Project Life: 2014 Week 7 Insert

Ok, so as I promised last week, when I shared my Week 7 spread, I'm back today to share my insert for week 7.  A certain lovey-dovey holiday was suspiciously absent in my full week 7 layout.  That is because we had a very busy Valentine's Day, and took way more pictures than would fit into a normal two page layout, without taking it over.

Choosing to not include pictures due to space constraints is a last resort for me whenever I'm Project Lifing.  So rather than nix some lovely memories I'd prefer to have recorded, I simply added in a 7x12 insert to hold all my Valentine's day lovelies.

The front of this insert is dedicated to all the 'typical' Valentine's day memories.  Since this insert will be sitting within my Week 7, I included some of the yellows and blues present in that layout, so it would coordinate nicely.  I did, however, add in some more colors, like pink... because Valentine's Day, duh.

The card on the left was a free printable from a Valentine's Day set, that I cannot for the life of me remember where I got it.  So if you recognize the "Heart You" card, let me know in the comments where it's from so I can share the love!  I kept this card super simple with just my planer picture and some journaling.

The card on the right showcases a cookie bouquet my parents had sent to Melissa and I earlier in the week.  The "Especially For" embellishment is actually the card that came with the basket, I just trimmed it down to stick in the pocket.  I then transcribed the note that was written inside the card onto a yellow label.  I added some washi tape, and a cute little chipboard embellishment that represents both the year and the date (February 14, 2014).

The card on the left shows all the goodies my Valentine showered me with.  I simply stuck it onto a 3x4 freebie printable.  I then added the "lucky" transparent sticker (fromt an SC kit) right onto my photo, and added in "girl" using SC Color Theory alphas.

The card on the right was made by adhering a 3x4 card from Sweet Shoppe Designs onto a 4x4 piece of cardstock.  I added my photo into the blank journaling area.  Then I cut out the "Love" letters from another freebie card to make my title.  I stuck each letter onto a foam adhesive to give the card a little more dimension.

This card is a close up of the flowers Melissa got me stuck onto a plain 3x4 piece of cardstock.  I then fussy cut around the banner embellishment, which was originally a 3x4 card from Sweet Shoppe Designs.  In order to not cover up too much of the pretty flowers, I let the banner overflow out of it's pocket, so it sort of overlaps with the card above it as well.

The card on the right was again using a printable freebie 3x4 attached to a 4x4 piece of cardstock.  The heart arrows were also cut out from a 3x4 card from Sweet Shoppe Designs, to turn them into embellishments.  I finished things off with a 3D glittery heart sticker.

Going back over the process of making a layout really helps to highlight the patterns you used to create it, and which techniques you relied on a little more heavily than you may have realized.  For the front of this layout, I pretty much made the entire thing using free, printable cards, with the exception of about 3 embellishments.  This proves that you don't have to break the bank to make a fun and beautiful Project Life layout!

I also noticed that I was doing a lot of cutting up cards.  Since they were printable, and I didn't feel bad about "ruining" them (since I could always print out more), I cut out a lot of the designs on cards and used them as embellishments rather than actual cards.  I love discovering new and creative ways to use all the fun products that come with this hobby!

For the back of my insert, I focused on another aspect of our Valentine's Day.  We just so happened to put a hold on our current apartment on that day.  Some people might hate doing errands like this on such a romantic holiday, but we were so excited about moving into our dream apartment, making it official was the best way we could have spent our Valentine's Day.

I made a mini title card for this side of the insert highlighting the entryway of our new apartment.  For the 'bones' of this pocket, I used a 4x4 piece of cardstock, and a map 3x4 card that came in a SC kit.  I hand lettered the word 'welcome' going up the side, and used Thickers to complete the title.  I also added in a tiny pink banner behind the H, so my white alphas didn't blend in to the white background.

The card on the right holds a super cool selfie we took before going in to sign all the papers.  I embellished with a few printable embellishments (found here), and added the journaling "best Valentine's Day" to a little label.

The next 4x4 pocket shows off the business card of the leasing agent who was so incredibly helpful while we were figuring everything out.  She dealt with my million and one questions, and did not judge the crazy lady who wanted to take a ton of pictures of an empty apartment #lifeofablogger.  This entire card was again embellished using nothing but free printables (found here, here and here).

Of course, a layout about our new apartment would not be complete without a walk-in closet shot.  I have moved apartments many times in the last 5 years, and my number one requirement is always a walk-in closet.  The fact that this closet was even bigger than most others, and had TWO rows of shelves, only solidified it's place as my favorite closet ever.  The picture is attached to a free printable card, and embellished with a printable label and a 'my fave' tid-bit.

However awesome the closet was, what we were most excited for with this apartment was having two floors.  Living within a single floor for the last 5 years really made me desperate for some stairs.  They are really what closed the deal on this place.  So obviously, those epic stairs made it into my album.  The card is cut down to 4x4 from a 4x6 free printable.  I embellished with a shipping tag and a cluster of colorful free printables (found here, here and here), and journaled some details about the apartment.

The last card is definitely my favorite of this layout.  I had started out wanting to include about 15 apartment photos in this little six pocket insert, which obviously wasn't going to work.  I then had a 'duh' moment, and realized I could just link to my blog post about this day right in my layout!  The blog post has a ton more pictures and details, so I could include all that information without wasting that much space in my album.  So smitten.

I sound like a broken record, but I again embellished with a bunch of different free printables (found here, here and here), and then added in the link using wood veneer letters from SC.  I then realized Bitly is case-sensitive, so I included a little hint to myself on the bottom of the card for typing in the link.

And that is my mini insert for Valentine's Day 2014!  Does anyone else not realize they're forming a creative pattern until you're all finished and discover you really favored a certain technique in your layout?  I didn't realize that I pretty much made this entire layout using free printables until I was writing this post.  Who else has fun, unexpected ways they like to use Project Life supplies?  I was really digging cutting up cards to use as embellishments with this insert.  I'm always looking for new techniques, so shout out your favorites in the comments, I'm all ears!