project life week 25 plus one from 2014...

Hi again :) I have a couple more project life spreads to share, this time using the sold out May Pocket Life Kit from Scrappy Canary.

The elements in this kit were perfect for my random mix of weekly photos and I have a full write up on how I used the kit for week 25 over on the Scrappy Canary blog, including a list of the extra items I added which are all currently on sale over in the store. 

I have always been a very slow scrapper and because I am trying to keep up to date with this years album while also going back to fill in some of the blanks from previous years, I have adopted a 'keep it simple' approach lately and love how using a kit helps me to keep it pretty with minimal effort. 

Simple paper layers seem to be my go to technique at the moment because they are a quick and easy way to make standard filler and journal cards more unique.  

Adding titles directly onto my pics has been a good way to add more detail to my pockets, and I really loved the impact of the fun chipboard stickers below.

I also used the kit to create a catch up page from January of 2014 album - once again you'll find all the details over in my original post on the Scrappy Canary blog.

I went with the simple approach for these pages - focusing more on the photos and stories and using simple embellishments that help to tell the story while also adding a bit of extra colour the pocket.

Once again I added large titles directly over a few of my pics, and my favourite tiny heart stamps and a few simple stickers were all that was needed to customize the filler cards. 

Don't forget to use the code 'AGNUS10' to save 10% at the Scrappy Canary store!

and as always, thanks for stopping by xx

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project life week 24...

The past 6 months have really flown by and my design team term with NoelMignon.com has come to an end. Being part of the team has been a wonderful experience and I recently shared my final project life layout using the awesome Happy Go Lucky Daily Diary Kits. 

Even thought the kit was designed with a lovely Spring feel, being on the other side of the world means our seasons are quite different, but because the kits are very versatile I  was easily able to adapt the kit to suit my Autumn and Winter photos. 

Because I used such a busy mix of patterns for my journal and filler cards, I decided to keep the majority of my photos bare - using just s few small accents to decorate a couple of the larger pics. 

Thanks for stopping by xx

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project life weeks 22 & 23...

I've got another project life catch up to share using the awesome 'Happy Go Lucky' Daily Diary kit from NoelMignon.com

Starting with week 22, which I shared over on the Noel Mignon blog.

I selected a combination of green, blue and pink tones from the cards and papers in the kit, adding some of the warm wood grain pattern throughout both pages.

As always I began the week with a custom title card which I pieced together using various elements from the kit, adding a hand stitched border for extra detail.

I had quite a few photos to include this week and added a flip pocket to hold more pics and details from a recent shopping trip to Ikea. 

I also printed some of the horizontal photos slightly smaller than usual to allow me to add some colour with the cards and papers behind the photos. Using a white border around the photos helped them to stand out against the patterned papers. 

I created a frame from one the 6x4" cards to to add more interest to a large block of journaling, finishing it off with more hand stitching. 

Next up was week 23, where once again I used the same combination of colours to create a nice flow from the previous week. 

We had a busy week, which resulted in lots of photos and where possible I utilized the photos themselves to add printed journal strips to document the details in each pic. 

 Using the reverse side of the W Design Project Life page protector from the previous week, I changed the position of my weekly title card but kept the colours the same and once again added a hand stitched border. 

I liked the way the white journal strips and die cut frame worked over the photos, and used a few simple embellishments to add a little pop of extra colour to the pockets. 

Thanks for stopping by xx

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june @ scrap the boys...

The year is flying past and I can't believe we are already in the middle of June! As always, a new month means a new challenge over at Scrap The Boys and the mid month reveals are now up on the blog.

Here is the layout I created based on this month's fun sketch challenge.

I was inspired by the paint splattered background and decided to create a layout about my little guy and his love of painting and used the same watercolour paints as Cayden used for his artwork to paint a rainbow background, adding lots of little drips and a few stamped details to the colours.

I created a vertical strip of layers behind the first pic and used black accents and stickers to help tie all the colours in together.

Be sure to upload your layouts by the end of the month to go in the running to win some great prizes, and don't forget to check out the awesome layouts the rest of the team created for the first lot of reveals here. 

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catching up with project life...

Hi again :) I've been pretty good with keeping up to date with the day to day happening this year but my 2014 album is quite a different story, so I have been trying to make an effort to go back and fill in some of the blanks which I never got around to doing last year. 

 I shared this layout over on the PL Junkies blog today with a few tips for making the catch up process a little bit easier. 

Catching up on previous years can seem a little bit daunting at first, which I why I highly recommend keeping a record in either a diary or your phone of what was happening in your life from week to week. Having some brief notes is a great way to help you to remember what you and your family where doing throughout the year and it makes the task of playing catch up a lot easier.

One of best ways to simplify catch up process is to keep your pages simple. This doesn't mean you need to change your style, but rather just create a simpler version of your own style and get those pockets filled!  My style is pretty clean and simple to begin with, but I do like to add layered embellishments and print my journaling directly onto my cards which can take up a bit of time so to simplify this, I decided to print my journaling onto one sheet of card stock which I cut into simple journal strips to document the details and opted for just a few wood veneer accents and small embellishments for a bit of extra colour, although I did still sneak in a few extra layers onto the title card ;)

Another time saver for playing catch up is to pre-select a colour palette to compliment the photos you are working with. Sorting through all your cards to try and find a perfect card for each photo will take up a lot of time, so instead I like to use a palette that doesn't necessarily match the photos but still works because it picks up a few of the colours featured the pics.

Working with the aqua colour in a couple of the photos, I selected a mix of cards from the 'Happy' core kit and combined these with a few bits and pieces from the Elle's Studio 'Cienna' collection that had the same water colour look along with a couple of extra cards from my stash. I deliberately chose filler cards that featured white text and matted all the pics with a white border to give my pages a consistent feel which also worked well with the journal strips.

 I hope that some of these steps will help you fill up your pockets and tackle a few of the pages you may have missed. The past 6 months has flown by so fast and this is my final share for the PL Junkies team -  it has been wonderful to share my layouts and tips along the way and I have really loved the experience of working alongside such a talented mix of crafters. Thanks for stopping by xx

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