Project Life 2013: Seafoam Edition

YAY!  I have my Project Life Edition picked out for next year: Seafoam!  Becky Higgins shared a sneak peek on her blog today, and I. Am. So. Excited!  I love everything about the Seafoam Edition!  Nice and modern, lots of blues, grays and oranges, chevrons, polka dots, lines...I love it!

Everyday this week she's sharing a new release, but truly, I don't even need to see the 2nd Edition (though I'm sure it will be lovely), because I am totally ready to get my hands on Seafoam!  Just from what I've seen, it's going to work perfectly for me and my house of boys.

So that's it; just a super-short post about the newest PL Edition!

Thanks for reading!

Project Life: The Month of July

Hello All!

I've decided to start posting my PL a month at a time.  That way, I can go over anything special that I do in a month once, and it doesn't get monotonous.  So here's July!

July 2-9, 2012:  A pretty colorful spread this week; we had an awesome 4th of July in Durham with Robbie's family.  Even though we spent a lot of our visit moving furniture, the food was delicious, and that kind of negates everything in my book.

The left hand side has our 4th of July lunch with family and us just hanging around with them, and my baby boy in the quad stroller (decorated with flags!) as they went through the daycare's parade.  I added the information for the picture directly on the photo in PhotoShop.  I took them to our local Children's Museum (the best way I've found for keeping them entertained when it's impossibly too hot outside to play) and included the receipt in one of the 3x4 pockets.  I used 2 journaling cards to talk about our activities on the 4th, so I used the same design, to give it some cohesiveness.

I had 1 8.5x11 insert; 2 pieces (back and front) of publication about Andy Griffith's passing.  He is a tremendous icon in North Carolina, and I personally have watched his show and movies since I was little.  I really liked the story our local paper wrote, because it highlighted a lot of his life and time in our state.

On the right hand page I cut a 4x6 photo in half for the 3x4 pockets (in the construction area at the Children's Museum).  I also tucked in the hand-flag Liam made at daycare to celebrate the 4th.  Another reason I love PL: I don't think I would have had a place to keep something like that before, without it being buried under projects that needed to be completed.

July 9-15, 2012:

A pretty quiet week for us...I did some more type on top of a photo in PhotoShop.  I added an Instagram (LOVE Instagram, you can follow me at l_jsmommy) cropped to 3.5"x3.5"on to a 4x6 journaling card.  Liam was using his daddy's screwdriver on his brother's toy cabinet-so cute!  Robbie teaching Liam how to use a multi-meter ('cause every 2 year old needs to know this, right?  But it was precious)

A picture of Liam sitting in a big boy seat for an ENTIRE dinner out, which is quite a big deal.  New shoe shopping for both boys.  I'm trying to remember to use the arrow stickers that I have, just because I love the color it adds.

July 16-22, 2012:

 A 6x12 insert of the pictures from the birthday party the boys were invited to Saturday.  It's a standard 12x12 photo pocket page I trimmed down.

 More pictures on the back with a copy of the invitation.

 An Instagram added to a 3x4 journaling card (picture cropped to 2.5x2.5) of the banner I made for the birthday party.

And more cute-ness from my family.  I'm making an effort to get pictures of myself included.  It's important mommies!

July 23-29, 2012:

I used a picture of the London Bridge I found on Google and added text to it via PhotoShop, just to talk about how much I really enjoy the Olympics.  I watched almost the entire Opening Ceremony that Friday night with Robbie; it was pretty awesome!  The top right photo is 2 pictures-in-1.  I added a 2.5x2.5 Instagram to a 3x4 journaling card + a 3x4 picture of a Pinterest-inspired piece of artwork my sister made for Jacob's room.  I glued both to a 4x6 journaling card.  (How cute is that whale?!)

Another 4x6 photo I cut in half to fit in (2) 3x4 spots.  (I have a problem deciding on only (7) 4x6 photos every week...I can't help it)  And a picture of our newly-framed in bathroom mirror in the almost-complete stage.  (I wrote a DIY tutorial here)

So that's it for July.  I hope it wasn't too many pictures and too wordy...but I think it'll work out better for me to post a month at a time, instead of trying to do this week-by-week.

Thanks for stopping by and visit again soon!

Catch-Up on Project Life

Hey everyone!  Sorry it's been a ridiculously long time since I've blogged, but I've had bunches going on, and I finished right when the Olympics began (I'm a HUGE Olympics fan) and then I had a bunch of home DIY stuff (which I'm writing posts for now)...so, I've just been super busy, but I'm back now!  AND I've even kept up with my Project Life!  Definite gold stars for me!  So I've put together a few pictures of the last few weeks, and I'll work on getting my current week and all my DIY projects posted soon!  Thanks for reading!

Here's the week that we took the boys to visit the Science Center in our area.  I included the map of the center as an 8.5x11 insert.

This is the weekend that we went to the beach with Robbie's family.  I had a bunch of stuff I wanted to include: my packing list (I'm slightly OCD and really enjoy making and crossing things off of a list)

For the date card, I used a photo of our suitcases almost packed, and just added the dates on top of the picture in PhotoShop.

Here's my super-detailed packing list; I put the list in an 8.5x11 page protector, stitched up the side and trimmed it.

This is a 6x12 insert that will hold 6 photos.  These were all beach-themed, so I put a little self-adhesive Avery tab on the edge that identifies the pictures.  I got this idea from Ali Edwards.

This shot is the back of my packing list; I included the Rx for my son's medication that we picked up after the trip as well as the family picture that was taken at the aquarium we visited.

This was the week I traveled to Massachusetts to help my mom get my grandmother's house ready for Closing.  We visited the cemetery where both of my grandparents are buried.  The insert is a cut down, stitched and trimmed 8.5x11 that holds 2 pictures from the visit, and text about the trip (below).  I chose to add this, because it was much more verbose than anything that would fit on the 3x4 journaling cards.  It was an emotionally tough trip, but I was glad I was able to go and help my mom.

And on to a happier note, this was Father's Day week, and I included the cards that the boys made for Robbie at daycare.  For these inserts, I used a 12x12 page protector, and stitched and trimmed, much the same as the 8.5x11 inserts.

Thanks a bunch for stopping by, and I have a lot of cool posts to come, so check back soon!

Project Life: April 2-8 & 9-15, 2012

Hey all!  A quick update on PL (I know it's been awhile).  Still sticking with this; I know how rewarding it is on December 31 to have a whole year of memories and journaling broken down week-by-week.  So here we go!
April 2-8, 2012:

Here's the whole spread; I included an insert this week, of the card my aunt sent the boys for Easter.

The left hand side: I'm still really liking the way the date looks typed onto the date card.  I decorated the date card with 2 stickers that my aunt included in the Easter card to the boys.  In the journaling card spot, I put a cut out of the stain chart from the stain we got for the front porch.  That was a project we took on this weekend, and I LOVE the way it turned out!  We hadn't done anything to our porch since we moved in almost 6 years ago, and the color looks so rich!  The bottom left-hand photo is a picture of some toilet paper origami my sister did for us...unfortunately we didn't have a spare roll in the bathroom, so the artwork was short-lived.

Here's the Easter card insert; I didn't want to sacrifice any of my 4x6 photos spaces for this, but I wanted to include it.  I adhered the card to a piece of card stock and punches 2 holes so it would fit in the binder.  It was important to me to include this, because my aunt has always been really great about sending cards for every holiday when I was little, so I'm glad my boys get to experience this tradition too (plus, how fun is it to get something other than a bill in the mail?!)

And more pictures from the week, including some from a friend's 30th birthday party where my boys met a new friend.  The middle 2 pictures in the journaling card spaces is actually a 4x6 that I wanted to include, but didn't have room for it in the 4x6 spaces.  I just cropped the photo to 3x4 on one side, then 3x4 on the other side; there's a little overlap, but I wanted to get the picture in there.  I also included a screen shot from my iPhone (hold down the home key and the on/off switch at the top-the picture will save to your Camera Roll).

April 9-15, 2012:

Another week of lots of photos and an insert.

Here's the left hand side; there's another screen shot of my Weight Watchers progress (I've lost 36 pounds since I came back to work from maternity leave) and some journaling about my progress, along with a picture of the Teacher Appreciation cake my friend and I made on Saturday for her daughter's pre-school teacher (interested?  find the post here!)  The bottom right-hand picture?!  Taken by my uber-talented photographer friend!  I never saw the point of having your family professional photographed...until I saw these images.  LOVE them!  (more to come on the right-hand side of this PL)

This week I included the map from our zoo trip.  It's in a 12x12 protector, that I cut down slightly.

And the right hand side: some more of Krista's photography, and some pictures of the boys at the zoo.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Project Life: March 5-11, 2012

Hello all!  Just a quick post with last week's PL...it's a beautiful sunny day here, and I'm just about to get my boys and play outside!

Here's the whole spread...

My WONDERFUL husband grilled out steak and shrimp and surprised me by having everything ready and on the table when I got home from picking up the boys after work.  It was delicious!  Truly, he is the best husband ever.  My aunt sent both boys their birthday presents a tad late (but it helps to prolong the celebration, right?!) so there's a picture of them opening presents, and I cut out a piece of the wrapping paper to use as a 3x4 insert.  I also put a picture of Liam holding a package of little boy undies (praying that potty training will be quick, easy and successful).  Robbie took this picture, and I love it because Liam looks so interested in it!  I also included a cut-out of the packaging to include as a 3x4 insert.

And the right-hand side (sorry for the blur on the top left...).  Just some more random pictures from the week, including my sister with her swim team coaches and her Coaches' Award at her Winter Sports Banquet.  Truly, she is awesome-she got up at 5:00 a.m. every morning for months to practice with her swim team, and never missed one day!  She even arranged extra practices during Winter Break.  I love her and my boys adore her.  And some pictures and journaling about hanging out outdoors in the beautiful weather!
Thanks for visiting!  Leave me a comment with any questions!

Project Life: February 27-March 4, 2012

Hello everyone!  I hope you're day is going well!  Just a quick note: everyone has somebody in their life that's important to you; that you love and who is always there for you.  Whether it's a friend, husband (or wife), family member, co-worker, child...there's someone.  Take a few minutes out of your day to let them know how much they mean to you.  A call, text, e-mail, face-to-face; it doesn't have to be a grand gesture, but it's important.  Let them know you appreciate and love them.

That's that, now on to Project Life 2/27-3/4:

Here's the whole spread for this week, and I love all the color!  I did the date on my printer by running one of the date cards through.  The clear divider is left over from last year's PL (I started in May, so I have Jan.-April left to use this year)  There's also an insert for this week.

Here's the left-hand side: standard pictures and some journaling cards that describe how the weather is (finally) changing to Spring.  Since Jacob was at home this week recovering from pneumonia, my mom sent us 4 meals that just had to be heated and served.  SO nice not having to think about what to make!  I included one of the post-it notes she used with the heating instructions, because I like having her handwriting included.

 The right-hand side is more photos; one of my precious baby Jacob who smiles in his sleep!  We visited a grocery store on Saturday, just me and the boys, and Liam helped out by carrying some of the groceries in his cart.  Too precious!  I added an Instagram photo (sized to 2.5" square) to one of the journaling cards.  I can't say it enough: I Love Instagram!  There's also a photo of Liam with the new pillow and sham that I sewed and a tag that I cut and stapled right on to the picture (this is a great option when you run out of journaling space on the cards).  Also a picture of me and my husband at a bowling alley on Saturday with my boss, her husband, an intern and a family friend.  We were bowling to raise money for Big Brothers/Big Sisters.  Thank goodness the contributions and pledges are not conditional on a high (or even moderately-high) bowling score!

 The back and front of my insert.  These are 7.5"x7.5" Instagram photos of some of the flowers in our yard (Flowering Quinze and Carolina Jasmine)  I thought these were so pretty and colorful!

As with most of my inserts, I used a standard 8.5"x11" page protector and stitched the edge to fit the insert.  Then I trimmed the excess...I must say that my straight-line stitching is getting much better!

Thanks so much for visiting, and leave me a comment with any questions!

Project Life: February 20-26, 2012

Hello everyone!  Let's jump right in!  This was a super-tough week; Jacob, my youngest baby boy, was diagnosed with RSV on Friday (2/24) and it was a rough spot for our family.  I'm happy to report he's 100% better, but a sick little boy puts a damper on getting a lot of things done, since all our your efforts are making sure he's comfortable and getting better.  Sooo, on to the pictures!

No inserts this week; just pictures and journaling.  I did my date on a PL card with my printer (I type the date in Word, print it on a regular piece of paper, then line it up with the space on the card by holding it up to a window...then I just add a bit of removable adhesive to the back of the card, and re-run the paper through the printer.)

Here's the left-hand side; a close up of the date card, a picture of our house covered in the only snow we'll probably see this Winter, my boys in the snow and their little lawnmowers (that I forgot to put in the carport before the snow...)  In the 3x4 spots, I included the receipt from Jacob's first haircut "Supercut Jr." (super-cute), a picture of Liam coloring in the kids' waiting room at the doctor's office for both boys' check-up appointments, and 2 journaling cards about their check-ups and our busy schedule on that Monday.

On the right-hand side, a lunch picture from Monday and (of course) a picture of the first haircut (it was NOT well-received by Jacob), and then pictures from the latter-half of the week, where we could tell Jacob was not feeling well.  I included his prescription inserts, and pictures of him resting, which is what he spent the most of his time doing.  Just getting better one day at a time.
That's it for this week; thanks for taking a look, and comment with any questions!

Catching Up: Project Life: Jan. 30-Feb. 5 & Feb. 6-Feb. 12, 2012

Hello All!  Sorry for the absence, but it's been a busy few weeks!  So let's drive right in!
First Up: Project Life: January 30-February 5, 2012

LOTS of stuff for this week; we visited the Georgia Aquarium over the weekend, so that means I've included stuff from our visit and the plane rides (a first for both boys) plus all the other stuff that happened during the week!

Here's a close up of the left hand page; I used the 4"x3" spaces more for receipts and pieces of paper collected throughout the weekend than I did for pictures, which is my norm.  There's a picture of my grocery cart at Wal-Mart, where I got a bunch of party favors, plates and napkins for my boys' upcoming birthday parties, and I've included the receipt.  I put our Claim Ticket we got at the airport for our double stroller (luckily they let us check it at the gate, and pick it up right outside of the plane, so we weren't without it for long!).  I also wrote out everything we ate on our Atlanta trip on a piece of the notepad paper that was in our hotel room, mainly because I liked the saying on the paper: "Leave a trail of genius".

Here's the first insert-in an 8.5"x11" page protector, our boarding passes leaving Greensboro (I blurred out the important stuff).  When I checked-in online, they offered to include the weather report for our destination (Atlanta) with the print out.  I opted in for that, since it would be cool to look back and see what the weather was like...(fortunately) it was totally wrong and we didn't have rain on Saturday, but beautiful sunny skies and mid-60's!

On the back of the insert, I included the walking map the hotel gave us so we could get to the Aquarium.  It was only about 8 blocks, but it was a great walk.

And the right-hand side; mostly pictures from the Aquarium, including an Instagram picture that I printed at 4"x4" and pieced next to one of our admission tickets to the Aquarium.  In the 4"x3" spaces, there's a receipt for Dairy Queen (we visited that after our walk back to the hotel-it was awesome!), a picture of the interior of our hotel-looking up, the MARTA card we needed getting back and forth to the airport in Atlanta (the MARTA is Atlanta's transit system that goes both above and below-ground) and some journaling about when we got back home.  The bottom right-hand picture is my husband's and my Superbowl feast of ribs, pizza and cheese sticks...I'm really glad I walked a lot in Atlanta!

And next: Project Life: February 6-12, 2012

This was another busy week-my first baby boy turned 2 years old!  So a good part of this week was devoted to his party.

Liam had a farm-themed party, so this was the invitation I made for him.  It is in an 8.5"x11" page protector that I stitched and trimmed down.

Here's the back of the card, with my design stamp (if you're interested in my invitation designs, Like my Facebook page: Designs By Erin: Custom Invitations to see invitations I've made, and new ones I post, and contact information if you're interested in having me make some for an event.) and Robbie's bracelet for the Children's Museum, where Liam's party was.

The insert behind his card is the RSVP list that I kept track of replies on...yes, I'm that OCD that I have to create a table and denote how we know each group of people, whether it be work, family, daycare, etc...don't judge!  :-)

Here's the last insert-a Happy Birthday card that his class made for him!

I put this in a 12"x12" page protector, stitched and trimmed again.

Here's the back, with everybody's hand prints from his class.  I usually try to limit the amount of inserts I include, because I want all of 2012 to fit in one binder, but...this was just too sweet not to include!

And the right-hand side; 2 McDonald's receipts (1 from bringing Liam's class Happy Meals on Friday, and 1 for the 60 chicken nuggets we bought for Saturday's party...Liam loves his chicken nuggets!), and more pictures from the party and our house after presents were opened.

and a Baby Gap tag, that I loved because it said '2 Years' on it, that came off one of his new swim trunks from his Aunt Claudia.

That's it for January 30-February 12...I've got one more birthday this weekend-my baby boy Jacob is turning 1, and it seems much too soon to be celebrating this birthday...but they grow up, and the grow up fast!  Thanks for reading and comment with any questions!