project life: 2011-February

this is really helping me get these pictures uploaded to costco and then printed.  i am hoping once i get the page dividers, i can just put them in the books and fill out the journaling cards...sounds so easy, right?

February Pictures:

 {have a great time sledding with DJ.}

 {we had a few warmer winter days, which was great to get outside and enjoy!  both girls wanted to take their babies for a walk...they needed fresh air too!}

 {working on valentine's for school...we made a big mess, but had a lot of fun stamping hearts, signing their names and making crayon shaped hearts!}

 {just an everyday moment around here...the girls watching morning TV, as i unload the dishwasher, clean up breakfast and figure out the day ahead of us.}

 {little missy mara...what a doll you are!  that face is just so cute...i love it!  we had a great day at the children's museum and your favorite thing to do there is paint your face.}

 {you both helped daddy made a snow tunnel to play in...another warmer day, so we had to get outside and play in all of this white stuff we had}

linking up with Jessica over at The Mom Creative, check out all of the other Project Lifers out there!



happy tuesday!

project life...oh, how i love it!

i love, love, love project life, but for some reason i have not started working on it this year like i had planned for the girls' books!  i am not sure why, because really it is so easy.  i thought having to do a 'scrapbook' post on tuesdays would hold me to work on scrapbooking...that has not been the case.

ali edwards does such a great job documenting her project life...i just love what she is doing...well i love everything she does.  so, last week i figured i needed to get something organized for this year, at least order the picture for each month!

so for the next few weeks i am going to highlight the pictures from January to now for the girls' books.  i am going to get them printed as well, this will be the easiest way to do it for me and stay on top of it!  and i ordered the pages and journal cards from Becky Higgins....i just needed to get this ball rolling again!

January Pictures:

{celebrating mom's b-day, the girls just love birthdays...everything about them!}

{it is too cold to play outside...so i gave in and let them play with the play-dough}

 {we went to our 1st Swarm game with some good friends...we all loved it!}

{we took the girls to the winter carnival to see the ice sculptures.  we had so much fun, even in the cold!  enjoy some hot chocolate and ran around!}

{poor k, broke her arm.  she has been a good sport about having a cast on, but she keeps asking me when the doctor is going to take it off!}

linking up with Jessica over at The Mom Creative this week, go check out all of the great Project Life ideas!


next week February!

are you doing project life this year?

scrapbook tuesday...finally!

i can't believe i am still so behind with the girls' scrapbooks.  i am still gathering things for their books for this year, but have not printed one picture off.  i need to work on getting some printed and then get an action plan together. 

a few weeks ago i worked on a few pages in kaylin's book.  i still have a lot more to go, since these are from 2008, so sad, but so true!

 

 

 

i hold punched their birthday invite...I LOVED that invite and the picture of them too.  look how little they were?  and those t-shirts...one of my favorites things to put them in at that age!

to finish up 2009 and 2010, i am thinking of doing a few more digital pages for their books.  i have not printed a lot of pictures from those years, so i figure do them digital and get more done...and i hope faster!  i will share a few next week with you.

as for keeping up with 2011, i am putting the whole project life for the girls' books on hold until Becky Higgins comes out with a few new products this summer.  in this blog post becky said they are working on a school & childhood scrapbooking...this sounds like something that might just fit the bill for me to get the girls' scrapbooks all caught up!

i wold love to hear how you stay on top of it?  please share any tips or tricks you have. 

happy tuesday!

scrapbooking tuesday!

i finally got 2 pages done the other day!  i had a little motivation, because i was teaching a scrapbooking class to 5th graders, which was so much fun!  i forgot to take pictures of the day, but i think someone else did, so i can't wait to show you their pages!  they did a great job!

i jumped ahead a little bit and worked on mara's 1st day of preschool pages and i love how they turned out...very simple, but was able to included everything i wanted.

i took a baseball card hold sleeve and cut it down to only have 3 pockets.  i had a few pictures and some of mara's tickets she cut that i wanted to use, but i didn't want to make one full page, so i love how i can use the pockets to add those few extras!

this is the front of the pockets

and the back:

ali edwards using the baseball card pages a lot in her scrapbook and shares some great tips on how to crop and print your pictures to fit them.  check out her tips here!

and i knew i wanted to use their art work in their books.  this was what they worked on the first day of school.  so, these pages came together very easy and i really like how they turned out.

i have started to work on project life for this year, which i will be sharing next week with you.  i am trying to get their books updated, so i am a little behind, but i have been taking notes on ideas to add to their books for 2011. 

happy scrapbooking!

fallen off the wagon!

i have fallen off the scrapbook wagon the past few weeks. i have not worked on any pages in the past few weeks, but here are some i did a few months ago in kaylin's book!

don't get me wrong, i love to scrapbook, but finding the time right now is just not happening.  if i have some down time, i just want to do nothing!  sit around and do nothing,  i know that sounds terrible, but it is true!

i will be doing some scrapbooking next week with 5th graders.  i am teaching at my girlfriend's school for creativity day...doesn't that sound like fun!  i am going to teach them how to make some simple scrapbook pages!  i am so excited and i am hoping i will have a few pages done for next week!

i am still trying to figure out how to get these books all caught up and it is a little bit overwhelming right now!  i would LOVE to hear your tips and tricks.  please share them!

project life: printing pictures

so i have not started on the project life books this year for the girls, but i need to get going on them.  it has been a crazy busy week again and then on top of it we got another big snow storm!  i am a little lot sick of that white stuff.

so i have no fun pages to show you today...sorry.  but, i wanted to share with you some great on-line places to get pictures printed at a great price.  here are a few of my favorites and they are in no order...i always go with who has the best deal at the time i am order them!

winkflash:  they always have a great low price of .8 cents for 4x6s and shipping is never that much i have found.  if you sign up today, you can get 50 4x6s for .99 cents!  what a deal!  and for scrapbooking the pictures are great!

persnickety prints:  when i am going to order a scrapbook page layout.  they have pretty good prices and right now they are having a sale on bigger prints.  shipping is always $5.00, so it is best to order a lot for the shipping price.

shutterfly:  i like to use shutterfly when i have a deal.  if i can get free shipping or free prints, i will use them, but typically it is the last place i look.  sorry all you shutterfly lovers!

costco:  i love using costco if i am going to pick up prints.  again, very low prices and good prints.  and bonus, my hubby works right next to a costco, so it make it very easy for picking them up!

share with us, where do you print your pictures...any great deals you would like to share!
next week, i will have some pages done...and hopefully show you some of 2011 pages!

scrapbook tuesday!

i finished up the last pages for 2008 in mara's book last week.  now, i just need to get the rest of 2009 and 10 done.  oh, yeah and get kaylin's all caught up too!  one day at a time i keep telling myself.

here is something fun and a little different i did with an 18 month milestone page for her.  i used some baseball card sheets...I LOVE them!  and can't wait to use them some more. 

close up of the baseball card holder page:

i think the worst part of this page...just the cutting, which didn't take that long either.  it was really simple and a fun change!  and they fit perfect in an 8x10 book!

and the back side, is a little recap of pictures of mara from 2008!

there is a very good chance that i will use the same format in kaylin's book!  it is so easy and a fun way to use those extra pictures that didn't make a page in the book!

i have started to work on my project life for this year...aka: the girls' new format of books.  so far, i have collected special things from each month and put them in a folder.  i need to print some pictures and get them in the book!  i will share more once i get these books started!

share with us...are you working on project life this year?  if so, what does it look like for you?

scrapbook updates!

i was able to get a few pages done this past weekend.  but, i am still feeling so behind with scrapbooking and i wish i could get caught up.

mara's book is now done up until 2008.  i still have 2009 and 2010 to finish in her books...as well as kaylin's from 2008-2010! but, i am hoping to get them done and start working on my new version of project life this month!

 these pages took me a little bit longer, because i all of the writing by hand.  but, i want to leave that personal touch in their books.  here is a little bit closer look....

they were so little, i can't believe it.  it is fun to look back on these picture and see how much the girls have changed.  

how do you keep on top of your scrapbooks, if you do them?  i would love any tips!

scrapbook update...project life and quick pages

i finally found the great blog that showcases how she using the Project Life albums for her kiddos scrapbooks...I LOVE that idea!  her blog and family is so cute, so check her out: sunny side up  i am totally going to use this idea and run with it for the girls books from here on out! 

right now my goal is to get their books caught up using my hybrid scrapbooking method.  here are some pages i did last week in about 2 hours.

 they are simple, but have some little touches to them as well.  i love the fact that i can get them done pretty quick, which is the goal, since i have 2 more years to get done in both of the girls' books!


here is my how i am working on these hybrid pages:
1.  printing my pictures and organizing them by date and events
2.  using a digital layout file in photoshop...just to figure out the layout.  they look like this:  

i figure out what layout to use based on how many pictures i will use on the page and how much jounraling i will be doing.  i don't add the pictures to the layout in photoshop, since i have them all printed.
3.  add digital elements: a free one from ali edwards! 

again, once i have figured out the pictures on the page, next i work on the journaling and other elements i want to add.
4.  print a test copy first.  once i have all of the journaling and other digital elements set up in photoshop and print a test copy to make sure the pictures will fix and everything looks okay.  once it looks good, i print on cardstock.
5.  print on cardstock, but first i delete the layout file...just the layout, none of the other elements on the page.  
6.  add pictures and any other fun elements that i think will work. 

as for doing project life, i am going to use these page protectors from becky higgins and the blank journaling cards.  my goal is use both of these products this year for the girls' book and going forward.   so it is a little bit different twist on project life, but i love the format and it makes scrapbooking so much faster!  right now i am using 8x10 size books, but i am going to have to move back to the 12x12 books, not sure if i will add the 8x10 pages to the 12x12 books or just keep them as is...i will see how many pages i end up getting done in their current books.  i want to keep the number of books to around 5 total for each girl...so i am hoping to get a few years into each book!  

i will continue to post finish pages and updates on how my new twist on project life is going on tuesdays, so come on back next week...i think it is the only way i will get these pages done!

365 project...the final weeks!

finally got the final weeks done of dec. for this project.  and just for the record...i think it took me a good 4+ hours to finish these pages...i am very happy they are done!  i am missing some pictures here and there, but that is okay.  i have put this project to bed for now.  i need to finish uploading the pages to my shutterfly book and get it printed.

and i have decided that this year i am going to change this project up a bit.  it is a lot of work and i have enjoyed it, but my main focus this year for this project will be about the girls.  i am not going to take a picture a day, but more highlights from the year and it will not be 100% digital, but a combo of both paper and digital.  i am hoping this will help me get caught up on their books and continue a verse of the 365 project.

 here is to the last few weeks of the year...enjoy!

week 50:

week 51:

week 52:

week 53:

share with me...are you doing this project again in 2011?

and if so, are you taking a picture a day?

focusing on a month at a time?

doing it for your kids or someone else?

i would love to hear.  and i am looking for this blog about how she using her project life book...for her kids books...i just {heart} it!

365 project...delayed!

my pages are not done yet...hopefully later today they will be up.  all the pictures are taken...check that off my list!

but, i need your help with something.  my cute pottery barn stockings need some kind of letters on them.  they look so bare, so if you have any great ideas, let me know.  i am just not coming up with anything right now and would love to jazz them up before the 25th gets here.

and i know peace is spelled wrong in this picture, it is fixed now!

i have sent one child to school today and another is home with me.  a fever on and off for the past 24+ hours...of course yesterday she was fever free all day, until 1 AM this morning...so no school for her.  i hope she gets better before the Christmas program on thursday at school!
enjoy!

365 project: week 49

short and sweet today...the sewing machine and my hands are working overtime!
our house is starting to look like Christmas from these pictures...and i love it!


enjoy...week 49 was a good one!

on a side note...i had to figure out more storage for the blog!  i was up to the max on picture space...what a pain in the you know what!!!  i think i took care of it, but i might be out of space again...and soon!  if this has happened to you...any tips on what to do?  please let me know!

enjoy!

365 project: week 48

it was a really busy week around here getting ready for Thanksgiving.  i feel like we got ready for one holiday and now we are into another one already.  

it is starting to look like Christmas around here, which i love!  it is one of my favorite holidays...and i am hoping this year to get things done ahead of time, so i can just enjoy it!

i didn't take one picture on Thanksgiving...i never picked up my camera, i just enjoyed the day, so here is week 48!

happy tuesday!