AT MY BEST...: Catch Up

To Do List Update - Winter 2017

10:00 AM

To-Do List Update - Spring 2016

6:50 PM

I seem to keep finding myself in a position where I have something else going on that is eating away at my crafty time.... And the only time I want to craft is to procrastinate from the other things I have going on. Please tell me it isn't just me that is stuck in the cycle?

I have been studying this year and I am getting down to the pointy end of it all. I should be completed just in time for Documenting December to start, and I am sure there will be something else that pops up that eats away at that time again (like work budgets).

Anyway, the last to-do list update I did was back in Summer so it has been a while. I am committed to getting these projects completed so feel the need to keep coming back to this list to try and keep myself on track.

My last post (here) was before we went on our month long holiday this year, where I started a notebook, but just couldn't keep up (and didn't feel up to keeping up with morning sickness all day).

Prior to leaving I worked hard on trying to get the Hawaii Project Life Album from 2014 finished, and got a lot into pockets with relevant cards, but there is still just about all of the journaling left to complete and embellishing.

I have also spent a little bit of time working my way through my 2015 Documenting December (December Daily) album. I want this one finished already! It will be done shortly and I am using small study breaks to get this one off the list.

The latest review has added more items to the list, and seen a few more crossed off:

Vanuatu Smash Album - 2012
USA Capture Album - 2013
USA Route 66 Mini Album - 2013
Hawaii Project Life Album - 2014
Hawaii Instagram Mini Album - 2014
Wedding Planning Smash Album - 2012
Engagement Party Album - 2011
Wedding Album - 2012
December Daily 2015
New Zealand Scrap Album (12x12) - 2016
Hawaii Midori Travellers Notebook - 2016

Completed in the last 18 months:

~~December Daily Album - 2014~~
~~December Daily Album - 2013~~
~~Colour Run Mini Album - 2014 (journal only)~~
~~52 Week Album - 2012~~
~~Bondi Mini Album - 2015~~
~~Hens Day Mini Album - 2012~~
~~Engagement Card folder - 2011~~
~~Wedding Card folder - 2012~~
~~New Zealand Passport Midori Travellers Notebook - 2016~~

I am very seriously thinking that once this baby is born about converting to Project Life. I just don't think that I will have enough room to document with 12x12 like I have been. I can handle 2 albums a year with a few 12x12s in the mix, and the event albums that occur such as Documenting December, but I only have so much room in my house to fill.

Who knows how it will end up! Only time will tell!

Time to crack into the study so that I can get some of these sorted out before the end of another year.

Catch Up

To-Do List Update - Summer 2016

7:30 AM

Catch Up

To-Do List of Unfinished Scrappy Projects - Update #1

6:30 AM

Catch Up

Hens Day Mini Album

6:30 AM

This project..... Lets be honest, there is absolutely no reason why this project took me so long. I have no idea what I was thinking when I started this, but I can say that maybe waiting to get it done was the best thing to happen to me. It has now been completed at a time where I am not over worried about everything. A time where I spend way too long over thinking things. A time where my confidence is high enough to just get one with it and move on. And I love it!

My hens day was back in November of 2012 - nearly 3 years ago now - and the album was purchased and prepared ready for photos back in January of 2013. I had all of the photo ready to go. All I had to do was chose the ones that I wanted to use and pull it all together. Apparently this just didn't happen.

Now that is a bit of a blessing in disguise. While I have forgotten the absolute minor details of the event, all of the memories that exist are the story that I have told with this album. They aren't over run with so much detail that I would have had no room for photos. And finishing a project like this so long after the even also gave the change to relive such a fun day.

The album us made up of 8 chipboard pages, each of which have been covered with the same Teresa Collins paper collection. As there were so many photos that I wanted too keep, I have had to add a few extra 'pages' as I went. This wasn't an easy task as the chipboard pages take up pretty much all of the space on the binders, but I think I have made it work ok.

I found a couple of sticker sets in my stash, which I have no idea what I was really saving them for, but they have now been used on this project and they matched wonderfully. Also the addition of a few enamel dots made for minimal decoration.

To gain the extra space needed, I have inserted shipping tags. These allowed me more photo space, but also more journaling space.

Washi tape was a wonderful addition for this album as it takes up no space dimensionally. It was the perfect accent for each page.

Its hard to see here, but I have also added a square transparency in this gap, just to add a bit more interest to the project. Its all in the details!

There are two different types of shipping tags used on this project. The larger tags sit horizontally and the smaller, darker tags sit vertically. These have had the yellow ribbon tied to the top of them and have primarily been used to journaling only about each location we stopped at on the day.

This page is a really good example of the two tags working together and how they fit into the album. A couple of enamel dots was all it needed to dress up the journaling tag.

There was a lot to write about a couple of the places we visited. The hardest part to working with these dark tags is that they are very thick. This means that they take up a fair bit of room in the album, so I was limited as to how many I could use and where.

The shape of the pages was a bit of fun to play with in getting all of the photos I wanted into the album and positioned in such a way that there wasn't much lost of the photo. This page was a good one where I had a bit of room to play.

I loved the ability to double up these photos, especially the two on the right hand side.

There is another transparency in this gap. I wanted something to add to it so that it wasn't the only place where both full pages had nothing in between and very similar photos on both pages.

This album size gave me the ability to use both 3x2 size photos and 3x4 photos. By adding both sizes, it gives the ability to add some variety into the album, but also highlight a few particular ones that are special to me.

I found a way to include as many photos as possible onto these two pages so as to document one part of the day without needing too much additional space. Again done so with the journaling tag in the centre continuing to tell the story.

It was a super fun day with so many people that I love, and I am so glad that I decided to start this album to remember it by. Looking back at it now, it was one of the best ways to spend my hens day.

One thing that I did do in this album was use the very last page as a way to document all of the relevant information from the day. This has the list of wineries we visited and in what order, who attended the tour during the day, and who came to the dinner at night. This page wont be easily accessible with how full the album is, so I thought this was the best place to make sure that all of the finer details were not forgotten.

I really, really love how this project turned out. It is currently sitting in a prime place in my scrap room (with another mini album that I love). It feels good that I don't keep seeing the cover of this album and thinking its another thing that I really need to finish.... Its now marked off the to-do list!

I hope you have found something inspiring in this project that would entice you to try a mini album for a special even too.

6x12

2014 December Daily - Post #2

7:30 AM

I am back again today with the rest of my 2014 December Daily album. If you are looking for the first part it is here. So lets pick back up from where we left off.... Oh, and there is only 2 months left to Christmas :-)

I love buying new decorations each year, and I have been looking high and low for the perfect nutcrackers to add to my decoration collection. I found the perfect 2 at Macy's online, so I ordered them from America. While they were on their way to me, a gift for a scrappy friend was on its way from back in the opposite direction.... all documented here to remember.

Some days its best to let the photos speak for themselves with little journaling.

It is always good to hide the little things that you still want to document, but not be the focus of the layout either. Such as how I am a control freak and have list upon list to be over organised at this time of year!

This next part was a bit of fun to work out the best way to document. Barry, our elf on the shelf went a little selfie crazy on my iPhone so I knew I needed to keep these somehow, but I also had other things I needed to document for the same day. So I went about adding the flip sleeves to the layout.

The first flip is a 3x2 sleeve part sewn down the left hand side of the page. This covered a kind of freaky looking elf, and the mess that was the last of the present wrapping.

Layered between the 3x2 and the base page was another 6x4 sleeve, with more of the story. The thickness of the 3 sleeves together was no challenge for the trusty sewing machine to get through, so it gives even more of a hidden story... And so much space.

Christmas eve was when I finally checked the online listing for the house that we had just bought, to find that it was listed as sold. I knew I needed a screen shot of this to record for the day... A little bit of an early Christmas present to us. Christmas eve is always a big day/night for us, so I have used a whole double spread to document everything that I needed to.

Christmas day is a big day for us to, being split between lunch with one family and dinner with another, so again it was a lot to document. Another double spread was used to make sure there was enough room... especially to document all of that food!

Now, Boxing day is where all of the fun is with the nieces and nephews. Hearing all of the laughter and joy makes it so wonderful, but this is a HUGE day with heaps to want to remember. Things such as the table decorations and the annual kids photo (as much as there is at least one that isn't interested, I still manage to get it out of them) are important to the day. But there was always going to be more than a double spread to cover it, so I found another way!

I got a 8.5x11 pocket page sleeve and it fitted just nicely. It was enough extra space that I needed, but didn't cover the whole of the next page so that it didn't look like it joined together as one.

By doing it this way, I gave me 6 more spaces for photos, and nothing needed to be covered by flipping sleeves.

After going from not being sure how I would have filled the album space, to having to find ways to add more, I love this album and what it documents. It was so much fun messing around with it, and even though it wasn't finished until mid this year, I am so glad I stuck with it. I will be going again this year, and I really want to add even more of the everyday.

Just on another note, I do purchase a ready done kit each year, but this is not my limitation (I chose not to purchase the album last year and I had already decided this was the one that I wanted to use). If I find anything Christmas related that I think will work, I grab it and add it to my stash. Both years so far I have mixed and matched between the stash and the kit, to find what has worked for the photo in each sleeve. Its paid off so far. Because of this tactic I will do another post close to December to show the kit I am using, but also the additional pieces that I pick up to go with it.

Thanks for checking our my December Daily from 2014. I hope you can join me in doing it all again in 2015.

6x12

2014 December Daily - Post #1

7:00 AM

Now that this album is finally finished, and that we are on the downhill run to Christmas again already, I wanted to give you a bit of a look at how I pulled together last years December Daily album. I have split this over 2 posts so that its not too much in one hit.

I chose to use the 6x12 Teresa Collins gold album (even though this photo doesn't make it look gold at all), and thought that even though I might struggle with the idea of having a bit of extra space compared to the previous years 8.5x11 album, I was wrong. I used every. single. bit.... and some. I explored different ideas for creating more space, and know that I will use some of them this year as I undertake a very different album set up again.

I started out being ok with blank space cards (ones that don't need any altering at all). As I flipped back through later on, I just couldn't leave them with nothing, so a couple of sequins and a piece of washi tape seems to be enough to break them up.

There is a fair bit of journaling in my album (which I didn't realise I did so much of until I look at it now). I love having the ability to print my own photos at home so that I can get any size I need for this project.

I love using tags like these and allowing the ribbon to poke out of the top of the album. I think it makes it look fun :-)

As we celebrate our wedding anniversary during December, I always like to add in different elements to document this a little bit separate from the rest of the month. This year I have used a Teresa Colling memory folder and punched holes in it to match the rest of the album and keep it secured. Its a nice touch too as it gives a different texture that everything being behind plastic.

Elements like chipboard and wood veneers are perfectly suitable for an album like this too. You can see how I have separated it from the rest by making this all about one event.

Documenting items like a Pinterest page for Christmas or other project ideas is a great thing to look back on, but also fills an empty space where needed. If you are anything like me you are on there every couple of days so it wouldn't matter what day it was put on.

Using shaker pockets adds an additional element to the page. These can have a solid back on them so that you can only see them on one page, or be clear to cover two pages and allow you to see through to the next page. Oh, and they are fun :-)

These next couple of photos will show one easy way to make extra space in your album to document you December. This page below looks just like any other page spread. But it has you fooled!

Under both of the 6x4 sleeves on the right hand side is the actual page. I have taken an additional sleeve and cut it up to create individual pockets. These have then been sewn onto the original page. Super easy and you have gained yourself so much more space. To keep these two interesting, I have sewn them on different sides. I'm still not sure if I am happy with this idea, but I think at least it does add something.

The first year I did this I didn't worry too much about what was happening in the world and just focused on our life. This year I felt that I needed to document something that happened and effected so many people - the Sydney siege. Its not a nice topic to want to share, but it made me grateful for so many things, and this I wanted to document. Pulling pictures from the net or screen shots helped to capture this.

Using photos to hide tags behind is a great way of making a card about the photo, and the journaling is just an extra... especially in such a heavily journaled album. The top right 6x4 has a tag behind it and records the Instagram comment that went with the photo. It also adds a bit of ribbon to stick out of the top of the album.

So that is it for this post. The rest of the album is coming up in a few days. Call back for a few more ideas to add to the space you have to document your December daily.

Catch Up

The Color Run - 4x4 Mini Album

10:00 AM

Taking a break from the Delights Retreat layout share, I thought I would share this mini album that I finally completed.

It seemed a bit of a funny idea to complete a whole album based on one event that took a couple of hours of our life, but being something that was so fun and celebrating a friends birthday, I couldn't help myself. The best part of this was that I was able to complete a second album for her for her birthday and do them both at once.

This was the first one of these 4x4 We R Memory Keepers albums that I had completed and I was very happy with it.

The Color Run came to Wollongong for the first time back in 2014 and we figured that it was a good bit of birthday fun. The day was great and the photos turned out amazing. Especially considering they were from an old iPhone camera.

In following on from the 'to do list' and getting it done, all I had left to do was the journaling - in my opinion one of the most important parts of memory keeping. Yet one of the things that we often say we will come back to as we cant think of the right words at the time.

Here is a bit of a look at how it all came together.

I washed the headband (which I used as a watch cover wrapped around my wrist on the day) and have used it around the album to keep as memorabilia. This way I didn't have to find a way to incorporate it into the album, nor feel the need to add something to the cover.

I chose to use the Australian spelling of Colour on the cover, even though the event is the American spelling - Color - as seen in the background photo.

Using the 2x2 pockets was a bit of a challenge, but once I found an easy way to print them to size, they came together pretty easily.

When I pieced the albums together I tried to make sure that I kept a good amount of journal space. It turns out that, like life, I had more to say than I realised, so was looking for a bit more space, which a design decision at the start made possible to find easily, as you will see a bit later in the album.

The embellishing on the photos has been kept simple. This was a decision that I made at the start and stuck to as the album progressed. I selected the enamel shapes and the sticker packet at the beginning and didn't stray from it, which I think made the process simpler in the end.

I knew when I put the ampersand card into the album that it would buy me a but of extra journal space where needed. Lucky as I used every bit of space. If there was only a small amount of journaling required I would have written it inside the ampersand.

I love how these photos came out, highlighting the bright combination of colours, and how covered we were from the 5km course.

Using plan cards to mount photos on also gives additional journal space.

The left hand card was the only other card placed specifically for journaling in this album. By the time I got to the end of that space, I knew there was still more I needed to tell, so again with the use of a fairly plain card, I was able to use the space to finish the story without having try and add more cards.

So there is a glimpse at the first 4x4 album that I have completed. I loved the process so much, that I have another 4 of these albums ready to go. 2 of these will be holiday albums and the other will just sit in the stash for a bit now. I know that it will be used the moment a project comes up. These albums took me a little bit out of my comfort zone, but not enough to scare me away and I love that I have so many more idea from this one, and have used it to learn what I like and don't like. I will continue to learn from these and experiment with ideas!

And the added bonus of something else off the 'to do list' complete.

AT MY BEST...

To Do List Update - Winter 2017

To-Do List Update - Spring 2016

To-Do List Update - Summer 2016

To-Do List of Unfinished Scrappy Projects - Update #1

Hens Day Mini Album

2014 December Daily - Post #2

2014 December Daily - Post #1

The Color Run - 4x4 Mini Album

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