Marching Band ~ More Pocket Pages!

Happy Friday!  I was looking through my blog the other day and noticed this post in my drafts folder & realized I never finished up posting my son's band pages from Junior year. And... I still have all of Senior year to share as well. I guess I should get busy!

For these pages, I used an assortment of supplies from various kits I had on hand ~ Ali Edwards story kits, Hip Kit Club, Elle's Studio, and Felicity Jane. 

Have a Great Weekend!

Marching Band Pages ~ 2015

Good Morning Friends!  So happy that Friday is finally here.  I'll be honest, I haven't really done any layouts this week because I've been so focused on documenting my Week in the Life Project.  So I thought I'd share several project life style layouts from Matt's marching band book.

For these pages, I used a combination of products from my Hip Kits and Ali Edwards stamps & phrase stickers.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Hip Kit ~ Marching Band Camp

Several months ago, I attended a scrapbooking retreat.  While there, I was able to get tons of pages done for my son's 2015 Marching Band Album.  I kept putting off photographing the projects because it is such a time consuming process.  However, I haven't worked on anything new because my schedule has been pretty busy, so yesterday I finally pulled them out of the pockets and spent some time getting it done.

For all of these pages, I used bits and pieces of my Hip Kits ~ mostly December and maybe a few cards from the January PL kit.   I used my typewriter for the journaling & added some washi tape here and there.

A fun trip to Cedar Point with the band... a favorite trip each year!

I pulled out my Hero Arts alphabet stamps to add the names of the
roller coasters for the journaling card.

Have a Wonderful Day!!

Dream On & Live Happy in Alaska

Good Morning and welcome back to my blog.  It's been a busy week with band so I haven't had much time to scrapbook, but I did get this page finished and I just love this photo of my kids in Alaska last summer.  

We had an amazing adventure on this trip & I'm pretty sure it's one we will never forget.  We chartered a small boat called The Darby for a 3-day private tour of Resurrection Bay.  It was just our family of four, the captain and his daughter, his first-mate & chef.  The boat was nothing fancy, no wi-fi, and no TV.  We saw some amazing sights, caught fresh salmon, watched dozens and dozens of whale, saw a glacier up close, hiked on an island, and then had a campfire on a stone beach... complete with s'mores.  The weather was perfect... especially when you consider we were in Alaska. This trip was AMAZING!

On the first afternoon of our trip, the captain found this very picturesque private cove and got down the kayaks so we could paddle around in a safe spot.  It was one of those moments where you can't quite believe you are there experiencing what you are doing.  There were many surreal moments on this trip that brought me to tears.   For this photo, Tim lined up the kids just right so he could show the amazing scenery behind them.

WOW ~ that was fun to remember.  OK - a few details about my page... I used items from the March and April Hip Kits for this page.  I also added some washi tape I had in my stash.  The pattern paper and "dream on" sentiment, enamel dots, and phrase stickers are from March main & PL kits.  The "our trip", letter stickers and flair are from the April kit.

{ETA: Once I posted my original page, I thought the photo got lost on it, so I added a few layers and updated my photo.}

Here are a few more photos from this amazing day!

Not a great photo below, but I kept it because it shows how close the whale was to our boat.

I encourage you... take that adventure, explore the world & experience what it has to offer!   How are you going to make the world a better place, if you never see it?  GO... SEE... DO!

Hip Kit ~ Today Was...

Hello Friends!  A few weeks ago I pulled out one of our trip albums that I haven't done anything with & decided to do a few pages.  I shared a few of the 12x12 layouts already, but this page is one of the pocket pages.

Since I had been working with my Hip Kits, I decided to continue with them & put together a few pocket cards using past kits.  There are so many great pieces in these kits, but I'm not always in love with the Project Life cards so I wanted to dress them up a bit.  The colors in my daughter's top fit perfectly with the cards I ended up making.

Well I'm off to start a new project... just need to figure out what exactly I feel like working on today.  ;)

Have a Fab Day!

Hip Kit ~ One Last Look Around

Hello friends & welcome to a new week and back to reality after Spring Break.  I thought that I would post this pretty page today just to continue the fantasy of being in a nice warm amazing place.

My page features some photos from the trip my daughter and I took to Italy in 2015.  Lake Como was a gorgeous waterfront city that was quiet and rich with historical charm.  We loved it there & spent several hours walking round just taking in all the amazing views.

I used my March Hip Kits for this page.  I wanted to use multiple colors that were in Megan's cute top & this kit worked out perfectly.

Have a Wonderful Day!

Hip Kit ~ Shall We Read?

Over the last few weeks, I've been working on telling some heartfelt stories about my family.  Last week I shared my Party of 4 layout and this is another one that has special meaning to me.  It tells the story of when the kids were little and we would spending hours reading before bed.  I loved those times!   I saw a beautiful layout by Erika Lopez-Shearer using the March Hip Kit that she posted on the Hip Kit Facebook Page & I used much of it as inspiration for this page.  I can't find Erika's blog, but if I do I'll be sure to link it.)

All of the supplies on this page are from the March Hip Kit Main Kit ~ lots of pretty elements included in this kit!  I hope you enjoy the story!

Journaling from my page:

When the kids were little, we went to the Library all the time.  We would check out stacks & stacks of picture books ~ usually 20 to 30!  It was always fun finding a new favorite story or series.  Once we arrived home, I usually found them curled up on the couch devouring the new picture books.  On the weeks that daddy traveled, we usually had an early dinner, put our PJs on, and cuddled up in my bed.  Megan on my right side and Matt on my left.  We read for hours before bedtime.  The kids took turn picking out a book for me to read to them.  I loved those nights & I miss them.  Megan loved Madeline and Dorrie the Witch; Matt loved any book about cars, trucks or trains.  They both loved: Moo, Baa, La La La; Barn Yard Dance; But Not the Hippopotamus; Goodnight Moon; Chicka Chicka Boom Boom; Winnie the Pooh; Richard Scary books; and We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.  I’m so glad I spent so much time reading to my kids when they were little.

Have a great weekend!

Hip Kit ~ Happy Life

Last week I worked with a whole bunch of my Hip Kits from the last several months.  I've been wanting to pull the kits out and work with them, but I wasn't sure which photos I wanted to use.  So I decided to pull out one of our trip albums.  My daughter and I went to Italy for a few weeks after she graduated and the album has all of the photos printed and in pockets waiting to be scrapbooked.  This year, I've been bouncing around between lots of different albums, but I have to say, I've never enjoyed scrapbooking more than I have this year.  It's fun being able to work with whatever strikes my fancy rather than work on just one album or chronologically.

I started with this pretty aqua pattern paper as my background (December Main Kit) and then added some white Bazzill textured cardstock on top.  Next I added the pretty clouds & the 'happy life' title from a sticker sheet American Crafts ~ 1 Canoe 2 Hazelwood – Gold Foiled Icon Stickers (January PL Kit).   I also added Dear Lizzy Colorable Washi Tape (March Embellishment Kit) behind each photo and along the bottom and added a touch of color colored it with Copic Markers.  The flair button is also from the March Embellishment Kit.  

Have a Great Day!

Hip Kit Club ~ Sweet Moments

Hello my crafty friends!  I love taking pictures... but you already know that, don't you?  My family is pretty good about posing for photos when I ask, but my daughter is my best model.  She is always happy to smile for the camera ~ seriously, how can you resist her beautiful smile?  Now and then she will send me sweet photos from college with friends or her boyfriend.  When these arrived in my inbox, I knew I wanted to create a layout using the January Hip Kit. 

I used a variety of supplies from the various December & January Hip Kits (see supplies listed below).   I angled the black & white polka-dot paper and then stamped an Ali Edwards stamp along the edge.  I felt like it needed something to finish the edge of the paper.  The clip, banner stickers and heart were all layered bits and pieces that add a cool touch to that corner.

I knew I wanted to used the acrylic gold "Sweet" as part of the title & then added the sparkly foam stickers for the "moments".  I'm loving all the layers of arrows, flowers and doilies around the photos that highlight but don't over power the focus of the page.

December Hip Kits:
Cardstock: American Crafts – Parfait Cardstock (cardstock add-on kit)
Clip - Project Life Kit
"Sweet" Acrylic Accent, Open Heart, and Silver Foam Letters - Embellishment Kit

January Hip Kits:
Black/white polka-dot (HKC Exclusive January paper add-on)
Arrow, Floral & Banner Stickers - American Crafts/1 Canoe 2 – Hazelwood  - January Project Life Hip Kit

Other:
Stamp Set - Ali Edwards
Gold Box Letter Stickers - Studio Calico
Gold Enamel Dots - Doodle Bug
Doilies - Wilton Cake Supplies
Ink - Earl Gray Taylored Expressions

Hip Kit Page ~ New Year's Getaway

Happy Friday my friends!  I hope you have some fun plans this weekend.  I'm excited to see my sweet girl this weekend and take my son to a college visit on Monday... OMW!  How did they grow up this fast???

Yesterday, I worked on a few pocket pages with a few different kits.  The supplies are mostly from the December Hip Kit with a few extra things from my stash.  I let the cards guide this page and decided to use some photos from our most recent vacation since that's how we rang in 2017.  

For the top left title card, the printed card, the chipboard alpha letters, 2017 flair, cheers circle & remember this are all from the December Hip Kits.  The rest of the script letter stickers are from Heidi Swapp. The other two printed 3x4 cards are also from the Hip Kit and the circles on the bottom two photos were cut with a circle punch from another coordinating card in the Hip Kit that I decided I wouldn't use.  I typed the titles on them and then punched them out & added some washi tape and the little black heart.  I really like how they turned out & that they coordinate with the rest of the page.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Hip Kit Page ~ Dreamers Gonna Dream

Hello Friends!  I'm still working my way through my December Hip Kit... there were so many fabulous pieces in this kit that I can't stop using it.   Plus, I am finding that all of the pretty items coordinate nicely with the January & February Hip Kits also.

These photos are from her first day of her sophomore year in college... I've trained her well that she still take pictures on her first day & sends them to me!  She's such a good girl :)  The papers and embellishments are from Pink Paislee they are so soft and pretty which is just what my daughter loves.

In the upper left pocket, I used some of the ephemera included in the Main Scrapbook kit.  I stamped the title with gold ink and the date.  Then I added a few of my prayers for her this year ~ btw, she always works very hard, which is why it wasn't first.   For the next pocket, that was actually a 3x4 card that I trimmed to a stitched oval.  I just added it to the pocket without putting it on anything. The phrase stickers on the photos are from the February Hip Kit from Maggie Holmes Chasing Dreams Collection.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Monthly Subscription Reviews ~ Ali Edwards, Studio Calico & Hip Kit

Happy Friday Scrapbook Peeps!

As I discussed at the beginning of January, and from the many pages I've posted, I am being much more intentional about getting back into my scrapbooks.  I signed up for several monthly subscription kits & thought I'd share my impressions of them so far.   After each review, I've added a few layouts (both full 12x12 & Project Life pocket style) to give you a comparison of each kit.  I'll apologize up front for the various lighting on the photos below.  Sometimes I have to use different settings for different colors... I've been experimenting with editing as well.  It's a work in progress for me but I can see photography and/or Photoshop classes are in my near future :)

Ali Edwards Story Kit & Story Stamp:
I started this subscription in December and decided to go with both the Story Kit and the Story Stamp for 6 months.  If you sign up for both, you get the digital kit free. I love having the digital items to do overlays on my photos or extra cards to type my journaling.  I have received 3 kits so far ~ Surprise, Review & Numbers.  I loved them all and the quality of the products is amazing!  The pocket cards are 2-sided with different designs on each side and they are made of nice heavy cardstock.  Also included in the kit are a variety of beautiful embellishments that are different each month.    Another nice thing about having the digital kit, is that I have access to all of the double-sided cards... so when I use one, it's OK because I can print another.  The Story Stamps always coordinate perfectly with the Story Kits with fonts and sayings.  The stamps are quality clear acrylic & stamp beautifully.

A new "Classroom" is started on the Ali Edwards website for each Story Kit.  Ali includes videos of the kit contents and process videos for her projects.  Guest storytellers also post new videos mid-month for more inspiration.   In addition to the video section, the "classroom" also has a gallery to add your own pages, a forum to have discussions and ask questions, and a place for digital downloads for that month. She also has a very detailed downloadable PDF for each month with step-by-step instructions for her projects, as well as thoughts on other suggestions for using them.

This subscription is completely thought out & detailed.  They are designed to make you think and tell your stories. In my opinion, the Story Kits & Story Stamps are well worth the price.  I will be keeping my subscription to this one FOR SURE!

Here are a few of the pages I've done with Story Kits/Story Stamps:

Studio Calico Documenter Kit: 

Just last month, I started with Studio Calico. They also manufacturer the Ali Edwards kits, so I knew they would be a great quality products.  The pocket cards are 2-sided and several were gold foiled... GORGEOUS!!!  The colors were bright and beautiful as well.  The fantastic embellishments were a mixture of items designs by Jasmine Jones and One Little Bird (both are fabulous digital designers) like washi tape, gold foil sticker sentiments & chipboard elements.  Each Documenter kit also comes with a small clear stamp set.

Additional Purchases: Studio Calico offers the "Classroom" for an additional $5 with your subscription.  It includes several process videos, a gallery, and a digital download with printable embellishments.  You can also purchase the digital kit of the double sided pocket cards for $5.99 so you always have both sides of the cards & you can pull up the PNG file to add your journaling.  In addition, you can purchase additional coordinating items that will be sent along with your kit, like a 4x6 or 12x12 paper pad, stamps, letter stickers, etc.  For my next kit, I purchased the 4x6 paper so I can make additional matching pockets on my pages.

I signed up for a 6 month subscription & I'm pretty sure I'll be keeping this one as well.  Below are some pages I made with the January kit.

Hip Kit Club:

In December, I signed up for the Project Life monthly kit from the Hip Kit Club for a 3 month subscription.  They also have a regular scrapbooking kit, add on embellishment, paper, cardstock and a Color It kits.  For the first month, I purchased some of the add-on items so I could see what they were all about.  It was a lot of product with tons of exclusive items that they design to coordinate with the other papers and embellishments in the kit.  All of the Project Life cards that come in the kit are exclusive and are single sided.  I've used a few here and there, but I don't love them as much as the Ali Edwards or Studio Calico cards.  I have been using lots of the embellishments.  All of the products are nice quality!

For the January kit, in addition to my Project Life kit, I also ordered the 12x12 pattern paper add-on. They had several exclusive paper designs that I liked & thought they would be nice to have for full layouts or cut them up to use with the PL cards.  Again, all of the Project Life cards are exclusive & single-sided.  This month's collection of cards were pretty good. However, you can only do so many "2016 Highlights" and "Welcome 2017/Happy New Year" pages, so I need to get a bit creative with them.  The PL Kit also came with a huge package of painted cork embellishments, alphabet stickers, enamel triangles, and a date stamp... so much fun stuff.

I haven't received the February Kit yet, but it should be here soon.  This month, I only ordered the Project Life kit because I noticed that the other kits did not contain any exclusive products. This really surprised me since Hip Kit is known for designing many of their own items to coordinate with other items in the kit.  The PL kit will still have the exclusive single-sided cards and one other exclusive item.

At this point, the jury is still out if I continue with this monthly.  I am contemplating switching to the main scrapbook kit since I get plenty of cards from the other two kits.  I hope they continue with the exclusive products going forward.

Here are a few 12x12 layouts I've done so far with the December Hip Kit.  I also have some Project Life pocket style pages done; however, I haven't photographed them yet.  I'm still working with the January kit, so I don't have any pages to share with that one yet.

 

Felicity Jane:
I just signed up for this subscription and haven't received it yet.  I am so excited to see it in person because it looks stunning!  It comes with all exclusive products ~ 12x12 papers, embellishments, cut apart stickers and a stamp set. Here's a peek at the kit called London that may even show up today! :)

UPDATE:  Click HERE to see my thoughts and a project using the Felicity Jane London Kit. {Hint... I LOVE IT}

I won't be keeping a subscription to all of these kits, but I really like to touch products and work with them, so subscribing for at least a short time was necessary for me to see if I would like them.  So stay tuned for more pages ~ I'm scrapping up a storm!

Thanks for stopping by & have a great weekend!