School Album - Part 3: Creating Layouts

This post was first publish over at Amber LaBau Designs, here.

Today, I'm sharing the next part of my School Albums Series. Previous posts were about  Organizing and Photographing Artwork (Part 1), and Making a Plan (Part 2). "Making a Plan" showcased my first two layouts which I plan to repeat for every school year. I recently spent some more time photographing artwork and other items from my daughter's 2nd Grade year (last year) and I'm back to show you what I'm doing with that.

I feel that if you are behind (like me), it is good to start with the current year and work backward. So, I'm working on DD's last school year in second grade. It was freeing to be able to recycle that pile of papers after getting it all photographed. (I did keep 3 pieces of artwork that I plan to frame for myself and also use to create holiday gifts for family!)

I chose to put photos in among the artwork and paperwork samples. I quickly went through my 2017-18 archives for the school year months to select the highlights related to school and extra-curricular activities. They are sprinkled chronologically with artwork that went with the season, but it wasn't a strict guideline.

I wanted to include a lot of artwork, but also some of her writing. I plan to include a birthday picture, each year, like the one above with her number 8 candle. I really liked finding writing and artwork that described her second grade self. There was even one written by a classmate.

Finally, saving all these pieces of school work is paying off! I love how the artwork combined with the photos has turned out. Coming soon, more pages for Second Grade that include pieces I want to include as originals.

Holly Genc

Off-Theme Scrapbook Layouts

What is an Off-Theme Scrapbook Layout? Well, let me start by saying there are many "everyday" type scrapbooking kits that can fit most typical Project Life pages, or everyday life type layouts. Then, there are themed kits. I'm talking about birthday, holiday, baby, Valentine's Day, etc. So, an "Off-Theme" layout could be a page you create with a kit that is themed for something else. For instance, a baby kit for a ballet class page (those soft pinks could be perfect!).  

OUTER SPACE THEME to GRADUATION LAYOUT!

Let's take a look at some examples, because I love seeing examples! This first one is by Stacia Hall. She used Outer Limits cards and elements (which is a great star gazer kit) to document a graduation. "Never Stop Exploring" is perfect for this page!

BABY THEME to GEM OF A HUSBAND

Here's an example of a baby kit being repurposed! Lynette used Brave New World to highlight "what a gem" her husband is.

GRADUATION THEME to HERITAGE LAYOUT
This beautiful heritage page by Luly G. uses a graduation kit, Life's Journey. I love the old world feel of this kit and think it is perfect for using with old family photos.

FALL THEME to CALIFORNIA MISSIONS
Jan created this layout about the California Missions using some Fall themed papers, Golden. The colors in these fall papers go wonderfully with the architecture of the Missions she photographed.

BABY THEME to KITTEN'S FIRST SNOW
Here's another off-theme layout using Brave New World. Diana documented a cute little adventure of her kitten getting its first snow experience. Brave New World, indeed!

BIRTHDAY THEME to POOL DAY
And one last one that I created using the new birthday kit, Cake Smash. What a fun, colorful kit perfect for a summer day at the pool.

I hope this post has inspired you to take a fresh new look at some of your themed kits! I'd love to hear what off-theme pages you have created!

This post was also published over at www.amberlabau.com, here.
Holly Genc

Project Life - A Day at the Theme Park (Part 2)

I'm back with Part 2 of our day at Great America. It was a full day, packed with lots of great photo opportunities. I'm not a weekly scrapper, so the occasional multi-page spread works out for me. Go here to see the first part of this blog series.

These pages use a combination of the last of my Take 10 Kits and some MAMBI cards from my stash.

In Part One of this series, I talked about how I printed my journaling with the Selphy. If you'd like to know how I created my journaling to print on the Selphy, I have a tutorial right here.

Hope you enjoyed this series of Theme Park Layouts!


Holly with www.paintedladiesjournal.com
Follow me on Facebook and Instagram! Below you will find a few affiliate links of my favorite supplies. Affiliate links kick back a small amount of money to the blog, and cost the buyer nothing extra. Thanks for your support!


My favorite apps for editing photos and creating 3x4 collages:

PICTAPGO for editing. The lighten is awesome on any photo.
PicTapGo - Totally Rad! Inc.



PICSTITCH (paid version is needed to create thicker white borders - so worth it) for collages.
Pic Stitch - #1 Photo and Video Collage Maker - Big Blue Clip, LLC



  CANON MG7520 Wireless Color Cloud Printer with Scanner and Copier, White (Discontinued By Manufacturer)



  
  Canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy II, 4 x 6 Inches, 400 Sheets (2311B031)

Canon Selphy 1200 printer

Project LIfe: A Bike Built for FIVE

Did you see my last post about the Day at the Beach? Well, this layout showcases more fun from the same day on the lake front. What a memorable day that was! We found some new bike rentals last summer right at the beach. 

The kiddos tried out all the different bikes, but we rented one that fit three kids on the back and had pedals for two in front, side-by-side. 

I'm using my June Take 10 Kits, and chose cards that would complement the ones from my "Day at the Beach" Layout because these two be will side by side in the album.

Here they are side by side! I love using kits to do a layout. Nicely coordinated and I didn't have to dig through a lot of supplies to find the perfect items. 

That bike! I used a combination of the Simple Stories sticker (from the June Glam Bag) for a simple filler card.

I used some stamps from the kit and more enamel dots in the same color as the ones on the Beach layout. And printed my journaling in the same font/size on vellum. Here's a little tutorial I put together on easy journal printing I shared previously.

Are you out there doing lots of fun summer adventures? They are so fun to document!!

Holly | www.paintedladiesjournal.com
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Kit Subscriber Tips & February "Darling" Kit

Hi, there! Holly, here, from Painted Ladies Journal with my first February "Darling" Kit layout to share with you. And they are still in the shop.

If you are a kit subscriber, I have a few tips to share that work for me. 

TIP 1: When I get my new kit, I look through the cards and "loosely" group together the cards I want to use for each layout I will do. I think this helps to make sure I use them all. So, for my first February kit layout you can see I picked those watercolor cards and then coordinated colors with the other card selections.

Those stamps this month are just fabulous. Did you pick up the extra one? I love the brush font and versatile everyday sentiments. Get it here. 

TIP 2: It is great to use up that kit now vs. picking and choosing from all your kits you may have hoarded. Kits are designed for the current months, but you can use them for that month from last year, if you work like me. So, all those "left overs" from past kits should now be divided up into your regular supply organization. You will more likely see it and use it.

I adore that sprinkle of sequins. I started with 4-5 and couldn't stop added them. I like to use a fine point glue applicator, like Scotch makes or Glossy Accents to adhere them.

TIP 3: Get out your stamping tools and a some white cardstock. I tend to stamp on cardstock and cut it out so that I don't mess up my one-of-a-kind kit cards. Unless you are going for a messy look...which is fun, too. Regardless, the point is, stamp a bunch of stuff now with your supplies out and you can use them with all your layouts using this kit.

I had a lot of filler cards in this layout. I like to add dimension to break it up a bit and give it more interest. I added the wood veneer tag with a few pop dots to that "plus" pattern card. I had some chevron wood veneers and letters to highlight that purple patterned card.

See the label on that top photo? I did exactly what I say I don't typically do, and stamped on the cut-apart! Rebel. The alpha stamp in this kit is very cute and designed to easily line up the letters so you can space them nicely and keep them in a straight line. They are great! 

To summarize my subscriber tips:

1. Group cards together for each layout (but not set in stone)

2. Keep using your kit now (don't hoard them). 

3. Stamp a bunch of items at the same time on cardstock to use for all your kit layouts.

Go out and "kill those kits"!

Thank you!

Holly with www.paintedladiesjournal.com

(Hop over to my blog post for an extra supply list)

Follow me on Instagram. 

Below are a few affiliate links to help you find some products that I used.
Of coarse the kits themselves are linked at the top of the post (the shop link).

Scotch Quick-Dry Adhesive (great for small/skinny items)

Glossy Accents is another great product to use for adhering small items. It is also fun to use on top of products to add a little gloss to a die cut or stamped image, for example.



Tombow are my favorite tape runners

Tonic Spring-Cut Detail Scissors. These are great and they are purple! I have two pairs.




Alphabet and Numbers Wood Veneers (I used to spell FUN in my layout)

VersaMagic Chalk Ink (it stamps much lighter than this)


My Go To Black Ink


My Miny Attacher is used almost always. Love it.

Sharpie Pens are archival safe. This set is great for journaling and planners.

Here are some Heidi Swapp Acetate Words. I couldn't find the set with the word "Together" that I used, but these are similar and very fun. "Today" is in the same peach color that worked so well with these cards.

Today's photos were printed by Persnickety Prints (can't recommend them enough, and I'm not an affiliate for them) but I do print a lot at home, too, using this printer and paper