Travel Journal | Part II

Now that I have my book assembled, it's time to figure out what supplies I'm going to bring with me. Things are going to be kept to a minimum so no embellishments and Thickers will be making the trip. I want everything to fit in this beautiful Supplies canvas bag that was a gift from my dear friend Jamaica. It's the perfect size and keeps me from trying to bring more than I need which is a huge fault of mine.

So what supplies made the cut? Here's what I consider to be most important in my creative documenting.

-roller date stamp + ink pad -a few pretty paper clips -brush pen -waterbrush -Neocolor water crayons. (some of these were already broken in half during use so I just snapped the remaining ones to fit into the plastic box) -1 roll of skinny graph washi -tiny tape roller (found at Micheals in the $1 bin) -pencil + pencil sharpener -Frixion pen (a pen that erases completely. what is the this magic?) -Studio Calico vellum letter stickers.(these are nice and thin and fit nicely in the bag because you never know when you're going to need to spell out a word using letter stickers) -a small envelope of flat paper ephemera like tickets and tags. -Fuji Instax 150 (Jamaica let me borrow hers. At this point, I wasn't sure if I wanted to invest in one since I already own a Polaroid mini but when she told me you could turn the flash off, that peaked my interest. Now that I've tested it out at home, I know I've got to have one for myself.)

I also plan to purchase a few supplies during our stay in the PNW as well. I've got a few places mapped out on Googlemaps like Moorea Seal in Seattle (there's a tape there that I need) and Ecru in Portland. Thinking about shopping in these places makes me soooo giddy. Not the clothes or shoes but PAPER and fun things that will fit into a plastic pocket. :)  How many of you can feel me on that?

Any other places I should hit for paper and cool things in?

xot

Making | Travel Journal part 1

Every time I return from a trip, I have great intentions of creating a super mini dedicated to said trip. Never happens. I have several boxes full of photos and travel ephemera dating back to the late 90's. Maybe one day I'll get to those.

I'm going to switch things up a bit and document while on my trip. I don't plan on spending hours working in this book while I'm away. I want this to be a quick and simple process...something I can work on with the downtime we'll have which will be a fair amount since my traveling companion is an almost 4 year old.

I'd also like to note that before assembly, I searched Pinterest for travel journal ideas. Lot's out there but Kelly Purkey's travel binder really sparked this idea of creating on the road.

Here's the construction of the book.

1. envelopes and pockets are essential since there will be lot's of ephemera and found objects. Collecting is the best part of traveling!

2. fun post its and tags.  I'll use these as journaling spots.

3. overlays. because why not?

4. hole puncher + d rings. I thrifted the hole puncher the day after I read KP's travel binder post. The thrifting/crafting gods were on my side that day.

5. cover pages. both are LLP screen prints that were cut down to fit. I thought about making the cover slightly larger to hide the index tabs but I liked having them be even with the pages which measure 4x6.

6. index tabs. these were part of the most recent LLP paper pack. I simply typed our destinations on the tabs. Glad I kept a few for myself. :)

7. watercolor paper. I plan on bringing a waterbrush and Neocolor water crayons with me just for fun.

8. inside pages. I knew that I wanted to use up some of the excess 4x6 Project Life cards from past Studio Calico kits in this book. I went through my stash and picked patterns and colors that fit the mood of our destinations. I plan on adhering Instax photos and journaling on these cards.

I'm still adding in things and finishing it up and trying to find some type of packet/bag/box to hold the journal and the few supplies I plan on bringing. That will be part of 2!

How do you go about documenting your travels? Do you take this approach of documenting on the road or do you bust out all your findings once you're home?

xot

the unicorn paper pack

The LLP paper pack has become a sort of mythical creature.

I wrote back to a few of those who emailed stating I was still waiting on a few items to arrive. I wish I had more local resources up here so that I wouldn't have to wait for shipping, etc. But, it'll come together, just a little slower than anticipated. The pack will still ship to those who purchase the presale on August 1st along with an extra printed piece that will only go to those who do purchase the presale.

So why purchase the presale if there's hardly anything to preview? Well, that's up to you as the buyer. Great sales tactic on my part, eh? The presale was only going to be up through the weekend but I've had to change my strategy a bit. Rather than pushing back on the presale and the shipping date, I'm going to show a preivew of the papers and photos that will be in the kit. I will show more previews during the week as things come in.

Presale will end on July 20th.

There will be 10 pieces in the pack, sizes ranging from 5x7, 4x6 and smaller. There will be screen printed patterns and quotes on vintage paper and professionally printed photographs along with a hand marbled dipped card.

This is something I'm making for those who are looking to add special handmade pieces to their everyday paper crafting and for those who are looking for affordable artwork for their walls.

Presale is up in the shop along with a new poster! New watercolor prints will be in the shop later this week.

Happy Sunday! Tina

Make it Work | little paper banners

As a Handbook scrapbooker, I find that I don't fully utilize my Project Life cards that come with each month's Studio Calico kit. The reason being is that I simply don't have the space in my book. So they get filed away until I purge a few months later and rediscover a card I had loved only to file it back away for that "perfect pocket". You know what I'm talking about.

The solution? Little paper banners! These are the miniature version I did last year. Super easy and a fun little paper craft to try.

You only need a few supplies to complete this project.

a ruler (preferably a centering ruler) a cutting mat (used as a guide) scissors (or xacto blade) twine pencil bone folder Studio Calico Project Life cards (I used the cards from the Penny Arcade kit and add ons) misc embellishments (labels, rubber stamps, chipboard)

 

1. Line up your card on the cutting mat. Find the center point on the bottom of the card and mark it lightly with a pencil. 2. Create the first angle by measuring a few inches up the side from your center point. This can vary depending on the card design. 3. Do the same on the opposite side of the card. 4. Cut! ***you can skip the pencil and just use an xacto knife if you'd like.

5. using a bone folder, mark a straight line across the top part of the card. 6. fold and crease. 7. cut your twine and place under the fold. 8. knot and cut off excess twine.

9. sew across just underneath the twine making sure you hold the knotted part taught. 10. enjoy.

Here's another variation....

It was fun making a batch of these! I can see at least a dozen more things that can be done with them. I chose to keep it simple and used the Project Life cards that had inspiration quotes. For the patterned cards, I did a little stamping and embellishing with some chipboard pieces. I plan to use a few of these in place of greeting cards. How fun would it be to gift a friend with some good vibes to hang on their walls?

Hope you were inspired today to do something different with those special PL cards you've been holding onto. Tina

***a quick note. please excuse the not so great photography. my big girl camera is currently on the fritz. :(

Winner

Thanks for being so patient with me! I hate doing this...choosing just one so I decided to choose 2! DOREEN OBRIEN - I tried to take a photo a day but ran out of ideas so this class would be great! Thanks for the give away

SHONA - I would love to win a place in the class. I always seem to need an extra little push to get going, and lately I keep looking at my camera and thinking I should take pictures, but I’m just not getting it done. My scrapping supplies are getting out of hand so I need something to Scrap

Please email me at lifelovepaper@gmail.com asap so you can get started tomorrow!

Honestly, I haven't spent much time reflecting on the past year. I've seen some great posts out there on how awesome their 2011 was but I'm all about 2012. It's been a great year for us with only a few minor bumps in the road. What would life be without them? I've got some huge decisions I'm putting into action in the next month. Something I've thought about for awhile now and I'm damn fearful about them. The good kind of fear though. The fear that is exciting and exhilaration and hopefully doesn't involve much regret. God has been so good to our family and I know if I keep trusting him and what my gut tells me, I'll be golden.

Wishing you all the best for 2012!

2011=DONE

xot.