project life: update

i started project life on my 29th birthday and i thought the half year mark would be a good time to share some thoughts on this new (to me!) style of scrapbooking. i talked a little about it back in this post but basically, project life is a scrapbooking method developed by becky higgins. it's meant to encourage the documentation of everyday life and to simplify scrapbooking. the best part is that it can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be.




getting started
i started off with a three ring binder by we r memory keepers, a big variety pack of page protectors and the amber core kit which i had won from a giveaway hosted by paislee press. my plan was to keep it simple and stick to the kit...

where it all went wrong...
by the time i hit the six month mark, i just wasn't feeling it. i wanted project life to be a big journal but it was becoming a lot of work and more of a "i have to do it" than a "i want to do it". i missed my old journal. then i saw this blog post by document life workshop on why she "failed" at project life 2012 and suddenly, everything became crystal clear.

the amber core kit is great but there were a few problems for me. i like softer colors, blues, neutrals and simple designs so the amber kit just didn't feel quite right. there also weren't any horizontal 3x4 cards or vertical 4x6 cards so when i need these (or was looking for my fave colors), i tried to make my own or print freebies. this led to stress and a jumbled hodge podge look to my album which led to more stress.

there are so many great project lifers out there. it's easy to get distracted by what they create and think, "ohhh i should totally do that too!" some people can design layouts for every 4x6 and 3x4 pocket and it looks incredible. but that's just not for me. this is meant to be my journal where i save photos, hoard bits and pieces, doodle and write about "dear diary" moments. it takes me AGES create one 12x12 layout and trying to make a layout for 16 little boxes a week will destroy me and make me forget about my doodles and "dear diaries".

how i'll make it right again
for christmas, my sister got me the seafoam core kit. she didn't know that i had decided to stop with project life but that's okay because this kit changed my mind in an instant. it's everything i've wanted in project life and more. i love the colors (really, these are my favorite colors) and the design feels so right. all the cards are reversible so that they can be use vertically or horizontally, as a journaling card or a filler card. woohoo!!

 front and backs of the cards. pretty! lighting. not so pretty!

the matching vertical version is on the reverse side

i still would recommend project life to anyone whose looking for a way to document their life. it's a simple concept that can be adapted to whatever you want and need it to be.

i'm determined to use up the rest of my amber kit on the remainder of this year. why waste a good kit? then in june when i turn 30, i'll bust out the seafoam and start fresh. go project life!

paper presentation

a few weeks ago, we took a trip to new york for a wedding. i managed to find a few spare moments to check out paper presentation in the flatiron district. they have a ton of cool stuff though i didn't take any photos of the interior because their staff have a bit of a reputation and i was kind of intimidated going in. it's a large store with a fantastic selection of gifts, card/invitation making supplies, art supplies and scrapbooking goodies.

once i found the scrapbooking section i was terrible... i lost all self control and went on a shopping spree. they had so many of the brands that i've been eyeing lately and i couldn't help myself even though their prices were a little on the high side.

love these dear lizzy fabric papers by american crafts.

amy tangerine papers by american crafts. look at all those bright and juicy colors!

i don't have a plan for this one but i couldn't resist this sashiko-like paper by pebbles.

papers by kaiser craft, hello summer by echo park, dear lizzy neapolitan and i do both by american crafts. i'm totally giving into the trendy chevrons.

amy tan(gerine) did a recent post about hoarding pretty papers. i'm definitely guilty of that. i save papers because they're too pretty to use and then years go by until they're no longer in style or my tastes have changed. such a waste! so my goal is to use these all up this summer and enjoy seeing them in my layouts rather than in my box of papers.

crepe paper

oh beautiful crepe paper... have i got plans for you :)

holiday postcards

i've been searching for holidays cards for weeks and couldn't find one that i liked so i pieced one together using a couple of printables found through my favorite blogs.

i decided to turn this card by pauline grayson at munfinc into a postcard. for the back i used this design by amy moss at eat drink chic. brush on a ton of rubber cement (with the windows open!) to glue it onto a pearly postcard from paper source, slap a stamp on it, and into the mailbox it goes. i love the design and i save on paper and postage. sweet!

dawbis's lovely paper

dawbis of lovely paper, is a paper magician. what she does is so incredibly unique that i really haven't seen anything quite like it. when i saw her latest work in progress, i had a "eee-i-really-need-to-show-someone-how-amazing-this-is" moment. so i shall share it here!

 

 

images used with permission from dawbis

isn't it beautiful? everything she creates is a true work of art but something about this one, i really can't wait to see it finished. maybe it's the cute animals :) i'm hoping that someday, her work will be used as illustrations in a children's book. wouldn't they be perfect? to view more, visit dawbis's blog and flickr. she also has a vintage paper collection that is museum worthy. you really must check it out.

papercuts

not the painful kind. but the otherworldly, mind boggling kind. my first encounter with papercuts was when i stumbled upon papercutdiecut on etsy. i just kind of sputtered in disbelief for a few minutes, no joke. how how HOW can these possible be cut out of rice paper by human hands? i'm convinced that papercutdiecut is a fairy of some sort.

images from papercutdiecut. click on each photo to view their etsy listing.

and because i live in boston and because it simply rocks, i had to include this paper cut of the old boston city hall by papercutsbyjoe. i would never guess that this was a papercut! i can't imagine the thought process that must go into creating this out of a single sheet of paper and a craft blade. and one unexpected sneeze while cutting and it's game over.

image from papercutsbyjoe. click on the photo to view its etsy listing.

image from amazon

going along with all these beautiful works of paper art, i'm dying to read this book! i judge books by their covers and this one is so promising. i'm wishing and hoping that my library will order it soon. isn't it amazing how versatile paper is? and what's even more amazing is what the wonderfully creative people in this world can do with it.

fruity notes

deliciousness! i saw these fruity notes by D-BROS over at paper crave. why oh why can't i read japanese? normally, i would have trouble using things like this because they're just too pretty but these would be just as cute with a chunk of pages missing because it would just look as you cut yourself a juicy slice to snack on!

images from KOK