As you can tell from the title, I veered away from my weekly format for the two spreads I’m sharing today. It all started with a few photos of the boys. I liked the whole series so much and I knew I couldn’t pick just one or two to include in a weekly spread. So I decided to dedicate a whole spread to just those photos and I knew I wanted to go big with one. I had the spread pretty well planned out, and then the new Heidi Swapp line of Project Life was announced…
I sheepishly will admit to visiting Michaels 5 times in 4 days, eager to get my hands on this amazing line. I don’t usually have to run out immediately and buy something but I already had the photos printed, ready to go, and I was super excited to “scrap” them!
I knew I’d pick up a couple of the value packs, but I wasn’t sure what to think about the core kits until I saw them in person. Both are beautiful, but I ended up only purchasing the Favorite Things Core kit since the colors are bolder than the Dreamy Edition. And while there is plenty of pink (a color I don’t tend to use a lot of), there’s a ton of blue, green, & black – my favorites for Project Life!
Originally, my plan was to experiment with a 12×12 layout using the large 8×12 photo of the boys I had printed. But with a new Project Life kit in hand, I decided to stick to pocket pages. I could have cut up the photo and stuck them into several pockets, but I absolutely wasn’t going to settle on cutting through Ephram’s face. So instead I made my own custom design with the help of the sewing machine.
Of course, whenever I change it up from using the Design A pocket page, I know there will be a challenge awaiting me with the following spread. So before finalizing the first spread, I started working on the next page to make sure I could find another 8×12 photo to print big. Luckily that July self portrait worked perfectly.
Sewing tip: Starting with a 12×12 page protector, I first sewed from the bottom up to create the bottom 3 pockets. Then I filled these pockets with cards for both sides before sewing across the top of them, to create the large top 8×12 pocket.
On this second spread, I continued with the Heidi Swapp line, but also used a card from Rachel of Big City Quiet‘s new shop. Some great, minimalistic designs over there worth checking out, but the coffee/tea set is my very favorite.
What kits are you loving right now? Did you snag any of the new Heidi Swapp stuff or are you holding out? Do you notice yourself using certain colors more than others?
Follow my 2014 album progress here and see the cover page for this album here. Linked up at the Mom Creative.
Supplies Used: Project Life Heidi Swapp Favorite Things , Studio Calico monthly kit embellishments, Big City Quiet Wake Set, Project Life Journaling Pens, Design A Pocket Pages, 12×12 Pocket Pages, and Becky Higgins Corner Rounder.
