Category Archives: projects

Project Life Update (Month 2)

Project Life Update (Month 2)

Over the weekend, I updated our Project Life album.PL Aug 1 || noexcusescrapbooking.com

To adjust for the photo variety, I used an old We R Memory Keepers sticker organizer page on the right, which also required a bit of paper finagling.

PL aug 1 || noexcusescrapbooking.com

I just got a smart phone, so I’ve been playing with the camera a little bit. Not too impressed with the quality so far, but then again, it was a very cheap phone.

PL Aug 3 || noexcusescrapbooking.com

While on our first group family vacation ever– my family, my sister’s family, my mother, and my brother’s daughter all in one house for a week!–I managed to sprain my ankle, my mother tripped and fell face first into a patch of poison ivy, and my niece got a gigantic splinter in her foot.  Apparently we wanted to share everything, even injuries!

PL Aug 4 || noexcusescrapbooking.com

You might be able to see, on the right, all the journaling cards have the writing sideways. Since I am trying to write every day, I am not worrying about card orientation. That may lead to some awkward pages like this, but I want to make sure I’m capturing stories.

PL Sept 1 || noexcusescrapbooking.com

The last few days of vacation, first couple days of school, and then I got struck down by yet another case of strep throat. That’s an important thing to think about when doing long term projects– are you going to try to maintain your tempo when you’re feeling unwell, or are you going to give yourself room to heal and recover? That’s a decision you’ll have to make for yourself, based on what you want to accomplish, and what will most likely help you succeed.

I needed to slow down a bit, so there’s only a handful of cards and pictures for the two weeks I was sick. That’s alright. I’m back on track now!

How do you handle being sick? Do you keep making stuff?

 

Quick Hello!

Quick Hello!

Today’s my husband’s birthday, so it’s very busy.

However, it’s not too busy to miss sharing the recipe for what we’ll be having for dessert this evening– Triple Layer Chocolate Pudding Pie.

chocopuddingpie || noexcusescrapbooking.com

 

This is part of a family cookbook I am slowly working on, consisting of recipes I’ve found or created over the years that everyone loves. There are only 5 recipes in it so far, so this project will keep me busy for years. 😉

What do you have planned for the week? Anything fun? This is the first of three family birthdays in the next ten days, so we’re going to be a bit birthday happy over here.

Daily Documenting Resources!

Daily Documenting Resources!

I bet many of you have been bitten by the Project Life/Pocket Page/Daily Life Documenting bug. You love all those pages you see online, and you want to make your own, but you have no idea where to start.

Or maybe you have no idea what all these pocket pages are all about.

Well, there are a few things that can help you get started.

If the idea of taking a photo everyday scares you, check out Katrina Kennedy’s class. She’s got some great ideas that take the intimidation out of the whole daily photography challenge.

If you have time today, you should also check out Traci Reed’s PL planning class. You can participate live today, or watch the replays later. Traci will be sure to have lots of ways to help keep yourself organized in order to be successful with the whole daily documenting project. Traci’s also got a planner you can purchase  to get your daily documenting organized so you can tell deeper and more meaningful stories.

If you’ve already got a ton of pocket page supplies, and want to learn some new ways to decorate them for your  daily documenting, or to use them in other projects, you will want to check out True Scrap: Pocket Pages. That is a full day of classes with live instructors, pre-recorded video, and tons of inspiration. I’m really looking forward to taking those classes at the end of the month.

Last but not least, if you’re running out of ideas, or are painting yourself into the “My life in uninteresting” corner, I have a list of topics to document for you.

Microsoft Word - Photos to take.docx

Photos to take & stories to tell

I originally published this when I did my Week in the Life album last May, but the topics are useful for any kind of daily documenting. You can even print off the PDF if you want: Downloadable Photos to Take Printable

After you get these classes under your belt, you should be more than ready to tackle a daily documenting challenge. You can do it. Really you can.

Check Those Boxes!

Check Those Boxes!

Last week, we added some trees to our holiday decor. This week, how about some pretty boxes?

We’ve got gift boxes:altered gift boxes

And advent calendars:customized advent calendar

And gift boxes masquerading as ornaments:ornament box

All of these projects started the same, with either a papier-mâché box or an altoid tin. They were then painted, and covered with paper. For the advent calendar, I measured pieces of paper to fit the boxes, but for the other boxes, I tore paper and layered it on the form. Mod Podge works great as a paper adhesive and sealer, but plain old white glue will also work.

Once you’ve got the papers layered to your liking, add a few embellishments, and you’re done. This is a fun and easy project, although you will get messy, so protect your work surface and your clothes. The amount of time it takes depends upon how many layers or pieces you’re using, and how elaborate you make your box, as well as the amount of adhesive you use.

A couple close ups for you:

altered altoid tin

advent calendar

Do you make altered gift boxes? Have any interesting ones you want to share? Link it up in the comments!

 

A Trio of Trees

A Trio of Trees

As a scrapbooker, it’s practically a must to create at least some of your own holiday decor. Creating your own decorations is a great way to use up some of that must have stash you’ve been hoarding, and it’s inexpensive enough that you can adapt it or switch it out for other items each year, without breaking the bank.

Let’s start with my personal favorite: the Christmas tree.

Christmas Tree trio

These started out as plain styrofoam cones, with small styrofoam balls as toppers. You can find them in the floral section of any craft store. You’ll also need some short ball head pins, an adhesive sealer like mod podge, and some paint and inexpensive brushes. A glue gun or dimensional adhesive like diamond glaze or glossy accents is also helpful. Oh, and don’t forget paper and buttons!

collage tree

This tree was made using scraps of paper, torn into pieces, and then misted with a walnut ink to darken them up a bit. They were VERY pink to begin with. (I don’t know if you know this, but I’m not a huge fan of pink. Small doses of pink are nice. Not so much on my holiday decor. I prefer a more traditional color scheme.)

I then used an inexpensive brush and coated the back of each scrap with antique gold mod podge, adhered it to the cone, and added another layer of mod podge on top of the scrap. I repeated that with the rest of the scraps, trying to keep a good variety of colors next to each other, and not repeating colors on adjoining scraps.

button tree

For the button tree, my youngest and I just filled in the space as tightly as we could with buttons that we adhered with small ball head pins. You don’t want them to be too long, because then they’ll poke out the other side. (Owie!) As you can see, there are spots where the foam shows between buttons. That doesn’t bother me, but if it bothers you, try covering your cone with paint first.

paper strips tree

For this tree, cut a whole bunch of paper strips about half an inch wide by four inches. Fold it in half without creasing, and pin it onto the cone. Start on the bottom, and work you way up, making sure the end of each piece hides the pins for the lower strips. When you get to the top, if you have any extra length, just trim it off.

All of these trees were then finished off with a styrofoam ball painted with silver acrylic paint, and hot glued onto the top of the cone.

Do you have any simple trees you’d like to share? Link them up in the comments below!