Heidi Swapp Memory Stand - February

I have a new frame to display pictures of me and my hubby! :)

I picked up a Heidi Swapp Memory Stand at a scrapbook store a couple of weeks ago. It's a totally customizable frame you can use to display a favorite photo or a collection of photos. I have been wanting to display more current pictures of me and Joe, and this is the perfect way to do it!

I started by taking it apart and using the included paper as a template. I picked another piece of paper from the My Mind's Eye "Love Me" collection (same as I used on the Valentine Garland) for my background paper.

I had a pack of die-cut mat pad from K&Co that I used to frame my picture. 

I chose one of my favorite Instagram pictures from last year and printed it at home (3.75" x 3.75"). I added a few embellishments (a heart doily, lots of heart stickers, and a cut-out from the K&Co line) and that was it! Seriously took about 15 minutes!

I love reading each and every comment! 

Be sure to keep up with me on
  Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!

February Random Act of Kindness

I'm a member of a facebook group called SMASH*aholics. Someone started emailing a list of members that would like to swap postcards, smashable goodies, and RAKs (random acts of kindness). A couple of months ago, I decided to start sending 5 RAKS per month to 5 random people off the list. It only costs a few dollars, and it brings me joy to make the RAKs. The recipients aren't expecting anything from me, which makes it even more fun. I really enjoy surprising them and (hopefully!) brightening their day. One reason I started sending the RAKs is because I often buy a pack of something and can't use everything or don't need that many duplicates. Now I can use what I need and spread the love to some other people. This is also a great way to practice or try a new technique that you've been wanting to do.

This month's RAK was love/Valentine's Day themed (of course). I included heart paperclips, foam stickers, heart stickers from Target, a couple of Silhouette Cameo cuts, and adorable greeting cards from Michael's. Even if one of the recipients doesn't have a boyfriend or husband, they can still use the embellishments on a page about their favorite things or about something they love.

I got these cute chevron bags from The Plaid Barn several months ago. I decorated the front of the chevron bag very simply. I adhered a paper doily (20 for $1 at the Target Dollar Spot!) and then put 2 Silhouette Cameo cuts on top of it. I always lightly glue the embellishments to the bag. This way, the recipients can take everything apart if they want, and use the elements separately.

This month, I included a few cards from the Creative Chaos line at Michael's. These packs come with 5 of each card. This is one of those instances where I don't need that many duplicates. I kept one of each card I wanted for myself, then split the rest of the pack among the 5 RAK recipients.

I hope this post inspires you to perform a Random Act of Kindness!

I love reading each and every comment! 

Be sure to keep up with me on
  Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!

Wedding and Love Smash Book: True Love

So the third SMASH book I have is the cream colored wedding / love smash book. There are a handful of pages that are really wedding-specific, but the rest of them are usable however you would like. I've been using this book to document mine and Joe's relationship - dating, engaged, and married! I had a big box full of tickets and memorabilia. I think it's more fun to see this stuff in a book than it is to dig through the box. I've just been picking topics and random pages. These pages are not shown in the order they appear in the book.

The first two pages in the book have a light colored background, so I did some journaling on them. The stickers are from a sheet of little stickers I got at Walmart. I bought the sheet because it had some cute pictures on it, but ended up loving these phrases. I picked a few that told the story of when we first met, our favorite hang-out, our first date, how we knew each other was "the one", our first kiss, and more. I cut the Target washi tape into banners to separate each topic.

Here's some close-ups for ya...

On the next 2 pages, I put some of my favorite pictures of us from our first year of dating.

This page is one of those wedding-specific pages. The drawing at the bottom was already on the page. I took a screenshot of my updated facebook relationship status and picture of my ring and put on the page with a strip of wash tape. The appropriate title was "it's fb official!" Cuz really, did it even happen if it's not on Facebook? haha!

The "save the date" page was perfect for our engagement story. I just circled the month, day, and year that we set for our date. I added where the wedding took place in the Notes section.

I'll be sharing more of the pages from this book, so be sure to check back!

I love reading each and every comment! 

Be sure to keep up with me on
  Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!

Getting Started on Project Life

A few days ago, I mentioned that I had jumped on the Project Life bandwagon. If you're not familiar with Project Life, go read this. Go on, I'll wait.

Ok, now that we're all on the same page - I've been intrigued by PL for a long time, but wasn't quite sure it was for me. After all, I love too many scrapbook papers to use a kit and have everything matchy-matchy. Of course, being matchy-matchy has its advantages - it definitely gives your book more cohesiveness. Ultimately I decided I would do PL with my own scrapbook supplies and make some things very scrappy and other things more streamlined. I'm gonna try not to go overboard - I want this to be easy and doable!

I worked on making my own 'kit' and the title page over this past weekend. I don't think I'm finished with the title page yet, but I love it so far. What is it missing? I'm thinking our last name or a picture of us... or both... 

Here's some close-ups for ya...

As for the kit, I used paper from about 10 different paper collections. I love the variety! I picked from October Afternoon (Sidewalks and Woodland Park), My Mind's Eye 6x6 pads (Chevron, Find & Dandy Boy and Girl, Miss Caroline, Dwell, Everyday Flair, Blink of an Eye), Studio Calico (Abroad), and threw in a little Basic Grey Serendipity. The Serendipity doesn't match exactly, but some of the colors do. I think it keeps everything from being too pastel.

And I'm using this album - how cute is this?!? It's available here.

Alright, so are you convinced? Anybody joining me on my Project Life journey this year?

I love reading each and every comment! 

Be sure to keep up with me on
  Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!