Pocket Life Challenge with Amy Jo Vanden Brink

Wow!  Time to get those photos in the pockets everyone!  One of the best ways to do that is to get your photos printed!  I like to work ahead and print on a weekly basis so that I never get behind, then when a new kit arrives on my doorstep I can fill in the gaps with my favourite pieces.

Challenge: Get photos ready in advance of the new kit arriving!

If you already have photos ready, good for you.  I'm going to show you one of my Pocket Page spreads that was ready and awaiting photos when my March kit landed (so the photos are from February, I don't usually find there is much problem in matching up the photos from one month to the kit from another.  Especially when the theme is so easy like this Weekender kit!)

I had a variety of photos ready to go here, and when I'm working like this, the thing that makes it easy for me is to pull one or two colors from the new kit out.  Here you can see I grabbed the yellow and the pink (so easy as they are my top two colors!) and then some small pieces to support those colors (tags, chipboard arrow).

If you struggle to find enough cards or pieces in the right color scheme, you can always fill up a blank white 3x4 card with one of the larger tag pieces, or as in the bottom right corner on the next page, you can cut down some of the 6x8 papers to make smaller cards.  Adding the large circle makes it look like it was a card that was designed to look like this, but it was two separate pieces.

The next step for me is to find small sayings or sentiments that can further tell my stories, or even just a small embellishment to make the page feel finished.

Thanks for joining me today!  I hope this gets you putting photos in the pockets of your own albums!

3 to Inspire with Amy Jo Vanden Brink

Hello!  I'm excited to be back with you this weekend with a 3 to Inspire challenge!  This month I'm going a little bit outside of the box for my 3 things, and I hope to encourage you to do the same.  

I started by gathering my 3 items;

1- the Gold Puffy Alphabet (swoon!)

2- the numbered tags from the ephemera package (double swoon!)

3- the digital ephemera pieces (I don't often go hybrid in my pocket pages, but these elements were too good to pass up!

I started by using the digital pieces to create 4 cards, the Friday, Saturday, Sunday tabs at the top of a white 3x4 card, and the weekend file folder printed at a width of 4 inches (the width ends up being more than 3 inches, but I cut off the side I didn't want).  I also printed the black RELAX circle at a size that I knew I would be able to use one of my circle punches to cut out (1.5 inches) and the blue "always on my heart" tag I enlarged to fill a 3x4 card.

I used the gold puffy letters to add the dates and then to highlight some of the activities we did over the weekend as well.  I always like using an alphabet like this to create connection across the spread and add some context to photos.

The numbered tags were so awesome in the ephemera pack, that I knew I wanted to use them all together rather than split them up.  So I spread them across the photos and cropped edges off as necessary to make them fit on the sides and tops of photos.

A look at the right side of the spread.

And the left side.

I hope this pocket page gives you some inspiration on how to use those digital elements!  You may have noticed I managed to sneak a 4th item in there, I cannot resist the puffy hearts, so a few of them ended up joining the tags!

3 to Inspire - Amy Jo Vanden Brink

Hello!  I'm so excited to be back with one of my favourite features, 3 to inspire!  Today I have selected some great pieces from the Life Crafted kit & the scrapbooking Add-On.

1. Labels

I chose some different types, label stickers, wood veneer and some blank labels to use on this spread.

2. Puffy Stickers

My favourite, easy way to up the impact of any pocket page spread.  I have the page from the kit and the pack from the Add-on here.

3. Small Ephemera

I grabbed some tickets and some of the fantastic fabric labels for my 3rd item.

I started by adding in my photos, and then finding some homes for my little bits and pieces.  The orange and pink combo ended up being really bright and vibrant, so the blue felt like it held everything down for me.  I don't love leaving larger patterned areas with no embellishment, so the ticket cluster and the two layered word stickers helped to fill some spots up for me.  I didn't end up with much journaling area, but it worked out ok.

I used some strips of white to anchor the number stickers down on top of my photos and make sure that they stood out.  The colors in those numbers were so amazing I wanted to make sure there was space to see them!

A few labels rounded out the spread.  I printed the bottom corner as a 4x6 and just did not cut them apart so that I could easily fill the pocket.  When I shoot mostly phone photos I forget to turn to horizontal sometimes!

You can watch how this spread came together in the following video: 

Thanks for joining me today, I hope you feel inspired by this layout!

Pocket Life Challenge with Amy Jo

I am so excited to be here sharing my first blog post with you all, and on one of my favourite topics pocket pages!  My challenge to you today is to try to use at least 5 different supplies on your Pocket Page layouts.  I have a great layout to share with you today featuring the Explore Life Crafted Kit.

5 different supplies on 1 layout

1. Pocket Cards

I always look through every new kit for my favourite cards and start putting together color schemes.  The pink, green and yellow was so easy to pull out.  I usually feel a little torn between saving and using the best cards, but when you have the perfect photos for them it is easy to use them.

2. Puffy Stickers
These puffy stickers are so great for adding a bit of dimension to a layout, and the colors in this kit are just amazing.  If you find that there is a color you are missing in your layout, this can be an easy way to add it.  I did manage to sneak one of the paper stickers onto this layout as well, they truly are some of the easiest embellishments to use.

3. Letter Stickers

I always like to use letter stickers on a layout.  Sometimes these are the easiest thing to keep in a drawer for the perfect time, but the perfect time is usually now!  If you need to create some repetition or cohesiveness, think about using them a few times in more than one place, that is a simple way of tying some of your photos or elements together.  Don't be afraid to put them right on top of a photo either!

4. Ephemera

This element is almost too easy to use!  There are always a few pieces in any ephemera package that will fit on any layout.  Sometimes the challenge is not using all of them in one shot!

5. Stamps

If your layout is feeling bland, or like it is a little too simple, try using stamps to add an extra layer of fun.  I love to stamp directly on photos, but you can also make your own journaling or filler cards with the stamp set in the kit!

Thanks for joining me today, I'd love to see your layouts using as many different types of embellishment as you can!