project life | august 4-17

I admit it, I have fallen behind. I gave myself the permission to step away from scrapbooking during our summer holiday, and somehow it was very difficult to get back on it once we went back to "normal" again. I guess I was bound to hit the wall sometime, doing a continual project is a lot of work. Hitting that big goal of mine at turning forty was probably a factor in falling into a slump. I do have a new goal set - finishing the year up - and I am determined to meet it. I just needed a breather.

I have made the spreads for the first two weeks of August, so I am just going to go ahead and share them now. I can't say for sure when I am going to be up to date. I don't want to put that kind of pressure on myself. But, in any case, here they are!


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Peace Love & Sunshine, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab, Life 365 The Buttons by Karla Dudley)


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Peace Love & Sunshine, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab, Life 365 The Buttons by Karla Dudley)


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life DIY Shop, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab, Life 365 The Buttons by Karla Dudley)


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life DIY Shop, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab, Life 365 The Buttons by Karla Dudley)

project life | project life phone app beta test

I was fortunate enough to be asked to try out the Project Life app that is coming real soon from Becky Higgins! And wow, is this app going to revolutionize documenting life! If you do Project Life digitally, and you do the Project Life format (i.e. you are not as difficult as I am) then you will love how quick and easy this app is making it for you.

Here are a few examples that I created on my phone. The all literally took five minutes to whip up! It's simply a matter of popping in the photos and cards, adding your text, and you're done. Fabulous!





I am sure you have lots of questions! I don't have a lot of answers for you at this moment, other than to say that the app is brilliant, but Becky Higgins did adress it with a Q&A post on her blog last week.

project life | full circle - weeks of July 21 and July 28

A year ago I started a project that I knew would be a tough job to follow through. I still wanted to give it a go. I wanted to document my last year as a 30-something. I started doing Project Life. What I didn't know then was that just about a month in, my whole world as I knew it would change and I would be faced with enormous struggles with my mental and physical health.

It's been a hard, hard year for me, this past year. There have been moments where I thought things just could not get any worse. There have been moments where I didn't even have the strength to lift my head from my pillow. There have been moments where all I did was cry. Later there were moments where I worked hard on facing my inner demons and owning up to what I have done to myself for most of my life, and where I tried to find new ways of thinking and doing things.

Through all this, I kept on working on my Project Life pages every week (well, almost). Some weeks I wanted to throw the computer out the window and some weeks it was a welcome break for a stressed out brain. Throughout the year doing Project Life helped me be consistent with taking photos and writing down details of my life, however sad or uneventful it may have seemed at first glance.

A few weeks ago, I looked through all my pages and it struck me that in the midst of all the darkness and hardships, there were indeed little glimpses of light and joy as well. Some weeks they were tiny and some weeks they were monumental. But they were there if I only looked hard enough to see them. That realisation was so very important to me and my continued road to being a better, healthier, and happier me.

As I hit save on my last latest page, thus concluding a full year of Project Life and my first PL album, I cried. This project has been a crutch for me this past year. I was filled with so much emotion as I put together the spreads for the last two weeks of July. I have so much respect for how much it has given me to do this. I am also immensly proud of the effort that I have put in; the many hours that I have spent working on my pages and creative work that has gone in to the project.

So with these words, I am moved and proud when I say that here are the last two spreads of my first Project Life album:


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Boys Rule, Becky Higgins Project Life Coral, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab)


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Boys Rule, Becky Higgins Project Life Coral, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab)


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Odds & Ends, Becky Higgins Project Life Amy Tangerine Plus One, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight,  In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab, Life 365 The Buttons by Karla Dudley)


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Odds & Ends, Becky Higgins Project Life Amy Tangerine Plus One, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight,  In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab, Life 365 The Buttons by Karla Dudley)

Naturally, I had to create an album cover and a title page for the album.
I chose to step away from the templates that I have used in the book, but tried to keep them both consistent with the rest.

The cover:


The title page:


Now, this is not the end of Project Life for me. I have decided to keep on going. From next week until the end of the year I will keep doing Project Life in the format that I have been doing so far. Once the year is up, I will put those last four months in an album on its own. What format I will be using next year is yet to be decided. I figure I've got time to worry abou that later.

So, until next week, this is me signing off the Project Life duty! See ya!

Do you want a full overview of all the pages for this album? Just check out my Project Life page.
Do you want to read about my process and approach? Check out my comprehensive post.

project life | week of july 14

Hello and welcome to the weekly installment of Project Life here on my blog.
Las week was a good one, with beautiful weather, lots of fun little things happening, and me in a pretty decent place.


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Hi Sunshine, Becky Higgins Project Life Stampin Up Happiness Is, Becky Higgins Project Life Stampin Up Everyday Adventures, Becky Higgins Project Life Kiwi, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab, Life 365 The Buttons by Karla Dudley


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Hi Sunshine, Becky Higgins Project Life  Stampin Up Happiness Is, Becky Higgins Project Life Stampin Up Everyday Adventures, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab, Life 365 The Buttons by Karla Dudley)

I am still struggling with deciding what to do once I finish a full year next week. Right now it seems my only option is to keep going until the end of the year with this format, but print it in a separate book. It's not ideal, and it bugs me a lot, but to be honest it hurts more to let go of the initial idea of covering my last year as a 30-something. But, yeah, I am still debating with myself. If anyone wants to give me their thoughts, I would appreciate it!

project life | entering the final stretch

The final stretch! Of my first year as a Project Lifer, that is! This month I will be completing what I set out to be a project about my last year in my 30s. I can't tell you how excited I am to get the layouts uploaded to Blurb and that album ordered.

But with being so close, I found myself feeling more pressure for the pages to be perfect. It's a stupid thing, really. Because here I have done 100 pages for this album and now I worry about the last ten? Also, whatever is perfect anyway? But yes, I have been in agony over my colour choice for the month (I finally settled with blue/aqua to round off where I started a year ago), placement, photos, journaling. That is why it took a while to get these pages posted. Sitting here writing this I am realizing that having the pages done is so much more important than them being "perfect". I will have to be careful to put that kind of pressure on this project. It's not good for me.

So here are the pages for the last week of June, and the two first of July.

(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Stampin Up Happiness Is, Becky Higgins Project Life Stampin Up Everyday Adventures, Becky Higgins Project Life Coral, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab, Life 365 The Buttons by Karla Dudley)


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Stampin Up Playground, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab, Life 365 The Buttons by Karla Dudley)


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Amy Tangerine Plus One, Becky Higgins Project Life Just Add Color, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, Becky Higgins Project Life Dear Lizzy Polka Dot Party, In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Hello Love by Karla Dudley)


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Maggie Holmes Styleboard, Becky Higgins Project Life Dear Lizzy Day Dreamer, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab, Hello Love by Karla Dudley)


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Personal Yearbook, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, Becky Higgins Project Life Seafoam, Becky Higgins Project Life Dear Lizzy Polka Dot Party, In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab)


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Jade, Becky Higgins Project Life Summer, Becky Higgins Project Life Personal Yearbook, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, Becky Higgins Project Life Seafoam)

With being so close to completion, it has me thinking about what I should do with the remainder of the year. I know I want to keep documenting but being the way I am, I know I want to start a new project on Jan 1, 2015 and then do a full calendar year. But that leaves five months of 2014. Do I make a separate album for those months? And do I continue with this format? Do I make it easier on myself and just go with the "normal" Project Life format? So many thoughts, so many questions. I have a few more weeks to go before I need to decide. What would you advise?

project life | mid summer weeks

I know, friends, I have been gone for too long! I needed the break to be honest. It's been a tough couple of weeks around these parts so I have tried to minimize my online time.

I do have layouts to share, and also photos from a couple of photo walks around my hometown. But for today, I am sharing my Project Life pages from the past two weeks. Lots of colour in these layouts! I think that goes with the season; with blue skies, lots of flowers, veggies and berries. We don't have those kinds of colour during winter in Scandinavia!


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Stampin Up Happiness Is, In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab, Bright Side Of Life by Anita Designs)


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Stampin Up Happiness Is, In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab, Bright Side Of Life by Anita Designs)


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Enjoy Life, Becky Higgins Project Life Dear Lizzy Polka Dot Party, Becky Higgins Project Life Maggie Holmes, Becky Higgins Project Life Coral, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, Life 365 Buttons,  In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab)


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Stampin Up Playground, Becky Higgins Project Life Coral, Becky Higgins Project Life  Midnight, Becky Higgins Project Life  Just Add Color Overlays, Life 365 Buttons,  In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab)

project life | week of june 2

As we entered a new month last week, I also got closer to the one year mark of doing Project Life. My plan has all along been to make an album consisting of pages from July 29th 2013 to August 3rd 2014. So I only have two months to go until I can finish it off and order my album. I am so excited to see it in real life and hold it in my hands!

This week's pages are made with the new Project Life Stampin' Up Happiness Is kit. I really like the colours and designs of this kit, not so cutesy and a bit more sophisticated. Just my style! I also love that there are brushes included in the kit. The top left card of the right page is made with the stamps.




(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Stampin' Up Happiness Is, Bright Side Of Life by Anita Designs, Life3 65 Buttons by Karla Dudley, In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab)

project life | last two weeks of may + digi how to | tracking supplies

I really like these two weeks' pages. Mostly because I had two quite good weeks. I had more moments of feeling good than what has been usual for me in the past year. I also like that I managed to get some really colourful photos. Thanking the weather for that, LOL!


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Amy Tangerine Plus One, Becky Higgins Project Life Heritage, Becky Higgins Project Life Music, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, Becky Higgins Project Life Dear Lizzy Polka Dot Party, In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab, Life365 Buttons by Karla Dudley)


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Amy Tangerine Plus One, Becky Higgins Project Life Heritage, Becky Higgins Project Life Music, Becky Higgins Project Life Just Add Color, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab, Life365 Buttons by Karla Dudley)


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Dear Lizzy Polka Dot Party, Becky Higgins Project Life  Coral, Becky Higgins Project Life  Midnight, Becky Higgins Project Life  Heritage, Simply Adore You by Gennifer Bursett, In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab)


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Coral, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, Becky Higgins Project Life Just Add Color, A Lifetime Collection by Karla Dudley, In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab)

I had a question on how I keep track of what supplies I use. I learned this trick early on in my scrapbooking, and have stuck to it. I know that there are actions and plug ins that can help do the work for you, but I haven't looked into it mostly because this works for me. I don't claim to have the best and most effective way of keeping track, but yes, it works well for me.

I don't use an organising tool; I just keep my supplies in a folder for each kit. When I use something from one kit I copy the name of the kit and paste it into the file of the page. This is how I do it.

1. In Explorer, right click on the kit folder. Choose Change Name. Copy the name (Ctrl+C).
2. Go to Photoshop where the page you are working on is open, choose File and File Info (Alt+Shift+Ctrl+I).
3. Paste the file name in the description area. Click OK.



Once the file has been saved, you can see what you  have written in the File Info by, in Explorer, right clicking on the file, choosing Properties, and then going to the third tab called Information. It is possible to click and copy the text so that you can paste it anywhere you want to.

So that's it. Pretty simple, isn't it?

digi how to | simple white photo frame

I have had a few questions lately on how I create the white frames in my Project Life layouts, and I thought I would try to explain how easy it is to make these simple white frames. Really, don't ever buy a simple white frame! You can do it yourself in two minutes or less!

OK, so here is a Project Life layout just to remind us what the white frames look like.


Here's a screenshot of the layout zoomed in on my workspace in Photoshop. You can see the actual layout on the left and the layers palette on the right.


In the layers palette, you can see that I have created one layer that is the white frame. The white frame is created by drawing a rectangle with the rectangle tool, making sure that my chosen colour is white.

On top of the white frame layer there is another layer that is the mat for the photo itself. The mat is created in the same way as the frame, but slightly smaller than the frame rectangle.

On top of that is the actual photo that I have dragged into my file. The photo is "clipped" to the photo mat. You clip by hovering the mouse between the two layers so that you see a white square with a black arrow beside it and then holding down the Alt key while left clicking. Doing it this way instead of cutting the photo to size means I can play with cropping, size, and placement of the photo in a non destructive way. The size of the mat stays the same.


Here I have hidden the photo mat and photo to show what the white frame looks like.


And here I have hidden the frame to show what it would look like to just have the photo mat and the photo.


As you can see the drop shadow is applied to the frame layer since that is the one that is on the bottom of the three layers.

I have been digi scrapping since 2007, so these things are like second nature to me. If you have other questions I would be more than happy to answer them as best I can. Just give me a shout here or on Facebook.

However, if you want to become proficient in digi scrapping I highly reccomend taking a class or two. I have been a very happy customer of Jessica Sprague's most excellent classes. She has state of the art videos, she explains everything very well (and she is funny too), and the kits that come with the classes are lovely. Her classes will give you a good foundation to build on.

Be well everyone, and just give me a shout if you need further clarification!

project life | first half of may

Oh boy, it's been a while hasn't it? I have been giving myself time off the computer to get the brain in as good a condition as possible as I take another step in my recovery; going back to work part time. So with this, I also fell behind one week on my Project Life. But with promising myself to stay on top of it, I spent some time last night making my spreads for the past two weeks.


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, Becky Higgins Project Life Music, Becky Higgins Project Life Coral, Becky Higgins Project Life Just Add Color, In Stitches-Neutral Basics by RobynMeierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab)


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Rad Dad, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, Becky Higgins Project Life Music, Becky Higgins Project Life Heritage, Becky Higgins Project Life Just Add Color, In Stitches-Neutral Basics by RobynMeierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab)


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Happy, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, Becky Higgins Project Life Music, Becky Higgins Project Life Just Add Color, Becky Higgins Project Life Heritage, Becky Higgins Project Life SU Everyday Adventure, In Stitches-Neutral Basics by RobynMeierotto, Life 365 Buttons)


(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Happy, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, Becky Higgins Project LifeMusic, Becky Higgins Project Life Heritage, In Stitches-Neutral Basics by RobynMeierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab, Life 365 Buttons)

I like how these pages are working together. I wanted the photos to really stand out in these pages because I think I've had some really lovely moments lately, and I think the toned down colour scheme enhances them.

I just want to touch on again how thankful I am that I decided to start Project Life back in August of last year. I thought I would never be able to fill two pages every week. I thought I would never have enough content, and that I would never be able to keep it up. Oh, how wrong I was! Even with being sick for almost all of the past 9 months, I think I have a lovely album going. I am so happy about that!

project life | week of april 28

I don't know about you, but for me last week pratcially flew by. It was a good week for me though and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. I had little to complain about.




(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Stampin' Up Everyday Adventure, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, Becky Higgins Project Life Seafoam, In Stitches-Neutral Basics by RobynMeierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab, Life 365 Buttons, A Lifetime Collection by Karla Dudley)

project life | week of april 21

I am plugging along with my Project Life pages, and it's going quite well. At least this week! Ha!
Inspiration and motivation comes and goes with any project that lasts for a while. That is true for me, and for this project. But right now I am happy to be working on my pages and so looking forward to seeing the printed album once I hit a full year.




(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Summer, Becky Higgins Project Life Dear Lizzy Polka Dot Party, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, Becky Higgins Project Life Just Add Color Overlays, Becky Higgins Project Life Just Add Color, Simply Adore You by Gennifer Bursett, Life 365 Buttons by Karla Dudley, In Stitches Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto)

Have a great week everyone!

project life | week of april 14

I gave myself a (almost) week of much needed computer break this week. I still have problems with getting brain fry when I sit in front of one, even for the shortest of times, and decided to stay away completely for a couple of days. Of course I have checked up on stuff like Facebook and Pinterest on my phone, but the actual physical aspect of sitting down, opening my computer, and doing creative stuff or surfing, I left behind.

But yesterday I sat down and created my Project Life spread from last week. It took me a while; I couldn't find a good balance between the photos I had taken and the colour scheme I'm going with for April. I don't know that I love these two pages, but I got it done and that is enough for me right now.




(Supplies: Becky Higgins  Project Life Dear Lizzy Polka Dot Party, Becky Higgins  Project Life Dear Lizzy Neapolitan, Becky Higgins  Project Life Maggie Holmes, Becky Higgins  Project Life Maggie Holmes Styleboard, Becky Higgins  Project Life Amy Tangerine Plus One, Becky Higgins  Project Life Midnight, Becky Higgins  Project Life Just Add Color, Becky Higgins  Project Life Coral, Life 365 Buttons, In Stitches   Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto)

As another spread is done, and another week documented, I cannot help but reflect on the hopes I had for my year when I started the week of my birthday in August, and how it has come to be something entirely different. I am documenting what has been a very difficult year and as much as I think that has helped me, I wonder what I will be able to take away from the experience when I have (hopefully) been able to dig myself out of this hole. I also wonder how I will look back on it when I look through the pages of this album many years down the road. Will this album give me a good feeling or will it just be a not wanted reminder of a bad time in my life? What I do hope is that I will be able to see that there were some truly magical moments even in my darkest days.

project life | week of april 7

It's time again for the weekly Project Life post, and I think I kind of love these two pages. I decided to continue with the multi coloured pastel theme for the whole of April, and it goes so well with the spring photos I seem to be obsessed with taking now.

I am quite chuffed with being able to carry through the circles from last week. The card I used on this week's right page is from a different kit than last week - the new Maggie Holmes Styleboard Kit - so I am really glad they work together.




(Supplies: Becky Higgins Project Life Maggie Holmes Styleboard, Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight, Becky Higgins Project Life Just Add Color Overlays, Life 365 Buttons, In Stitches   Neutral Basics by Robyn Meierotto, Homebody by Shannon McNab)

So, now I'm looking forward to a new week that I am hoping to fill with positive things. That has kind of become my mission lately; learning to not feel so much obligation and learning to see the good in even the smallest details.

going graphic | inspirational quote cards set two

I finally got my second set of inspirational quote cards printed. I am now ready to put them up on my little wall beside my desk at work. I don't spend much time there at the moment, but it will be a nice thing to come back to when I do start working again.

This set featured a few longer quotes, and it took me a whole to get them to look right. I chose to go with the same cards from Becky Higgins Project Life Midnight Kit as my base, and stuck with basically the same fonts. I like the consistency of the look when all the cards are together.











If you missed the first set you can find it here!