pump to smash out some more Project Life layouts and get my December Daily album in order before Sunday.  Can you believe it has come around this quickly?  Does anyone have one of those remotes handy from the Adam Sandler movie Click?  I would love a 'pause' button right now LOL ;)  Not to mention all the organising of my Elf On The Shelf ideas and getting our little friend Jack out from hiding (so very excited to have some fun with him again).  I just keep telling myself to 'breathe' and that 'I can do this'... Let's see how far these affirmations get me!  If not, I'm going on the hunt for a Click remote, so sing out if anyone knows where I can purchase one!  Hehehehe ;)

So here it is, my Week 44 of Project Life using the gorgeous Cut & Paste kit from Amy Tangerine. I am still working backwards and forwards from where I lost track so that I can meet in the middle somewhere soon.  Working in this 'no order' kind of manner is suiting me quite well at this stage and continuing to keep me motivated.

I had fun with some of my stash for this week's title card, using some old Kaisercraft self-adhesive Fozz Felt.  Man was that stuff sticky!!!  It took me quite a bit of time to get all of the backing off but once I did it wasn't all that difficult to place on the insert and stick down.

I used a little more of it on the garden photo in the top right corner here, just to add some cohesion across the layout.  I also went back to printing my journaling for this week; time was the main reason for this as I always find it quicker to type and print than handwrite.

I am having so much fun playing with my wooden veneers and this little Halloween skeleton was perfect for this week.  He was a little delicate to stick down but nothing my good old friend Glossy Accents couldn't help out with.

So there you have it, another week complete and another quick post finished.  Now I am going to have some fun with December Daily stash and get this album in some sort of order before Sunday...  Wish me luck peeps and I'll be back soon to give you an update on how I'm going with it all.

Keep smilin' :)
xo

Project Life 2013 - Week 43

Wow, what a week it's been! Crazy busy and lots of things crossed off my 'to do' list, which has given me a great sense of satisfaction. Getting on top of things before Christmas is a major priority for me at the moment and my Project Life is a big part of that.

I have decided to work backwards with my weeks to keep me motivated. I am now on week 43 and then have set myself the goal of completing at least 2 other weeks so that by the year's end I will be finished and up-to-date. It has actually given me my mojo back and I have been thoroughly enjoying playing with my kits each night when the boys go to bed. Sometimes I get so lost in it all that I don't realise how late it's getting... Watching my favourite shows and Project Life-ing is the best therapy for this busy Mumma; my wind down time.

For week 43 I used my Becky Higgins Midnight kit and used the highly talented Leena Loh from FindingNana as inspiration. I love how clean and fresh her layouts always look and decided to try something a little different than my usual colourful spreads. I also challenged myself to use my own handwriting for my journaling. I only do it on rare occasions, not because I don't like my handwriting, I just find typing onto my journaling cards much quicker. I really need to step out of my comfort zone more often as every time I do I'm always really happy with the result.

The thing I loved the most about this kit was that it's basic colours of black and white really made my photos stand out and my handwritten journaling mesh well into the inserts. I had fun with my gold embossing powders and heat gun too for this layout. I never really emboss much these days, especially in my Project Life, but the Studio Calico stamps looked great stamped and embossed onto my title card. I also did the little gold heart Ono the top right insert titled Everyday Life.

So, wish me luck in my mission to be finished my Project Life by the end of December, all ready to start a fresh in 2014. WOW! Can you believe that? Already we're talking about 2014 Project Life.... That's just insane but my begeesus is that exciting!!!!! Lol A new year of fun and wonderful memory documenting... Bring it on!!!!!

Happy scrappin' :)

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December Daily - Preparation for 2013

Happy first of November peeps!  Yep, that's right... November is upon us ALREADY!!!  Can you hear the sound of Christmas calling?  Have you noticed that all the shops have all their decorations in store and have had for the past few weeks?  The kids are organising their Santa letters and us parents are starting to prep for the silly season.

I truly love this time of year, all the excitement, all the frantic shopping (thank goodness for online buying nowadays) and one of my biggest thrills...  My December Daily album.  If you have never heard of it before, be sure to check where it all began with the lovely and highly talented Ali Edwards here.  She is so inspiring and her tutorial videos and ideas are simply amazing!

I have been doing this Christmas-themed-way-of-documenting-the-month-of-December for the past 3 years now and each year I thoroughly enjoy the whole concept, getting more creative each time I take part.  This year will be no exception however I plan to be totally organised before the month of December hits, as we all know how crazy it can be.

My first steps are to:

• keep a notepad and jot down my ideas
• search pinterest for inspiration, you can find my board link here.
• go through and sort my over flowing stash of Christmas themed goodies
• start cropping and making inserts

I have just downloaded the Ali Edwards December Daily 2013 Overlays & Cards to use in this year's album.  I am so pleased with the colour of them as they are uncannily the exact ones I was hoping to use, green, teal and red.

They will also match perfectly with the album I have chosen to use which is the Stampin' Up! Seasonal Stripes 8"x8" album.  It came complete with 10 page protectors that are in a variety of designs.  I have also been looking at the journaling tags and sticker set that match the album and think I will use them too.  I have my eye on the Sesaon Of Style This & That Journal which I think will be a fun and helpful way to organise all my Christmas lists.

 

So I hope you follow along and keep me motivated on my December Daily preparation journey and enjoy seeing how my album unfolds.  Now I'm off to do some serious stash sorting and get into the 'spirit of Christmas'...  I might even put on some Michael Buble to help me be merry; he's a sure way to make me 'whistle while I work' lol ;-)

Happy Friday peeps
xo