{8 1/2 x 11} My Way of Scrapping Project Life

Note: This has turned out to be a rather lengthy post. So, grab a cup of hot chocolate or tea or something fun, and I hope you find this helpful.

In 2013, I really perfected how I approach Project Life or any other divided page protector scrapping. Most of you know that I do not scrap 12x12. It is just too big for me. I scrap 6x6, 8x8, 9x9, and 8 1/2 x 11. Mostly for my albums now it is 6x6 and 8 1/2 x 11. Love these two sizes. And for Project Life, I know most people choose 12x12. Again, that is just too big for me. I tried it in 2013, and I quickly knew it would not work for me. The 6x8 albums are a cute size but too small for this style of scrapping for me. I also want to be able to put in my regular, fancy scrapbook pages too into these albums. So, I have settled on using 8 1/2 x 11 albums. It is working so wonderfully for me but finding 8 1/2 x 11 page protectors can be difficult. We will discuss that shortly.

Weekly, Monthly, What?

I put photos in my album by month. I made three 8 1/2 x 11 Month-in-Review albums for my girls for Christmas. That concept showed me that approaching Project Life monthly is a great way to handle it. Basically for 2014 thus far, I am just using the photos I like for January. If it takes a 2-page spread for the month, great. If it takes more than a 2-page spread and goes over several pages, great. I am not going to be a stickler about it. It's very freeing to just print my photos, journal, and add what I want without worrying that I don't have photos for a particular day or week even.

Where to Find 8 1/2 x 11 Page Protectors

In my album, I use 8 1/2 x 11 page protectors by WRMK, Stampin' Up, and The Paper Studio (Hobby Lobby). I also cut down some of the Becky Higgins Project Life page protectors. I will share that below.

WRMK Page protectors 8.5x11 Ring (9-3.5x2.625 Photo Sleeves), 10 Pack, #50030-8 

The Paper Studio 8 1/2 x 11 Album Refill (4.25 x 5.25), 15 pack, #808998 (left)

The Paper Studio 8 1/2 x 11 Album Refill (3.25 x 5.25), 15 pack, #808881 (right)

Stampin' Up/Stampin' Memories 8 1/2 x 11 Divided Pages, Code 5040-00

These particular pages I found on eBay, and I must say they are my favorite pages. They are sturdy, and I love the layout. Unfortunately, I have not been able to ever find these again. I have no idea how old they even are. I have listed the product name and number here just in case you might be able to find them somewhere for yourself.

Cutting Down 12x12 Pages

I love to use and cut down the Becky Higgins Style H pages. Once cut, they fit beautifully in an 8 1/2 x 11 album. To do this: 

1. Place bottom of page protector at 11 15/16". Trim top portion off. 
2. Turn page protector so the top is now positioned at 11 3/8". Cut off the bottom. 
3. Using your sewing machine, sew bottom portion of the page protector to close the open section. You can also use washi tape for fun.

I keep a little note of these measurements on a card on my trimmer since this is something I do often.

Adding the Months

Since I am scrapping my extra photos monthly, I went ahead and created my 2014 cards for each month. I used Memory Box distressed dots paper, a free printable calendar from Pinterest, and I cut Quickutz letters for each month in black cardstock. The printable calendar I cannot find online again. My laptop crashed before I could pin or save it. I am so sorry. Click here to see the many printable calendars on Pinterest. I am sure you will find one you love and can use.

My First Pages

Here are my first pages for 2014. Now, I don't get fancy with my pages. This is about getting the photos in and the journaling down—that's it. A few embellishments here and there but that's all I add. In the end will my family know how everyone else was adding so much more? No. I am sure it won't even cross their minds. They want the photos and the story. That's how my approach was to the Month-in-Review albums I made for my girls. And they poured over them at Christmas. One daughter even commented "Thank you mommy. I was thinking the other day that 2013 was the best year ever. Now I have it in the album." That touched me so much because that's exactly the purpose! So, that's my approach to my 2014 album.

I hope this has been helpful to you in some small way. Have fun getting those photos printed and journaling complete. And remember, to keep track of my journaling and memorabilia, I use a binder I created just for this purpose. Click here to see that post. Have a blessed Tuesday!

Organizational {Friday} Journaling and Photos for 2014

I have learned a lot this year about how I work best when it comes to storing photos and keeping track of events and journaling. I found things that work for me and things that don't.  I worked on Project Life this year, have created three Month-in-Review (MIR) albums for my girls for Christmas, and worked on regular scrapbook pages. In doing this all of this, I really had to adjust how I organize and keep track of things. So, let me show you where I was and how I am going to start 2014 and be organized from the get-go.

Previously

This past year as I was creating the MIR albums for my girls, I had to go back through all of my pictures for the entire year and write down the dates and details of each photo. That took a long time. It was probably the most time consuming piece of the MIR project. Had I journaled this entire year, it would have been a piece of cake. And by journaling, I don't mean writing a long story each day. I just mean writing short bullet notes on what happened each day. For instance:

• Oct. 18: C tries on high heels
• Oct. 19: California Dreaming and shopping with the girls

Here is a look at one of the pages:

Simple but jogs the memory and I know when the photo was taken. Did this notebook work? Yes and no. It would have if I would have started it at the beginning of the year. I went through all of my 2013 photos and jotted 10 pages of notes like the one above. My carpal tunnel got the best of me which will be a great reminder to keep up my new binder system in 2014. And while I could continue this notebook in 2014, I don't have anywhere to put memorabilia. I have also been confused as to what to do with all of the fun school photos the kids text me from college. The new system I am going to use will take care of that issue. Let's look at that now.

The Binder

I picked a Russell+Hazel Signature Binder several years ago from 2Peas in a Bucket. They had them on clearance, and I paid about $7 for it. They run $25, and I am kicking myself for not ordering more! Anyway, they are very sturdy binders. I will use one for this project, and I have one full of sketches. I love the integrated rubber band that keeps everything enclosed nicely.

I could alter the cover but I am going to leave it bare for now. It's going to get tossed around a lot over the next year so leaving it like this is fine.

The Pages

I found the pages on Pinterest from Jacky V. I liked what she did but I have made a few changes to my process which I will explain below. The pages are great if you want to download them (click here).

The Process

In Jacky's binder, she printed 52 pages and used 52 sheet protectors. I have done it a little differently. I printed 29 pages (2-sided) and only used 12 sheet protectors. She uses the sheet protectors for weekly memorabilia. I know I don't have that much memorabilia so I went with just monthly sheet protectors instead of weekly. That will work great for me.

I did create little tabs to put on the edge of each sheet protector. I used a 7Gypsies stamp set that I got from 123stitch. You can see that set here. I trimmed some Memory Box blue poppy cardstock into 1 1/2"x2 1/2" pieces, stamped each month, and adhered the labels to each sheet protector. I also stapled each label to the sheet protector because I wasn't sure the ATG adhesive would hold up on the plastic. I used my Tim Holtz tiny attacher to staple it to the sheet protector.

Binder: Russell+Hazel Signature Binder

Stamps: 7Gypsies 12 months cling mount stamp set

Stamp Ink: Memento rich cocoa

Other products used: Tim Holtz tiny attacher, Memory Box blue poppy cardstock

I will not use the top part of each page to pre-plan where pictures will go since I do not use those page protectors in my albums. I can use that area to write other notes or just leave it blank.

I am excited to take my quick notes each day and have an easy place to store memorabilia for each month. And anyone can use this system. It does not have to be for Project Life. It can be just a way to journal and save memorabilia for your regular scrapbook pages. I find I am mixing my fancy scrapbook pages with divided page protectors in my 8 1/2 x 11 WRMK albums anyway. I really like that a lot. Then I don't feel forced to put a lot of photos on a single page. I can scrap one photo on a "fancy page" and then put the extra photos from an event/day/week in the divided page protectors behind the layout.

And as far as storing my photographs on my laptop, I still store them the way I have for 3 or so years now. I can easily find what I have but now I must make sure I "process and file" those photos that come via text message. That's where I can get into trouble but as long as I manage and file those, everything works great. I also make sure I keep them backed up on my external drive (a Passport). You can see a post on how I store my photos on my laptop by clicking here.

I hope you have found this helpful. Have fun getting yourself ready for another year of capturing those family memories! Have a blessed weekend!

A {Coupon} Binder

Hubby was traveling a few weeks ago so my daughter and I decided to watch the show called "Extreme Couponing." Have you seen it? It was the first time I have ever watched it. While it was a bit "extreme" for me, it also renewed my interest in couponing again. I used to do it years ago but got so busy with the kids that I did not feel the effort was worth my time. Well, after watching the show, I realized that I will search for online coupons every time I shop online. Why am I not using coupons when I go to the grocery store and other places? So, I decided to start couponing again but with some changes to my system from years and years ago. Let's look at what I am doing.

The Binder

First, I used a Simple Stories binder that I had in my studio. It is perfect. The large binders that people seem to use on the show are just too large for me. I am not couponing to that extent anyway. And the little "wallet style" coupon book I used years ago didn't work too well either. So, I think this new binder will be perfect. I can keep individual coupons in the Simple Stories Sn@p! Pocket Pages and easily see what I have and when coupons expire. It's also small enough to carry into the store. Isn't it pretty?

To decorate it, I used copies of my scanned art journaling pages. It was easy to print them out onto Neenah Bright White Cardstock, ink the edges, and then adhere to the front of my binder. I also used scanned art journaling pages for the dividers too. It was quick to do yet makes it look like I spent much more time on the binder than I did. Sneaky huh? :)

For the decorative piece, I used the Blue Fern Studios Blooming Foliage chipboard. I covered it in gesso and then painted it with Shimmerz crushed coral Texturez and spritzed with Lindy's Stamp Gang Frenchy's Pink Pouf.

The alphabet I used throughout the binder is the Memory Box Large Typewriter set.

The System

As you open the binder, there is a table of contents. I have each section numbered and in alphabetical order. I labeled each divider with the corresponding number. I did it that way so it will be easy to move things if I add new dividers and sections. I also have my address and phone number on this page just in case my binder is lost. Oh I pray not because I am rather fond of it now. :)

Behind the table of contents, I have an empty 6x8 pocket page. I use that to hold the coupons I will use. It will be easy to take them out of that page pocket when I get to the check out.

Then the binder starts with the divided sections by number. Here you can see a couple of my sections.

Papers: Art journaling papers by Patter Cross
Simple Stories products: 6x8 Sn@p! binder, 6x8 page protectors, 3x4 divided page protectors, 3x4/4x6 divided page protectors
Blue Fern Studios chipboard: Blooming Foliage (painted with Shimmerz crushed coral Texturez and Lindy's Stamp Gang Frenchy's Pink Pouf)
Stamp Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink black soot
Embellishments: Memory Box large typewriter alpha and number die sets

Now I am only cutting coupons I know I will use. I am very picky about brands I use, etc., so this binder should not get too large but it will also help me save a little money much more easily now. I also read on a website to spend just 15 minutes a week going through your book to make sure you have removed the expired coupons. It only took me about 20 minutes to go through yesterday's ads from the paper and cut out the coupons we use. Now, I can do that! How about you?

I am using three different styles of the Simple Stories page pockets.

• 6"x8" page protectors
• 3"x4" divided page protectors
• 3"x4"/4"x6" divided page protectors

These all seem to hold my various coupons just perfectly. I hope that this has been helpful. So grab a Simple Stories album and page pockets and begin couponing with me! Have a blessed week!

Organizational {Friday} Coming Soon From Stampin' Things!

Most of you remember my posts about the amazing products from Stampin' Things. If you want to see my post on their various units, please click here. You can also visit their website here.

The Ultimate Tray

Today I wanted to share a new product that Sue has developed. It's called The Ultimate Tray. It arrived this morning via FedEx, and my girls and I have been "oohing and aghing" over it ever since it arrived. Even my daughter that loves dollhouses felt she could use it for her dollhouse goodies. I wonder if that was a subtle hint that she wants my new tray. LOL! Anyway, here is a photo of the empty tray:

The dimensions are:

Height: 4" (not including handles)

Length: 18"

Depth: 16"

Number of Cubbies: 24

Large Cubby: 3 3/8" x 3"

Small Cubby: 3 3/8" x 2 1/4"

Note: Dividers can be removed to make cubbies into various sizes!

You can use this tray flat on a desk or table for horizontal storage, or you can stand it on end or on its side for vertical storage.

How Can You Use This Tray?

The possibilities are endless! You can fill the cubbies with embellishments, Project Life Cards, punches, adhesives, you name it! Let's look at some sample ideas.

First, you can use it to store your Project Life cards and other Project Life items. Here you can see I have numerous Project Life kits as well as washi tape, adhesive, punches, stapler, scissors, corner rounder, and room for more!

I also stood the unit on its side and put a few 4 oz. baby food jars in 3 of the cubbies.

Now you could probably find better jars. These jars were a bit small. I could push them back and still have a bit of room. A jar that is just a bit larger would get you even more storage space. Or if you are storing the tray horizontally, you would not even need jars. Just fill up those cubbies with embellishments, cards, etc.

How Many PL Kits?

To give you an idea of how a Project Life Core Kit fits in The Ultimate Tray, I put the entire Kraft Core Kit in just 3 cubbies. And as you can see, there is room to spare. I did remove one divider so that the 4x6 cards fit well. I also put the unit on its side so you can see that it can sit on a table that way for Project Life storage.

And if this photo is any indication, it looks like you should be able to fit 6-7 Project Life Core Kits in The Ultimate Tray. Wow! And if you are storing this horizontally, it is very easy to pick up and carry to various places around your home to work on your Project Life pages. So fun!

Also if you use cards other than Project Life, this piece is perfect because of the adjustable cubby size! Just remove a divider, and make this piece work for you!

Where to Buy?

This piece is coming soon! You are getting the first sneak peek of this new product! If you are interested in this beautiful storage piece, Sue will have it on the Stampin' Things site for ordering soon. I will post here on my blog with links when it is available. Go ahead and add it to your wish list and be one of the first to order as soon as it's available!

Note: This tray can now be ordered by clicking here! :)

I hope you are as excited about this tray as I have been. Sue really designs and makes stunning pieces! Feel free to leave her comments here on what you think of her newest design! Thanks for stopping by! Have a blessed weekend!

Organizational {Friday} Cards for PL, Simple Stories, Etc.

For those of you doing some sort of Project Life or Simple Stories albums, you know finding what you have or want to use can be difficult. I got really frustrated earlier this week when my new Project Life Blush kit arrived. As I went through the kit and the other cards I already have, I knew I would never be able to find the date cards, the phrase cards, etc., easily. What should I do? Should I keep them separated by set, divide them out—I wasn't sure what to do.

So, as I sat in my studio, looked at all of the cards, and thought about it, I came up with a solution I love plus it looks pretty too! So today, that's what I want to share with you!

First, if you have any Project Life trays, don't throw them away. They are GREAT for storing your cards. The tray even fits in the IKEA Raskog cart perfectly! I put the plastic tray from my new PL Blush kit down into the top shelf of my Raskog cart. The tray makes it very easy to stand the cards up and flip through quickly to find what you are looking for. Click here to see my Raskog cart filled with Project Life goodies. :)

To organize them, I first needed to make some divider tabs. Library cards and washi tape are my favorite friends, so I chose to use those. I trimmed the library cards down just a bit as they were a tad tall. Once I trimmed them down, I rounded the corners with my Zutter Round-it-All. The pink Round-it-All makes rounded corners nearly identical to the size of the PL cards. Perfect! Then I decided on washi tape colors to use for each line and manufacturer.

I decided to keep the Project Life cards in their original sets; however, I separated out the cards a bit to find things more easily. For instance:

• Amber Journaling
• Amber Titles
• Bazzill Cardstock
• Blush Daily Cards
• Blush Journaling
• Blush Phrases
• Blush Titles
• Cherry Journaling
• Clementine Journaling
• Cobalt Daily Cards
• Cobalt Journaling
• Cobalt Phrases
• Cobalt Titles
• Free Printables
• Grid Journaling Cards
• Jade Journaling
• Simple Stories
• Webster's Pages

You will also note that I have a few manufacturer tabs too—Simple Stories, Bazzill, Webster's Pages, Free Printables, etc. I will show you what I did with those in a moment.

Now, if you notice from the list above, I only have daily/date cards in the Blush and Cobalt sets. I would never have remembered that. I probably would continue to search through each set wondering if there were date cards for a specific set. Now I know I only have them for those two sets, and I know right where to find them now with my tabs! I love it! The reason I don't have date cards for some sets is because I have been able to swap some sets with people, and I don't have the full sets.

Each Project Life line and each manufacturer were assigned a washi tape color. I tried to keep them in line with the colors of the cards to help me remember but they are labeled too so it is very easy for me to find things. And of course, everything is in alphabetical order too. Here are a few photos of the organized tabs and cards:

Manufacturer Tabs

Now my next dilemma was what should I do with the 3x4 cards from Simple Stories, Webster's Pages, free printables, etc. I wanted them all together in my cart but wasn't sure how to handle them. Again after much contemplation, here is what I decided to do. 

I don't have enough cards to warrant separate tabs for separate lines from these manufacturers. So, I just created one tab for each manufacturer. Then when cutting the cards apart (most of these come on 12x12 sheets), I kept the tab across the bottom of the page that says which line the cards are from. I then trimmed that down and used my removable adhesive to attach it to the first card in that line of cards. Oh gosh, is this making sense? Here is a photo of my Webster's Pages cards:

Now you can see, I don't have very many Webster's Pages cards but I have them separated by line within the divider tab by making these little tabs out of the bottom of the 12x12 paper. In the photo below you can see my Webster's Pages divider tab (light green in front of the library cards). Now, see the little "sub tabs" sticking up? This works really well for me. I have done the same with the Simple Stories lines too.

I did not round the corners of these cards. I will decide if I am going to do that when I use them. It will depend on the page layout. :)

4x6 Cards

The larger cards (4x6) are kept in the larger part of the tray with the same matching tabs as the 3x4 cards in the front. You can see them here:

The Back

And just look at the back of the cards? 

Look at the color just sitting in my room! Color makes me happy, and I love this little cart. I can roll it around anywhere in my room. I will be sharing what I keep on the other shelves in a later post.

And yes, a studio tour is coming soon. It is taking me so much longer than I wanted it to take but I continue to reorganize. It has never really been done yet because I am still not "happy" with it all yet. Plus with my daughter's issues and many doctor visits, things are slowed down a bit. Please be patient, and I hope I can get it up soon!

Update: The Studio Tour is done! :) Click here to see it!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope this helps you as you organize those cards! Feel free to ask questions in the comment section, and I will respond there. Blessings,

Tuesday's {Tip} Traveling?

Recently I went on a 3-day trip. I have always seen how people take along their scrapbooking with them. I thought maybe I could take my Project Life/Simple Stories goodies; however, I love to play with all of my goodies before committing to certain embellishments, etc., and I knew I couldn't take my whole studio. I guess that's why I don't like to go to crops either. LOL! So, I decided to take a time consuming project that didn't require taking a lot of product.

I purchased a great stamp set called Pop Dots recently from Green Pepper Press for my Project Life/Simple Stories pages. 

Isn't this an awesome set? I knew it was on unmounted rubber, and I didn't mind that but I wanted them on cling mount. So, I thought this would be the perfect job for time in a hotel.

I grabbed a 12x12 bag and began packing. I went ahead and put the 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of rubber stamps onto a piece of cling mount and put it in the bag. I then added:

*Tim Holtz scissors

*Various colors of Stampin' Up ink to create my inventory sheet like those seen in this post here

*A small acrylic block to stamp each image

*Gina K. sheets for the newly cut stamps

*One Univenture binder to store the sheets of newly cut stamps

*Small container full of baby wipes to clean the stamps

*Black pen to note the stamp set on the inventory sheet

You can see in the photo below the tiny acrylic block I took with me. The stamps measure maybe 1x1 once cut so a tiny acrylic block is all I needed to take. Can you find it in my bag? :)

If you are like me and can't really take your scrappy supplies with you, why not look at taking a project like this. Now once I got home, this stamp set was ready to use! Yeah! Thanks for stopping by, and have a blessed day!