DIY Mini Scrapbook Album – Vacay

I was inspired to try making my own mini scrapbook album from scratch after watching Heidi Swapp’s tutorial class on Scrapbook.com. It’s a free class & she uses boxed cards to make the base of the album.

I had a few photos printed from my last vacation to Aruba and decided to use those for the album. They are press prints from Persnickety Prints that I had hanging on my Christmas tree last year. The press prints are so nice and sturdy, just love them. I also highly recommend the pearl finish when you have an image that you want to shimmer.

I had this Simple Stories Good Day Sunshine paper pad that I’ve been using for years now. I think it was a freebie from the Stamp & Scrapbook Expo, so it was a big stack with multiple pages of each design. I decided to try to kill it off with this album.

I chose a few papers and cut them down so that the album would be a 6×8 size. I adhered some pages together and used my sewing machine to sew pockets in a few pages (3). Heidi Swapp gives this idea/tip in her 2nd video in the class series. I like the idea of mixing the pages, some with pocket tags, some without.

I cut some chipboard to 6×8 and adhered it all together with Tombo permanent adhesive. For the cover I chose a paper that was 9 inches long so there would be overhang onto the back of the album to cover the spine. The journal card pages worked perfect for that.

Once the base of the album was complete, I loosely outlined where I wanted the photos then proceeded to complete & embellish each page. In total it probably took about 6-7 hours to complete the whole thing. Probably the quickest I’ve ever completed a project like this. Using the one paper pack as a base and sticking to a theme probably helped me focus more and get it done.

I used a lot of stash supplies, that “escape” sticker is from 7 Gypsies. Lots of Simple Stories embellishments from their mini “snap” packs and some other beach/paradise collection like “Here We Go”.

I love tags, and finally picked up a tag die-cut set at Stamp & Scrapbook Expo last year. It is from Hero Arts, the Infinity Tag set.

These papers worked out well because of the way they are color blocked for divided page protectors, it sort of blocks off different parts of the page layouts and also provides embellishment without having to add too much extra.

The “pure magic” is from Me & My Big Ideas, the other stickers and washi are Simple Stories Here We Go collection.

This fruity paper is from a 6×6 pad – American Crafts Dear Lizzy Happy Place. It was perfect for a visit to the smoothie bowl shack.

When I decided to start this album I had no printer ink, so couldn’t print additional photos that way. I did use my Lifeprint mini printer to print out mini photos of the food and snacks from the trip. The strip of paper under “good eats” is inked with Ranger Distress Inks. Again the pattern paper was already designed, so I didn’t have to add anything to it.

Sunglasses paper from 6×6 pad – American Crafts Dear Lizzy Happy Place. I also started by using the kraft photo corners, then just decided to continue that throughout the album for cohesiveness. The press prints are such a nice quality and I didn’t want to adhere them down.

This layout probably took the longest because I was trying to block off the left page to add some small stories. I have a Lifeprint hyperphoto that will take the place of the regular photo on the top part about these swans, fish and a swimming iguana. (Their servers were down at the time 😦 )

The bottom was a visit to a favorite night spot, Bugaloe, with live music & the best grouper ceviche – yum!

For the right side, I added a different paper from Simple Stories Summer Vibes collection. I cut parts off to make the words make sense for the theme.

I wanted to include some journaling in the album, some was recorded in Day One app and other in an Instagram post. I put the journaling (which I write a word or two about the different things that happen, places visited or inside joke type stories) on the viewable page. Then I add my more personal take to the pocket tag.

For the page I wanted to put the journaling right on that busy page, so I used the negative from the tag die-cut to ink a space that journaling printed on vellum would show up. I used Ranger Oxide Inks to get a nice layer of ink to cover up the images on the paper. At first I just printed the font in black, but then decided I would like it reversed better. I use apps on my phone to create this journaling and print directly to my Canon printer using their printer app. (Letterglow app, PicStitch app, and Canon Print – learn more about that here) I continued that inking on the right side of the page to outline the photo a bit more.

Used my typewriter for this journaling on the tag.

This album was fun and surprisingly easy to come together. I’m glad I have a completed project for something I wasn’t even sure I was going to scrap the photos for to begin with.

I highly recommend checking out Heidi’s class and trying a mini album of your own.

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Feeling Crabby // scrapbook layout share

I needed to just make a page. I hadn’t done it in a while. I wanted to capture the moment. I wanted to capture my mood. A few incidents have just been circling and sometimes recording it, & getting it out seems to offer clarity in some way. Or maybe validation?

I needed to get some photos printed on my Instax with the black border film that was in there, so that I could change it for some other photos I wanted to print.

So I printed these 2 photos from capturing my crab sweater, which also coincided with a Instagram post a couple weeks ago.

I just wanted to make and not think too much. I used paper from Pinkfresh Studio Dream On collection and elements from their Indigo Hill collection, I received in a warehouse box last year.

I also wanted to incorporate the new Tim Holtz Snarky Small Talk stickers.

I also used some stickers from Simple Stories Carpe Diem Posh line.

The cute little crab is actually from a stationery pad my cousin gifted to me.

If you follow me at all, you may know about my quest to understand my journey more, which deals with a lot of inward soul searching, in true fashion of a Cancer or crab, water sign, guided by the moon.

I let the colors of my sweater guide me. Nautical colors are always a favorite, but I liked that this was not a layout from the nautical season so much. Thinking about these collections in different ways.

I’ve been challenging myself to use older supplies, so pulled out the polaroid border frame and arranged it under the pop-dotted Instax photos.

I knew the most important part was getting some journaling down and left a space at the bottom for some quick notes. These sentence fragments are probably my favorite way to record journaling. Just how my monkey mind thinks sometimes, in bits & pieces.

I used a metallic pencil to quickly sketch some lines as a guide for the journaling. I went to use my Signo white roller ball pen, but it was almost out of ink, so I switched to the Sakura gelly roll. This one also wasn’t flowing, but got it to work. I suspect this incredibly dry air is part of that.

For the date title, I used some older alpha stickers. The white did not show up as well as I wanted with the pattern paper, so I outlined it with black pen to stand out a bit more.

I like how the layout finally came together. Sometimes I’m not sure as I’m going along, but I was determined to not get held up too much. I actually finished it rather quickly in comparison to others.

I always come back to a few tried & true techniques, or rather things I love about scrapbooking:

Candid photos  //  handwriting  //  pattern paper mixing  //  collage (or more modernly known as clustering)  //  words/phrases  //  dark backgrounds  // a 3-color scheme

Start Where You Are // New Year

I’ve spent the last couple weeks enjoying a slower pace. Practicing silence. The silence I crave during busy times like the holiday season. I have a few rituals at the start of a calendar new year to sort of reset a bit. First I sign off of social media for a few weeks, which I’m only actively on Instagram, so not that difficult. I get back to organizing my studio, get old projects wrapped up and line up new ones. I tend to get back to blogging, or more importantly, writing, a thing I love so much but have trouble making time for. And catching up on a lot of reading, or in my case lately listening to audiobooks. I’ve already completed 4 titles this year.

I enjoy this slower time to get back to my creativity and rest. The rest helps with the creativity. As much as I am a summer child, I sort of enjoy the quiet, slower pace the winter brings. I’ve had a few days where all I could do was sit under a blanket with the wood burning fireplace roaring away. And I find it’s exactly what I need.

As in yoga, honor the body, also honor the mind. Honor the being. Be present and feel what is needed in that moment.

For the past 5 years I’ve downloaded and used Susannah Conway’s workbook Unravel. It’s a great way to look back on the past year and make some assessments, as well as ponder the next year to come. I often think about how the new year falls in the northern hemisphere, as we are in winter so there’s more indoor introspection going on. I wonder how different it must be for our friends to the south. I have a ritual of not looking back at the prior year’s Unravel until I’ve filled out the current one, as to not be influenced by my previous thoughts/plans/ideas.

In retrospect of 2017, there were a few things I didn’t get to and a few tasks still left unanswered. But my ability to assess grew better, I was more aware, I was better at practicing silence, I was better at working through emotions, I was better at weathering the ebbs & flows. And that is more of an achievement than I can ever hope for.

As I continue my self awareness journey, the journey inward, I can only hope and plan for more growth in 2018.

In addition to Unravel and choosing a word, I set up my new Bullet Journal for the year ahead. I was happy with my 2017 set up so I will continue the same style going forward, with a few adjustments as seen here.

Also, I started to dive into this guided journal from Meera Lee Patel Start Where You Are. I’m a fan of her cards and artwork.

I found a great pocket moon calendar for the year at Amazon here. As a Cancer, a moon child, I learned a lot more about how this influences my life this past year. I paid more attention to the phases & how it correlates to mood. I learned more about the cycles and their impact overall. Again, being aware. Looking forward to more growth in this aspect in 2018.

A few new things for the new year. I don’t like resolutions. And goals sounds too business-like. So they are just new ideas, new wants or new things to try…

I’ve been dabbling in the study of aromatherapy – I want to learn more about this from herbs to essential oils to the Ayurveda approach. I really would like to try to make my own soy candles.

There’s also organization to be done. Some things are just still unfinished. Others need a refresh. I always find a little organization refresh in the studio seems to jump start the creating process as well. Love that connection.

I have some professional goals as far as studying and taking a test for a certification I’ve been considering for a couple years.

I would like to make more progress on a physical representation of my ancestry and see the results of the work I’ve put into that research. This takes quite a bit of time and I still haven’t figured out exactly how I am displaying or publishing what I’ve found.

And finally, we are discussing the idea of pet ownership again, by maybe the end of the year. So something to look forward to.

I feel like I’m off to a good start. Here’s to 2018!