my memory file album adventure: here & now.

welcome to week 5 of the heidi swapp memory file album adventure.  welcome to my piece: the here and now.  i am SO excited to be highlighting this week's journey and it really was so much fun to document, capture and celebrate my here and now through creating art, storytelling and of course...scrapbooking!

the entire breakdown of how i created these pages is today's featured post on heidi swapp's blog so be sure to take a look.  here i will share some more photos showcasing my pages as well as a bit more of the story behind why i created the pages as i did and why i chose to use some of the ideas i had.

when you see the initial blank album, this beautiful "here and now" font actually comes as a die cut tag in the album.  however, i chose to modify it to further personalize what i wanted to do so i actually tore it out of the book and chose to use it in two different ways.  one was to use it as a template to create the same shape with different papers to use elsewhere in the album, the second was to use it as an interactive element by creating this flap.  i think that that is one of the great features about this amazing album.  it has SO many different pieces, pages, designs etc. that just because it comes to you "that way" does not mean you have to use it "that way".  make it your own! add things, take away...change it up! that is always SO much part of the FUN!

a big part of "my now" is using instagram. to say i LOVE this app would be a HUGE understatement.  it honestly has become such a part of my life, my documenting and my scrapbooking.  i chose instagram to take a "#selfie" to show not only my love for this photo app right now, but also me. in this moment. right here, right now.

the next page illustrates how i had used the original here and now pennant to create this other pennant using the heidi swapp color pop collection.  i LOVE this paper and adore how i could use an already made die cut in the album to create another that i could use elsewhere.  again, i was able to create some interactivity and MORE room to hold photos, notes, and journaling.  really...anything you could want to make it fit the exact project you are creating.  just another reason why this album is AMAZING!

just another glimpse into the layers i was able to add on this one single page.

my life list.  31 @ 31.  the key is to making this list reflective of your life, right here right now.  lists and the concept of "making lists" is SO hot right now.  this trend incorporated perfectly into not only my life right now, but also this album so i just had to include one!  i just celebrated my 31st birthday so this is what i wanted to focus on.  but there are SO many options! top 5, top 10, currently....the key here is to just make it reflective of where you are mentally in your life.  indulge in YOUR present!

for my next page, i decided to again modify the original.  instead of leaving the original page as is, i decided to create a pocket/envelope.  all i did was simply fold the paper in half, add an envelope into the fold allowing the envelope flap to hang over.  i adhered it, added some patterned paper and voila! an envelope/pocket!  

the idea behind this page is that i wanted to create a safe place to be able to really share one's hopes and to privately "put it out there".  i believe in the power of putting things out into the universe and in doing so they are energized to come back to you.  writing down ones intentions, hopes etc. gives them power and that is what i wanted to do here.  you can keep this as an ongoing place where you can write out your hopes as  you go and as they come, or you can choose to write out a bunch at once seal the envelope when finished, date it and then in a certain length of time choose to come back and revisit them.  sort of like a "time-capsule" idea.  how neat would it be to re-read these after a certain length of time has passed and compare your "then here and now" with your "now here and now". kinda cool i think.

i simply cut strips of papers to write these out and attached them with a paper clip.

here are just a few (of my many) hopes i have for my life.

the next page is where i chose to highlight a song that i currently LOVE and adore. everything from the words, to the meaning....to the fact that a contestant on american idol sang it recently and KILLED it...just made me fall in love with it even more.  so it was perfect to include...as it is #1 on my playlist right now....and so is american idol.  one of my favourite shows that i am glued to watching!

i created this cute little pocket page by transforming what is meant to be used as a 4 x 6 photo sleeve into a place to capture little bits and pieces that are reflective of thoughts, ideas and behaviours that i am implementing in my life right now or that are important to me.  i simply sewed the opening with my sewing machine after adding various bits. of course, i just had to add the sequin sparkles. very me right now ALWAYS! ;)

this last page i kept simple.  i just added a quote that i LOVE along with a photo and some journaling about my love for creating art.  this prompt and page could mean SO many things to anyone's here and now but i chose to document my passion for art.

please remember that for the FULL breakdown on how i created this project and to learn about the specific products etc. it is featured over on heidi's blog.  there is TONS more to check out, read up on and be inspired with. make sure to see what all of the other amazing ladies have done as well. if you have not been able to get your hands on an album yet, or have not been able to start...NO worries! the posts will always be there waiting for you whenever you are able.  if you do not have this particular album, still play along! the prompts and ideas are fabulous and no matter what journal you use, the important piece is to have fun and create and just enjoy.

i hope that i have inspired you to celebrate a little bit of your "here and now".  can't wait to see what you create on instagram! make sure to tag your projects #hsmemoryfileadventure

XOXO

spring break mini.

this spring i was SO blessed and fortunate to spend some quality time with my family in the beautiful sunshine of california.  my mom's dream was to always take us to disneyland, and this year it happened. we all took 5 days off and flew to california where we visited disneyland, universal studios, newport beach and huntington beach.  it was such a fabulous holiday. SO busy, but SO good. and SO fun. i seriously think disneyland is much funner for adults than kids! ha! at least we thought so and had the best time acting like little kids. it was hilarious!

i came back with so many amazing memories and photos, especially of our day spent at huntington beach.  i wanted to create a little mini book of just those photos and memories since that was one of our most favourite days.  for this particular project i really combined collections. i used heidi swapp, crate paper, maggie holmes, pink paislee and some amy tangerine.  bits and pieces of each and although this album is still a bit of a work in progress (as i still have journaling to complete, as well as add a few more photos) i still wanted to share it because i thought it turned out SO cute.  i love looking through it all and reliving the memories. for me that has to be one of the best parts about scrapbooking. the reliving and remembering.

i created the mini album using the mini heidi swapp color pop memory files.  i bound this album with my bind-it-all machine so i trimmed the file apart.  i then worked on building the cover.  i took a piece of mint green striped paper from the sugar chic paper pack that is available at michaels.  i cute a large pennant out of that paper and placed it atop the memory file cover.  i then added a definition sticker, pink paislee luxe glitter alphas (LOVE these) and the die cut camera from the maggie holmes collection.  i then added some color pop banner delights underneath the camera and a clear pop 'amazing' tab to the side. honestly you have to see this in real life...the layers are SO fun!  i then took some mint green acrylic paint and outlined the edges lightly. i love how it just adds some bold contrast!

underneath that flap i have a photo of us jumping on the beach acting silly (but of course this turns out to be one of my favourite photos!!). i added a crate paper photo overlay from the DIY shop collection overtop. i adore these!  i also added some heidi swapp sentiment stickers, a color magic star misted with mint green colorshine.  i added some bits of acrylic paint and some stitching.

 the remainder of the album is a collection of pages, transparencies, photos and even a few postcards that i purchased while walking around huntington that day.  i created this album from scratch cutting various papers and patterns and just mixing them together. i love when i really have no plan in mind. i just create what i feel and this is what evolved.

i fell in love with this postcard.

i kept the inside pages fairly simple.  some have more detail than others.  i always love the journaling.  it is SO easy to forget the little details and moments that make memories like these special so i always want to make sure and note down the things, thoughts and feelings i had at that time.  sometimes it is hard to remember, but often the photos evoke the feelings back so strongly when you look back on them.  i remember being at this beach and thinking that it was exactly how i imagined a california beach to be.  it was really cool.

again, more glitter pink paislee luxe alphas. these are AMAZING.

i love this photo.  truly what i envisioned california to be.  huge sidewalks lined with palm trees.  busy streets to the right, and the pacific on the left.  SO beautiful.

one of my bucket list moments was to have my photo taken with everyone under a beautiful rustic pier. and we made it happen.  i ADORE these photos.  there is just something magical about a pier. i love them!

i still have more journaling and details to add into this mini, but more often than not my albums and books are always a work in progress. i love to add bits and pieces here and there as i remember them.  for now i am just happy that i have my favourite photos together in one place. the rest will come.

happy = colour block & colour pop.

i had SO much fun with this challenge.  combining the hot fashion trend of "color blocking" with my love for scrapbooking...could it get any better? put on top of that photographs of some of the most amazing memories i was able to share just a little over a week ago with my family in disneyland? totally awesome!

i share the breakdown of this layout and how i created it over on heidi swapp's blog today! be sure to check it out. for this layout, i wanted to create a really fun and interactive scrapbook page that not only housed many of my favourite photos, but also plenty of room for journaling, fun embellishments and just random details.

each section or "page" tells a different story and celebrates a memory that i really wanted to record.  i love the mix of my regular photographs taken with my camera and my instagrams.  they are SO fun and i just love how with my instagrams especially they really take me back to the moment because they are most often just candid photos that i just happen to snap with my phone in hand.  

this photo below is one of my favourites and probably one of the only group photos we got on the entire trip! i am SO thankful that we took just 2 precious minutes of our time to ask someone to quickly snap this photo. it was our first day touring disneyland and we had SO much fun.

 the final photo on the layout is of the 4 of us. i am so blessed to have experienced such an amazing trip with my parents and brother and that it was my mom's dream to bring us to disneyland and experience california.

i loved using the brand new heidi swapp color pop, serendipity and clear pop collections to assemble this layout. the colours and patterns were perfect. be sure to check out heidi's blog today to see just where i found the inspiration for this layout as well as the breakdown on how i created it.

 i hope you are feeling inspired, happy and ready to make pretty stuff! thanks for stopping by!

version: she.

so how many of you incredible scrappers have been able to get your pretty little hands on the Heidi Swapp Sugar Chic paper pack that is now available at Michaels? is it NOT amazing!?! seriously i cannot get over the pages and pages of incredible patterns, colours and details that make up this fabulous collection! truly amazing eye candy!

i was so ecstatic to learn that for one of this month's assignments, i was able to use this collection to create a mini album (which i LOVE) specifically for girls.  yesterday my beautiful friend and AMAZINGLY talented team member Maggie used her album to create a boy mini album ALSO using Sugar Chic!  i know what you are thinking....how can one create a boy project from a collection of papers full of pink? trust me...just head on over and see what she did. your jaw will drop!  maggie and i were both given the exact same materials list to use which demonstrates just how universal the collection really is!  our challenge was to use one of the amazing Heidi Swapp Wood albums and transform it into a personalized custom made scrapbook!  you can see in the picture below that from a plain white bare chipboard album was born a scrapbook FULL of colour, pattern, detail and beautiful photographs...specifically for girls!

you can read all about my project and the juicy details today on Heidi's blog.  here i will just share with you a look inside of the pages so you can see just how much fun i had layering all the bits and pieces together.

my "twist" on the album was to use the cover as an actual page and base.  i added pages that i trimmed in various sizes on top creating a cascading layered effect.  i love the colors, the peek-a-boos of patterns that the fact that it is completely interactive!

here are the inside pages where i show off photos of my cousin's GORGEOUS girls.  seriously...do they not just melt your heart? i love these girls with my complete heart and soul.

i hope you will pop over to my featured post on heidi's blog today to learn even more ways to use your sugar chic paper packs, color shine, and wood album to create one just like this...or like maggie's. or better yet one that truly reflects YOU.  the freedom to make these types of projects completely your own is truly one of the best features.  i promise you will have SO much fun and will become addicted to these wonderful little mini wooden albums.  SO many possibilities to make pretty stuff!

sweet serendipity!

sweet oh sweet serendipity!

how i love thee...let me count the ways!

besides it being march, and with spring just around the corner...nothing is making me more excited or happier than the release of this gorgeous new paper collection from heidi swapp! the colour palette just makes me giddy inside! SO many great patterns, colours and details. truly a perfect collection for just about any and every memory that is waiting and wanting to be scrapped!

i used the beautiful collection, along with some other new pieces from the heidi swapp clear pop and colour pop releases (available in stores March 2013) to create this 2 page 12 x 12 layout.  all of the details on the how, what, why, where can be found on today's feature post over at www.heidiswapp.com

although this line is SO extremely versatile, i used it to celebrate and commemorate some of my most cherished beach memories from late in 2012.  looking at these papers made me think of sunshine, warm weather, fun, smiles and relaxation...so i thought using some beach photos would be perfect.

i created some 3 x 4 cards (which as anyone and everyone knows is SO hot right now) and made each one with it's own little personality.  i layered some of the gorgeous clear pop tabs and banner delights, used a clear pop printed pocket for some tucked away journaling and even personalized a color pop window frame.  i also used my silhouette cameo to cut out the words "relax" and "vacation" from the heidi swapp digital summer brush collection.

the second half of my layout showcases some more of my favourite instagram memories.  i LOVE the layered clear pop tag over the photo. that one has to be my absolute FAV. i also adore the strip of banners I cut out and layered.  they are just SO cute and really showcase all of the different patterns of the serendipity collection...and just how well they coordinate together. i love it!

i even created a little mini 3 x 4 sized journaling book to hold more notes, memories and photos.  i created this simply by trimming my paper to 4 x 6, folding in half and sewing along the crease.  such a simple way to create a mini notebook to coordinate with any project, page, or album!

please make sure to stop by heidi swapp's blog for the FULL breakdown of this project.  i hope that this has left you feeling ready for warm weather and eager to document and/or create some future memories so that you can play with this amazing and incredible collection too! i promise you will LOVE it!