Most of the photos were printed 4×4 so the instagram journaling cards from We R Memory Keepers were very useful.

This is the tag that goes inside each pocket pocket page.
Something that I love from the we are memory keepers instagram journalling cards is they also have Spanish translation! A great bonus as my first language is Spanish!Half pocket page for small tags
Some of the pocket pages have flaps to make it more interactive and fun, great spot for extra journalling
Flaps
Here the pocket page was split in two to make to individual pockets for small tags.
Main supplies used:

My mind eye ” Find your wings and fly” collection:  patterned paper and embellishments

6×6 paper pad and 2 pieces of 12×12 paper for the cover.

We R memory keepers journaling cards instagram “inked Rose”

Recording our life through out photos has been a great idea especially for my husband who seems to forget what we did the week before!!! He keeps saying lucky we have it all in our PL album. We always look at it together and comment on it. We’re hoping one day to be able to sit with our children and show them what we were up to before they came!

In this post, I am showing photos of my second album (July to December)

Week 28 was very busy in our family, it was my mother-in-law’s birthday and we had a special trip to the zoo. I had to add 2 inserts to fit it all in. I used Photosheet to make the “Meet-a-Cheetah” collage and Adobe Elements to finish the page.

I joined Ali Edwards “hello story” online class on Big Picture Classes. It was great, I used some of her cool ideas in week 31 – for example looking at what where you doing the year before and documenting it in your album.

This Time last year…..

I Love using the Instawether app, it’s a great way to document the weather, time and place.

We include our holidays in our PL album as well and also some traditional scrap booking layouts. Love to mix and match  the two approaches.

Another app that I love to use is Collect. It’s a great app to organise your photos, you can also add your journaling before printing them out!

and here we are at the end….I hope you are enjoying your PL process as much we are enjoying it!

Happy PLing!

The possibilities of creating an album using the manila file folders are endless since there are so many elements that can be added like: photo flips, Polaroid frames, mini-books, tags, journaling cards, photos, mementos from the trip, etc… Also it is a great opportunity to use different mixed media techniques such as stamping, painting, stenciling and so on!

I had fun creating this album for my local scrapbook store Alice in Paperland. I hope you get inspired and decide to play with some manila folders.

Heidi Swapp stencils, Tim Holtz stain, texture paste, stamping and distress inks were used for the album cover below,

Apologies to all the aesthetes and perfectionists out there for the above 2 experimentally altered images – I’m going to have to work on my Photoshop masking and cutting skills

During this last Christmas break  I spent several days organizing and setting  up my studio so that it can be efficient and accessible for my use.
I am very happy with how it turned out and how easy it is now to find my supplies and tidy up after I finish a project.  It was also great to find some stuff that I had put away so well that I hadn’t been able to find it!

My favorite thing about this room is the natural light…..I am so lucky to have great light coming in, which it makes the room a happy place to be! I am also lucky to have a wonderful husband and father-in-law who support my hobby. The custom made pieces in my craft studio are designed and built by them!

I hope you enjoy my journey to an organised and happy craft room!

My desk is from Ikea (Linnmon/adils tables top).
The Shelf above desk : custom made

Another view of the table: note the custom Washi tape holders,
magnifying lamp, carousel, and oddment storage

Expedit 4×4 with expedit insert drawers

Expedit 2×2- Cuttlebug, embossing folders, dies and project life supplies

 For the flowers and metal charms I used some of the Korken jars, Burken jars, Rajtan spice jars from Ikea,
small spice jars from the local dollar store and moccona coffee jars.

 Kassett boxes in different sizes are my favourites to organise photos, embellishment packs, cards and envelopes, and other bits and pieces. All the boxes are labelled for easy and quick access.

Bamboo file holders from Howard’s Storage World

Branas baskets from Ikea. They fit great in the expedit shelf. I find these baskets easy accessible.
I prefer these baskets over the boxes as the lids sometimes can be a bit annoying if you want to grab something in a hurry!

Small Embellishments storage. Any plastic boxes that I can find in the dollar store. The square box with the yellow handle is from Daiso (Japanese $2 store), they are made to store origami paper.

  Howard’s Storage World  Bamboo stackable drawers

Magazine baskets from OfficeWorks

Washi tape Holder- custom made from Cyprus pine

Mixed boxes from the local Japanese dollar store (Rhodes Shopping Centre – Sydney). These boxes are made of balsa wood

I used the Ikea –  Fintorp cutlery stand for my jewelry making supplies (it can be used for PL cards as they fit great in the compartments)

More Baskets!!!!!

 About stamps! I bought some stamps DVD cases from Ebay which are great for cling stamps. I store the bigger stamps, such as the prima doll, in plastic document holders from the dollar store.

I use 12×12 Page protectors to store Rhinestones, enamel dots,  stickers sets ,etc (these page protectors are stored in a 12×12 binder). I really love this idea as I can flip the pages easily and I find what I need quicker!

Stencils, masks, templates, doilies and 12×12 stickers. These folders are one of my new additions. I learned this idea from one of my friends at the crop places that I attend.

Ribbon and Twine- candy jars and Moccona coffee jars

  I like to have some cards and tags ready for special celebrations

I store patterned paper and cardstock in the paper rack next to my expedit. I bought them on ebay! I store the paper by collections or manufacturer. Collections are kept individually in sealed bags.

Materials used;

• “Christmas” clear stamps by Kaisercraft
• Kellie Stamps for the tags
• Tim Holtz distress inks (vintage photo)
• Brilliance ink pad (Galaxy gold)
• Martha Stewart border punch
• Cricut – CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge
• Cuttlebug Christmas embossing folder
• Kraft cardstock
• Vellum paper
• Washi Tape
• Blooming poinsettia die cut

]]> http://www.bluesparrowdesigns.com.au/25-days-of-christmas-mini-album/feed/ 0 http://www.bluesparrowdesigns.com.au/a-fun-challenge-for-this-month/ http://www.bluesparrowdesigns.com.au/a-fun-challenge-for-this-month/#comments Mon, 02 Sep 2013 11:55:15 +0000 http://www.bluesparrowdesigns.com.au/?p=207 Continue reading →]]> Alice in Paperland is my local papercraft shop and they’re doing something very fun and different this month, a photography challenge.
The idea of the “Photo of the day” challenge is to take a themed picture every day for the month of September. The themes are quite varied and fun (see the list in the album below).
It’s going to be a challenge to keep up with a photo a day but I am sure it will  inspire me to capture daily moments in life in a more creative way and look at everyday things with a fresh perspective.

If you would like to join this fun challenge check out the Alice in Paperland Blog for more details.

This weekend I created a very special tag for my Father-In-Law. To create this tag I used some of my favorite craft supplies….distress inks, distress stains, dylusions ink sprays, stamps and stencils. The best things about using these supplies and tools is the different layers you get to make and it does not matter the order or what color you use first,  it is all about experimenting and playing until you are happy with the result!

I also created a birthday card, it was a good opportunity to use the chipboard Owl I bought  from “Scrapmatts” couple of months ago when I went to the Sydney Craft and Quilt show. I used the cuttlebug to emboss the trunk where the owl is sitting (love using my cuttlebug embossing machine) and some ribbon from “green tara” to add some  extra style and texture. It was a very simple and quick card to make… I just wanted the “cute owl”  to be the main embellishment in the card.

What have I used to complete our memory keeping album:

• Project Life/Becky Higgins Album (rain edition)
• Page protectors and Amber Core Kit
• American Craft page protectors
• Washi tape (various brands)
• Heyday studio calico 6×6 paperpad
• Sn@p – Simple Stories collection
• Tim Holtz Distress Inks
• Stickles
• Cricut “Art Philosphy” cartridge
• Amy Tangerine and Dear Lizzy embellishments/tags, stamps
• Technique Tuesday stamps (among others)

The idea of this mini album was to make an album that my Mother-In-Law could carry in her handbag and share with her friends.
I gave myself only one day to make this gift so it needed to be  quick and also I had to use materials I had on hand from out of my stash.
The first thing I did was to check on YouTube for ideas and tutorials….it worked, I got lots of inspiration from different talented people. I am so grateful for all those free tutorials we have available on the internet!

What did I use to make this mini?

• Bazzill cardstock
• Thickers from American craft for the title
• Scrapmatts words
• Martha Stewart border punch
• “These days” Kaiserkraft paper collection
• Some ribbon!

It was fun to spend NYE in Cojimies with Mum, the family, and the locals.