Baby Project Life, the First Month - Part 1

I mentioned a few posts ago that I got a crazy idea to go back and put together a Baby Project Life Album documenting Dean's First Year. I started working on this a few weeks ago, admittedly with a mixture of anxiety and dread - but I'm so glad I'm doing this! It's going together rather quickly and I love it. I'm keeping things super simple, mostly using the Baby Edition For Him Core Kit, hand writing my journaling, and adding a minimum of embellishments. The hardest part of the project has been sorting through the TONS of photos on my computer and deciding which to use. I probably shouldn't even include as many as I have been so far, but it's my album and I just couldn't narrow it down any more than I did. Anyway, I thought I would share some of my progress. I actually have all of his first month done, but I'll divide it up into 2 posts so you're not overwhelmed with too many photos.

Cover Page (sorry for the squishy newborn pics, but well, it is a baby album!):

 

Between the first set of pages, I included "The Birth Story" typed out (I had journaled this a few weeks after Dean was born...luckily I kept a really good journal that first year, so I do at least have the details, I've just never taken the time to get a complete album done). I used one of Ali Edward's 6x12 Words and Photos Layered Templates, but resized it to print on 8.5x11 because I don't have a large format printer and I'm printing most of this at home. I slid it into a 8.5x11 page protector, cut off the excess plastic and then used my sewing machine to sew up the side. You can see poking out under that insert (which has some really special photos of Dean and I snuggling on the back side), the keepsake hospital birth certificate also slid into a trimmed down page protector.

 

Below are closer looks at both the left and right sides of these pages - all photos still in the hospital, some immediately after his birth, and some from the next day when we had a few special visitors.

 

 The next set of pages document our discharge from the hospital and taking Dean home for the first time. I used some of the prompted journal cards from the Baby Kit to help with my journaling. I was surprised that I actually remembered our old address at the condo we lived in when Dean was born (we sold that condo and bought our current house when Dean was 11 months old). I even remembered our old land line phone number (we haven't had a land line since then either!). Funny the things that stick.

 

 These pages document our first few days home - that really stressful time as new parents with a newborn when you're excited and scared and exhausted all at the same time.  I also included an enlarged 5x7 of one of my favorite early photos of Dean and I together in his room inside a horizontal 5x7 page protector as an extra insert here with some special journaling on the back. And dude. Check out how HUMONGOUS my boobs were! I mean really. Brings back memories of how majorly uncomfortable I was right after my milk came in (and how much more challenging breastfeeding was than I expected! Took what seemed like forever for us to get the hang of it and settle into a groove).

 

And still more of those first few weeks.

And that's it for now. So glad I'm tackling this project. It's good to get these photos off the computer and into an album where we can actually look at them! I didn't have a great camera back in 2006, so not many of my photos are good quality, but you know what? It doesn't even matter. Hasn't bothered me one bit. So if there's interest, I'll continue to share more of this album every now and then.

Project Life 2013, Week 5

Finally starting to feel a bit caught up on things around here. The renovations are done (for now). And my house is almost clean. Week 5 is in the book, and Week 6 is almost finished. I feel like things are starting to settle down a bit. Here's a look at my finished Week 5:

 

Once again, I used my Seafoam PL kit as well as my Studio Calico January Project Life Kit.

On the left side of the page you can see that I did, after all, change up my "anchor card". I used the Word Art Titles by September Blue, which coordinate with the Seafoam kit. A few journaling cards from the SC Project Life kit as well as some embellishments from the Block Party Scrapbook Kit. I added a January calendar from the 2013 Chic Calendar Brights by Elle's Studio to a striped Seafoam filler card. And I can't seem to stop using that Salmon Orange Zigzag Washi Tape! Love it.

On the right side of the layout, I have a couple of filler cards, lots of SC printable labels, and I finally got some new (to me) stamps inky. I think my favorite has to be that The Good Life Banner Stamp by Evalicious in the bottom right pocket. In the same pocket I also used a Weekday Badge (Sat) and some yellow Farm Girl Honey Sticky Keys alpha stickers. That grey chevron washi is from the Yellow & Grey Decorative Tape Set by MME (these sets of 8 rolls of washi come in a few different color sets. But be warned - you'll want them all!). The orange date stamp banner in the top right pocket is from Blinks of Life, which has a lot of super cute individual rubber stamps. A lot of them are currently sold out, but she seems to restock often so keep checking back if there's something you love.

And that's it for Week 5. I'm currently trying to find a cute printable Album Spine card (you know the little slip of paper you slide into the metal bookplate on the spine of your album?). Something that I can customize maybe just by adding "Volume 1", etc to. Cathy Zielske has some cute ones last year but I didn't see that she did any this year. Anyone have any suggestions? I know I could make my own, but it's easier to just download something pre-designed. Let me know if you've come across anything. Preferably something that coordinates with the Seafoam kit maybe?? Thanks in advance!

I hope all of my U.S. friends have a great long President's Day weekend! Joel and I are looking forward to 3 and a half days of kid-free bliss! Dean is staying with my Mom all weekend and Joel and I will have some quiet time. I'm sure I'll spend some of that time getting crafty and I'm sure Joel will spend some of that time catching up on paperwork. But we're planning on fitting in dinner and maybe a movie (any suggestions? preferably nothing too "heavy"), catching up on a few DVR'd shows that Dean's not allowed to watch, and maybe even sneaking in a little hike or possibly even go to the beach by ourselves - we're not sure we remember what it's like to go to the beach without dragging a ton of toys, an umbrella for extra shade, extra snacks, a change of clothes, and then spending the whole time keeping a watchful eye on a 6-yr-old who thinks the ocean and waves are his personal playground (in other words, vastly different beach experience from our pre-parenthood days of relaxation and naps on the beach!). It's going to be a great weekend! :-)

YNS Tasty Tuesday

I'm joining the Your Next Stamp Design Team today for a fun new Challenge they're doing this year - Tasty Tuesday Challenge! If you're new to YNS, you can find all the Tasty Tuesday Challenge details HERE.  Basically, it's an inspiration challenge using a photo from Pinterest. There's a new inspiration photo each month, and every Tuesday different YNS DT members share their own creations over on the YNS blog to get your creative juices flowing.

Here's a look at the February inspiration photo:

I used the Celebrate stamp from Heather Rolin's Seasonal Icon Collection. I kept things pretty clean and simple, finding inspiration in the colors of the inspiration photo. I decided to try using watercolor pencils to color my image this time and I love the soft look I ended up with! I added two strips of washi tape to the top of my image panel and called it done. 

Be sure to stop by the YNS Blog today to see what the regular DT members have created using the inspiration photo!

I hope you'll play along with us this month! Simply create your own card (or cards - you can enter as many times as you'd like) based on the inspiration photo and link them up using the linky thing on THIS POST for a chance to win some YNS goodies!

Project Life 2013, Week 4

I'm officially about a week behind on Project Life. I managed to stay caught up most of last year, only getting at most 2 weeks behind right after our Disneyland vacation in May and then again around the holidays in December. Otherwise, for the most part I'd finish the previous week's pages on Sunday afternoon - usually working on them here and there throughout the week, printing photos I knew I'd want to use as I had them, journaling about the big stuff when I had time, and then just filling in holes on Sunday. It worked out REALLY well for me. And I know that had I fallen much more than a few weeks behind, I probably never would have stuck it out. It's just the way I work. So my intention is to continue staying mostly caught up this year as well. Our big renovation project is making it difficult (Pretty much all of Week 5 and a lot of Week 6 will cover house renovations since that's just about all that was going on around here!). But for now, here's a look at Week 4:

I kept things pretty simple this week. Once again, mixing my Seafoam Kit with my Studio Calico Project Life kit. I also used 3 printables from Geralyn Sy's store, In a Creative Bubble (and I picked up all of her new releases this week! Can't. Stop.). On the left side of the page I included a couple of small (2.25x2.25 inches each) instagrams about how we honored Martin Luther King, Jr on his holiday and journaled a bit about that. I have a feeling at the end of the school year when I receive Dean's Art Portfolio, there will be at least one MLK, Jr related piece of work that will be slipped into a page protector and added as an extra insert to this week. I included journaling about and a photo of myself painting Dean's room from early in the week as well as a collage of photos of the finished room. Great way to remember what your child's room looked like years from now! I barely remember my room at 6 yrs old and would love to have a photo like this! I'm already getting bored with my Weekly Anchor card (the "Week 4" card in the upper left) and will probably start to change things up with that soon. I had originally thought I'd stick with this format all year, but now I've decided I think I'll change things up week to week. That's the great thing about Project Life - no rules, so I can do whatever I want! :-) Although it will bug me to have 4 weeks consistent and then random after that. Maybe I'll make changes monthly and keep things the same each month? What do you think?

I documented President Obama's Inauguration on the right side of the spread with a photo of Dean in front of the TV, which shows Barack and Michelle on the steps of the Capitol. A few more renovation photos (trip to Home Depot, Joel working on the Board and Batten in the entry, more journaling about the ongoing projects), etc. And a bit of everyday life - an after school treat at Yogurtland, and Dean being silly when I tried to get a selfie of the two of us. I got a little creative with my Week in Review card by using some Studio Calico days of the week stamps to differentiate the days I was journaling about. Initially wasn't sure if I liked it, but it grew on me.

And that's it. My plans for this weekend while Joel (hopefully) finishes up the flooring installation include finishing up Week 5 and at least starting on Week 6! Dean and I might sneak a hike in there somewhere too...Have a great weekend everyone!

YNS Fun Friday - VACATION

Happy Aloha Friday! As a Guest DT member for February, today I'm participating in a Fun Friday post with Your Next Stamp. Every Friday this month some of the YNS DT will be sharing projects representing / inspired by the theme VACATION. As most of you know, I live on the beautiful island of Maui, Hawaii, where we share aloha with approximately 2 million tourists per year (the resident population of Maui is about 140,000). My home is often at the top of many Vacation Wish Lists! Don't worry - I am thankful every single day for the opportunity to live and work and raise my son in Paradise! So when I'm given the theme "Vacation" for a DT project...I can't resist playing it safe and sticking close to home:

I mean really - isn't she the cutest!? I used the Aloha Fhiona stamp set as well as some leftover papers from the Sunnyside Collection (Pebbles) to create my card.

Be sure to stop by the YNS Blog today to check out what the rest of the team has created to get you in the mood for a little VACATION!

Project Life 2013, Week 3

Well, hello! I'm a little behind sharing my Project Life pages so here's a look at Week 3. I'll keep the blah blah blah to a minimum. I used my Seafoam kit, the Studio Calico Project Life kit as well as the Studio Calico Block Party kit and a few Geralyn Soy printables (found HERE). I've been displaced from my house for several days due to an ongoing renovation project that just got a little more complicated - we started in Dean's room and that is finally finished (Painting - I included the paint chip in this week's spread since the picking out of the paint for his room happened during Week 3, new furniture, and new bedding). But then we (and by "we" I actually mean my husband Joel since I don't tend to help with home improvement projects for a variety of reasons, most importantly the health of our marriage - ha! - not really kidding) started on the big project of 2013, which is to install solid bamboo flooring in our Great Room and hallway, removing the nasty 5-yr-old builder's grade carpet that Dean has done his best to destroy since the house was built 5 years ago! Anyway, moving on...here's a look at both sides of Week 3:

As I said before, I included the paint chip for the color we used on Dean's wall (the actual painting was done in Week 4). Week 3 also marked the beginning of a cold spell here in Hawaii with night-time lows right around 60 degrees (one night it even got down to 55 in Kahului!! CRAZINESS right there). We didn't know what to do with ourselves.

I kept things pretty simple this week. Photos and label stickers. The Week in Review is from Cathy Zielske's digi kit available at Designer Digitals. I get really excited when I use up every single sticker on a sticker sheet and I used all of those greenish-yellow label stickers that came in the Studio Calico Project Life kit. Very functional.

And that's it for Week 3. Week 4 is also done and in the album and I have most of Week 5 done. The current state of my house is slowing things down a bit.

I've also gone a little crazy this year and decided to tackle a Baby Project Life Album and have been {finally} printing and getting Dean's first year photos put into a PL binder, mostly using the Baby For Him kit. I'm keeping the embellishments to a minimum just to make it go together quicker, but I'm so excited to finally get those photos off of my computer and into an album! Does anyone have any interest in seeing those pages as well? I'm wondering if I should do a couple of Baby Project Life shares and just post a bunch of photos of the pages without much verbage? They are pretty self explanatory...

How is everyone else doing with Project Life? Still caught up? Behind already?

I'll be back Friday with a card to share and then plan to post my Week 4 this weekend! Mahalo for stopping by!

Your Next Stamp Guest DT

Hi there! A few months ago I got an e-mail from the super sweet owner of Your Next Stamp, Karen, asking me if I'd like to be a Guest DT Member. I was a little nervous at first, because I'm not a very good color-er, but I absolutely ADORE the cute YNS images, so I decided to take the plunge and accepted! I'm so glad I did. As most of my regular blog readers know, I've been taking a little break from stamping the last couple of months and although I was a little rusty at first, it felt good to create a card again! It really got me brainstorming about different ways I can start to blend my love of stamping with my new obsession of Project Life - something I'm going to try to do more of in the coming months. We'll see how it goes.

Anyway, I already had a few stamp sets from Your Next Stamp and decided for my first project I'd pull out my all-time very favorite YNS set, Space Boy, and create a new card.

Pretty cute, right? My son Dean is still really into all things space related, so that little space guy always reminds me of him. I pulled some old October Afternoon papers from my stash and got creative with the sentiment. I didn't want a birthday card, so instead of using the entire birthday-themed sentiment, I taped off part of it and only inked up the "out of this world" portion. Then I just added the "u" and the "r" (get it? Like the cool way of saying "You are"? wink wink) in yellow Thickers. And I have to say, not bad coloring for an amateur, huh?

Stop by the YNS Blog today - you can read my oh-so-interesting bio and see a super nerdy recent headshot of me (YAY!) as well as see if anyone else is sharing the Guest DT spotlight with me this month.

I'll still be sharing my weekly Project Life spreads throughout the month (and I realize I am now a few weeks behind with that - I have plans to catch up on posting this weekend if all goes well!), but I'll also be sharing a few fun projects using some of my favorite Your Next Stamp sets throughout the month! And who knows...maybe I'll even find a way to combine the two!?

ETA: When I say "the month" - I mean February! ;-)

Project Life 2013, Week 2

Hi there! I've been meaning to write this post all week and just now have a few minutes free to get it done. We're in the middle of a major Room Makeover for Dean that is reminding me why I really don't like DIY projects. ugh. The only thing left to do is paint, which will be done tomorrow, then that project can be marked off the 2013 To-Do List!! YAY! So anyway, I was super excited to receive my Seafoam kit in the mail really quickly and had it in hand before I started working on this week's layout. I mixed and matched a few things from that kit with more Studio Calico PL goodies as well as some of their cut files and printables. There definitely seemed to be a yellow theme this week, although I didn't set out with that in mind. I just kept reaching for yellow. But it works I think.

I used another 3x4 Calendar Card on the left side of the layout, with the week circled. I recolored it to match the yellow in the Seafoam kit. I also used lots of Studio Calico printables as well as that fun days of the week cut file. I'm starting to get the hang of my Silhouette Cameo and this past week finally figured out how to use the Print and Cut feature - AWESOME! The paper under the days of the week cutout and the brownish arrow paper are both from the SC Project Life kit.

The right side has more printables from Studio Calico (labels, 3x4 cards, etc) as well as some of my new favorite alpha stickers that came in the Block Party kit. That "love this life" cutout is from the Silhouette store and was designed by Lori Whitlock I believe (I've had it for awhile now but never used it). I also put together a fun collage in the upper left in order to get lots of fun pictures from Dean's 1st Grade Field Trip that week (they went on a Whale Watch boat trip one morning. Unfortunately the whales weren't in the mood to put on much of a show, so they only saw 2 whales, but it's still fun for the kids to get out of the classroom and out on the ocean. The Pacific Whale Foundation also does a really cool classroom presentation in their research center at the harbor - so it was a fun morning for the kids!).

And that's it for Week 2. I'll be working on Week 3 either tomorrow after we finish painting or possibly on Monday when we get home from the beach (It's a holiday and we spend holidays at the beach around here!). How's everyone else doing with Project Life?

Project Life 2013 Cover Page

It took me awhile to figure out what I wanted to do for my Cover Page, but once I received my Studio Calico Project Life Kit, it started to come together in my brain. I knew I wanted to use the little SC Wood Veneer People, and I thought I wanted a map of Maui (where we live) somehow with a geotag over Kahului. We took a family photo New Year's Day (that may or may not have been staged specifically for my Project Life Cover Page...), and I had already created a little pocket of sequins, Wood Veneer Stars, and some random confetti bits that I thought I might include. I sat down the other night and came up with this:

I'll be honest with you. I pretty much LOVE it. So far, one month in, I'm pretty happy with the Studio Calico Project Life kit. Most of the journal and filler cards on this page are from the kit. There were only maybe 2 or 3 vertically oriented 4x6 cards that I don't think I'll use (because I don't tend to use the vertical 4x6 pockets ever). Otherwise, I'm pretty sure just about all of the kit will get used. And those sneaky SC people coordinated it just enough with the scrapbook kit that I can still use my scrapbook kit with it too. So I haven't unsubscribed from that yet. We'll see how long I can stretch the craft budget to allow me to continue subscribing to both kits. Because I sometimes like to get an add-on and that is going to definitely add up!! But as I mentioned, I'm not spending much at all on stamps or other supplies, so I think it might all come out in the wash at the end of the month. We'll just have to wait and see. What supplies are you using for PL this year? Do you stick with just one of the PL Core Kits or do you like to mix and match other stuff? I did order the Seafoam Kit yesterday and got my shipping notice today, so hoping that arrives early next week!! YAY! So anyway, back to this cover page...Don't you love that "Hello, My Name Is" card? I used some of the Darling Dear Alphabet Wood Veneer to spell out each of our names, then wrote in our ages and what we do. (and thank you in advance for no smart-ass comments about the fact that I'm 6 years older than my husband. I'm well aware of that fact). When my son Dean saw this finished page, he commented about the 3 wood people, "Are those supposed to be us, Mommy? Because that lady has on a dress and you don't ever wear dresses". Nice.

It's hard to see it in the photo, but I used white Woodgrain Cardstock (from Studio Calico) with my Silhouette Cameo to cut the image of Maui. I added a little geotag sticker over the approximate location where we live. Simple and fun way to document your current residence. Pretty much all of the states are available as cut files in the Silhouette store. I purchased the state of Hawaii and then just deleted all of the other islands and sized Maui so it would just about fill a 4x6 space. Initially I thought about placing a small heart sticker over our town, but decided to go with the geotag instead. I still think the heart would have been cute too though.

And that's it for my 2013 Cover Page. What do you think? So glad to have it done and out of the way. Last year I found the cover pages to be the hardest things to do for some reason.

Project Life 2013, Week 1

So excited to be sharing Week 1 of Project Life 2013!! I don't have all of my supplies that I plan to be using as my "go to" items this year just yet, but I didn't want to fall behind before I even started. I was never more than 2 weeks behind in all of 2012 and I plan to stay just as caught up in 2013. I feel that staying caught up, for me anyway, was the key to my success with Project Life. I think without any DT commitments this year, it should be even easier.

I haven't decided on an album yet and need to do that soon. Any advice? I am waiting to decide until after CHA - hoping something new will be released that will be perfect. I used the Becky Higgins Black Signature Binder for 2012, but honestly I was slightly disappointed with the quality of the signature binders. Not in the actual binder craftsmanship necessarily, but in the way the black color seems to already be looking really worn, like it's rubbing off. And this is the case with all 3 of my binders, which were purchased at different times of the year. So I'm a little hesitant to go with one of the Project Life brand binders again, unless it's possibly a different manufacturer (like American Crafts maybe? Anyone out there have experience with American Crafts binders?). I do like the We R Memory Keepers binders, but I think I want something other than black, but I just don't know what. I know, indecisive much?

Anyway, I didn't use just one kit last year and I doubt that I stick with any one kit this year. But I will be ordering the Seafoam Edition when it comes out -hopefully next week. (I already have the digi version of it and used it this week, but I'd like to have the physical product as well). I also subscribed to the Studio Calico PL kit and am hoping it is worth the $$. I'm already a SC scrapbook kit subscriber and use a lot of those goodies in my PL spreads each week. I will have to decide if it's worth it to continue subscribing to both kits, which will be expensive. On the other hand, I don't really plan on doing much stamping / card-making this year, so that should cut down on my craft spending some. I'm hoping it balances out in the end. I'd really hate to have to sit down and figure out exactly how much money I spend on this hobby! So, Seafoam kit + Studio Calico kit(s) + my stash. I use a lot of printed digi goodies, so I guess technically that makes me a hybrid Project Lifer. I also like to use digital stamps and brushes. I have a Silhouette Cameo that I'm extremely unfamiliar with and definitely have not got my money's worth out of - I'm also hoping that changes this year.

So, here's a look at 2013 Week 1, which covers Jan 1-5:

Right now, my plan for my "Anchor" card (top left) is to use my Silhouette to cut out a "week" and number to identify which week we're on and then somewhere use my date stamp to show the dates. I may or may not include a 3x4 calendar card if I need the filler. So anyway, It will look similar to this, with the colors and placement varying week to week. Some weeks if I have lots of photos, I may include small instagrams on this card as well. Or I may journal on it and use it as a sort of "Week in Review". We'll see. I used a fun free end-of-the-year card from Cathy Zielske in one pocket and stamped the "awesome" from my fave Happy Days Verve stamp set. I love the Twenty13 Calendar Card by Robyn Meierotto. You'll see me using the 365 Days Photo Overlays by Ali Edwards very, very often. (these are available for the whole year, which is how I purchased them, or in individual months).

 

On the right side I used more Studio Calico digital printables and a printable from Cathy Zielske's Move More, Eat Well class that I signed up for (not because I need to lose weight, before anyone thinks I have some weird eating disorder. I know I don't need to lose weight. But I do need to eat healthier and get more exercise than I do and I have absolutely ZERO motivation to do so. Hoping a class will hold me accountable). I also used Cathy Zielske's Journal Cards 01 for my Week in Review. I use this quite a bit too. Not every week, but almost.

And that's it for Week 1! So a little different approach with blogging about it this time. I focused more on the products I used and less on the photos, which I think you can see for yourself. I'm not sure if I'll continue posting product links or not. It's a lot of work and I'm still not sure how many people are really reading these posts. This is a big change for my blog and I might be losing my readership, based on the lack of comments, LOL. I'm OK with that really. But if you are reading this and you have an opinion one way or the other about product links - let me know! :-)

Project Life 2012 Weeks 50, 51, and 52

Well, here are the final 3 Project Life spreads from my 2012 albums!! I put the finishing touches on my 2013 Week 1 layout this afternoon, so I'll be back tomorrow morning to share that - but these 3 layouts were some of my favorites of 2012, so I really wanted to share them first. So, long post ahead... Here's a look at Week 50:

On the left side of the page I used a variety of papers from both new and old Studio Calico kits, some Elle's Studios labels, and a Cathy Zielske digi file to mark the number of years Joel and I had been married (we celebrated our 7th anniversary on Dec 9th, so it seemed appropriate to include a wedding photo. It might be hard to see in the picture, but there's a little label on the wedding photo that says "12/9/05" and another little label on the 7 years card that says "12/9/12").

On the right side of the page I included a scaled-down (shrunk from 5x7 to 4x6) version of the front of our Christmas Card in the top left pocket. Also, just a quick note that this was the week of the Sandy Hook school shooting. I didn't want to dwell too much on it in my Project Life album, even though it weighed heavily on my mind and in my heart. The thing is, Dean had just turned 6 yrs old, is in 1st grade - the same age as those young children who were killed. It hit so close to home for me, as I'm sure it did for many of you. I can't even begin to imagine what the families of those children are going through. Joel and I decided not to discuss the event with Dean at this time. Every family had to make the best decision for themselves about this issue and this was the decision we made. The day of the shooting was the last day of school before Winter Break here in Hawaii. Dean is a very sensitive little boy and we felt that at this tender age, there was just no sense in trying to explain the unexplainable to him. We didn't feel it was something that he could fully understand and we didn't want him to be afraid to go to school. We kept the TV off for most of the following weekend and heavily filtered the radio and just stuck close to home. We knew there was a chance he'd overhear something and we were prepared to address the issue if it came up, but were hoping it wouldn't. And so far it hasn't. We did ask him about various drills they have at school and if he knows what to do in case of various emergencies (fire, earthquake, tsunami, and yes - lockdown). We were relieved to hear him tell us exactly what to do in each of those situations and he seemed very well prepared. He already knew what each of those emergencies were and what his school's protocol is (and he didn't seem to think it was weird that we wanted to talk about this either). So anyway...this is why I didn't dwell on the topic in Project Life. I included a poignant quote from Mr. Rogers courtesy of Cathy Zielske (freebie on her blog) in the bottom left pocket, and did a little journaling on the back of that card to serve as a future reminder of my feelings about the day - but hidden from sensitive young eyes for now.

And now moving on to Week 51. The whole week, including an extra insert that holds Dean's Letter to Santa, which was pretty funny (I had to tell him that I made a copy to send to Santa and kept the original just in case it got lost in the mail).

On the left side of Week 51, I included the back side of our Christmas Card in the top right pocket. Joel's Mom and Stepdad (Grandma Jo and Grandpa CR) got here this week, and I also included a Christmas drawing Dean did (one of my very favorite things to add to Project Life).

And the right side of Week 51. A trip to the Garden of Eden on the East side of Maui, dipping pretzels (my personal favorite holiday treat), new house shoes for me, and Book Club, as well as a  "Currently" journal card to just capture what life looks like during the holiday season.

And finally...Week 52 - the LAST WEEK OF 2012!!! I did include an insert this week, but here's a look at the spread with the insert removed (the front and back of the insert can be seen at the end of the post)

 

This was the week of Christmas. Lots going on. Kiwi Crate non-gingerbread-house decorating, Cookies for Santa, and our traditional Christmas Eve at the beach.

The front of the insert covered Christmas Eve at my Mom's (Tutu's) house in the evening. Family friend Jayci was there too and we walked down to the beach for sunset before opening gifts. Lots of journaling this week. Some typed directly onto digi journaling cards before printing, some handwritten. I really don't like my handwriting AT ALL, but I try to make a point to include it every week. You know you can always recognize your Mom's handwriting instantly, and I feel very strongly that having my handwriting in these albums - no matter how much I may dislike the way it looks - will make them that much more special in the future for Dean and future generations.

The back of the extra insert with a favorite picture of Dean and my Mom in front of her "fire" DVD - so funny! She insists on playing this DVD every Christmas Eve the whole evening for "ambiance", even though it's 80 degrees outside! And everyone swears that "fire" makes it unbearably hot in there, but she refuses to turn the TV off! Says it wouldn't be Christmas without a "fire" on the TV!!! ha!

And the right side of the layout with our hilarious Christmas PJ photo that is intended to poke fun of those perfect Hanna Anderson catalog families that are so super annoying...Joel loved it (ha!). Some journaling about Christmas morning and a photo of our Christmas afternoon walk on the beach. Then a couple of photos from later in the week and it was DONE!

So that's it. Project Life 2012 is complete. I have to say that this has by far been the most rewarding project I have EVER done. I started out the year planning to fill an album and ended up needing 3 albums by the time it was all said and done. (yes, THREE). I was a little disappointed about that - I'm planning to do Project Life forever and the thought of 30+ years of 3 albums per year makes me a little nauseous. Where in the world will I put all of those albums?? But I'm sure as Dean gets older, I'll eventually have less extra "stuff" to add to them. I definitely could have made my albums less bulky this year by not using any thickers, but I really liked the way they look and so will probably continue that, although I do have a different plan for my "Week of" card each week that will be less roomy. I also added lots of inserts in the form of Dean's artwork and various pieces of schoolwork that I wanted to keep. I feel like I was pretty selective about what I kept. On average, there's probably an extra insert about every 2-3 weeks. And at some point I may figure out a different system for storing these items, but for now I really like having them chronologically in these albums in the same place as the photos of him at the time in his life when he created those pieces of memorabilia. So for now, it looks like 3 albums per year is what it will be. We'll see if I can trim it down to 2 next year, but I seriously doubt it. I'm OK with that. Project Life is what you make it, whatever works for YOU and this is what works for ME and I LOVE it. So who else is doing Project Life in 2013? Are you blogging it? If so, please let me know and leave me a link to your blog. I'd love to check it out and add you to my reader!!

Project Life 2012 Weeks 48 & 49

Well hi there and Happy (belated) New Year! I'm happy to say that I've already got a good start on my 2013 Project Life Album and am hoping to share my first week with you in the next few days. But in the meantime, I thought I'd first share a few of the final weeks of my 2012 Album, starting with Weeks 48 & 49.

First up, Week 48, which covered November 25 to December 1. This was the week we went on a little mini vacation to Oahu over a long weekend to celebrate Dean's 6th birthday (which was the following week) and my Mom's birthday. I already mentioned that I don't do a Photo-a-Day approach with Project Life and my Week 48 spread only covered our 4-day trip to Oahu. I didn't take very many photos before our trip and the trip was such a major part of our week and I had too many great photos not to use them all! That's the great thing about Project Life, I just make it work for me each week. So anyway, here's the whole week:

 

On the left side of the page I included a piece of a small paper bag from the gift shop at the resort. We stayed at Disney's new Aulani Resort & Spa on Oahu and it was AWESOME. We arrived Thursday morning and stayed through Sunday afternoon and had a great time. We didn't even rent a car and just stayed at the resort the entire time (when you already live in Hawaii, you don't feel the need to do all the "tourist" things and staycations are more about the resort and relaxing and playing in the pools anyway!).  We had an amazing ocean-view 1-bedroom villa that was directly above all the pools (see 2nd 3x4 photo from the left for a photo of the view from our lanai). We had fun playing in the pools, going down the slides, Dean snorkled in Rainbow Reef, and even Tutu couldn't resist all the slide fun!! I used lots of Studio Calico goodies from a couple of recent kits on this layout as well as some of their digi printables.

On the right side, I couldn't resist adding a Koa Wood postcard I picked up in the giftshop that was too cute! And more fun pictures from the weekend. A couple of the highlights from the trip were Dean losing his first tooth while we were there. Also, be sure to notice the picture of Dean with Minnie Mouse...Dean is NOT a fan of costumes or people dressed up as characters. When we went to Disneyland in May, he wanted absolutely NOTHING to do with the characters (honestly, I was kind of OK with this, I've never understand waiting in *that* particular line and was happy to avoid that). Aulani is much less over-the-top "Disney-ish" - very tastefully Hawaiiana, but you do see some of the main Disney characters walking around in Aloha wear every now and then. Dean once again was not impressed. However, at breakfast Minnie kept flirting with him and he finally caved and let her give him a hug! He was SO HESITANT, but overcame his fear / anxiety / whatever it is that creeps him out about those characters and even let me snap this photo! Proud Mom Moment right there!

So that was it for Week 48. Moving on to Week 49...December 2nd to 8th. This was the week of Dean's birthday and most of the layout covers various celebrating.

On the left side of the page there's a group photo of us as we get ready to leave Aulani on Sunday afternoon (My PL weeks cover Sunday through Saturday. I'm OK with splitting up my weekend. If an event covers the whole weekend, I just decide which week I want to cover it in and then go with it. And sometimes, like this week, I'll let it spill over into the following week. I'm OK with that. But I like my weeks to start on Sunday - Sunday is the day we prepare for the work / school week, and it just feels like where things should start). I also photographed my first Peppermint Hot Chocolate from Starbucks of the season. And there's a little bit about the small celebration we had at school for Dean by way of 2 instagrams, including a shot of the goodie bags I made for all of his classmates.

And on the right side, more birthday fun - we didn't have a real party for Dean. The last few years we've given him the choice between a party with a bunch of friends or a weekend staycation at a fancy resort and he chose the resort (bonus for him that we, along with Tutu, decided to splurge and go to Oahu this year). It probably ends up being only slightly more expensive than a party once things are all said and done, but this way there's no stress of planning a party in between Thanksgiving and Christmas - and Joel & I actually get to relax and enjoy ourselves too! So on his actual birthday (Dec 6th), he wanted to go to dinner at Genki Sushi, then we just had cake at home with the 3 of us. There are also photos from his school's Winterfest event (SO FUN!) and our trip to see our local Maui Academy of Performing Art's production of the Nutcracker.

And that wraps up Weeks 48 and 49. I'll probably go ahead and share the last week or 2 of 2012 before I share Week 1 of 2013. I'm so excited to be starting this project again!!