Friday Five: Shape Punches

I've been inventorying my stash and have found many punches I haven't used in quite awhile. I dug around on Pinterest and found some cute ideas to start using my shape punches again.

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Woo Hoo!

Just had to share:  I won a spot in Amy Tan's Studio Calico class called "Stretch Your Kit." I entered the giveaway on Geralyn Si's blog and won! Woot!

Project Life: Week 2 & 3

My new photo printer was delivered this week and I am so excited! I know it will help me keep on top of Project Life and it will be cheaper for me than having photos printed elsewhere. Here is what I got:

Canon Pixma MG5220

I chose this guy for a few reasons. First, it's a Canon. I have a Canon point and shoot and a Canon DSLR so I knew it would be compatible. It reads USB and various sizes of SD cards, including my mom's older model Canon. It prints in multiple sizes and can print multiple photos on one sheet. I can also print with regular paper in case something comes up- although I'm planning to use this strictly for photo printing. It has five individual ink cartridges so I only have to replace one when it runs out. It is wireless so I can also send images to it from my laptop or other device. I am very happy with it so far!

Weeks 2 and 3 were a breeze to put together now that I can print photos at home. Here's a peek:

Week 2 found us making Legos (surprise) and following our oldest around to various events. He had a winter concert at his school on Thursday and then a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese on Saturday (I included the invitation). I was downloading our weekly photos and found several that he had taken by himself. I used an American Crafts 6x12 page protector and let him decorate the title "If You Give a Kid a Camera." I included 5 of the photos he took- two on the front and there are three on the back:

I love the self-portraits! He's a ham. On this side I saved a photo we got from Chuck E. Cheese and one of my boys up at midnight since they both couldn't sleep. The last one is of my infant crying- in my journaling I said it was because he was sad that it was my last week of maternity leave. ;)

Here's Week 3:

This week I went back to work so I have a photo of my classroom and the kiddos. Watching a show on the computer, a photo of all my boys together, a picture that my oldest traced and colored. The two smaller photos I printed side by side on 4x6 photo paper and cut them to fit the protector. I will definitely be doing more of that! Both of those small photos have the items that we have been waiting for in the mail- my printer and T's Lego motorcycle that he bought with his own money. He was also Super Student at PreK for the second time this year- we had to go out for a special dinner to celebrate. I only have one more thing to add- the winners of today's football games on the "Superbowl" card.

Friday Five: Hugs!

I'm sure you all marked your calendars on January 21 for National Hugging Day, right?
Well, here are some fun things I found on Pinterest- a virtual hug-fest!

First you will read the poem for Hug Day:

by Shel Silverstein 

Find the poem here

Then you will take a huggy photo:

Find the picture here

Next, whip up a batch of Pretzel Hugs:

Find the recipe here

And while you're waiting for them to cool, you can make a hug to send someone special:

Find the project here

And then you can combine Penguin Awareness Day (Jan. 20) with National Hugging Day (Jan. 21):

Find the Bucket List project here

{{{{Hugs}}}} to you!

Funny Find on Family Fun

Had to share a link to this project:

That was my idea! I wrote to Family Fun a few years ago when they asked for Valentine crafts. It was almost 10 years ago since that is my maiden name in the little blurb! Too funny that it's still on their website. I think I got some money for contributing.

Project Life: Title Page + Week 1

I am so excited about my Project Life. I am determined to shop my stash and I am so glad I decided to do that. I feel good about making a dent in all that paper!

Here is my title page.

My plan is to add a family photo where that chevron paper is but I want to wait until I get my new photo printer (so excited!) so I can print it off at home.

I used my Cricut to cut out our last name and the 2012 and just used the negative space. I put some washi tape behind our name and the numbers- I love how the 2012 turned out. I used random scraps from my stash for the rest of the pockets. For the title page, I used Becky Higgins page protectors from a previous kit. I don't think they make them anymore (so I guess I'm glad I didn't use them all).

Here is the first week, page one:

I included another page protector from American Crafts that is a regular 8.5x11 so I could put in a drawing my son did of some race cars. Those triangles you see are the finish line banners so apparently this is an aerial view of the race. :)

Here is the first week, page two:

On the back of T's picture I also put some work he did. Every single number is backwards (except 1 and 0 which would be hard to do) and he usually doesn't write quite that much. Hopefully I can show his progress in writing numbers later in the year. ;)

I used a Becky Higgins page protector in Design D so that I could include horizontal photos. I also stole the arrow stickers from the Cobalt Kit since I have one for J's baby book but won't be using all of the arrows it comes with.

I am super close to being finished with Week 2 already but I have to print two photos on my new printer to add in. I am loving it!

Friday Five: Dreams

January 13 is "Make Your Dreams Come True" day. Here are some inspiring things that remind me of dreams.

Martha Stewart

Twinkle Curtain

on Pinterest

Bokeh Tutorial

Wishes Jar

Wish Card Printable

Project Life Station

We have a drafting table in our bedroom that doubled as my husband's desk while he was taking some licensure classes for his job. Now that he's finished, I've taken it over as my PL work station. I am a floor scrapper (and sometimes a bed scrapper) so I don't find the need for tabletops much. I usually like to spread out my supplies around me when I work. I put a shoe rack shelf from Target on top and voila!
Here is a look at my PL station.

All the pails you see are from Target's dollar area. The pink one has my collection of washi tape and the big silver one has tools I'll need often (scissors, tape runner, corner rounder, date stamp, black ink pad). I keep the paper trimmer nearby!

The pails on the left have scrapbooking pens, regular pens (for marking the calendar you will see in the next photo) and nothing. That one's empty until I figure out what to put in it. The big bucket (which was actually supposed to be an Easter basket with chalkboard panels from Target- got a bunch of them on clearance) holds punches and other misc. tools. I also keep my camera cords in the bucket for easy uploading to my laptop or photo printer (not pictured- it's underneath the desk).

This wire locker basket I got for a steal at a flea market (should have bought more after I talked the seller down!) holds some old Project Life cards I didn't use, stamps, ink pads, and stamp wipes. There is also a cheap calendar (from Target, of course, for $1.50) to keep track of what we did each day.

These three Iris boxes hold my supplies. Top left has paper scraps and embellishments, the top right has patterned paper that I pulled from my stash. The bottom right box has stickers- mostly alphas that coordinate with the paper I pulled. I also have two albums- the black one is for PL and the blue is the Becky Higgins Cobalt album for my newborn's baby book. On the top shelf I have the Cobalt Core Kit but that's reserved mostly for the baby album. I am using some of the grid cards for my PL, though.

Having this in my bedroom helps me because it's one of the only places that I can get a little quiet and still have it be warm (our basement, where I keep most of my scrap stuff, is quite chilly in the winter). 

I am busy printing my photos for Week 1 and I can't wait to show you the title page (in progress as we haven't gotten a good family photo yet) and my first few pages of 2012!

Friday Five: Inspirational Quotes

I have an entire board on Pinterest dedicated to quotes that are inspiring. The perfect kick-start to a new year, wouldn't you agree? Here are some of my favorites.

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Happy New Year!

2012 Project Life Plan

My hope to do Project Life again this year but as a week-in-review instead of a photo a day. Here is my master plan.

1. Supplies
I will use up my old PL stuff from before and mix in some other supplies as needed. I have this kit:

And will add some fun supplies to it. 

 

Plus some more of my stash- especially my Studio Calico leftovers from last year. 

2. Pages

I will use various sizes and styles of photo pages for my album. 

Becky Higgins- Design A

Becky Higgins- Design C

Becky Higgins- Design D

Becky Higgins- 6x12"

12x12"

Pink Paislee- not sure these are available anymore

3. Ideas

I will steal other people's ideas. And I will not feel guilty. 

Becky Higgins' blog- Creator of Project Life- now with a Creative Team!

Lisa Truesdell's Project Life posts

Studio Calico's Photo-A-Day class $12

Ella Publishing's Take Twelve e-book 

Studio Calico's Project Life 2012 Forum

4. Photos

I will keep my camera in my purse always. You never know when a photo op will pop up!

5. Calendar

I will keep track of my photos, events, etc. on a calendar so that it will be easier to remember which photos are which or what we did each week. 

6. Memorabilia

I will keep a file folder in the kitchen for weekly memorabilia. I will keep sticky notes and a pen nearby to write any important information on said memorabilia so I can remember why I kept it.

7. Keepin' it Together

 I will create a kit in an Iris box to keep all of my PL stuff in. The box will be near the desk in our bedroom so I can scrap when I need to without the kiddos getting into everything.

Sounds like a plan!