Ok, I admit it. I'm hooked.
I don't think I'm destined to ever become a prolific page-maker, but I have to admit I've accomplished more pages since Stampin' Up!® partnered up with Project Life® a few months ago than I'd done in the past half-dozen years or so! I love that the system is straightforward and simple, but that you can work at any level of design that you wish. In other words, while you can follow the totally simple, plain vanilla version of creating a layout (just slipping photos and cards into pockets), there's still room for as much or as little personalization and creativity as you may feel inspired to include.
This layout's got a little more "creativity" factor goin' on, beginning with messing around with the photos in Photoshop Elements. (At which I'm all thumbs, btw, so the process took way more time than it should have. But once I get my teeth into an idea my "stubborn" gene tends to take over, and well…..) Anyway, the close-up of the chalk and the B&W background on the family picture are examples of that Photoshop Elements stubbornness. But once the pix were printed, sliding 'em into the photo pockets took all of a minute or two….. so a reasonable trade-off, I figure.
I chose cards from the "Everyday Adventure" collection (you might count 4 of 'em used – the 3 with journaling, plus the one with the 2 interlocking circles). Then I turned to what Stampin' Up! is known for: color coordination. I checked the catalog to see exactly which colors were used in the Everyday Adventure card collection, decided which of them I'd like most to feature (based on the colors in my pictures), and cut 3" x 4" pieces of Designer Series Paper in those same colors to fill in the remaining 2 openings. LOVED THAT!
Then I headed over to my computer, fired up MDS and worked a little digital design magic for the "SAFE" and "BASEBALL game" phrases. (I already had the software and "Game Day Baseball" stamp brush set [digital downloads] on my computer, so I didn't need to purchase anything new for this.) I suppose you could call the results "embellishments", but they're actually just images printed onto Whisper White cardstock and cut out. Not really magic at all. But how awesome is it to be able to work with those same colors all the way through the process – and end up with a finished project that totally coordinates?!? I've grown so spoiled with having all these "coordinating" options over the years that I can't imagine trying to create a complete project (of ANY kind, actually) without Stampin' Up! at my fingertips.
Ready to give this super-easy form of memory keeping a try? In addition to a couple of scraps of retired Designer Series Paper, here are the rest of the products I used in this layout. The first 3 were the basics (only $27.85 combined!), and I used the last 3 for the custom artwork.
Product List
