Memory Planner: Creative Jumpstarts 11

Happy Monday!  Marcy and I are back today with a BRAND NEW Creative Jumpstarts challenge!  With all of the planner craze lately, we've decided to switch things up a little and add in a planner challenge.  Saying that Marcy and myself are a little obsessed with planners would be an understatement....I blame her, by the way, for my obsession.  :)

Our planner challenge for you this week is to add a photo into your planner.  Get those everyday photos off of your camera and into your planner!  I bet you will become obsessed too!!  

I'm a big fan of adding photos to my planner, but I usually slip them into the page protectors that came with each month in my Heidi Swapp planner.  Most of my daily boxes are full of notes, to-dos, reminders and written memories.  Last week, though, I was sunning it up in lovely St. John, USVI (and I decided not to take my planner with me) so my week was pretty bare and blank.  My trip happened to exactly fall over a double page spread in my planner, and I knew that photos would be the perfect way to dress up my pages!!

I sized and printed out five photos to fit in the daily boxes (and I've got a free template for you too if you want perfectly sized photos for your memory planner)!  I adhered them with some adhesive right into the daily boxes and then added a few little details about each days events to the left or right.  It was the perfect way to add in our memories so I can remember them later for my Project Life album and mini book!

I found the easiest way for me to get my photos the right size was to create a template in Photoshop.  I've tried eyeballing it, guessing it and winging it, but they never really came out the way I wanted.  I was wasting some of precious photo paper trying to size them down, so a template was a must!!

With the above template, you can drop three photos onto a 4x6 canvas, send it to be printed or print it at home!  Easy peasy!  I like a white border on my photos, so the boxes are sized to include that with trimming, but if you want them larger, just increase the photo boxes and you should be good to go!!  

Grab your memory planner photo template HERE!

What would have been "empty" boxes in my planner are now full of photos, words and memories!!  And if you aren't obsessed with how awesome and versatile these planners are yet, I don't know what else I have to do to try and convince you!  Ha!  :)

So that's our Creative Jumpstarts challenge for you this week!  Add a photo to your planners!  Be sure to tag us on Instagram and use the hashtag #creativejumpstarts !  We cannot wait to see your planners!!

Creative Jumpstarts were created by Marcy Penner and Stephanie Bryan to challenge each other with their paper endeavors. Delivered in the form of bimonthly challenges, they encourage us (and hopefully you too) to stretch supplies, think outside of the box and to remain intentional about the memories we capture.  Challenges are posted on the first and third Mondays of every month.  Projects are shared on our blogs and on Instagram using the hashtag #creativejumpstarts. We'd love it if you'd share along with us at either of those places and be sure to tag us (@helloforeverpaperco and @stephaniebryan) if you do!

Making Merry: Snowball Soup

Anna is full of Christmas magic.  She loves the tree, the sounds, the sights and of course, the presents.  I've really talked with her a lot this year about the real meaning of Christmas, and am trying to instill in her the feeling of "giving".  Giving our time to others, giving money to help out those who are less fortunate, donating gifts and picking Angels from the Angel tree....  She gets it.  She gets the reason behind this amazing season and I couldn't be more proud as a mama.

So when we were talking about gifts for her teachers at school, she immediately insisted that she give out gifts to her classmates, because "it's the season of giving, right momma" (I totally asked for that, right??).   With two days until she's out for Christmas break, I really had to scramble to figure out what we could do.  I mean, who has time to make/wrap/give 25 gifts????  :)

I spent (probably way to much time) on Pinterest and found these super cute little "snowball soup" gifts.  It's nothing more than hot chocolate, candy and a poem, but it's something and it's super cute!  And Anna couldn't have been more excited to put them together.  She stuffed each bag with a big smile on her face talking about how excited her friends were going to be....just the sweetest girl ever.

I know it's last minute, but I thought I would add the poem here just in case anyone else was looking for a quick, last minute gift!  Just right click, save to your desktop and print away!  I printed four to a sheet and then trimmed them out!  Easy peasy!!  

I think they would make great neighbor gifts, class gifts or even family gifts for the little ones!  Who doesn't like hot chocolate, right??  

Happy giving, friends!

Blessed

Feeling super blessed on this amazing day!  How about you???

Happy Sunday!

(You can grab this free cut file here.)

Using large photos & a challenge

The kids were snuggled in on the couch this weekend watching Frozen for the zillionth time, so I snuck away for a few moments in my craft room.  I love to create, but printing pictures is my least favorite thing.  I do have a little box where I keep extra photos that haven't been used yet, but I flip through those so often I'm kinda tired of seeing them.  As I was looking for something to use on a project, I found two photos of me with my kids that I had printed on a piece of white card stock.  The photos were a little bit larger than I would normally use, so it was fun to play around with paper and photos in a different way.

I challenged myself to create two layouts...one for my daughter and one for my son using these two photos.  I used the Office Hour Scrapbook kit and Project Life kit from Studio Calico to put these together.  The least amount of options, the better for me.  I can sometimes get lost in paper and embellishments if I'm not careful! :)

I thought it would be fun to offer this up as a little challenge with a fun prize on my blog today!  I'd love to see your take on this project!

It's super simple to do and you really only need a printer and some paper to make it happen!

Here's a quick little walk through....

Start by printing two photos onto a piece of 8.5x11 white card stock.  I used Aperture to print my photos by choosing the "two photos per page" option.  Play around with your printer settings and try to get two large photos on one page.  If you would like to Photoshop to layer your photos, I put together a little template for you to use.

8.5x11 Photoshop Template

After you have your photos printed onto one page, just cut right down the middle for two large photos.  Now it's the fun part!  Get those photos and stories onto a layout!

Here's my two layouts!

I used some papers from the Office Hours Scrapbook kit to create a base for my photo.    I sewed my photo onto a piece of printer paper so I could add my journaling under the photo.  I filled in the bottom part of my photo with this awesome cut file created by Paige Evans.  A few embellishments, cork stickers and a trimmed journaling card finished off my page.

For this photo, I started with a vertical band of papers on the right side of my white background.  To keep it girly, I added a large white doily and a few stamped flowers inspired by this tutorial from Elizabeth Kartchner.  I also sewed a glassine bag underneath my photo so I could add my journaling onto a Project Life card and slip it into the bag.

So are you up for a challenge??  I'd love if you would play along!  After you post your project to your blog or gallery, add a link in the comments here!!  This challenge is open until next Monday, March 24th.  I'll post the winner to my blog and send out a fun little goodie bag!

Happy Monday and Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

xoxoxo

two peas in a bucket: "stuff that makes me happy" and a freebie

i have a "capture" video up at two peas in a bucket today.  this month is all about "me" so i decided to put together a spread about all of the things that make me happy.  you can see more of my process and how i altered this design f page protector in the video.

i also put together a little layered template freebie for anyone who wants to create a similar layout using the 3x4 pocket sizes.  i've included one template that has a white border (like my project life spread above), as well as one that is borderless.  you can download the templates here.  

thanks so much for stopping by today!!  happy monday!

glitz design: the new year and a freebie

first, thank you so much for all of the kind words you left on my "garden girl" announcement from yesterday.  every.single.one. made me smile from ear to ear.  and i'm so glad to hear that many of you still frequent blogs, but don't always comment.  i'm the exact same way. i'm hoping to leave more love on blogs this year.  :)

i am so excited to be back with glitz for another year!  i just love everything that they make and the glitz girls are just fabulous!  did you see the new product releases on the blog this past weekend?  um, yummy!!

today, i'm on the glitz blog sharing my "new year" layout.  i decided to do a simple layout about my words for this year "simplify, enjoy, breathe".  i feel like i need all of these words this year, and although they are intertwined somehow, i wanted each to be present in my day to day.

to celebrate the new year, i wanted my title to be the main point of my page.  i made my title in my silhouette software and then cut it out on white card stock.   i then backed a few of the opening spaces with patterned papers.  i also cut the same title on vellum and then added that over my white card stock.  i like how the vellum softens the bright white card stock a little. 

if you would like to create a similar page, or use the title for another project, i'm offering it as a freebie.  "hello 2014 let's do this" cut file title can be found here.

do you pick a word to follow each year?  please share if you have a minute!  i'd love to hear!!

happy monday!

xoxo

glitz design: bling bling & a cut file freebie

it's all about the giant rhinestones at glitz design this week.  their sparkle and shine can really make a project pop!!

for my project this week, i decided to add quite a few of them onto my layout....as well as a few baby photos.  (i think i'm obsessed with baby photos right now!)

i used my silhouette to cut out the background circle shape to add a little depth to my page.  i backed a few of the open circles with patterned paper from the finnley collection for a few color pops here and there.  then i finished the layout off with a quick title and the gorgeous giant rhinestones!

take a look...
(ps...i designed the circle cut file and you can download it here...)

glitz design: magic is something that you make and a cut file

i'm sharing a fun way to use some of the chalkboard papers at glitz design today! 

i love this photo of my two laying on the floor talking together.  their relationship is truly magical to me.  i thought these words went perfect with the photo so i decided to use my silhouette to cut the title "magic is something that you make", as well as some stars from the chalkboard paper. 

i trimmed my chalkboard paper down to 6x12 so i could back it with a piece of white card stock.  i love how the white makes the title and stars pop.  i layered my photo onto several monochromatic papers from the glitz design paper pads and i finished off the layout the "color me happy" peek a boo to add a little pop onto the page, as well as some star garland (i basically just sewed together the cut out stars from the chalkboard paper and adhered them to my page).

the font i used for the silhouette cut is called oil can and it is my absolute favorite!!  i've saved the title and star cut file and it's available for download here.

find a magical photo and create away!!  i hope you enjoy it!  let me know if you end up using it!  i'd love to see what you create!

happy wednesday!

xoxo

happy nsd!

happy happy day everyone!

so much fun planned for today!

chic tags is having an awesome "blowout" sale with lots of coupons and grab bags so be sure to stop by as you wander around in blog-land.

i created a layout for chic tags and national scrapbooking day using the "everyday life II" collection.  i cut the title with my silhouette first and then backed my words with papers that went with the chic tags.  i finished my layout by adding this photo collage that i created in photoshop of some of our "april" photos.  we are pretty silly and crazy in our house so it was nice to catch all these smiles and giggles in one photo.  and of course, the photos totally match my title!!  life really is better when you're laughing!

i wanted to add a little interest and dimension to my collage of photos so i left the middle square blank and added some pattern paper and a chic tag circle that says "love this life"!  such a fun page...

and in honor of national scrapbooking day, i've decided to share three 6x6 layered templates that i created.  i used the 9 frame photo collage for the photo above ("hiding" the middle square so i could add some embellishments).  you can see a quick little tutorial on how to "hide" a photo square here.  these 6x6 sizes are perfect for adding photo collages to your layouts and also fit perfectly in the project life design e page protectors!

design e layered photo templates

hope you enjoy using them!!  if you have any questions, just ask away!!  :)

what about you??  what are your plans for today?  please share!  i'd love to stop by and "virtually" hang out!!

happy saturday everyone!  and happy nsd!

freebie: circle cut file

here's another freebie for ya...

this one is a circle cut file i made on the silhouette for the layout below.  

i love circles.

you could turn it sideways or on a diagonal for a different look...

and it would be super cute resized for a card...

circle cut file

please feel free to grab one for yourself, but please credit and link back if you use it.

xoxo

project life: layered psd template

i thought i would share a little layered template i created for my insert this week.  i tend to have lots of photos, so multiple pictures on one 4x6 photo works well for me.  

i also like to change things up a bit and add either journaling or embellishments on my grid pictures.

here's how i use my layered psd...

this is the file i created using photoshop elements.

you can use it as it is...with 6 slots for photos.  these squares are roughly 2x2 each and are perfect for instagram photos.

when you open the psd file, you will see the layers #1-6 on the right hand side (as pictured with the arrow).

as above in my project life insert, i sometimes like to "hide" a layer to leave a white space for journaling or embellishments.  for the insert, i cut down one of the dear lizzy cards for that spot and sewed it into place.

click on the little "eye" next to the layer you want to hide.  you'll see that box disappear after you click on the eye icon.

for the photo on the front of the insert, i "hid" the two layers on the right to make space for my title. 

i love how the white space makes the photos pop.

click below to download the layered template

4x6 layered psd template

let me know if you have any questions or need any help with this.  i just play around with pse so i don't know too much, but i'm happy to help if i can!!  

thanks for stopping by!

project life freebie: laundry card

i thought i would share a little freebie today.  it's a simple little laundry card i created in photoshop. i saw this as a poster on pinterest and thought it would be perfect for project life.  you can see how i used it on my spread below.

happy monday everyone.

(just click the picture and save it to your desktop)