Finishing up Project Life 2012

I wanted to share a few last pieces of my Project Life 2012 albums.  I never shared how I transitioned my albums (I have two for the year) so I wanted to share how I did those.

I ended volume one at the end of June.  Luckily my days lined up and the last full spread actually ended on June 30th.  I still had the backside to fill so I decided to use a full size image. I picked an image that was from June and blew it up to 12 x 12 and added some text at the bottom.  This is actually a photo I took from my phone that does appear within one of my spreads earlier in the month.  I printed this at home and I do not have a large scale printer.  All you need to do is section off the photo and then print.  These are the steps I took.

1. Set up guides within PSE on top of your photo. I add one vertical at 6" so I know where the middle is, one horizontal at 4" and one horizontal at 8". This will help you with the next cropping step. Plus it also helps when you add text so you can space it so the words don't get cut up.
2. Crop three times at 12x4 the top, middle and bottom sections of the photo. Save each of them.
3. Crop each of those sections again twice at 6x4 (the left side and the right side).
4. Print each of the 6x4 sections, you will have 6
5. Cut the middle two photos in half so you end up with 4 3x4 pieces
6. You will need to trim the middle 4 pieces just a bit to fit them in the slots, like less than 1/8". I trimmed the outside edge of the left and right photos and the inside edges of the two middle photos and it still lined up perfectly.
7. You can round your corners if you wish, I opted to keep mine square.

Because I wanted my volume two to start with a full spread I added another full size photo as the into page to volume 2.  Here is that photo. It was cropped and trimmed the same way as I shared above.

I also had one last side to complete at the very end of the second volume.  I knew I wanted to summarize the year in some way and had seen this awesome example linked on a message board I believe, I'm sorry I don't remember which one.  I thought it was an amazing idea to count up what was contained within our year.  The example was used as a way to end one of her volumes so I knew my counts would be pretty high since I was doing the whole year.

I made a list of things that I knew I wanted to include and set up a list on a piece of paper.  I started with the first spread and just went down my list and counted each of these items if they were shown on that given spread.  It took me less than an hour to count everything so trust me it wasn't that daunting if you decide to do this too.  I will say that I did not count every time our faces were shown, I counted the number of slots our photos were in.  I did this because I quickly realized when I hit a collage of multiple images that counting each time our faces were shown would be too daunting.  I did the same thing for food photos, in some cases there was a collage of several images of food, I just counted each collage as one.  It still gives a really good overview of our inclusions so I'm fine with that. Feel free to make up your own rules here, just keep the rules you decide on the same for every item.

Here is what I ended up with.  Another large scale photo shifted to the left with room for my summary in numbers down the right side.

Here it is uncut so you can read it a bit better.

This really brought this project home for me.  Seeing it listed in numbers like this made me realize how full our lives were in 2012, how much we got out and how much fun we had.  It also made me realize that the number of kid less overnights definitely needs to be higher and the number of concerts, plays and sporting events could be higher too.  All things I hope to add in to our plans for 2013.

If you haven't tried adding a full size photo in your album yet, I hope my steps make it easier for you especially if you don't have a large scale printer.

I will be back on Wednesday with my plan for 2013, my first week and hopefully my finished cover page, its still a work in progress.

Project Life - Weeks 50, 51 & 52

It's done, like done and I'm amazed, emotional and so very grateful to have these memories documented. I have loved every minute of this, truly.

Here is week 50

 

This flip up as the words from the blog post I did for Simone's birthday, bottom left above.

I had to touch a bit on what happened in CT, it was so hard for me to put words down so I kept it simple, horrifying and unbelievably tragic is the best way I can sum up my feelings.  I've seen so many beautiful tributes, I so wish I could process things as well or as beautifully.

This is inside the Believe card flip up.  I made that card as part of a Tag Swap that I did in December.  It was perfect for our Polar Express night.

 

Here is week 51

 





 

And here is week 52



 

This week covers more than that week because the year went a bit long.  I wanted to end on the 31st so I have some bonus days in there.  I was sick for a good portion of the end of the year so it helped me squeeze it all in since I wasn't active at all.  And yes, I do believe that is the least flattering photo of myself by far this year.

 

This is the inside of the Christmas Eve flip up, bottom left above.

I found the New Year's confetti at the party store and decided to fill a slot with it and left it open to the back. I stitched it closed in rows so the confetti couldn't bunch up at the bottom.

This is the inside of the New Year's flip up, bottom right above.

 

I'm simply beyond thrilled that I did it, that I stuck with it and that its done.  I do have one last little bit to finish, the back page and I'll do that next.

I'll share that later as well as my plan for 2013!  I'm changing things up and using new protectors this year, trying to shake things up and keep them interesting.  More details to follow.

I hope you all have an amazing 2013 and I look forward to sharing more with you.

Project Life - Week 49

I'm officially behind a week but I managed to do what I've now coined as my Project Life Lightening Round and got week 49 done yesterday in a record 90 minutes.  I hope to finish week 50 the same way later this week.

Here is the full spread

Some you've already seen in my December Daily but like I said, I'm okay with that.  I really hate being behind and found that I had to search the memory bank a bit more than normal.  Thankfully I had plenty to include.

Here are the close ups.

The QR code on the top left is a video we took of Simone and her little treasure hunt.

Project Life - Week 48

Were in the home stretch and I'm determined not to blow the last few weeks because I'm otherwise sidetracked.  Are you with me!  Let's finish 2012's Project Life with a bang!

Here is the full spread

and the left side up close

A few slots carry over to my December Daily and that's okay.  Larry made cinnamon rolls and OMG they tasted just like the place at the mall and his were so much easier.  I'll have to have him write it down so I can post it for you, so good!  A few bits of me being sick and the cute tray of food Simone brought me.  We added to her stocking this year and getting our tree.

Here is the right side up close.

Decorating our tree, Charlie Brown, lots of playing and crafting for Simone, the cutie craze is back, so was the crazy rain and some indoor gymnastics.

Phew!

My goal is still to post project life updates on Wednesday's through the rest of the year.  My layouts might be shorter but we'll see how it goes.

ProjectLife - Week 47

I had this done Monday night and had every intention of taking photos and getting the post up yesterday but I spent all day in bed battling a cold.  I wish I had taken the photos yesterday because its raining today and the light is less than ideal for photographing layouts.  I apologize for the glare and hope our clear morning light returns soon!

Lots of giving thanks this week, and lots of good food as well!

Here is the full spread

And the left side.  Simone made the corn cob and school a week or so ago and I knew I wanted to use it for the Thanksgiving spread.  Its much large in real life so I took a photo of it, removed the background in Photoshop and added it to the title card.  It was Larry's birthday last Sunday, managed to get some pretty good candle photos to include.  I love food, that is all.  A bit of Christmas cheer on my desk and Simone and her hot cocoa hot tub.  I used one of my favorite stamps from Prompt Shop (what the what?) and made it into a digital file same as the corn cob.  I love everything Nicole does, you should check out her shop.  I took Simone to the store to do a bit of birthday and Christmas wish list making, this is just a handful of the things she loved, as you can imagine, she loved a lot of things!  She also got a much needed haircut from her cousin last week, 6 inches off!

Here is the right side. Feeling under the weather started last week, hoping to shake it soon.  Some photos from Thanksgiving at my in laws. So much good food.  I picked up some tinsel, its tiny for scrapbooking and it makes me happy!  A really great swackett graphic from Thanksgiving.  Larry got his tank back and oh my goodness, he is so happy.  It looks amazing, and the paint color is so pretty in person.  He's taking the bike back to its original state and its looking really great.  A shot I took of Kelly's December Daily kit, love the vellum papers.  We cooked another dinner on Friday and had Simone's God parents over.  It was so great to hang out and have a really nice long visit.  And of course the civil war.  I'm not from Oregon but my mom lives there now and we've just sort of become fans and love watching them play.  Nice job Ducks!

Happy to be up and out of bad today, we have a Christmas tree to decorate when Simone gets home from preschool and I have some December Daily foundation pages that need to get finished before Friday.  Hope to be back then to share what I've put together.

Project Life - Week 46

I almost didn't get this done this week and thought about putting it off but decided at 4:00pm yesterday that I couldn't put it off and just needed to get it done, so happy I did!

Here is the full post, it's kind of all over the place again this week.  I had to force myself not to make it too Christmassy!

Here is the left side.

I had absolutely no idea what to do for my title page at 8:00pm last night and thought about some sort of thankful thought and it evolved into taking a try making some chalkboard art. It was fun, I'll do it again for sure.  I made sure to include a bit about Veteran's Day, a game that Larry brought home for Simone, a movie we saw and some early decorating.  I snapped the photo of Larry and Simone reading at bedtime and just loved it.  Its funny how I take 15 photos to make sure I got it at the right angle and 99% of the time I end up using the first shot I took, this was the first shot I took.  I participated in another round of Project Life tag swaps and this is the card I made, super Christamssy!

Here is the right hand side.

I took a trip to the craft store to buy some paint for my December Daily Cover and Simone addressed all of the invitations for her birthday party in a few weeks.  So happy to see that XM Holly is on and the Candy Cane Joe Joe's are in stock!  Simone announced the other day that she was running away from home, this was her outfit and what she packed.  A recipe share from a friend, it was so good!  Larry got some photos in of his motorcycle tank that was being painted, it looks really great.  My finished December Daily cover that you've already seen.

So excited for all the yummy deliciousness that will be coming our way over the next few days.

I hope you have a lovely day with your families and Happy Thanksgiving!

Project Life - Week 45

A perfect example this week of wait until its all done before you make a judgement call.  I was not feeling this at all this week, I was dealing with some pesky printer issues, feeling as if my colors were all over the place with no cohesion and then the last slot gets placed in and its all good.  After such a theme heavy week last week, its hard sometimes to get back into the everyday groove.  These are the weeks that are more real, more of the day to day that will be so fun to look back on.  Yes, holiday's are great, parties are fun but the real, that's what life is all about.

Here is the whole spread, sorry the photo is a big wonky, I guess I didn't take a very straight shot.

This week was not all about us.  The beauty of this project is I get to celebrate not only what happens in our little nucleus, but the big things that happen to our family as well.  My brother and his wife had a pretty major one this past week.  The top right flips up and you'll see that below.  A-mazing for sure!  There was plenty of living for Simone and I this week as well.  Larry was back East visiting his son, daughter in law and their new baby, so just us girls had to keep busy.  Simone's teacher does an amazing job of decorating the classroom seasonally and this week was no exception, walking in Monday morning to this was pretty cool for the kids.  We found some supper yummy seasonal cookies at the store and our state is finally catching up to fall.  I got the most amazing gift in the mail, my new Amazeballs stamp.  I used it on the title card and just love it.  Simone had her last night of soccer for the season, she's very sad it has ended and yes, there was an election.

Here is the inside of the flip up.  Makes me tear up even now, just so happy for them and the once in a lifetime opportunity they had. 

Here is the right side.  We dropped 25 degrees in a matter or two days so bring on the soup.  Simone and I kept busy doing things like making yummy muffins.  Imagine my delight to see my image in Kelly's new book that just got released.  Simone and I also watched plenty of movies, this is a new favorite for sure. Larry with the baby and the boys together.  Christmas is getting so close, the count down around here has started and Simone is super busy creating Christmas surprises at a feverish pace.  We ended the week with Larry home, happy to have him, 3 are so much better than 2.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Project Life - Week 44

A whole lot of festive Halloween this week, and it was a lot of fun, plus seeing all the orange just makes me happy. 

Here is the whole spread, see lot's of orange!

Here is a close up of the left side.  I'm not going to show each slot this week, mainly because I figured if I made the photos a big bigger on the blog you would be able to see everything just fine.

I did a massive closet clean out and switched out my summer clothes for fall/winter.  I was ready way before our weather was but that's another story.  The Giants swept, go Giants, Larry made a home made, even the crust apple pie.  Simone got her soccer pictures and I love them.  A super cute Swackett graphic from Halloween, there were so many fun ones to choose from.  A bit of remembrance for the Hurricane and our last minute dash to a pumpkin patch for some pumpkins.

Here is the right hand side.  I didn't have a ton or photos for the last part of the week, but I had a lot from Halloween so instead of doing an insert I opted to use the top two slots for flip ups to include the photos from the preschool party and then the evening.  You'll see them flipped up below. 

The subway art for the top right hand slot came from Rhonna Farrer, she posted it as a freebie on her blog here. I loved it an knew the minute I saw it I would use it this week, so thank you so much Rhonna!

The slot with a quote also flips up with some journaling that's just for me.  A shot I took of our Meyer Lemon's happily ripening in what appears to me to be an awful lot like the phases of the moon.  An ice cream that we are all currently loving.  Do yourself a favor and get some, it's that good.  Happy for some lower gas prices, yay...I guess.  Larry jetted off for a week, so on the way to the airport we stopped for coffee, I was beyond happy to have a red cup in my hand, oh happy day!  The cute sequin sleeve was from last year but they do have some equally cute ones out this year, just not sparkly.  I loved this shot Larry sent to me from the plane.  As Simone pointed out, Momma, you can see space in this picture.  And you know what I suppose you can!

Here is the flip up for the preschool party.  The text was copied from my blog post about Halloween with just a bit of editing.

And the one for Halloween night, again the text came from the blog post but I edited it a bit more since I didn't use all of the same photos on this collage.

I guess that's about it, if you have any other questions on something I didn't cover just let me know.  Thanks as always for taking a look! 

Project Life - Week 43

I'm going to keep it really brief today since everyone has much better things to do on Halloween than pour over this. 

I went with lots of full sized photos this week and love the look, it came together fairly quickly on Monday until I ran out of color ink in both of my printers, I hate when that happens.  Anyway, I couldn't call it done until yesterday after I ran out for more ink and printed the last two slots.

I hope you have a wonderful Halloween, I'll be back Friday with photos and a recap.

Boo!

Keep Calm and Pumpkin On

For those that have asked here is the Keep Calm Card that I made for my Week 43 Project Life Title card.

If you right click on the image and Save Picture As, but if you want a larger clearer image, you can download it here.  It is sized to fit in the 3 x 4 pockets.

Enjoy and thanks!

Project Life - Week 42

I cannot believe there are only 10 weeks left for 2012, or that I've actually kept up with this project for 42 straight weeks.  I'm super happy for both I suppose, the last quarter of the year is my favorite and infinitely easier to document with so much fun stuff going on.

Here is a look at the whole spread

and the left side

Our leaves are finally starting to fall here so this seemed appropriate for the title card.

A collage of photos from our drive home from Oregon last Sunday.  I pulled a map off the Internet for the background of the card.

Did you watch this guy jump from space, OMG, the guts it must take to do something like this.  I was thoroughly amazed and Larry watched most of it from my phone on the ride home while I drove.  Sadly the best parts were missed because we lost the signal but it was fun to follow along for sure.

We got the fall decorations out on Monday, its always nice to see something festive on the mantle. 

Larry has been playing this game for awhile now and has amassed quite the pretend fortune for the first time this past week.  It's even higher as I type this, he is having fun seeing how high he can go.

A field trip for preschool, lots of fun.

It's that time of year...!

Here is the right side

Simone got her flu mist and was a real trouper!

A new addition to the family this past week.  This card flips up and there are more photos and details inside.

Food truck yumminess and one sassy little girl!

Larry has been working so hard on his bike and was thrilled when it started up this past week.  Man is it loud! 

I got a trim and the bangs have returned!

My first pumpkin pancakes of the season, yummy for sure.  A cute little book that the kids worked on at school.  Not sure why Simone's is upside down!

We had a little online chat with the new family member and the parents on Saturday.  Thankful for technology when family is farther away than you would like.

It's raining here today as I write this and we're happy to have it, I guess maybe now I can put away the shorts an officially embrace the long pants.

Thanks for stopping by!