More Scrapbooking! – Divided Page Protector Style

I am in trouble because I am almost out of this style of We R Memory Keepers divided page protectors and I don’t think they make them anymore! The 8.5×11 does not have enough variety. I will have to start using my WRMK fuse tool more I suppose.

Here are a few more layouts for my 2016 album. I mostly just fill in with some pattern paper or journal cards and add some text to photos.

The square prints were printed from Social Print Studio. I love their thick, matte photo paper. I simply added a few alpha stickers (Simple Stories) and some journaling onto photos.

These photos are a day at the zoo with my nephew. I used this single sheet of paper from Bella Blvd The Zoo Crew collection to make the inserts in middle of page.

A few photos from Easter 2016. I am quite obsessed with the mason jar paper from Echo Park Made from Scratch collection, I think I have 3 more sheets of it in my stash. Very versatile, makes for cute cards too.

 

If anyone has any of these page protectors they want to sell, let me know.

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Scrapbook Layout Share

I was fortunate to get to attend 3 crops so far this year! So I accomplished quite a few layouts (for me). When I go to crops, I tend to spend a longer time creating & trying out different techniques since I have a decent amount of time to focus on scrapbooking.

At 2 crops I worked on layouts and a traveler’s notebook from my Hawaii trip last year. At the 3rd crop, I just worked on cards to catch up my stash and prepare for a few card-worthy events coming up.

Here are just a few layouts I didn’t share yet:

This is just a simple Christmas layout of a family photo. The photo was edited with Photoshop Elements and printed through Persnickety Prints. I love this Carta Bella Christmas Delivery collection. I add a few of my signature designs with the folded up paper corner, page flags and stapled tab. The busy plaid green paper didn’t need too much embellishment.

I love this photo of my farmer’s market haul. Farm fresh brown eggs & flowers. This scene is pretty frequent in my summer. I knew I wanted to add some of the Graphic 45 paper from Home Sweet Home collection. I grew up in the suburbs, but where I lived it was more country, my neighbors had hens and we always had brown eggs. When I see this paper I always think of those memories growing up of my Dad’s huge garden, having to snap beans, pick & weed, Mom making quarts of tomato sauce, cherry pie parties with neighbors, it was truly something out of a Norman Rockwell scene.

I struggled with the title. I did not have my Silhouette machine with me and none of my alpha stickers worked (I kno right!). So I just handwrote the title. It’s probably a little smaller than I wanted, but I was focused on lettering neatly!

I still want to add some white stitching around the outside. It is sitting in my “to-do” bin waiting for a chance to get to stitching on a few layouts.

This candid snap was taken while placing the phone on the steps and trying to take a picture of us. It caught us in the midst of just playing around smooching. Love the light streaming in and contrast. I wanted to just use some pretty papers, but also have a gray layout. The cardstock is Papertrey Ink, and pattern paper from Simple Stories Heart Collection & another one I can’t remember! The SS Heart Collection is a very versatile one, I’ve used it on several different types of layouts. The colors of mint, black, gold, gray & mustard are a fav combo. The transparent ‘love’ journal card is an old one from Kelly Purkey. I thought of stitching on this layout too, but then decided I liked it as is and slipped it into my 2016/2017 album.

I’ve shared a bit of the layouts below on Instagram, but here they are again:

Green cardstock: Papertrey Ink; Yellow PP: Amy Tangerine Plus One, 6×6 American Crafts Happy Place; Instax photo printed with SP-2 printer; Celebrate Life giant stickers from MAMBI; Clear embellishment: Heidi Swapp Lightbox Icon Inserts

At the one crop, the door prize I picked were the Heidi Swapp Lightbox Icon Inserts. I don’t have a lightbox, but I thought they could make cute embellishments. I challenged myself to make a layout with them, and saw the photobooth props and remembered a photo of my nephew & I with mustaches. I brought my handy Instax SP-2 printer (more to come on that) with me to the crop, which makes it so easy to print photos as needed. A few quick edits in PicTapGo and voila, ready to make a layout!

As strange as it sounds, I don’t traditionally scrapbook vacations. It’s just too overwhelming! For my trip to Hawaii I did work on a traveler’s notebook while on vaca and recently finished it up. I also plan to make a digital photobook very soon through Mpix. I used Mpix to make one of their panoramic photobooks for my Euro trip and was really happy with the results. I just finished up another book with them for a graduation gift. So Hawaii will be next.

But I always like to include a few layouts or my favorite photos from a trip into my regular, chronological album. I printed this photo on my Canon Pixma printer just a little under 8.5×11. Punched the palm tree punch in the corner (that I’ve had since I was a kid!) And use the white, Uni-ball Signo gel pen to write my favorite places, memories & events of the trip. And fyi the colors of that photo are not photoshopped, probably just bumped the contrast slightly.

 

Hope you enjoyed my share and were inspired by something. If I didn’t link something you are interested in, leave me a comment.

 

Stay Worthy Through the Hustle // Meditation Practice

If you meditate you know how hard it is. Not to master, but even to begin.

I’ve been actively meditating for about four years now. It ebbs and flows as all things. As you learn in yoga (or breathing exercises or meditation practice), the idea is that the techniques you learn on the mat are then built upon and become habits you apply to life off of the mat. Concepts like observing, letting go, learning to deal with adversity, overcoming challenges, and seeking your own truth.

The main stress of meditation practice is to empty your brain of all thought. If a thought comes up, you are to observe it and release it. Let go. Do not get attached. It’s much easier said than done. In the beginning it is actually more helpful to pick one word or idea to focus on to help train yourself. I have a word I chose very early on in practice that I still use when find myself wandering a bit. I should say a word that chose me. To do so, be still, concentrate on your breathing, feel the energy from a chakra of your choice (heart, third eye, crown), & let the word emerge, then focus on it. Use it as a grounding force when other thoughts try to get in.

I practice yoga & meditation at lunch time which is a nice way to reset my day, but can also be challenging to release the dreaded to do list. Sometimes in meditation I will find a thought like “remember to send that email” creeping in. Sometimes if there is not a lack of focus (which is better than a focus in meditation) an internal dialogue starts of “release the thought, why did I ruin my meditation with my to do list”, which can tailspin into the I am not good enough camp.

Today when my thoughts disrupted my practice and I tried to observe & release, before the internal chatter started, I felt a mantra emerge from deep within “I will stay worthy through the hustle.” And just like that the peace returned and a new charge inspired me. The description of what happened in these last few sentences literally all happens in a matter of two seconds. For this, I am so thankful for my practice and what it has taught me. It can be so revealing. Everyone has rotten days but there are not many I can think of where I do not leave my mat feeling better off. More accurately, a majority of the time it leads to greater energy, more inspiration and a strong sense of worthiness.

So that thought to stay worthy through the hustle? I interpret it to mean, yes we have our to do lists and our unending amount of tasks left to get to, but that does not make us any less worthy. We are our own worst critics, we think about what we are not doing and what we could be doing better.  We can stay in the hustle, continue chasing our goals, or checking off our lists, and still be considered whole. Still be present. Still be worthy of all the goodness life has to offer us. Even through the challenges.

I think recently with the new year and the expectations that brings, as well as the current turmoil in the political environment, it’s easy to become extremely self critical and almost feel guilty. I know I experience those moments and have to rely on my teachings, what I know of myself, & work through to manage the emotions.

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I am recording this here as I would like to add this to my 2017 traveler’s notebook, but also to help anyone else with their meditation practice.