My Mind's Eye Blog

Project Life with Shelly- May Edition

Hello everyone! This is Shelly back this month with another installment of Project Life inspiration. Today, I am showing you how to document those holidays with ease using those pocket pages. Once I had the new Kate & Co Oxford Lane Collection in my hands, it just screamed St. Patrick’s Day to me! Those rich colors of green and yellow along with the lovely navy had me pulling out a few of my pictures from our St. Patrick’s Day shenanigans. 


Supplies:Kate and Co-Oxford Lane:Bold Paper, Enjoy Paper, Sticker Accessory Sheet, 6x6 Designer Cardstock Paper pad. Kate & Co. – Cambridge Court: Chipboard Elements, Sticker Accessory Sheet. Other: Becky Higgins Design G page protectors, Becky Higgins White Grind cards, We R Memory Keepers corner chomper, Typewriter

I kept things pretty simple with a few pictures of our day along with scans of my daughter’s signs she left around the house just in case a Leprechaun came to visit us on St. Patrick’s Day. I also included two 3x4 grid cards that had finger art from both of my kids.

So here is how I started it all off…

I started out by setting my pictures over the pockets. That way, I could see where I could put all the pretty stuff. I cut apart the journaling cards from Oxford Lane’s 'Enjoy' patterned paper. I really loved the “Smile” card, so I used that card as my jumping off point.

I wanted to use a 4x6 pocket for the journaling and one for the title card. My plan was to use the diagonal strip for journaling. I wanted to draw the same yellow gingham pattern from the “smile” card to the other side, so I cut a 1-inch strip of the same pattern from the 6x6 paper pad to go on the bottom of the journaling card.

After getting those pieces in place, I realized my page needed a little something else. I added a pop of pink to compliment all of my daughter’s pink she wore. I love how the Cambridge Court Collection’s pink worked perfectly to add that extra pop to pull it all together.

I followed my plan of adding the journaling on diagonal stripes of the B-side from Oxford Lane’s Bold paper. I actually had an incident with a tin can and my thumb. Holding a pen and writing is a challenge for me right now, so I opted for an alternative. I decided to dust off my typewriter that my mom gave me.

I attached the 4x6 card to a sheet of paper, aligned it, and typed away. It is a little messy, but I kind of like the quirkiness. I also added the “Oh So Cute” tab from the Cambridge Court Collection to add that extra pop of pink.

To bring in the pink on the other side, I added the small “fun” circle sticker to the camera. It fit nice and neatly inside the lens.

Keeping with the simple theme, I finished my title card off with one of the speech bubbles from the sticker sheet. Can I say how excited I was when I first saw these on the sticker sheets? They are just perfect for titles, small journaling blurbs, or even fun quotes. I see lots of use coming from these babies!

So have you scrapbooked lately using pocket pages? I would love to see what you have been up to! If you haven’t tried it yet, you should give it a try. I love how easy documenting our family memories are using all of the different pocket pages that are available, yet you can still let your creative side play.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Project Life with Shelly- April Edition

Hello everyone! This is Shelly back with another installment of Project Life inspiration. Today, I am sharing another average week in my family’s life using the beautiful Collectable Collection, but this time with a more masculine feel.

Supplies:Collectable-Remarkable: ‘Day’ Daily Paper, ‘Smile’ Beam Paper, ‘Handsome’ Adorable Paper, ‘Smile’ Label Stickers, ‘Authentic’ Journal Card; Collectable-Memorable: ‘Hello’ Title; Collectable-Unforgettable: ‘You Are’ Tiny Word Stickers;Misc: Becky Higgins Turquoise Kit, Becky Higgins Divided Page Protectors Design A & D, Basic Grey letter stickers, date stamp, black Versafine ink, pen, Bohemian Typewriter font



My inspiration for this week came from the diagonal striped card from the Remarkable ‘Day’ Daily paper. I just love the primary colors that popped from my pictures and that card just said “use me!” It is the perfect card to complement this week’s pictures.

I wanted that same diagonal stripe to be carried to the other side of the spread. So I trimmed my 4x6 picture of my son playing in his sandbox down to 3x4, which made room for that lovely diagonal paper. Not to mention, it covered my mistake of not getting that picture printed with a white border right up too!  You just have to love it when things just work out, right?

To tie all the patterns together, I trimmed a small piece of the same green pattern from the label journaling card and the label sticker with the same diagonal stripe to create a banner on the title card. I finished off the layout by adding a touch more of the turquoise using the tiny word stickers. I find myself reaching for those stickers more and more. They just add that extra little something to my layouts.  

Thanks for stopping by the blog today! I hope you are inspired to use the Collectable Collection in your albums, and I hope you will share what you create with us.

Project Life with Shelly

Hello everyone! This is Shelly back this month with another installment of Project Life inspiration. Today, I am sharing another average week in my family’s life using the beautiful Collectable Memorable Collection to give my pockets that extra pop of fun.


Supplies:Collectable-Memorable :‘Journey’ Journal pattern paper, 6x6 paper pad, ‘I’m With…’enamel dots, ‘Perfect’ chipboard stickers, ‘Perfect’ tiny word stickers, ‘Note’ label stickers, Collectable-Remarkable ‘Day’ Journal pattern paper.;Misc: Becky Higgins Project Life Olive Edition and Pocket Page Protectors Design A & D, Date Stamp, Versafine Ink.

After flipping through my self-cut journal cards that are from the “Journal” pattern papers, that “So happy together” cards jumped right out at me to sit right next to the picture of my son and daughter smiling so big. That is when I decided to roll with the inspiration of that card with the deep aqua, olive, and a pop of that dark pink.

With my pockets filling up fast with pictures and memorabilia, I pulled out one of the cards from the Collectable Remarkable Journal pattern paper. The line itemed days of the week would be perfect for a quick rundown of the week. So how did I print my journaling that was spaced perfectly for that card? Easy!

Like I showed you last month, I use a Microsoft Word document and insert a 4x3 text box. I create a second text box the size of the space that is available for journaling.

This time, I want my spacing to coordinate with each weekly line. I hold up my journaling card to my screen, and use the Zoom in the bottom right corner of my Word Document.

I scale down my sheet until it is the height of my journaling card. Yes, there is a distortion. The height of the text box is the same as my journaling card, but the text box will be wider looking on my screen.

No big deal there. This still works. I type up my journaling, highlight it, right click, go into the paragraph menu, and increase the spacing until it matches my journaling card.

I then print it off and use my light box (or even a window) to verify it did indeed print off correctly.  I can then run it through my printer just like I showed you last month. Perfect! I have a quick rundown of the week. Sometimes it is nice to just let the pictures do the talking.

I did have one story I wanted to tell with just a little more detail. After flipping through the 6x6 paper pad I noticed the diagonal blue and cream stripe. This was perfect after cutting it down to journal on using the diagonal line as a guide. 

To spice up the card a touch, I added the “Recorded” label sticker. This left me with only one little pocket left to fill. I trimmed a 3x4 card from the lovely green swirl pattern paper from same 6x6 paper pad which coordinated perfectly with my dated title card and embellished it.

Once all the cards were filled, I wanted to add a touch more of the pink across my layout. I added a few of the tiny word stickers to the pocket with my daughter’s picture. These I place right on top of the page protector. My picture wasn’t going anywhere else, but that pocket. So that works for me, just in case I ever need to scan or make a second copy of that picture. I then added a few enamel dots to jazz up my dated title card.

So there you have it, another week in the life at the Jaquet household. How many of you are doing the same? Have you used any of the new Collectable Collection goodies in your Project Life album lately? I would love to see!

Project Life with Shelly

Hello everyone! This is Shelly back this month with another installment of Project Life inspiration. Last month, I brought you a quick and easy way to document your Christmas memories. Today, I am sharing one of my Project Life layouts using those fabulous “Journal” papers from the Collectable Collection.

I document our family’s everyday life by taking a picture a day and documenting it on a two page spread. Of course, you can choose to document however you heart desires.

To make things simple, I pulled out each of the four “Journal” papers and started to cut them into 3x4 cards. I also grabbed a few other sticker sheets from the Collectable Collection that would also work great for my layout.

For the first half of the week, I used a couple of the Journal cards and pattern paper from the 6x6 Designer Paper Pads.The smaller scale of those 6x6 sheets is just perfect for the small canvases. 

I love to mix my own handwriting and computer journaling on my cards. I think it is important to include my own handwriting, but sometimes it is really nice to type my journaling to fit more on the card.

I have been asked several times how I print on my journaling cards. I know there are several different tutorials out there explaining how to do it, but here is a quick explanation of how I choose to do it.

I open up my Word Document and insert a text box. The example here is a blank 3x4 card. I make the text box 4” high and 2.75” wide to accommodate some extra breathing room. After typing what I wanted to say up, I saw that I had room to add a stamped image.

After shuffling through my stamps to see what would fit on the card, I found the perfect little “Lovely” banner. I measured it out. Then, inserted another text box the same size as the stamp and slid the “banner box” into place so that I could adjust my journaling.

I print it off on to a sheet of paper to see how it looks over the card. I use temporary adhesive on the card and place it in line with the outline of the card. Hint: make sure you remember to turn the lines of your journaling card in your Word Document to clear so those lines don’t print on your journaling card. Trust me; I’ve done it many times.

Now all you have to do is set your paper down so that it runs through your printer the same way, and you have a typed journaling card ready for stamping and embellishing.

I do have to say my favorite card I used was the “You are the best” card.  There really isn’t anything better than Sunday afternoon enjoying an impromptu lunch with awesome friends after church.

I hope I have inspired you to create with the new Collectable Collection “Journal” papers and maybe even try your hand at typing up your journaling too.

Thank you for stopping by!

Supplies: Collectable-Unforgettable:'Story' Journal patterned paper,decorative stickers,6x6 pad;Collectable-Memorable:'Perfect' stickers,6x6 pad;Collectable-Remarkable:'Beautiful' stamps;Misc:Becky Higgins Project Life Seafoam Edition and Pocket Page Protectors, American Crafts Date Stamp, Hero Arts Shadow Ink.

 

Project Life with Shelly

By now, everyone stopping by has probably heard of Project Life, right? It’s a simplified approach to scrapbooking created by Becky Higgins .

I have been happily dedicated to documenting my everyday family memories this way since 2009. I am very passionate about this approach of recording. It is a great way to document without feeling overwhelmed.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love cutting pretty papers to create traditional layouts. However, this approach has calmed my nerves of never feeling caught up or simply feeling like I have forgotten something.

I am able to pull a layout together in no time about the camping trip we took this past summer, or pull pictures together in no time at all about the little things my son did at the age of 1½, all because it was already written down in my family album of Project Life.

What I truly love about this system is that you can make it whatever you want. I love that you can be as simple as you want or go crazy with creativity.

Today starts a new series where I give you a look into my album and how I use the amazing products that My Mind’s Eye creates for our traditional scrapbook pages in my Project Life album.

Supplies: Winter Wonderland:accessory pad,6x6 paper pad,Tag patterned paper,enamel dots,sticker sheet:Decorative Tapes Collection:Navy and Green, Red and Turquoise;Misc:Becky Higgins’ Project Life divided page protectors, Date Stamp, Black StazOn Ink, Zig colored markers

Okay. Confession time, I can’t be the only one who hasn’t documented their Holiday season celebrations, right?

Now that we are in the aftermath of the crazy holiday storm, I look back at all of the pictures and remember all those memories that happened during the holidays.

I became a little overwhelmed. It is easy to do when you have hundreds of photos staring back at you.. I took a deep breath and began to pick out my very favorite pictures. The ones that tell the story the best.

I can be pretty brutal. Our holiday festivities were in full gear that week prior to Christmas, so I started there.

I pulled those pictures aside and went to town with the Winter Wonderland Collection.

The Winter Wonderland accessories pad is the perfect complement to this approach to document your holiday season.

I was pretty excited when I flipped through the pad and saw this  “to-from” tag. The light bulb went off in my head, and I used it as the title card of my layout.

I mounted it  (with decorative tape)  on the red strip patterned paper that is in the accessories pad too.

I trimmed another tag from that same sheet and mounted that on the red woodgrain paper from the 6x6 paper pad.

The “Tag” paper was next on my "must cut" list. I trimmed down each of the 3x4 cards from the top of that sheet.

One I used here and the others will be used for the week of Christmas. 

The card on the right side of my layout was trimmed down from one of the sheets in the accessories pad. I love that it had the top border built right in.

Then I trimmed a sheet of the diagonal stripe from the 6x6 paper pad down to 4x6 and added small shots of Rexy the Elf and his silly little antics from that week, attaching them with some of the new decorative tapes.

With this week being so picture heavy. I didn’t have a lot of room to journal. The pictures for the last two days of this week were pretty self explanatory. The scaled down cards from the 6x6 paper pad and the “Happy Day” tab from the sticker sheet fit perfectly over my pictures to document those memories.

Now,thankfully, I have the week leading up to Christmas madness documented.From my daughter wrapping gifts for the giving tree to my son’s Christmas party. From opening the first Christmas gifts of the year to a neighborhood Christmas get-together, and decorating cookies with Grandma...these memories are documented.

The first part of the holidays have been documented and recorded without any stress.

Even if you aren't doing Project Life, this is a great way to get those holiday memories recorded without feeling overwhelmed. It also helps you to use up all of those pretty holiday papers and embellishments that we all have in our supply stash. 

Have a wonderful Monday!