I had so much fun working in my October Journal that I decided to make another one for November. I went with a similar formula than I did for October - I usually go by the saying: "never change a running system".
If you care to see how I went about it, here is a link to the video on youtube: November Journal Setup. Thanks so much for stopping in today!
Since I am not using my Mini Daisy Dori for planning anymore, I decided to use it as a combination of memory planning and creative/junk journaling for October and see if I would be able to fill it up. And not only that, see if I would be able to maintain it throughout the month without feeling stressed. So far it is working well, I'll continue through the remainder of the year and see how it goes.
I am trying to order my photos for Project Life and this journal on a weekly basis. This way I can plan what I want to record in each format and also work on the spreads as soon as I have the photo. Since the Mini Daisy Dori is such a small canvas a spread doesn't take a lot of time. I had some time last week and worked on several spreads. This one simply documents my current planner and journal situation.
Here I had found a quote online that I wanted to remember and instead of saving a screenshot on my phone, I copied it onto a page. I love that I now have a place to add meaningful quotes and affirmations instead of letting them die on my phone. I then picked a journaling card that went perfectly with the quote and stamped a title for it.
Another thing I love doing is documenting happy mail. It is often orders from sticker shops and such but some packages are packed so nicely and I love saving part of the packaging. I created the left side of the spread on the day I received my order from seeamydraw and then added the photo once it came in.
My idea for the Mini Daisy Dori is to have a journal that documents my life, but I know that some things will be documented both in the family album as well as in my journal. This is one of those cases - and I don't care one bit. I was able to add tickets and a sticker from the day to this spread, that I would most likely not be able to fit into the other album.
Lastly, here is an example of one of the memory planning spreads. I love this way of documenting or logging my life and am so happy that I finally found a way to incorporate it into my journaling as it wouldn't work for me as a way of planning. I usually do this on a daily basis and won't fall behind as the space is so small and it is so much fun.
Thanks so much for stopping in today! If you have some time to spare in your day, I would love for you to join me over on youtube for a little chatty journaling session!
This layout was inspired by the "love you to the moon" free cut file by Paige Evans and was perfectly complemented with the colors of the August Cocoa Daisy Memory Keeping kits and the dark blue and purple mists from the Shimmerzpaints store. I have slowly been collecting these amazing dark colors like the new Coloringz Ahoy Matey or the lovely Vibez Grape Soda and Blue Jeans. With all the white that was contrasting the dark colors it was so easy to use them. If you watch the video you will see, that there is no perfect formula for adding the colors onto the gessoed background. It's misting packaging with color, then smudging the color onto the paper and repeat until you feel you have ruined your paper. Which is usually the point where you will then check back with the photo and additional items and realize that you will cover all the color and you will need to cover even more of the background in color.
This closeup shows how well the blues, purples and teals work together and create a dark but still very colorful background. I added in several gold accents using gold alpha stickers, blue denim die cuts that I colored with a mixture of Grape Soda and Ahoy Matey and gold splatters using Vibez Glorious Days and Inklinz Miner, Miner 49er.
The dramatic background didn't need very much else, so I simply backed my photo with white cardstock and layered several die cuts around the photo. I tried to add gold thread but that was a disaster - I don't know if I'm just not capable to form a thread ball that looks appealing or if it's the special metallic gold thread.
Here is a link to my process video on youtube. If you place an order in the Shimmerz Store, don't forget to mention my name Simone in the comments at checkout to receive a free mini surprise product! Thanks for stopping by today!
SUPPLIES: Vibez - Jeni B Blue, Grape Soda, Blue Jeans< Glorious Days Coloringz - Ahoy Matey Inklingz - Miner, Miner 49er
Today I am sharing some of the insights that I gained while trying to catch up on my Project Life 2016. Those might be helpful for you when you are trying to decide whether or not to take on such a big ongoing project and also when you want to start tackling one of you unfinished projects. So let's dive into my five tips.
Before you start with the creative process, I encourage you to spend some time editing and printing your photos. This might sound like a very daunting task, but having everything ready to go when you have some spare time to work on a spread is so helpful! If you are working with a double spread there are 16 pockets so I suggest you choose between 8-12 photos per week. Once you have them printed, sort them by week in envelopes so you can grab them when you want to create a spread.
While you are choosing your photos keep a notebook where you add a note for each photo you choose. This way you remember why you chose the photo to be documented and what you wanted to say about it. It is also very helpful to add the week number and date range for each week, then you have one specific place you'll find that information once you start your creative process.
When you try to catch up on a big project like Project Life it is better to limit the configuration of your pocket style page protectors, the most common one is Design A. and I highly recommend this configuration due to its popularity. You will find the most inspiration for this style of page protector. It eliminates a whole step in the decision making process while printing photos: all vertical photos get printed in 3x4 and all horizontal ones in 4x6. You will also find that when you progress, you get more comfortable with this one specific style and you start to develop a routine.
Instead of using everything you have available to you in your stash try to limit your supplies: either use a special pocket kit like the Cocoa Daisy Memory Keeping Pocket kit or create your own kits from your stash. By limiting your supplies you will find that you can create a lot faster because you will not spend hours looking for the right card, the perfect sticker or the best stamp. Getting new supplies every month or rotating through your stash also keeps things fresh and interesting.
Lastly, don't force it. What does that mean? If you want to also work on other projects during this time set your monthly goals low. Commit to one or two weekly spread per month. Even if that means you will be working on this project for quite a while to come, don't let a "catching up project" overwhelm you and burn you out. And if you are done and there is just no way you see yourself ever finishing this project? Then give yourself some grace: decide to leave a gap in your album and call it finished. Remove the visible gap and don't look at the weeks you didn't finish. Give yourself a pat on the shoulder and see all the amazing things that you did manage to document! You rock!
I hope these five tips were helpful and you can incorporate them in you creative process! Here is my process video for Week 36/2016 that I am slowly catching up on. I use my Cocoa Daisy kits each month to create one week this leaves me enough time to work on so many other projects. I have everything already printed and my promots for each week in my notebook so I can take as much time as I need.
I cannot believe that this is already my last layout for the Stuck?! Sketches Design Team. Time sure has flown by! Here is the March 15 sketch that Laura Whitaker created. During the past 6 months I usually started looking for photos and stories that would suit the sketch. Asking questions like: How many photos do I need to tell this story? Can I use several smaller ones or should I use one large photo? After finding the right photos I then built a page kit around those always checking back with the sketch. Laura's sketches are very detailed and (if you choose to read them like that) even suggest the volume of each paper.
After I had assembled my page kits, I then went to create and most of my layouts came together so quickly. Except for when I chose to use mixed media. Which to my surprise I used fairly often with these sketches. One reason could be that I felt secure knowing the layout would come together due to the sketch and so I could focus all my energy on trying out new techniques with mixed media. For this layout I used my Distress Oxide inks and stencils and started adding some texture to the background. Unfortunately, most of it got hidden by the embellishments I added later on. And then I built my layers according to the sketch.
When I started embellishing I went all out. And I loved adding all of the different die cuts and chipboard pieces everywhere. Sometimes I have such a hard time just placing one die cut and finding the perfect spot for it, trying it in so many different places. But this time, I went with quick decisions and stuck them down as soon as I thought it would look nice. And I love the how much dimension the many embellishments add to the layout.
The original title placement is to the bottom left of the photo cluster. I chose the top right instead for two different reasons: the title was quite large and bold and would have put too much weight to the bottom of my layout and with the added journaling the layout wouldn't have been balanced properly. The other reason was a lot more practical since the chipboard banner made it quite hard to place a title there nicely without a lot of adjusting and tweaking.
Here is a link to my video on youtube where you can see how this layout came together. Please make sure to check out the Stuck?! Sketches blog and have a look at all the other layouts by the Design Team. We would love for you to play along and link your layout to the link up to win some lovely prizes!
Thank you so much, Laura for having me on your team, I had such a great time in the past six month and find I created some of the best layouts with the help of your amazing sketches. I'm so sad my term is already over!
Hi there! Today I"m sharing a closer look at the January 2018 Memory Keeping Kits "Always". They are the perfect combination of love and winter and will help you get your memories onto beautiful paper and into your albums!
This is one of my most favorite cards of the Memory Keeping Pocket kit! The designs on the cards are so versatile. Several have beautiful quotes and sayings printed on them that you can easily use to make cards or tags and send some love notes to friends near and far.
This die cut from the Memory Keeping Kit is a great prompt to journal about your status quo! What are you currently doing, loving, watching, reading, feeling? Take photos of your everyday life and document where you are at "right now' - these snippets of life are always so great to look back at.
The next three photos show some of the different paper combinations that spoke to me while I was filming the unboxing video.
What do you think about this combination? A busy, colorful pattern, combined with a larger patterned and an almost solid?
Or what about this? It's very dramatic with those bold colors. But it would still work with a smaller pattern contrasting the larger hearts. Maybe it would even work on the awesome mixed media background! I love papers like this one: you don"t have to do the intimidating mixed media stuff, it"s already there!
Now last but not least this paper combination! I think this one with the bright yellows calling for Spring is my favorite of them all! What is yours?
Here is a link to my unboxing video, I would love for you to check it out! What are your plans for your kits? Did you see that there are still some Memory Keeping kits and pocket cards left in the store? Right now, I think I am going to start with one or two spreads in my Project Life 2016 album, I am still catching up and those cards and embellishments are just perfect. Then I would love to create another mini album, a bit different than last month's, more structured. I'd love to capture one highlight from each month of 2017 and create a "Best of 2017". How about you? Have you created a 2017 review layout yet? And then finally, if there are still papers and embellishments left, I might start another new project. Hahaha. As if I hadn't enough already! I would love to hear about your ideas and plans for the kits in the comments! Thanks so much for your time! I'll see you next month!
Before I am diving into the December Cocoa Daisy Kits, I want to share the projects that I made using the November kits. I was able to make three layouts and one Project Life spread. I have process videos that go along with each one of them, they are linked underneath each photo.
The November kits included a lot of winter and snow themed references and since we live in California where we usually don't get snow, they were a bit tricky to use. I decided to challenge myself and document our first encounter with snow from this past June. I added some more trees in a darker color using embroidery thread. This helped to create more depth and dimension on the layout. I also used Distress Oxides for a mixed media background. Instead of adding the color directly to the background, I used a scrap piece of cardstock to see whether I wanted the color behind the photos, but it looked so great that I decided to use the scraps as an actual layer. If you want to see the whole process here is my video on youtube: Scrapbooking Process: "shorts SNOW sunshine" * Cocoa Daisy * embroidery.
I created this layout for the Designers Inspiration on the Cocoa Daisy blog. It was a 1-2-3-4 challenge with the challenge to use 4 different patterned papers from the kit. I used 1 acrylic piece, 2 photos, 3 trees (and hearts and stars), and as the challenge suggested 4 patterned papers. I really loved the patterned paper background but needed a space to create my photo cluster on, so I used gesso to tone down the brightness of the paper, then build my layout on top of that.Scrapooking Process: "Gather Together" 1-2-3-4 challenge.
This layout is all about me. I created it for my introduction blogpost over on the Cocoa Daisy blog. I used a go-to layout style of mine. But added five things about me to the background. Each one starts at one of the stars. I handlettered part of the title. The layers behind the photos consist of packaging and pocket cards. It's hard to see but I sewed white journaling lines all over the layout. Here is the link to youtube: Scrapbooking Process: "Du hast nen Vogel * Cocoa Daisy.
I am still catching up on my Project Life 2016 and I love that I can fill up my album slowly with the Cocoa Daisy Memory Keeping pocket kits. For this spread I only used the pocket kit, I love the challenge of making one kit work without pulling in too much stuff from my stash. Here is the process: Project Life Scrapbooking Process: Week 48/2016 * Cocoa Daisy.
Today I have a fun layout and sketch to share with you that Laura from Stuck?! Sketches designed. What a great sketch to use more than one photo on a layout but still leave enough room for embellishments or patterned paper to shine.
Here is my take on the sketch, I used my September Cocoa Daisy kit for it since the colors went quite well with my photos and I had not yet had a chance to play with it. I had been meaning to use a dark background and use gesso behind the photo cluster. It worked so well with the colors of the photos and the papers.
Sketches for me are a starting point. So in this case the basic info that I took from it was:
three small, square photos,
frame behind one photo,
photos mounted on one patterned paper,
there are two embellishment clusters: a smaller cluster to the left, a large cluster to the right,
title placement underneath the photos towards the right and journaling underneath, and
two strips of patterned paper at the bottom of the page.
I layered several pieces of patterned paper behind my photo and used a frame again on this layout. This is the second layout in a row where I used a frame. All I can say: they are awesome! The colored splotches of paper were fussy cut from a kaisercraft paper that actually looked very mixed media-ish. So they worked quite well with my mixed media background without being messy.
I used a white gel pen for my journaling but it ran out before I was finished. Usually when I want to tell a story that tries to convey my feelings I write a draft. But this time I didn't, so I not only have to go back and finish the journaling but also make sense of it. Sigh. Next time I know better ...
We'd love for you to join us this month and create a project based off this sketch. Be sure and link it up to Stuck?! Sketches for a chance to win a prize from one of our sponsors.
Here is the video where I tell you more about my thought process while creating the layout and the story of the photos.
No, I'm not talking about a roller date stamp, I can see how that stamp comes in very handy in a planner. What I am talking about is the roller stamp that came in the October Planner Add-On kit. If you have been wondering how you could use this in your planner, then keep on reading!
I created a planner spread for you to illustrate three ways this stamp set could be used. All the stamping on this spread (except for the numbers) was created using the roller stamp. Let's zoom in:
First, I used black Versafine ink and the plus signs to divide the weekend section into two parts. One for Saturday and one for Sunday. I used black to show that I really mean it, yes - they are two different days!
Then I used the Memento Dew Drop ink in Pear Tart that I purchased in the shop and added a dividing line to all the rest of the days. I used the lighter color to indicate that this division isn't as harsh as the one for Saturday and Sunday. It is a guide for me to keep my spreads clean and usable: the right column is our family schedule, the left side carries my daily to do list and notes.
Then I used the arrow and black ink again because those laundry piles on Mondays usually are as high as the highest mountains. It indicates that the laundry needs to get done. Today!
Finally, I used one of the swirly, scribbly stamps to underline an important event in the week. To emphasize the importance even more I used yet another ink color: Memento Dew Drop in Cantaloupe. And the spread is done.
Do you use roller stamps in your planner? How do you use them? You could also use them to create subtle texture on your journaling pages. If you have great ideas for using the stamp, please leave a comment below!
The past three Fridays I have been working with the Cocoa Daisy "Under the Sea" kits from June 2017. I beefed up my kit with some items from the freckled fawn July kits. I found out that they offer the items that are in their monthly kits as an individual purchase, so I splurged and got the amazing vellum alphabet stickers, some labels and chipboard stickers that in my opinion went perfectly well with the Cocoa Daisy kit. Here are the three layouts that I created and also links to the process videos.
The first layout was loosely based on this September 1 Stuck?! Sketches sketch. I wanted to use those tags that were included in the kit but they were just too big to be placed where the sketch suggested. So I had this idea and thought it was brilliant. I cut the paper in two pieces, created a pocket behind the page and then reassembled the paper. Lately, I have been enjoying combining different alpha stickers and creating fun titles, it seems to be a thing because there will be another fun, long title layout in this post. To find out more about my thought process here is the link to my video.
Then I created this "Summer Seifenblasen" layout. I wanted to incorporate three photos and struggled quite a bit until I realized that they did not have to be the same size. After that "aha"-moment, things came together quite easily. I was surprised how easily the leftover items from the Cocoa Daisy planner kits worked on the layout. I had never really considered using planner stuff for scrapbooking and just dumped all my matching items in my box. And then I constantly reached for them, so it was well worth the dump. I am definitely going to do that again moving forward. Here is the process video for this layout.
And finally another fun playful title. I found it on a journaling card that I used as a layering piece behind one of my pictures. I loved the background paper with the blue circles so I decided to repeat the pattern by using some texture paste with a dot stencil and blue watercolors. I then created my photo cluster on top of the dried mixed media so that only tiny bits would be visible. After I had a basic idea of the photo cluster, I worked on my title that I tried to nestle close to the photo cluster. If you want to see how this layout came together, check out my process video.
Today for our Saturday Seminars in the Cocoa Daisy Planner Fans group, we talked about the A5 sticker sheet. This is a tricky sheet for me both in size and in the way I use it: the size only fits into my standard size traveler's notebook if I cut or fold it in half. I usually fold it right underneath the tab stickers, then I'll only have to use one sticker right away and there is no damage happening to any other stickers. The stickers itself are a mixture of both: functional stickers and pretty stickers. And this is where the problem occurs, I usually use the functional stickers very quickly but have a hard time using the pretty stickers. I tend to hoard pretty things instead of using them and have just recently started to force myself to use all the things. In my opinion, I have been doing very good so far in March, there are a lot of stickers already used. But there have been months where I haven't used a single sticker.
I'll start with showing you how I used the two top stickers: they are always to rectangular stickers, one with the month printed on it and one label. Putting the monthly label on the cover of my insert is something I have been doing almost every time I got my hands on this sticker sheet. The clear label I used this month to note my stats for youtube and instagram on the first. I also used one of the little hearts right next to the label to emphasize the milestone. Yes, I have actually reached 1000 youtube-subscribers at the end of February!
These next to photos show how I often use the tab stickers - for decoration on my pages. I hate it when my tabs are too floppy which is often the case with these sticker labels. So I tend to use them for decorating and layering. For this I cut them apart in the middle. In both cases here, I actually added text into the tab, but there have been numerous times when I simply covered the tab with a die cut or another sticker. In the right photo you can also see two more stickers from this sticker sheet: I added the small arrow from the "flag and arrow" stickers to the tab embellishment cluster making it quite clear that it was Theo's birthday. And since this is indeed a very important day, I also used the corresponding sticker at the top of the page.
Every month the sticker shapes are the same on this sticker sheet but the design and the words are different. In the past I have really struggled when I tried to use these quarter circle stickers on my pages. But this month they fit perfectly as appointment reminders. I hope to use the rest of them as well and try to keep going in April. The flags from the "flag and arrows" were equally hard for me to use: I always need some kind of edge to place them and never thought outside the box enough. So -in my mind- I only had the top of the page and they never worked there. But by simply drawing a box or a line or adding some washi for the sticker to rest, I can now place this sticker anywhere on the page.
This month the arrows were stickers indicating a specific event like the start of daylight savings time or St. Patrick's Day. In the right photo you can see how I used the "hop forward" sticker on March, 12 and then also used the tiny arrows to add the tasks for that day.
Are you using your stickers? Or are you a hoarder like me? After trying really hard to use my stickers and not hoard them since the start of March, I can tell you: it is far more satisfying to use all the things instead of having a growing stash and a slight feeling of guilt. And using pretty things makes me happy!
When my package from Cocoa Daisy arrived at my house on Wednesday, I filmed an unboxing video and then arranged all of the items from the kits on my white foam core for some pictures. Theo -my youngest- was home with me and pointed out the different things he liked and was generally very interested in all of the pretty planner things, that I had the idea of a new little series: every month Theo and I will pick our TOP 5 items from the kits and share them.
Theo's choices are dominated by the pretty butterflies, he picked those first and then he also chose the washi tape and the week on one page from the personal planner pages. I totally understand why: the stripes perfectly represent the color scheme of the month and are always an eye catcher. Then his and circled above the die cuts once more and the minute he read: "Today will be a good day!" he dove down and made his last pick.
I leaned towards the clouds this month: I chose the puffy cloud paper clip as well as the cloud sticker sheet. I love the patterns on the clouds and I cannot wait to use them. Then I chose the journaling card which not only includes my favorite pattern from the patterned papers but also this quote from Shakespeare. And even though I don't use the tab die cuts very often, I love them non the less and this one has a raindrop pattern! Lastly I chose these two dandelion die cuts which are by far my most favorite item in the whole kit. I just LOVE dandelions.
Just in case you haven't seen me sharing photos and videos of this project, I wanted to collect them all here, so that it is easy to check them out. I stopped doing Project Life in the traditional style in a 12x12 album for 2017. Instead I am now journaling in a Traveler's Notebook insert, specifically a DaisyDori from Cocoa Daisy in the standard size. I didn't know where I was going with this in the beginning of January and just started with what was on my mind at that time.
The first part of the journal is reflecting on goals and things I want to achieve in 2017 and then went on to journal about all the events and moments, big and small that I wanted to remember. I specifically made sure to journal from my point of view and only talk about things that are important to me.
This journal is stuffed full with stickers, cards, washi tape and stamps. I still try to balance the page but I enjoy the messy look, it reminds me of the way people used to fill their smashbooks when they were still popular. I love the way this complements my scrapbooking layouts, which are so different but no less fun to make.
Here are all the videos for my January Daisy Dori.
