Project Life: 2014 Week 10 Insert

Hi guys!  So as promised when I shared my week 10 spread, I'm here to share my birthday insert that goes along with that week.  And let me say, it was not an easy spread for me to complete.  I don't know why, the creative juices just weren't flowing for this one.

It is never fun when your mind just will not let you create, not matter what you try.  So I have learned to just ignore it, and create anyway.  It may not turn out to be your favorite creation ever (I know this layout isn't mine) but hey, its done.  I did it.  I have one more page of memories documented, and preserved in my album.  And that feels pretty dang good.

I feel that in this papercrafting hobby, it can be easy to forget why we do this hobby we love so much.  Yes it is because we love the pretty papers, and embellishments and stamps.  But it is mostly to write our story, keep our memories, and to celebrate our lives.  So even if I had ended up with the ugliest Project Life spread ever created, I still successfully completed my main goal, and got the pictures and the story on the pages.

And with that little speech, I'm going to step off this podium and show you some pictures of what I created!

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I used a Design G page protector for this layout.  I always try to make my inserts smaller than the typical 12x12 pages, so you can really tell that this is an insert and not a separate layout.  And again, I just wasn't feeling this layout, so I added minimal embellishments and tried to let the pictures speak for themselves.

All the pictures in this layout are from my birthday, but I tried to separate them into two 'subcategories' if you will.  The front of the insert has more general everyday pictures, while the back focuses on birthday celebration specific pictures and memories.

This was the first time I have ever used vertical 4x6 slots in a layout, so that was fun to experience something new.  I'm not sure I love these slots, but it was definitely fun to experiment a little and get a feel for using them.

I used the 5th and Frolic core kit for all my cards for this layout.  I keep trying to like this kit, I really do, but I just can't seem to fall in love.  It might just not be my style, but I find it is just so hard to work with for me.  Maybe I just need to play with it a bit more.

I actually really love the embellishments on this card.  I got a crazy hair and decided to layer two label together when I couldn't decide which one I wanted to use.  Originally I was just going to do the set on the left, but once I cut off the excess, I decided to flip the colors around and add a bit of fun to the other side of the card as well.  I definitely like how it turned out and will be using this simple technique again.

I love wrapping paper.  If you would ask anyone in my family, they would tell you I am a crazy wrapping paper girl.  I was the kid who would take 15 minutes to unwrap a present so I didn't rip the paper.  I was the kid who came home from friends' birthday parties with pieces of discarded wrapping paper.  I had a collection in my room.  I was weird... I acknowledge this.

Anyways, I still have a love for cute wrapping paper, so I saved a snippet of some from my presents from my parents, with the plan to somehow include it in Project Life (p.s. I love so much that I now have a place to put all the weird random stuff I want to save).  So I ended up just covering a card with the wrapping paper for one of my slots in my layout.  And I can enjoy the pretty paper forever :)

And that finishes up my week 10!  I hope you guys enjoyed!

Let me know what you do when you hit a creative slump in the comments below, I'd love to hear your tips!