Life's Trivialities

Epcot Pocket Page / Magical Memories

Today I have a Disney layout to share with you that is a part of a series that Christine is hosting over on YouTube called Magical Memories. Each day Christine and a couple of scrappy peeps are sharing their Disney paper projects and process videos. Today, I'm sharing my pocket page from a visit to Epcot and the zany characters we posed for photos with!

I used the Say Cheese II collection from Simple Stories and six black and white photos. I wanted to include a lot of photos and the best way to do that was to use the 4x3 pocket page from Echo Park. I began with the original color photos but it was just too busy, too much going on and nowhere for the eye to settle. The black and white pics are a definite game changer.

When creating pocket pages I like to put elements on the outside of the page protector as well as work within the pocket. If you know my style and preferences, you will know that I'm not a fan of the bulk on my pages as it warps the pages around it. One of the benefits of pocket pages for me is that not only can I use many more photos in an organized fashion (which suits my type A personality) but I can put the bulky things outside the pocket and thus not warp the page protector.

When you work with a themed collection, it's so easy to quickly whip out pages like this. It truly makes easy work of things as everything is already coordinated and you have a lot of product to choose from. I don't think it took me more than 20 minutes to put this together. It took more time to edit the photos and decide black and white was better than to construct the whole thing!

If you are a process video kinda person, here is my video and the complete process of how this page can together;

I would for you to join us over on YouTube and subscribe if you don't already. This is my first pocket page process video but I have a few more that I'm working on and would love to share with you if that's something you enjoy. If not, there are plenty of 12x12 and 8.5x11 size layouts as well! Christine has a give away that she's sponsoring this week as well so be sure to check out her channel and how you can enter to win! Thanks for stopping in today!

Family Frolic / Cocoa Daisy

The WrinkLee's (my parents) were in town visiting recently and we went on a little "frolic". Despite the rain in the forecast, Michael thought a stroll in a park we had taken the kids to years before would be a good idea. And it was a good idea. It would have been a better idea 30-45 minutes prior however. Our walk was cut very short by the looming grey clouds that grew darker and darker. We made it back to the vehicle just in time as big, fat drops began to fall! This page documents those pre-downpour moments together.

We took a lot of family pictures and I wanted to document those moments together. You wouldn't know looking that a few of these pictures the grey clouds that were heading our way, imminently about to dump buckets and release hail! The first few minutes were truly lovely - that calm before the storm. And what better way to document those early spring moments that with the March Cocoa Daisy kits. The kit comes with some wonderful fringed butterflies from Maggie Holmes. I wanted more and decided to set out on making some mock butterflies. I did a quick video tutorial that you can find on my YouTube channel. I'll link the direct video here too.

Really all you need are some patterned papers and fringe scissors. It's super easy to do! If you had a butterfly punch you could do the same thing as I did here. I just happened to want to a similar size to the Maggie Holmes butterflies so used a digital cut file instead. What the video doesn't show is that once the butterflies were finished, I used my Souffle pens on the black body to add some "body paint" for some added pizzaz!

You can see that "body paint" on the body of the butterfly much better in the pic above. If you try this, link me up and share your butterflies inspired by my quick tutorial, I'd love to see how yours turned out! If you have questions about my process, don't hesitate to ask!

The print and cut files that accompany the March kit are, as always, superb! They really are worth the subscription to the kit! The kits are fantastic but the subscriber extras truely take the kits to another level! It's so fun to have those extras! That doodles cloud from the print and cut files is my favorite! I know I will use that again and again. This is not the first time I've used it! Nor will it be the last!

Thanks for stopping in today! I hope you and your family have had some fun frolics lately!

 

 

This Right Here / Feed Your Craft

This Right Here indeed! This girl and her love for riding and all things equestrian! A few weekends ago, Mia competed in a horse show and it was the first time she did the "real deal". Yes, she had shown in shows before but it was sort of the prep of showing, showing for littles. This was her first "big" show, showing in more than one division. As per other shows, we had to go the day before to get the pony ready. It's just as much about the pony's appearance and performance as it is the riders. This pocket page, featuring the latest (and greatest) kit, The View From Here,  from Feed Your Craft, is all about the Mia's riding lesson before show - the mock show to prepare them for what was to come. Incidently, the kit is sold out but there are still many awesome things in the store. And if you follow Feed Your Craft on Instagram, you will be sure to see the release and be able to snag up the next kit!

One of the many things I love about this kit, it's a first for me, is that the pocket cards are also emailed to you as well as having them printed and sent to you! I love that the printed versions are single sided and you don't have to worry about covering up the beauty on the back side as well. AND! with the digital files, you can manipulate the colors, size, shape and personalize them! As I have done here. Purple is the color of Haverhill Farm, the barn that Mia rides with/for. I wanted to incorporate purple into the spread and was able to do so with the digital files.

The stamps in this kit are so fun!! I watercolored an coordinating "blob" on a blank 4x3 piece of smooth Bazzill cardstock and stamps that lovely Instax camera then used a combination of stamps and die cuts to add the date. For the altered "this right here" card, I used coordinating enamel dots to dot the 'i's, I love the added color that such a simple thing brings to the card.

The kit also comes with flair! I love the originality of the Feed Your Craft flair! Brandi Kincaid's writing and her style are so unique and fun! It interesting to take this 4x6 card and use it with journaling across two 4x3 pockets. I really didn't want to lose the flow of my story by typing it on the whole card then cutting the card in half, it chopped some of the letters making it difficult to read. This was my solution to that problem!

In addition to the digital files of the cards, you get a printable with the kit that includes other fun embellishments for your papercrafting pleasure! I used a few of the labels and circles scattered through out the spread; the snail (you can't see it in this close up) is adorable!

This spread came together in no time flat thanks to this awesome kit from Feed Your Craft! My first Feed Your Craft mini kit and I had such fun with it! I can't wait to play some more!

My Rock / Cocoa Daisy / Process Video

Recently some of the Cocoa Daisy team and I shared projects which we created using the Day In The Life January Cocoa Daisy kits. I created a process video to accompany this layout. You will have to please forgive the many "ums"; I am not that proficient at these videos and have yet to figure out the timing of video and verbiage. I am really not much of a talker so finding words of interest or relevance also escape me. Stick with me as I work out the kinks and eliminate the "ums"! It needs to be done!!

I used one of the subscriber exclusive cut files to create the heart background that is over the two patterned papers from Pink Paislee. You will see if you watch the process video that I added watercolor to the backside of what you see. The pinks didn't really match and became too distracting so I just flipped them to the backside and worked on top of the clean layer.

Here's the process video for those of you that enjoy them;

And for those of you who are more interested in just the close ups, read on.

The tag does not come with the kit however I wanted somewhere to nestle my journaling. There are two tags that come with the kit however one I had already used and the remaining tan tag was not of the color scheme I was working with. Ergo, something else was necessary. I could have used a plain white tag but really liked how the black print of the dictionary page was a softer look that melded into the layers better.

I used a few of the stamps for the various stamp sets this month for further embellishment. I love that the Cocoa Daisy kits always have a plethora of embellishments and that the stamps and yet another option. You can see the gold vellum that I tuck in behind the cut file for a little added touch.

Rub ons, Thickers, stamping, cut file and layers! Woot! What fun it was to create this layout! Thanks for stopping in today!



 

December Daily / Days 4 and 5

Welcome to the next installment of my 2016 December Daily. Today I am sharing days 4 and 5 with you. I wish I had taken pictures of the foundation pages so you could see the so called before and afters. The problem with that is that I didn't really organize the days. I just made a bunch of pocket cards, hole punched a bunch of bags and miscellaneous goodies/filler and tossed them into my Simple Stories SNAP album. I didn't really "plan". I wanted a little more flexibility that didn't mean too much shuffling. So, it's just the "mostly" finished pages that you will find here on the blog. I say mostly as I know I will go back at the end and add little touches here and there.

Day 4's moment documented are our attempts at cookie making. We had every intention of baking however the projects that we did finish weren't baking. Our day got away from us and Christmas treats were made but then other things took over. It's okay, I'm embrace this month and letting things happen as they would rather than forcing it. I don't want to plan my life around December Daily so that I have things to put in the album but rather, let the days unfold as they are meant to and find a moment within each to cherish and document. It may be the decorating we did in November or the wreath we hung days prior. That's okay as I'm enjoying it today.

Look at all those little pockets of goodness! The treats that did manage to make and snippets of the lights from the previous evening poking through! Happy, happy! I just love this project! I hope I still love it by month's end. It really has been fun this year, unlike years past. I just got overwhelmed with everything going on.

This side of the spread is simple; a picture, journaling and a larger card. I could have added more pictures but it really didn't need it. My story is told and there is sufficient support to it. I liked that there is a resting spot for your eye at the bottom of the spread. I made that bottom card and amended the top, left journaling card. It was a free download that I overlaid a journal block to in PhotoShop. The free download was actually wrapping paper that I resized to work for the size journal card I wanted. You can find the download HERE

Day 5 not much Christmas happened so I am going to use it as a space to house our elf antics. This is a rather simple spread again with filler cards that I adjusted from free downloads. I think the top left card was also wrapping paper. The Merry and Bright card down the bottom was a 4x3 card that I turned the lettering the opposite direction to fit better on a 4x6 card. The woodgrain is from cards in the Dollar Spot at Target. I cut it down and created a liftable element.

The journaling is about Mia's elf enthusiasm. Henry wasn't going to come to Richmond this year but Mia so looks forward to finding him and his latest adventure that we are glad he did return. I got the idea for that liftable card from a tag on clothing. Inspiration is everywhere!

Currently the calendar is a tad sparse as it's early in the month still. I take a daily picture of the elf and his latest antic and insert it into the calendar. At the end of the month I will use little glitter stickers I have left from my Core'dinations/Darice days on each day. I want to use some red somewhere on there, probably a long stripe of skinny red washi under the notes box. I will cut and glue some patterned paper into the long rectangle down the right hand side of the calendar which I created in PhotoShop.

How is your December Daily going? I hope it has been a great month for you! So much going on!.

December Daily 2016 / Day 3

Welcome to day 3 of my 2016 December Daily! I almost have today finished too. It's been such fun to work on. The true test of my "sticking" ability will come during the week when I've working and shuttling kids around.

Day 3 is actually night 3. We went up to Doswell to see the Illuminate Light Show that is at Meadow Event Park. We have never been before so this was a lovely treat and a nice way to spend time together. It is definitely more impressive live and capturing the experience in a moving vehicle (no tripod and no stopping allowed) while driving down largely gravel road proved a challenge!

The left hand page of this spread is, you might recall, the back side of a chipboard tabbed divider. Ugh... The black of the photo really required me to push the picture to the edge and not trim it as I had on the front side. I also had to be mindful of bulky embellishments on the opposing page as there isn't a protective cover to the picture and I don't want the photo scrapped by anything. I toyed with typed journaling on the page but found it distracting and omitted it. This ends up being a very simple page leaving the emphasis on the picture.

The infamous square pockets a plenty that I both loathe and love! I love the idea of transparency and the peek into the day to come. Filling all those squares with purpose often proves challenging as you have to think of both sides. I think, having begun day 4, that I will end up filling one of those frames. Probably the red hounds tooth one. I don't have frames that I can back for the other side so the problem is really the backside. I quite like the striped pocket card you see from Day 4 through the gold frame, it adds to the color of day 3. The split in the day 4 divider behind the hounds tooth frame bothers me. I didn't realize how much until I took these pictures. I want something on the kraft tag in that center pocket, I just didn't have "the" thing and didn't want to spend a lot of time searching. So, it will stay as it is for now and perhaps once the month is complete I will go in and touch up.

If you haven't done this before or haven't succeeded it completing it, I cannot stress to you enough how much more manageable this project is with completed foundation pages. You don't HAVE to leave things where they are but the concept of a book makes this mammoth task so much more enjoyable and less complicated. Another thing I have found very useful in the working of my first few days is to have a basket/bucket/tub or some container of embellishments that compliment your color scheme and leave everything else be. If you contain yourself, you are less likely to get distracted by all the pretty things and focus on the task at hand.

December Daily 2016 / Cover, Day 1 and Day 2

Hey scrappy peeps! It's December which means that scrappy "landmark" (perhaps time mark would be more appropriate) of December Daily has arrived. I have five years of unfinished December Daily albums perched on shelves somewhere. A number that is rather alarming and disappointing to me. And while I have said it before, I AM GOING TO FINISH my album this year! I have never premade pages before or completed the foundation pages and think this was my downfall. This year, foundation pages are complete. All digital pieces that I created myself! I'm very proud of this. I borrowed free downloads from here and there and personalized them, adding my own spin in some way, shape or form. Today I have my cover, the calendar and days one and two to share with you.

I am using a Simple Stories SNAP album as my album along with the various size pocket protectors available for the SNAP albums. I chose the colors kraft, teal, white, black, grey and red as my foundation colors. I realy wanted a simple cover. A little white mist splattered here and there provided the perfect backdrop to a die cut snowflake and the year with a few bits and bobs to accent and add a hint of red. The bakers twine united the fabric and chipboard, tying the two together nicely.

Upon opening the album, there is a gold polka dot vellum that overlays this calendar. I'm not crazy about the look of the polka dots on the circles numbers for the dates so am going to have to go back to the drawing board on that one. I also want to put a little something on the inside cover of the album. The calendar is something I printed off the web, it was a free download. I really need to begin writing down where I got these things from so I can direct you in the right direction. I was in such a creative flurry getting the foundation flowing that my brain wasn't logically thinking. I personalized the calendar by changing the font color of "December" red and removing the numbers the creator had in the original. I used date stickers from Simple Stories to add some pizzaz. I wanted to be able to write each days activities somewhere for a cohesive overview of the month.

 

The back of that calendar is empty. I'm pondering what I want to do there. I think I want to write a why or do a dedication but I haven't put much thought into it and want to be pleased with the results and not rush the process. So, until I know what I want there, that space is empty.

The little "jingle jangle" tag flips to reveal the delicious details of the December party breakfast that Henry, the Elf on the Shelf, brought with him. For years now, Henry has arrived on December 1st and brought a welcome party with him. For the past few years the kids have independently enjoyed their share of the party and Nikolas is in middle school, a later start than Mia in her last year of Elementary school. The "Eat & Drink" card is one that I made on my own and added a few embellishments to. I also made the top, right card; there is a vellum overlay over the journaling.

A lot actually happened yesterday, December 2nd. I chose to focus on this annual shopping trip with a girlfriend of mine. Mia and I also went to Bethlehem Walk, an event I also want to document but think I might have to put somewhere later in the album. Or, just scrapbook it. I can't have everything in this album so I'll figure it out as the month proceeds.

Simple. Really simple. A glassine bag with a metallic "2" from the Pink Paislee number pack, 2 pictures and another pocket card that I created. I toyed with typewriter journaling but decided that I like my writing and it more meaningful in my own handwriting.

I in essence reproduced the emblem for this event. I scanned in the brochure in order to be able to trace and cut the bow with my Silhouette. I then back the opening with a metallic red and further decorated. This white foundation with stitched edges was then adhered to the tabbed chipboard that came in the Simple Stories album. The little tag hanging from the bow is such a simple touch yet is my absolute favorite part of this double page spread.

I am determined to keep this going and finish this year. I am hoping, the accountability of blogging will also aid in my push to cross the finish line so be sure and check back in help me finish this this year!

Swimming Pocket Page / Cocoa Daisy

Today I have a single event pocket page up on the Cocoa Daisy blog to share with you. You can see what the other designers did with their October City Park Day in The Life pocket fillers HERE. I used this fall themed kit to create a non-themed pocket page of Nikolas' most recent long course champs meet. Fortunately there is lots of red and blue, our team colors in this kit thus making it work.

I do have to disclaim that I used a piece of paper not in this months kit and number and letter stickers from previous kits. I really didn't want to deviate from the cohesiveness of the colors so chose to use a few extras. The patterned paper on the left with the waves was a must! It just went so well with the theme of the event being scrapped.

I really wanted to two other "things" with the two blank happy's in the above card but there wasn't anything that made sense that came to mind. And truly, happy swimmer summed it all up. Those red polka dots were just perfect for the summary stats of the meet. Adding up total seconds dropped was a feat in itself!! Nikolas informed me that he raced  4,400 meters but many more laps were swum with the various warm ups and cool downs...

Underneath that notebook paper piece from my BYOAO from Doodlebag is actually a glassine bag that I resized to fit in the pocket. I had intended it to be a spot to put hidden journaling which doesn't yet exist. I also used some of the free download arrows that arleigh created and are available in the shop.

One of the Noteworthy News emails was printed out in part to include the kudos to the kids who did well at the meet. On the tag behind the printed segment is the story of how Nikolas' name was initially omitted, a frequent event in his swimming career...., which we had corrected.

When you are working with primary colors like red and blue, it's usually fairly easy to take a themed kit and do something else with it as I've shown here! Not that the theme of the kit wasn't spectacular! I still have so many great fall pictures that are perfect for the kit, I just really wanted to get some older events scrapped!

Belle Isle / Cocoa Daisy DITL

Many people use pocket pages for Day in The Life or Weekly Project Life pages. I prefer to use them for multiple photos of one event across two pages. The pressure of daily scrapping or sequential weekly scrapping just freaks me out and I can't. But when I have a million (and one) pictures of a single event (horse show, swim meets, vacations, etc) I like to use a good number of the representative pictures and put them in pocket pages.

Below is a pocket page spread I created using the August Cocoa Daisy kit of a recent local outing to Belle Isle with the family and the WrinkLee's when they were here to visit for Mia's birthday.

I love the bright colors of this kit! They are just perfect for outdoor adventures of all kinds! And the little gnomes!! Squeel! They make me happy, bring a smile to my face.

One of the other things that I love about pocket pages is not only the ability to showcase lots of pictures but there you can include a lot more of the story without it being disruptive to the flow of the layout. You can truly be a storyteller as well as share the pictures of the occasion.

Be sure to check out the Cocoa Daisy blog post HERE and see how a few of the other ladies from the team used the Day in the Life kit as well!

You & Your Friends / Cocoa Daisy

The March Cocoa Daisy kit is chock full of scrappy goodness! I have created at least 10 layouts from this kit, or kits. I get the main, paper add on and Day in the Life kits and between the 3 there are so many possibilities. Throw in some of the Build Your Own Add Ons and the skies the limits! It's insane what you can do with just a month, never mind a subscription! And it's like that every month! I went back and used goodies from the January kit for this layout!

The background is a sandwich of the front and back of a Cocoa Daisy exclusive paper! And because that isn't enough exclusive, so too is the red with white polka dots that is behind the picture. AND the 6x4 DITL pocket scrapping card. OH! and let's not forget the exclusive die cuts that come with the DITL kit! SO much exclusiveness in these kits!

Like many layouts you have seen of this boying what he loves best, I stuck with the teams colors of red and blue. For a little bit of variety of took advantage of the lighter blue that was rather pervasive through out this kit as well!

The dominant manufacturer of the kit outside of the Cocoa Daisy exclusives is Fancy Pants. There were a lot of softer, more pastel colors that didn't really work with this layout but I was able to find bits and pieces that coordinate with the color scheme.

This is an older layout... A year ago today in fact! I realized when we were out at short course age group champs that I forget specifics of times of old(er) meets that I want to know later, long past the event. I want to document not only the event but the relevant info such as time improvements and newly gained time standards. Info that is much more difficult to come by retrospectively. I have so many swimming pictures I might as well do something with them! Swimming is, after all, such a huge part of these kids' lives. Our lives!