Three new products from me this weekend at Designer Digitals.

Here’s an example from anke of the Designer Digitals Creative Team using my new Edge Sentiments.

I love how she used it as a “frame” above the main content of her layout.

Next up: Today Rocks

A couple of these were included in a limited time freebie for National Scrapbook Day. I created a few more to complete this package.

And third, No Day Like Today.

Here’s an example from kikimama of the Designer Digitals Creative Team:

Have a great weekend!

Welcome to Project Life 2013 | Week Fifteen (April 8 – April 14).

A bit of a simpler week. A few less words. A few less embellishments. It’s all good.

Here’s a few close-ups:

A little something fun I played around with a few weeks back was writing with Stickles. It works! Definitely let it dry before slipping it into a pocket page. Yellow washi tape along the top and bottom is from Freckled Fawn.

I started this little card to document 5 things that Anna told me she thinks about when she goes to sleep (her happy thoughts to scare away the monsters). I only got three recorded and when I asked her again she didn’t remember. This are the sorts of things I really want included in this album.

One of my favorite things right now is just adding text right onto my photos by hand. Quick and easy and adds context.

This was a little experimental play – combining two photos that show progress – from buds to blooms. I taped the two photos together creating a 4×6 image. I added a “1″ and a “2″ from American Crafts and then drew a border and a little “yes please” sentiment.

I stood and looked at this page for awhile. I thought about adding more – I can always add more. I ended up calling it good enough so I could move on to other things I want to document/work on/need to finish. Bits of our lives are captured here. A ticket. A sticky note. Images. Percentages. Routine visits. Coastal adventures.

The little cork camera is from Studio Calico (Spencers Kit).

“You Make Me Happy” is cut from a card from a Dear Lizzy die cut package (Lucky Charm).

The “weekend goodness” journal card is from my new set called Hello Weekend.

SUPPLIES | 2013 | WEEK FIFTEEN

Click on the images to link to the products.

Welcome to Project Life 2013 | Week Fourteen (April 1 – April 7).

Am I still doing Project Life? Absolutely.

Am I behind? A little. I’ve got a bunch of weeks in progress and will be sharing them over the next week. This week and week fifteen have been “almost done” for weeks and photos are printed for the other weeks.

A couple things I need to do:

1. Order another black 12×12 album for the next four months (I’ve been doing three albums per year, four months in each album). Right now they are all still in the first one for 2013 and it’s getting tight.
2. Find a new routine that will gel with the work I’m doing for Hello Story (my new class at Big Picture that starts in July). I think it’s totally possible to do both Project Life and traditional pages, I’m just working on finding my own groove between the two.
3. SIMPLIFY. At least for the next couple of months I think I need to keep this project simple while I’m in the middle of content development for this workshop. I think getting the album back down on my kitchen counter with a stack of cards will help me with this.

How are things going for you? Are you new to Project Life? Are you a veteran? Still loving it?

Here’s Week Fourteen:

Here’s a closer look:

The “listen, believe, trust” card is from my Everyday Love Journal Cards that was printed on photo paper.

“Yo April” are Cream Thickers from American Crafts that I ran through my sewing machine with red thread.

“Heart this boy” word art on the photo of Simon making cookies is from Love You Boy.

I’d love to do a week where I fill out one of those Best/Worst cards everyday. The one above was printed on some leftover paper that I had used as an over-spray catch under whatever it was that I was actually misting with paint.

Here’s a look at the right side:

The star card is from Kelly Purkey’s kit for Simon Says Stamp.

Little pink word stickers are from My Mind’s Eye.

Still loving cutting up journal cards and adding them to my pictures. I like not re-inventing the wheel each week and adding a bit more context to my photos.

The journal card here was included in Studio Calico’s Project Life add-on kit (May 2013).

SUPPLIES | 2013 | WEEK FOURTEEN

Click on the images to link to the products.

A couple weeks ago I shared a new little project I’d put together for Simon called What We’ve Learned From You.

In that post I mentioned that I was planning to find a 4×6 album that would be just for him that he could keep in his bedroom. I found a simple plastic 4×6 album at Michaels that was perfect for this project.

For this project I designed a What We’ve Learned From You 4×6 Layered Template Set. Grab it on sale today for 30% off over at Designer Digitals (sale ends this Wednesday, May 14).

Each 4×6 page slipped right into it’s own pocket.

I gave it to Simon last week and I’d say he was pretty happy with the result. This stuff matters.

He read it to Anna and then called Chris on the phone and read it to him too.

Anna wanted to add a photo of herself (and she should have been included originally of course) and told me some of the things she’s learned from Simon which include:

1. sharing
2. not yelling at me (Mom)
3. writing letters (alphabet)
4. jumping
5. writing letters in my own book
6. doing homework by myself
7. learning not to hurt him
8. jumping on the small trampoline

DESIGNER DIGITALS QUARTERLY SALE ENDS TOMORROW | This template set and all my other digital products are on sale at Designer Digitals for one more day at 30% off.

The quarterly sale is in full swing over at Designer Digitals. Everything in the shop is 30% off through Wednesday, May 14th. I released two more new products on Saturday.

First up: Friends Sentiment Boxes 3×4

Messy Life Lines – these are so great across a 4×6 photo in Project Life. I printed all my photos for last week using the set of Messy Daily Lines (Monday – Sunday).

Have a great week!

Welcome to the May Studio AE Blog Hop from Technique Tuesday!

Technique Tuesday offers a monthly stamp club that features a limited edition stamp set designed by me each month. You can check out past stamp sets (some are still available) here.

Say hello to this month’s stamp set: Heartfelt >>

DIGITAL MEMORY KEEPER? Similar designs are included in the following sets: Hello Heart 4×6 Sentiment Boxes and Hello Heart 3×4 Sentiment Boxes and Card Sentiment Boxes.

Here’s a look at my 8.5×11 layout:

And here’s a look at the process:

I started this page with a sheet of 8.5×11 white cardstock. I knew that I wanted to use this photo of Simon, do some sort of a grid collage, and that I wanted to use the largest stamp multiple times as a spaces for journaling.

From there I played around with a few different pattern papers settling on some of the smaller patterns that were included in the Studio Calico Card Kit 6×6 paper pad (each month comes with a great mix of patterns from other manufactures + Studio Calico), a piece of red + white star pattern from Dear Lizzy, and a little sliver of chevron from Fancy Pants.

I ended up with four main journal blocks using red, navy and silver inks. The one that looks pink was a mistake (didn’t clean off well enough before adding new ink) and I considered covering it up with pattern paper and in the end decided to leave it. I also used the Just Awesome stamp set again as a title for each of the blocks .

In each of those journal blocks I added a little piece of advice/words of love for Simon. Scrapbooking is a great opportunity to document that kind of stuff.

Those great little blue glitter stars are from Freckled Fawn and were included in the Studio Calico Planetarium Card Kit.

The letter “s” on the red pattern paper is a customizable Thicker from American Crafts (currently on clearance at Scrapbook.com). You peel off the top layer to access the adhesive. On top of that I put some Silver Zing and melted it with the heat gun. I did it right onto the background pattern paper and I liked the little-bit-of-mess result (embossing powder sprinkles melted onto the pattern paper).

Originally I planned to incorporate more of the smaller box stamps but ended up with just the one “you are my heart” along the top.

Those glitter numbers are from American Crafts that I picked up at Michaels.

The silver ink I used is from the Tsukineko Dew Drop Brilliance set (includes gold, bronze, platinum, and silver) and seriously my new favorite thing.

A gold one came in the Kelly Purkey kit from Simon Says Stamp and I had to find more of them!

The navy is Outdoor Denim from Close To My Heart and the red is from Color Box. Red Staz On was used to stamp the date on the photo.

SUPPLIES

Click on the images to link to the products.

Check out what the Studio AE team did with this month’s stamp set:

• Tobi
• Daniela
• Nichol
• Laura
• Teri
• Sharyn

GIVEAWAY | One person will win a $25 gift certificate to someone who comments on any of the above blogs during the hop. The winner will be announced on the 15th on the Technique Tuesday blog.

PS | Want more layout inspiration? Don’t forget to register for my new 12-week online workshop Hello Story. Get all the details and sign up here.

The Designer Digitals Quarterly Sale is on now. Everything in the shop is 30% off through Wednesday, May 14th.

Tomorrow (Friday) I’ll be chatting about five of my favorite pieces of inspiration on Designer Digitals Contests & Events Message board. It’s going to be an open discussion throughout the day – you can pop over anytime to say hi, see five of my current favorite inspiration pieces, participate in a challenge and download the freebie word art below:

While you’re there you can pick up some of my newest designs (or any of the hundreds of others I’ve got in my shop).

First up for new products today are the Hello Weekend 3×4 Journal Cards. Here’s a look at them in my Project Life album:

I printed those on Epson photo paper.

Life Is Good Labels Vol. 03

Messy Daily Lines

Friends Sentiment Boxes 4×6

Banner Me Vol. 3

Get Out Of Your Head (NOTE : if you are in my One Little Word workshop and haven’t downloaded or checked in the classroom this month head on over there because this set was included with the prompt this month)

And here were my new releases last weekend:

Everyday Love Journal Cards

Here’s an example of one of those printed one photo paper and used in my Project Life album for this week:

Banner Me Vol. 2

Photo Circle Messages

Life Is Good Labels Vol. 2

If you’re counting, this makes three layouts in a row this week. Having fun and finding a groove.

Today I’m sharing a layout I made using Silhouette’s new chipboard. Make sure you check out the Silhouette Portrait giveaway and special offers on my blog today (you are here on my projects blog). It’s a great opportunity to pick up a Silhouette and some of their new chipboard using the code Edwards and this link.

Here’s a look at the full page:

I started this layout knowing I wanted to go big with the Silhouette and the new chipboard and try cutting one of my Hello You Circles.

Last week I cut out a few different ones, thinking at first that I’d include three on my layout. Once I got going on the actual page I decided to just stick with the biggest one (it’s about six inches across).

This chipboard is softer and not super thick. It’s really just right for using with the Silhouette.

To edit the enlarged photo (8 inches x 12 inches and taken by my good friend Kim Ackerman) I used Photoshop and Rad Lab. I seriously can’t say enough about Rad Lab – a program that applies filters to your photos. This one was using Homestead BW. Most often I just use the Lights On filter and it adds just enough brightness and lightness. I printed the photo on my Epson R2000.

I paired the photo with a strip of pattern paper from Elles Studio – Flowers 12X12 Serendipity Paper. To mellow out the pattern just a bit I did a light layer of off-white paint (knowing I wanted to write directly onto the pattern paper).

After tracing and cutting the chipboard with the Silhouette I painted it white and then added Black Opaque Zing Embossing Powder on top. I didn’t have to paint it first but I did because my inital thought was to just add a painted element vs. an embossed one. At first I also thought I was going to use the Opaque White but I was out of it so I decided to do something different and go with black instead. For a tutorial on using my digital PNG files with the Silhouette go here.

I ended up backing the large circle with 8.5×11 Translucent Vellum and cutting around the edge to remove the excess vellum.

I used a Slick Writer and Precision Pens to hand-draw the lines and add my journaling. Letter stickers are Kelly Purkey White Alphabet.

That awesome ampersand can be found in the Snippets Punctuation Wood Veneer package.

I added a little piece of paper (no.1) cut from the strip along the bottom of the Elle’s Studio pattern paper and added some Tim Holtz Chit Chat Word Stickers.

I added another little sentiment along the edge.

SUPPLIES

Click on the images to link to the products.

PS | Want more layout inspiration? Don’t forget to register for my new 12-week online workshop Hello Story. Get all the details and sign up here.

Last week Katie and I took a little field trip over to Michael’s to pick up some products to participate in their Make Every Moment Count Challenge.

This month they are offering a variety of sales and discounts on memory keeping products in celebration of Scrapbook Month. You can grab a coupon packet in the store.

Here’s what I came home with:

Of course I found lots of fun things I wanted to play with – it’s not hard. I was especially excited about those Brilliance inks. They are awesome little ink pads. I also got pretty excited about those giant MAMBI silver glitter alphabet stickers.

I got stuck for awhile in the specialty paper section – specifically the gold and silver – and ended up using the silver sequin paper on my layout.

Here’s a look at the page I put together:

I started with a white 12 inch x 12 inch background piece of cardstock and printed my two photos to 5 inch x 5 inch.

And man, can I tell you that I spent way too much time today trying to get the color right on the photograph of my layout above? No matter what I did it kept turning out with that gray-ish/green-ish tint. Color-correction master I am not but I think you get the idea.

After that I cut some of the specialty paper (cork, burlap, and silver glitter) to 5 inch x 5 inch to start creating my accent blocks. From there I played around with placement.

I trimmed the cork paper after adhering the silver glitter Thickers from American Crafts. I used the Smash label maker to create the “then and now” and “yesterday” and “today” labels. I adhered the burlap with some Scotch rolling adhesive and then ran the whole thing through my sewing machine.

In the center of my page I added a Martha Stewart kraft oval sticker + one of the cork letter stickers from Little Yellow Bicycle + two silver mini brads. That whole piece got popped up with some foam sqaures.

On the bottom left square I hand-cut out the word love from the silver sequin paper (probably my favorite thing here). On top of the “o” I added a red star embellishment. Along the top of the cork paper I added “so much” using the Little Yellow Bicycle letter stickers. I love how it looks like it was cut with a Silhouette.

Around the edge of the layout I added my journaling and use ColorBox Cranberry ink to stamp two of my stamps from Technique Tuesday: Super Fantastic and All My Love.

Big thanks to Michael’s for including me in their challenge!

PS | Don’t forget to register for my new 12-week online workshop Hello Story. Get all the details and sign up here.

Last weekend I shared a layout challenge with those participating in the Creative Crop at Big Picture Classes and I wanted to share that layout with you today.

THE CHALLENGE | Use arrows to emphasize parts of your journaling.

Many of you know I’m big on getting stories told – real life, meaty stories that show the who, what, why, where, when and how of our lives from yesterday and today. I also love design and playing with the elements of design to tell my stories in visually interesting ways. Today I’m sharing a layout that uses arrows as a compliment to my story – helping to highlight certain areas of text. Your challenge is to create a layout that also uses the combination of story + arrows to tell a story from your life. An added bonus to this challenge would be to do a similar style of journaling – using the idea of Around Here. Start each sentence/paragraph with an “-ing” word to describe things (both big and small) that are happening in your life right now.

Here’s a look at my 12×12 layout:

To create this layout I went back through my blog posts that I haven’t yet made into layouts. I often like to use my blog as a holding place for stories I might want to make into layouts down the road. This one talks about the things that were happening around here in September 2012.

For photos I went to my September folder in Aperture (my photo management program) and printed out a couple to support the story. I printed them as one strip on 11×14 photo paper but you could easily print them individually and adhere one at a time.

The background of my layout is pattern paper from BasicGrey.

The “dated” tab is from Elle’s Studio.

I printed my journaling onto white cardstock and cut it into strips.

In between each thought/sentence I added a wood veneer arrow from Studio Calico (part of the Front Row kit). You could use an assortment of arrows or stick with all the same. Here’s a similar set.

I attached the wood veneer with a bit of rolling adhesive and then stitched it in place using embroidery floss and a needle.

I started and ending the journaling with chipboard triangles from My Mind’s Eye.

SUPPLIES

Click on the images to link to the products.