Some might think about this type of scrapbooking and believe it is just nuts. And sometimes, I wonder about my own sanity when I decide to do things like this. Then I realize that I really do like miniscrapbooks. I like the feeling of "done" that I get with them. I have other books that are for my "occasional" pages, but these books let me focus on one snapshot (pardon the pun) of my life and capture it in detail.
But JoLynn, you may be thinking, it's almost the end of June and the week you "documented" was at the beginning of May. Yes, I know. Many, many things (not all bad) got in the way of my putting my album together. Today, I decided it was time to leap. I thought I would take a moment for anyone who is hesitant of this process to see what I used to make it all come together. NOTE: It is NOT together yet. I am sharing process tonight. I am much more confident in the "coming together" part now that I have a skeleton of what I want to happen.
First, I bought several items from Ali Edwards. Required? No. Do they make things easier? Hell, yes.
What did I buy?
- The Week in the Life 2016 Kit and Stories album (album is not available; kit included various page protectors)
- The Week in the Life 2016 Digital Bundle (has all images, including the stamps)
- Days of the Week Chipboard Dividers (they were free with the kit at the time)
- Chipboard Gold Shapes (I really liked them; not sure how/if I will incorporate them yet)
- 3x8 Layered Templates (because I tried to print on the real deal last time and it was an epic fail)
Will I use all of this stuff? Probably not, but you just never know what you will want to toy with in other albums.
Ali's video of her completed album will give you a great idea of where I am getting layout inspiration. Although we won't be completely "matchy-matchy," you will see many similarities. I also belong to the Week in the Life Facebook group where support and ideas abound.
During Documentation Week, my phone was my bestie. I used the Notes app to job my daily goings-on. I took pictures with my phone (although I think I also have some on my Nikon...gotta check that out). I also used the Collect app to jot small ideas of what was happening with the photos I snapped. Notice it shows how many shots you have for the days listed,
Today, I set up my "base pages" while revisiting my pictures and stories.
I cut the dividers, as Ali did. My main reason is that they did not turn very smoothly, so when I saw she had cut them, I was all over it.
I used stamps from a variety of sets that I had for the backs of the tabs, as Ali had done in hers. For example, this stamp (the Beginning) is from her "Read" Stamp Kit. I also attached the 3 x 4 card from the kit to the back of each divider, as she had shown. I used my Crop a Dile to repunch the holes.
As shown by Ali, I used her adhesive chipboard circles in the lower right of a 4 x 4 pocket page. On the back, I added some patterned paper just small enough that the adhesive from the chipboard piece could hold them in place. I tried to choose paper that "went" with the day, if applicable.
One of the reasons I bought the kit were these gold-foiled day-of-the-week cards. On one side, they have the day in Ali's writing...
...on the other, it says "Story of Today," I plan to include journaling for the day in that space.
I have this set up ready for each day. I also stamped this on the front inside cover:
I want to be sure I write a little note about this album and/or this time in my life.
What's next?
- Title page (probably a 6 x 8 of the lilacs at my school)
- Get pics in
- Decide on a daily meme (I did that last album and I loved it...I dig memes)
I will probably go day-by-day, completely finishing a day before going on to the next. It's ready to receive, though, and that is huge. Considering I was motivationless yesterday, I am pretty excited to be at this point! Stay tuned!
