Project Life: April 2011

So who else out there has gotten buried in a mountain of snow this winter?  I know this is the most extreme winter we have had in Maryland in years!  I can't complain too hard though, since I just enjoyed a nice four day weekend thanks to all this crazy snow that just got dumped on us.  But the single digit temperatures sure make me long for spring!  I am definitely a summer girl, and have been counting down the days until summer since October hehe.

So sharing this spread today is definitely bitter sweet, and only makes me crave flip flops and sun that much more.  But it is nice to be reminded that there is an end to this frozen tunnel!  This layout is from April 2011, so it's nice to know beautiful weather is just 2 months away!

I love the colors I chose for this spread, I just think they so perfectly sum up the brightness and happiness that is spring time.  I mainly focused on pinks, blues and yellows.  I mainly used cards from the Kraft edition core kit for this layout.

For the title card, I used some green alphas that I believe came in a Studio Calico scrapbook grab bag I picked up on Black Friday... but don't quote me on that.  I had the buttons laying around in my craft stash, and thought they added a fun bit of whimsy to the title card.

I also added a little 3D flower embellishment in the corner, but to be honest, looking at it now I'm not sure I'm still in love with it.  I just keep having to tell myself that I'm still learning and to not get too caught up on the tiny details as I'm finding my way!  There won't be any progress without a few bumps in the road!

For this card, I used a "you are my sunshine" stamp I picked up at Michaels.  I then added some washi tape in various spring colors to the corner, basically to fill that big empty space that I didn't know what to do with!

I kept the middle row of cards pretty simple, with minimal embellishment.  I wanted this whole layout to be fresh and clear of clutter.  I used a simple journaling card to tell the story of Melissa sticking something else on our dog.  This time it was a "puppy" label.  It was pretty funny, and sort of useful, since as a puppy Dakota was often thought to be a "kitty" by kiddos seeing her on a walk!

On the right side of the middle row, I added a simple puffy heart sticker to a filler card.  This left the space still simple and clean, but added a little more to it than just a plain card.

This next journaling card tells the story of Dakota meeting our friend Dani's new rescue puppy, Rollo.  Neither of them were quite sure of each other in the beginning, but once they warmed up, they became well... less unsure of each other.  They pretty much ignored each other and individually begged for attention from all the 'parents' gathered around to watch the two puppies play!

In the bottom corner, I added some yellow washi tape.  However, after putting it down, it didn't stand out as much as I liked, and sort of blended into the background of the card.  So I took a light blue marker, and outlined the washi tape to give it a little more 'pop'.  I also added a heart brad to the point of the arrow.

Now onto the right side of the layout.  Still just as simple, and still just as happy!

I embellished a picture of some "just because" flowers from Melissa with some thick alphas I picked up at Michael's.

I was honestly stuck on what to add to this card for a while, considering there was no real story behind the flowers.  I love that I ended up on adding the word bloom to the banner, since it is such a spring word!

For the next card, I added the 'Love This Life' embellishment I got in the Studio Calico Blue Note Project Life kit (that's a mouthful!).

I was really just starting to get comfortable adding embellishments without any real connection to a story in this layout.  That's what I struggle the most with, so I'm trying to add it in tiny doses more and more as I work through my layouts.

Next I have a fun memory with my two girls snuggling on the couch.

I added a simple 'remember this moment' title embellishment, to really let the journaling and picture shine.

I did the same with the next picture, by simply adding a 'blessed' button to the picture.

Since the last two pictures show the same sentiment, I combined some journaling on the last 4x6 card to cover these two photos.  I stamped some arrows to indicate which pictures this card was referencing.  I'm not in love with the looks of the arrows, but they do their job.  I had an idea, I tried it, and I didn't love it, so now I know for next time!

I also added a simple 'oh my' heart stamp below the journaling.  I just love the delicateness of this stamp, also from the Studio Calico Blue Note Project Life kit.

And that finishes up my spread for April 2011!  I'm now one month closer to being caught up with documenting the past.  Slow and steady wins the race...right??

Who else is super impatient for winter to be over and spring to just get here already?  Anyone else doing the learning-by-trial-and-error Project Life method?  This just seems the best way for me to slowly creep out of my comfort zone, and truly become the Project Lifer I want to become!  So if you're like me, and don't really know where to start to get those beautifully put together layouts, just dive in!  There's no wrong way to do Project Life, and you can't get where you want to be if you don't start somewhere!