Chasing Rainbows Summer 3x4 Mini Album

I'm a summer girl through and through, and I'm thankful that I have at least a few more weeks, before it really starts to cool off.  Till then I get fill up some albums and this cute little book with memories I made with my little family this summer.  I've been crushing so hard all the summery colors in the past couple kits.

I really wanted a cute little album to string together, with a few photos that I adored from this summer.  I even let my little one help me string up each page together in a cross pattern.

I first began by picking out the patterned papers from the kit that I liked and a few 3x4 coordinating cards as well.  After I decided what order they would all go in, I folded it in half, then punched four holes along the folded edge.  We strung up the pages with yellow ribbon, along the spine and tied it off with a pretty yellow bow.

I sifted through all the goodies that came in the "Chasing Rainbows" kit, and I chose a few coordinating embellishments.  They were the perfect addition to my photos.  Most of my photos I chose to fit a 2 1/2" or less space within my book.  After arranging my photos I nestled in my chosen embellishment, added some scraps for dimension, and stitched on all the pretties.

I really love how this cute little mini album turned out, and it was so much fun to create!  I hope if you find yourself with a few hours to yourself, that you'll use this cute little mini as inspiration to memory keep some of your memories too!

Life Crafted Album | Hello Fun

Hello there, friends!  Today I'm sharing a little peak at how I've added some great summer photos to my Life Crafted album.  I hope you're inspire!

I knew as soon as I sat down at my desk that I wanted to use that beautiful sky patterned paper in this month's kit.  I instantly fell in love with those blues.  I wanted to add some great summer photos to my Life Crafted album, so it was the perfect addition.

Next, I decided on my title for these two great photos of my little and I before a bike ride.  I really wanted to use the great acrylic "hello" piece in the kit, and it paired perfectly with a piece from the acetate die-cuts.  The acetate pieces are simply my favorite!

I layered up my main photo on top of some scrap packaging, then stitched on a sentiment on a cut-apart label.  I nestled in another great acrylic piece, this cute as ever heart!

I used the remainder of my sky patterned paper to create a little tip-in on the left side of the spread.  I stitched my scraps, my photo, and another great acetate piece onto the tip-in.  I really love the simplicity of this spread.  It was such a great way to add a few more summer photos to my Life Crafted album.

Documenting Pool Photos | Life Crafted Album

I am clearly a proud lover of CTK kits, but guys, this month's kit is everything my crafty heart loves!  I'm so completely smitten!  All the bold bright summery colors just align perfectly with my bright shiny soul.  I already know I'll be smashing this kit to bits, because I'm obsessed with every single element!

This little Life Crafted spread was all about these great photos of my little man in the pool this past weekend.  They turned out so lovely and cute with that amazingly clean water in the background.  I've always been a sucker for a good pool photo!  This month's kit was the perfect addition to that blue background!  I couldn't wait to scrap them.

I snuck in one of the 3x4 cards to document the date and location of the photos.  I love the way it just pops behind the lower photo on this side of the spread.

I also chose to pop my photos off the page with a little wax paper packaging.  This is one of my go to tricks for adding eye-catching dimension to any project including photos.  I then layered up some pieces from the ephemera pack and a couple puffy stars.

I added this amazing 4x6 card to the right side of my spread and decked it out with a great title, using the new chipboard alphas.  Aren't they amazing?!  I added another few of my favorite bits from the ephemera pack and some enamel dots.  I'll add all my journaling for our weekend at the pool on this card!  I just love how it turned out!

3 Friends | Life Crafted Album

I've been having such a blast working in my Life Crafted album this month, and this month's kit is the perfect addition.  I'm a little jealous that I haven't quite filled this album up, because how perfect would this month's kit look with the new yellow albums!?  All the heart eyes guys!

This whole spread started with this lovely little photo of myself and two gal friends.  I really wanted to document this great little moment of summer bliss.  The lemons and orange and green pops were the perfect scheme for this summer fun photo!

I made sure to add some dimension behind my photo by tearing off a piece of wax paper from some old subway packaging.  Save your packaging ladies!  I tore the corner near the photo, so that my main theme of "3" could pop up and make a splash on the page!

The large "3" that I chose to tip-in is from the great Add-On kit this month.  I'm seriously loving those die-cut numbers and alphas.  I stitched on a little tag, including the word "friends" with this month's alpha stickers, and then I punched my holes to insert along the spine of my album.

I lined the back of the large "3," so that I could fill in all my journaling for this spread.  It was such an impactful and pretty place for me to write out all the goodness about my gal pals and our weekend out.

It really does look so pretty piled on top of my main page in the spread.  Am I allowed to add large die-cut numbers to everything?!  I think I'm obsessed!

3 to Inspire | 3 Easy Things to Finally Get Those Old Photos in an Album

Don't judge too harshly friends, but I've had this unfinished album in the works since early 2016.  At this point, years later, I have plenty other things to document that take precedence, so what do you do when you need to finish up an old album?  You use 3 easy elements to finally get them in memory keeping order!

1.  Pocket Page Album or Life Crafted Album:  This is such an obvious choice for older memory-keeping, because it's so easy to slide in your photos and add minimal embellishments, while still looking fabulous!

2.  Fabulous Journaling Cards: Thankfully the CTK kit always comes with the best journaling cards and papers to add character to any pocket page spread.

3.  Typewriter or Printed Text:  The last thing you need to give your pocket page exactly what it needs is journaling.  I love using my typewriter, because it looks so lovely and whimsical.

This month's collection of journaling cards were the perfect addition to our California 2016 trip, because they were sunny and tropical!  It was so easy to pop them in and add a few personal touches.

These photos were so old that I still have time stamps on the printed images, so I had to cover those up with the amazing ephemera in this month's kit!  I loved layering on the amazing arrows in bright colors!

This 4x6 card that comes in the "Excursions" kit was perfect all by itself, but I had to add a little orange stitching to tie in the color scheme.

I finished up my spread by using another great 4x6 journaling card.  I stitched on my title with the amazing puffy alphas this month and a great geo tag.  Using my typewriter I added in my journaling for the double page spread of photos.  It was such a simple spread, but I feel so great that I'm finally getting around to finish this album!

Using Scraps & Textiles in Your Papercrafting

I wanted to create a lot of texture and dimension for this particular project, so I pulled out my scrap stash.  I save all kinds of textiles, papers, and interesting scraps in my bin, and I knew I wanted to mix some in with this month's gorgeous kit!

For this side of my spread, I layered on a torn book page, a 3x4 card as my title, and this great textile I actually cut off a sweater that I loved without it.  It was such a beautiful color and for some reason I loved that chicken wire design.  I knew I wanted to layer it behind my photo as a little page tab.

For the opposing page, I continued the torn born page to create a cohesive look, and I also layered on the same elements.  I made sure my photos on each page were within the same color pattern.  In fact these photos inspired the entire color scheme of this spread.  I love doing that sometimes!

I finished up the spread with a pink tab and those great leaf pieces from the ephemera pack this month.  It was such an easy spread, but I loved all the texture and dimension.  It was such a treat to just play without thought of the outcome.

Love This | Life Crafted Spread

I know it's going to be a huge shocker, but I really don't like coffee... gasp, I know!  I'm an avid hot tea drinker, so I have to get a little creative with this month's kit for that reason.  It really isn't that hard though because this month's kit includes a great selection of versitle colors and patterns that work just fine for documenting all the other exciting things in our life!

I wanted to document this great photo of my little and I at a hockey game this winter, and I figured the blue seating in the background would pair nicely with the gorgeous papers in the kit this month.

On my photo side, I cut that beautiful floral paper at an angle to place behind my photo, and I knew I wanted to continue that angle onto the opposing page.  This was great for angling my title as well, using the "LOVE" piece of ephemera and the great puffy stickers in this month's kit.

On the opposing page, I decided to stitch on the opposite edge of the floral paper, so that I could create a pocket for a journaling card.

This journaling card actually has a white border around it, but I liked it for this particular project without, so I simply trimmed it off with my scissors.  I then stitched on some lovely mint tulle.  An easy-peasy spread, but the colors are oh so lovely!

Thanks for joining me today!  I can't wait to see what you guys are making with this month's kit!

3 Relaxing Days | 12x12 Mixed Media Layout

I know I'm not the first person to be totally and utterly infatuated with the many shades of blue.  When I saw this amazing striped sheet in this month's kit, I knew it would need to be the foundation of a layout, filled with all the shades of blue that make me dreamy-eyed.

I pulled out a few goodies from this month's Add-On Kit to match up with that gorgeous sheet of paper!  The ephemera and puffy stickers in the Add-On Kit are the perfect addition to the shades of blue in the monthly kit.

I began my layout on a white sheet of 12x12 paper; I then added 3 stripes of mixed media to solidify the love of dreamy blues.  I swiped on some mint, ocean blue, and a little cornflower blue.  I knew I wanted to align the great cork numbers that came in this month's kit with the swipes of blues.

I decided on a whim to cut apart the sheet of stripes to spread across my layout.  I really love how it created little slots to tuck in ephemera and cardstock phrases.  I adhered them to my layout, over the slightly buckled mixed media areas, by stitching them on.  I decided to leave the extra thread because I love the way it adds even more dimension and color.

I chose to place my photo in the lower right corner, backed with another great paper in this month's kit.  I really wanted to hide my journaling on this layout, because I wanted the colors to do all the talking!  I included some hidden journaling, using the glassine bag that the cork numbers came in.  I trimmed down a 3x4 card to slide in for my journaling.  I then stitched on some mint tulle, so it would be easy to pull out from behind my photo, and isn't it so pretty?!

The last step was to add all kinds of pretty pieces of ephemera, and I had a bounty at my hands between the main and Add-On kit this month.

Thanks so much for joining me today!  I hope you fell just as hard as I did this month with the beautiful blues that splatter both amazing kits!