the moments in between

magic | captured : a mini book workshop

It's been 2.5 years since our first trip to Disney World. A trip that was going to be one and done - HA. Since then, we've taken a few more trips, a zillion more photos, and made a lot of memories. And while I have a couple BIG album projects in the works to record individual trips, I wanted to do something that would bring all of our favorite snapshots and moments together in one place.

Given my current obsession level with notebooks, a Traveler's Notebook seemed like the best set up for this album. It'll be simple, streamlined and easy to grab and flip through. And I'll be sharing the whole process of how it comes together in my Mini Book Workshop at Studio Calico. In addition to the planning and set up, I'll be sharing some ideas for adding full page photos, page protectors and tags into your album, as well as covering techniques that work well in a notebook.

You can find out more about the class (and class kit!) and register here. I hope to see you in the classroom! 

 

wherever your heart is, i call home

Yep. It's our happy place. And really, there's nothing like spending 10 days with the people you love in a place you love. 

(supplies  // Jolly Holiday SB kit + Spoonful add-on)

This page was inspired by the die cut words in the Spoonful add-on. To be honest, I had to stop myself from just filling the entire background with them. In the end, I chose to print photos of all five of us from our March trip to WDW, and then added just a few of the words. I'm still thinking about how I want to document this trip, since I already have a few incomplete trip albums in progress. For now, random pages with favorite photos will do. And this one makes me happy.

Five happy faces. One happy place. =)

 

label love

When it comes right down to it, I'm a big fan of the basics. Grid paper. Sequins. Vellum (double points when it's paired with a star punch). And, of course, labels.

(binocular bomb //  supply list : film club scrapbook kit + grid paper pad + hello forever label & banner stamp)

Hello Forever released a new label stamp set over at Studio Calico, and it's going to be the sort of set that never makes it off my desk. The labels are perfectly sized, and they're paired with tons of words - the sorts of words and phrases that just seem to fit any topic. I used it directly on the background of this page, but I think I'll stamp a whole sheet of grid paper with different color labels and cut them out to have on hand as well.

What basics do you find yourself using again and again?

 

Everyday Videography

 

About a year ago, I sat down with video clips and photos from a Disneyworld trip and put together a trip video. I couldn't even tell you how many hours went into it. I fumbled my way through the process, and I ended up with something that we all love (and watch often!). It's amazing how much stronger the memories and emotions come back via video - while I definitely love a good layout or mini album, there's something special about this medium. Despite that, I haven't exactly jumped into repeating the process with other trips, even with frequent requests from the boys. The thought is just too daunting. 

We have another trip planned in March, and I know they're going to start asking about trip videos again... which makes the timing of our newest class at Studio Calico pretty much perfect. ;) In Everyday Videography, Nicole Cole of 314 Productions will be sharing her knowledge and passion for memory keeping with videos. Here's the official class description : 

Capture your memories in a new way! Join videographer Nicole Cole of 314 Productions for an in-depth look at the ins and outs of phone videography. Nicole walks you through the process of planning, shooting, and editing different types of videos and shares tips and tricks designed to help you every step of the way. Whether you’re recording everyday events or putting together a sentimental graduation video, you’ll learn how to document every occasion with style. Everyday Videography begins March 1st.

Nicole will be shooting with an smart phone in the class + using a free video editing app, so this is a great way to try something new without a big investment.  I'm excited to take her knowledge on vacation with me, and can't wait to put a video together when we get back!

I know y'all have cute videos on your phones..  it's time to turn them into something special. Enroll now, registration closes on 2/29!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

up high

 Studio Calico's Savannah kits went live this week... and with them came another St Louis page. We're well into winter here in the midwest, so I'd rather think about fun summer travels than the reality of out current weather!

When I saw the colors of the Savannah Scrapbook kit, I immediately thought of these photos of Ben on the ferris wheel at City Museum. I had two favorites, each taken in a different year - but rather than choose between them, I opted to use them together. He rode that thing a LOT during both visits, and  I love that they each have a different perspective on the experience. 

Once I'd settled on photo placement (it took a fair amount of shuffling, but in the end I love having the top photo extending to the top of the page), I filled in some of the space around them with bits of patterned paper from the kits. I wanted to carry the aqua down to the bottom of the page, so I cut out a tag shape and tucked it into a border. I finished the page with stamping, a few embellishments and vellum stars.

BTW, if you're ever in the St Louis area...  you MUST check out the City Museum. It's one of our absolute favorites!

 

 

 

 

GO // a weekend trip on one page

(GO // Lollipop Guild SB main + Toto SB addon)

I'll be honest - most of my memory keeping decisions are driven by simplicity. Capturing one photo, or one moment, requires a lot less decisions than recording an entire event or trip. While I've fallen in love with mini albums - sometimes I just don't want to put in that much effort. 

I wanted to add something to my 2016 album to record a long weekend in St Louis - something that could serve as a recap of our trip. And as soon as I started, I felt myself going into procrastination mode. Why? I hate narrowing down photos. Too many decisions, too much editing. When I get myself into this mess (hint : it happens often), I've found that the quickest way out of it is to put some pretty heavy constraints on myself. I might decide I'm going to use 6 photos, and then scroll through and choose the first 6 that pop out at me. Or in the case, I stuck simply to the photos that had made it onto Instagram that weekend. 

I lined them up in order on a canvas in Lightroom... all one size. And then decided that was WAY too orderly for me. ;) I went through and in each row, I made one photo 1.25in, one 1.75in and one 2.25in. I arranged them on my background in a funky pseudo-grid (my favorite sort), and then filled in all the blank spots. 

And just like that, I was done. If it hadn't been for that nice little procrastination session at the beginning, this page would have been done in 30 minutes. We just won't talk about how long it actually took. ;)

 

Lollipop Guild

It's December. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?! There's snow on the ground, our tree is up, and I am really excited about the holidays this year. Last December was a bit crazy due to being out of town for most of November and finding myself knee (or neck!) deep in a big project for work, so I am thrilled that this year will be a bit more mellow. I just want to revel in all of the holiday togetherness and fun.

With December comes a new kit at Studio Calico, and I'm madly in love with this one. I've only had a chance to make two pages, but I printed out more photos this am. ;) Here's a little peek at what I've made - I'll be back with more about these projects later this week! Until then, you can see them in the SC CT gallery, along with other amazing projects from the Creative Team.

(NOTE : If you're a subscriber, you can shop for kits at noon EST. If you're not, check back at 3pm when the kits go live to everyone!) 

(Twinkle // Lollipop Guild SB main)

(GO // Lollipop Guild SB main + Toto SB addon)

 

 

 

so many classes - last chance!

Hey all! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We just topped off a whirlwind weekend of turkey, family, Christmas lists and trimming the tree with a snowy Monday morning - and a whole lot of shock that tomorrow is December. This year has gone by so fast!

I wanted to pop in and share some details on the BEST kind of Black Friday sale - the kind you can shop in your pajamas. And then you can take these classes in your jammies, too. Maybe it's just the snow on the ground, but I'm very focused on staying INSIDE right now. ;)

We have three Black Friday class bundles over at Studio Calico - for each, you get 4 classes for $20. Each of the classes in these bundles is also available on its own for $10.

Technique Bundle - Love Your Lettering, Stitched, Mixed Media 2015 & Cutting Edge

Organization Bundle - Agenda, Everyday Traveler, Workspace and Plan On It

Inspiration Bundle - Make it BIG, More Happy Little Moments, Pen and Paper & Sketchbook 2015

While I didn't teach any of these classes, I did contribute to a few of them!

More Happy Little Moments - I took Maggie and Marcy's awesome altered books and showed how to switch them up to use in a Handbook.

Sketchbook 2015 - I turned one of the sketches into a minibook. Featuring Sam's kindergarten hats. Which may be my favorite part of kindy.

Make it BIG - I shared some ideas for using BIG embellishments and layers in a Handbook.

Everyday Traveler - I made a simple traveler's notebook that gives a quick summary of a trip. 

This sale runs through tonight (11/30) at 11:59pm EST.

 

#T2magic | full page photos

I've received a few questions on how I added the full size photos into my Traveler's Notebook. I love the impact these big photos have, and I was able to share the whole process on how to do it over on the Studio Calico blog! It takes a little planning (and being willing to take your notebook apart), but I think the look is totally worth the effort. I'm having to remind myself that I can't do it for every single page, and am limiting myself to 3 photo spreads / 6 images in this album. 

I also took the opportunity to add in some vellum - I added an acrylic word and layered it over my image. If you give this a try, I'd love to see it! Link me up or tag me on instagram.

Supplies : kits - Canyonlands Scrapbook Kit, Marcy's Mini Album kit; stamp - Ticket by Hello Forever; ink - Color Theory Glass Slipper, Clean Slate & Well Red; other - Tiny Attacher, Traveler's Notebook, tag

And one last thing - Studio Calico is running a whole week of Black Friday sales. Stop by this blog post for more info, and then shop your heart out! ;) Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

#t2magic // the start

Last month, Matthew and I went to the most magical place on earth.

Alone.

Because we'd just celebrated our 18th anniversary. Because of Food & Wine Festival. Because sometimes even grownups need to run away and just be kids for a weekend. 

We got away from work, and from kids, and all the "to dos" that come with being grownups...  and came home with a ton of photos, some awesome bits of paper and a whole lot of great memories.

Since I have three Disney albums in various stages of completion, I figured this called for another one. ;) Notebook style. I'm using a lined Midori notebook as the base, though I've deconstructed it so I can add in full page photos, typed journaling and a few other fun things to mix it up. 

I've got two whole pages done, and am working to plot out the rest. I'm trying to do just enough planning to make sure I don't run out of pages before I run out of photos + memorabilia. Sticky notes + paper clips are my go to here, and I think I've about got it all sorted out. I'm trying not to procrastinate through the phase so I can get to the fun stuff...  but I am NOT good at planning. Unfortunately, I'm also not good at flying by the seat of my pants on a project like this. 

For these spreads, I used items from the Studio Calico Canyonlands kits - mostly the scrapbook main, with a few details from Marcy's Mini Book Kit and the Highlands kit (that currently stamp by Tina Aszmus!). By the time I'm done, I'm sure the whole notebook will be a mishmash of colors. I really love to just pull from whatever's on my desk for a project like this, as I tend to get board when I work with the same colors for a long time. 

It's little details like this that make me love working in notebooks. Rather than cut my panoramic photo across the page gap, I folded it over and added a stamped detail with this ticket stamp to the back. It's not something that would fit in a page protector or a pocket, and it makes me smile.

Here's to actually finishing this album. =)