Farewell,Hello

Here is my first project for 2021 for Paislee Press.  The new digital kit "farewell,hello" is so much fun and the colours are just popping out and screaming lets get into the year.  I can't tell you how much fun I had doing this layout, I just couldn't stop adding bits and pieces here and there.

This set is available now and you can find it here at The Lily Pad.  I have also used a Storyline Chapters Notebook from Heidi Swapp.  I purchased mine from Sassy Scrappers in Australia.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

xo

Tracey

Hello 2021

I woke up this morning and took a big sigh of relief.  Yes!  I thought to myself.  2020 is finished and done.  As I start this new year I am well aware than some monsters are still lurking ie. Covid-19, but the difference is I know they are there.  It's no longer new or surprising so the shock is no longer there.

I am optimistic about 2021.  I feel calm, which is weird, but a nice feeling.  In the build up to New Years Eve we were camping, in nature and away from news and (mostly) social media (low or no signal).  We read, rested, swam, drank, ate, laughed, chatted and rested some more.  I think it gave us all time to centre ourselves, catch our breath and be.

I am grateful that everyone we know made it through 2020, some with scars and some with battles still to fight, but, we made it through a year that threw everything at us and more.

So with that in mind I say goodbye 2020 and all that came with you.  You are no longer needed so I release you with love, ready to invite 2021 into being.

xo

Tracey

Room to Breathe - Paislee Press

Hello, hope you are all coping ok with life right now.  It's certainly giving us some challenges.

I have been crafting my brain out, well there is nothing else to do.  Ok, there is some spring cleaning I could be doing but lets be honest crafting is definitely way more appealing.

Paislee Press has a new digital kit, journal cards and templates available and I thought I would share how I used them.  I'm really enjoying going back to this style of memory keeping, it's like project life but planner style which I didn't think I would like but turns out I do.  I am not going to do a photo book now for documenting our year and it's for the same reasons that I am no longer doing my Thursday3 as a photobook.  I just simply miss the touch and feel of our memories.  Waiting till the end of the year is just too long for me.  I am trying out 6 x 8 size which I have to say I am really enjoying.  I am still getting the craft experience but it's not as big and not as involved.  I can still make scrapbook pages too, just on a smaller scale.

I also did a few extra pages that will be an insert in my album.  These won't be in a page protector.  I love having some things out of a page protector as well, it gives me the feel of a journal and plus it adds texture which I love.

 Digital products - Room to Breathe scrapbook kit
                              Room to Breathe journal cards
                              Room to Breathe templates

Keep safe everyone and thanks for stopping by.

Tracey xo

#Thursday3 - changing it up...

Hello, how are you?  Keeping safe and well I hope.

Over the past month because of everything going on I have found my self with so much more time on my hands.  One thing I have missed this year is the physical side of memory keeping.  I decided that most of my projects this year would be photobooks and while I love photobooks I desperately miss the touch and feel of an album.  I miss not being about to look back over the year so far, reading about our lives and seeing our faces.  Of course I could always turn on the computer and look at my digital pages but it's just not the same.  With that in mind I am changing some of the ways I am doing projects and I am starting with my #thursday3 project.

To keep things simple (because once I make  them bigger than they need to be I won't finish it) I am using a travelers notebook, two colour ink pads (black and crumb cake), a single photo each day, date stamp and one washi tape.  The only thing that I am going to add to my pages is simple stamped images using only the two colour inks that I mentioned earlier.  Then I just add the words that I shared on IG. 

I have been working on this project for the last couple of days and I am nearly caught up.  I am sharing just a few pages here to give you an idea how it's all coming together.  Although it's repetitive adding the stamped images is giving me just enough creative play to keep the project fun.  I have already enjoyed going back over my previous words as I do each page and I am so glad I have decided to switch how I am going to put it together.  I am also having fun going back to basics and playing with my stamps.

Giving myself permission to change how I want this project to look has bought back the fun and passion that I think I have been missing this year.  So glad I have made the change.

Tracey xo

Paislee Press - April project...

Hello! Hello!

Well hasn't the last few weeks been a bit full on.  I feel completely exhausted but I haven't really done anything.  I think it's just stress, because lets admit it, all this virus stuff in stressful.  Our lives as we know it have been completely turned upside down.  I'm a bit of a home body so as much as life is stressful and completely unknown I am enjoying the "stay home" bit.  I have been putting a lot of time into my mental health and making sure that I do things that not only keep my brain and body working and thinking but that make me happy too.  In these times I am always so grateful that I am a creative and that I love playing and crafting.  Sitting in my craft room/space is so calming for me and I love that.  

I am so happy to be apart of the Paislee Press CT for 2020.  If you have been following me you know that I was using Paislee Press digital products long before I was part of their creative team.  While most of my creating for PP is memory keeping related I do also like to make the odd card or two so for my April project is chose these two cards using papers and elements from the "Happy Little Moments" kit.  Card making for me is how I started out in paper crafting so every once and awhile I go back to making them.  I always like to have a stash of cards on hand ready to use so that I am not running around at the last minute trying to create one.

I hope you are all staying safe and taking of yourselves.  We will get through this weird and crazy time, we just have to hang in there.

Tracey xo

Pieces of Us - Reflection...

This project has been amazing.  Firstly I am super proud of myself for completing the whole challenge, getting it documented and uploaded, waiting to be printed into a photobook at the end of the year.

This was a particularly hard week for me and one where I needed to find a lot of strength to get through it.  At one point it all got too hard for me and I just hit rock bottom.  Doing this project made me look at everything a little differently.  Yes my week was hard (bloody hard actually) but taking photos of my day made me stop, look and think about, not just the big awful thing but the little good things as well.  I needed to give myself a little love these last few days and also practice a little self love.  I often wonder if projects like these come up just when you need them.

I also loved the format that I chose to document this project.  I know what I'm like, if I make things too difficult I just don't finish them.  Breaking each day down into little snippets was a way for me to include many things without too much hassle.  Using the same template for each day also meant not having to think to much about how I was going to set it all out.  I also liked the template because I could change it up depending on how many photos I took.  Some days were a double page spread and others were just a single page.  

My favourite though is probably the last two pages.  The prompt was to take a "reflection" photo.  I took just one photo and decided to do a reflection in words about the week.  As I said before this project helped me in so many ways this week.  I am just so glad I took part, made it easy, took photos of myself and told my story.

I have shared my pages on Instagram but I have included them below so you can see them all together.

This really has been a wonderful project.Tracey xo

Pieces of Us - self portrait adventure...

I am so excited about Ali Edwards "Pieces of Us - Self portrait challenge" and I cannot wait to get started tomorrow.  

One of the reasons I am so excited about this project is because back in 2015 I took part in the #myselfiescrapbook challenge where I created a photobook based on a list of prompts and selfies based on those prompts.  It is still one of my most favourite projects ever.  I often think about doing the challenge again and creating another photobook just to see how life has changed so when Ali announced the Pieces of Us challenge I knew I had to take part.  

I thought I would share my thoughts about this challenge and how I intend to document it.  As you know I am doing a photobook so my pages are digital.  I have already made my base pages using a page from the "Yearbook Album Kit" from Paislee Press.  I resized the template as the original template is 12x12 and by photobook is 5x8.  I deleted some of the elements as they didn't all fit plus I didn't need that many spaces for photos.

At this stage I am thinking of approaching this project similar to that of  a "Day In the Life".  For example a double page spread would be photos and words all about Feet then the next double page would be hands etc.  I am not setting this idea in stone as it just depends on how many photos I can take each day.  I don't want this to be bigger than it needs to be, I need to keep it simple.  I know what I am like and if I make it too hard I won't finish it.

Happy Selfie taking and I can't wait to see all the fabulous stories and photos that we uncover.

Tracey

xo