pocket scrapbooking with chickaniddy crafts…

It was my turn to blog on the Chickaniddy Crafts blog (here) yesterday.  I was asked to share a pocket page I created using Chickaniddy’s fun products. 

You can read more about my page, and see a complete product supply list by visiting the Chickaniddy blog. :)

Happy Tuesday! :)

 

a doodlebug birthday–pocket page style…

Have you jumped on board with the pocket-page style of scrapbooking?  You probably already know that I like to mix it in here and there with my regular pages.  I recently shared this layout over on the Doodlebug Inc. blog:

I used their 4x6 vertical photo protector page...along with the super fun, super happy, super colorful "hip hip hooray" collection.

You can read the details on the Doodlebug blog.

And you can purchase all of the products I used, including this super fun little treat bag, by clicking on the images listed at the end of this post!

Thanks for stopping by today! :)

lagoon park | bella blvd…

It’s been almost a year since our family visited our local(ish) amusement park, Lagoon.  I took a bunch of photos and still hadn’t gotten around to printing them out – when I got the assignment from Bella Blvd. to create a “project life” inspired layout, I thought the papers and embellishments from the Family Forever collection would be a perfect match-up for my Lagoon Photos.

I printed all of our photos – a few 4x6, but most of them are 3x4.  Then I started putting together some fun little cards to fit in the pockets:

The “Candid Cards” and “Die Cut Pieces” make it so easy to whip up some extra fun little pocket fillers.  Of course, you could totally use them “as is” and not embellish…but I really like to make them my own!  Up close:

Here are the two “embellished” pages I created and shared yesterday over on the Bella Blvd. blog (here):

What you don’t see here are all of the extra photos that are filling the backside of each pocket.  I love using pocket pages to document activities and events where I took a lot of photos.  I still get to be creative, but I do not feel obligated to create a dozen pages just because I took 50 photos! :)

project life | a field trip…

Hi friends!  I have a fun project to share with you today – it’s a scrapbook spread I put together using a “Project Life” kit.  I will likely never use Project Life (or pocket scrapbooking in general) exclusively, but I LOVE the concept behind it.  I use this style intermixed with regular pages in my albums. 

The kit I used to create this page is The Vintage Travel Core Kit available exclusively at Michael’s stores.  (Michaels carries one of the largest selections of Project Life, including two exclusive core kits and several exclusive albums.)  It features deep blues, reds and browns, along with a variety of darker neutrals. The icons in this Edition include trains, airplanes and maps.  I thought it was the perfect kit to use with these photos from a field trip Seth went on a few years ago.

Before I continue, I must let you know that this post is part of a paid campaign with American Crafts, but all opinions are my own.  I would never promote a product I did not think was worth sharing!  Here’s why I love Project Life:

• I can create FUN pages for my scrapbook without having to cut or glue a single thing.  The premade cards simply slip into the pocket pages.  All I have to do is add photos and journaling!
• Of course, it’s always an option to get more creative with these premade items if I want to – I could always add stickers, machine stitching, layering, additional embellishments, etc.  But even if I don’t add a single thing, my memories are preserved and the pages are fun and interesting to look at too.
• Anybody can do this.  For all of my friends who have ever dared utter the following words to me: “I just don’t have time to scrapbook,” well…now you absolutely do.  This style takes almost no time at all – really!  The most time consuming part of the process is printing the photos!  And the only decisions you have to make are fun ones – which photos to print 4x6 and which to print 3x4. (I couldn’t resist adding a photo of this “outlaw” to this layout.  We were treated to a real old-fashioned “hold up” when we rode the train!)

• If you don’t like your own handwriting, you can always print directly onto the journaling cards with your printer…but adding your handwriting adds a personal touch and it’s a LOT faster!  I love using these precision pens from American Crafts to write my journaling.

• Of course titles aren’t necessary, but I really like adding them to my pages – Project Life projects are no exception – it’s easy to use stickers to add a title to a journaling card.

• Adding a few stickers to a journaling card is also a fun way to add a subtitle or just additional information…

• And even though you don’t have to trim photos with scissors or punches, you certainly can!  I used a circle punch to add this little photo one of the journaling cards.

So there you go – 7 of the many reasons I think Project Life is a great approach to scrapbooking.  A beginner who has never created a scrapbook page in her life or a pro who has been creating pages for a lifetime – Project Life has its place and it’s definitely worth investing in regardless of whether you use it for ALL of your scrapbooking or just for certain events (like I do).  I’ll be using it, along with traditional scrapbooking, in my albums and I’ll be sharing more of my pages and ideas here on my blog so be sure to come back often!

4th of july |project life style

Happy Wednesday – and happy CHA opening day to my scrapbooking friends!  I just wanted to pop in quickly to share a project that went live on the Doodlebug blog this morning.  It’s a “project life” style spread created with the “stars & stripes” collection. 

I love the storybook page protectors by doodlebug! While I'm not 100% on the "project life" scrapbooking bandwagon, I do appreciate the concept very much and I like to periodically incorporate it in with my own scrapbooking style.

Doodlebug’s page protectors have some unique styles – here’s a quick link to see what they have:

I like using these divided page protectors to scrapbook a big event - like the 4th of July! I took a handful of photos at our family picnic/celebration last year and I was able to include 12 photos plus cute embellishments in this spread.

 

I know some of the photos are hard to see because I photographed them INSIDE the page protector…but that’s because I added some of the embellishments on the outside of the plastic protector and I wanted to show that option. 

A few things to note...1) As I mentioned above…sometimes I like adding some of the embellishments and stickers on the OUTSIDE of the page protector

2) Adding a simple border sticker on a photo helps tie it in with the rest of the design

 

3) Black and white photos mixed in with color photos adds interest and helps disguise distracting colors or backgrounds

4)Making a list is a great journaling technique!

Thanks for stopping by – Be sure to pop over to the Doodlebug blog today – and for the rest of the week where the team will be sharing more fun ideas!  Have a great day! :)