All Things Alicia

Gardening Journal From A Composition Book

I'm getting to that point with my gardening that I need to keep track of what I'm thinking.  My brain is less able to keep track of what I planned to put where, what I want to try next, and what did and didn't work. 

To remedy this situation I pulled out a grid paper compostition book from my stash.  Now, I always prefer the grid paper ones, I'm just wierd that way, but I also chose it specifically for this project so that I could sketch things out easily. 

 
I used the Paisley Petals DSP for the cute accents because I LOVE this paper! 

I started with last year's stuff in the pages because I wanted to put down what I could manage to remember from then to help me plan out where I was putting things this year.  I want to keep track for a mini -crop rotation type of thing. 

I used some sketchy letter stamps to denote pages for the year, notes, planning, sketches, etc...  The alphabet stamps I used are retired now but if you don't have some you like, you could use our current Janes Type Alphabet or Spencerian as well.  Those might retire soon too so I'd jump on that if I were you. ;)

I have also discovered that I like just taping in those things that come with the plant so I remember what kind I planted. ;)

I made a second one without the stamped titles, but I added pocket pages to it.  This one's going in my Etsy shop and would make a perfect gift for a gardener!

Don't forget you can order supplies to make your own gardening journal/altered composition book here at my website.

Or you can just buy the one you see above in my Etsy shop.

Seed Packet Organizers - Made From a Pinterest Idea

I saw on Pinterest that someone suggested using one of those mini albums for a seed packet organizer. Genius! But of course I had to make a cute one for myself.   I can't just do a plain ol' anything that can be jazzed up in my stamping space. :)

I used one of those mini albums, and then gussied it up with some on-hand supplies.  I used some raven lace from last year's holiday mini catalog.  Sorry, it's no longer available, but I do have some left is someone wants to buy it.  E-mail me ([email protected]) and I can get it to you by the yard. 

I also cut out the word "seeds" with my Big Shot and the Billboard Alphabet decorative strip die. 

I actually made two of these!  One for me, and one for my Etsy shop!  You can see it with more pictures here. 

You can also purchase the Billboard Alphabet through my online Stampin' Up! store here.

And don't forget that right now is Sale A Bration!  You can get free stuff with your purchases!  It ends March 31st (which is approaching rapidly!). 

One Little Word - Fearless!

So my one little word last year was "Cherish." (If you're not sure what one little word is, it's an Ali Edwards thing). I was really needing to focus on enjoying the moments I have right now, before they're gone. I'm a mom of 3 very young kids and that life is hard. I didn't want to wish it away and regret it later.

Even though I lost part of my Cherish notes in a bad iPhone incident, :(, I found just the fact that I focused on a little word as a theme helped me move in that area.  Even though I've scrapped very little of it (but journaled an ok amount), just the process of picking a word helped me think and remember along those lines.

This year I've chosen the word Fearless.  I really tried to think of a positive way to say it, like brave, or courageous, etc.... but when it comes down to it, I stayed with fearless because of the freedom it implies and the way it kind of sounds to me like a battle cry. It's not necessarily a pretty word, but it's fierce, and that works for me this year.

I really felt moved back in October to pick this as my word this year.  I've realized that I'm ruled by several different types of fears that hold me back from success.  And when I think about it, no one benefits from such a life.

I decided to use an artist sketchbook for this year's journey.  I chose this because I used them a lot for journals and this year, while including pictures, I will also be doing a lot of journaling, self reflecting, and studying.

I like these artist sketchbooks because I like to do a lot of different things in my journals.  I make charts, mind maps, lists, letters, etc....

Here's a shot of a prayer/devotional journal from a few years ago:

The phrase on the front of my Fearless journal is a stamp from our Daring Adventure stamp set.  It says, "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all" and I believe it's a Hellen Keller quote.  I thought it appropos. 

In the front I included a sermon outline from my church that I got shortly after I decided on this word for the year. 

My church's vision is about "being real with God, self, and others."  Part of that is self reflection.  I've been pretty good at that my whole life, but I think I am just realizing the whole fear aspect in relation to how much it rules my actions.  If you notice the bottom of this bulletin, it's on my birthday, and says "learning to look within."  Perfect!

If you haven't ever picked a word for the year, I'd recommend trying it.  You don't have to scrap it or even write about it.  Just think about what you want to focus on for one year and pick it, even if only mentally.  Maybe write that one word somewhere where you'll see it often all year through.  You'll be surprised at how just the act of deciding something helps you achieve it.

Life is Either a Daring Adventure or Nothing

-That's a Hellen Keller quote on one of our stamp sets!

I meant to share this journal a while ago and just found the pictures. I realized I must not have shared it.

I made this journal back in August to help me keep track of some pretty austentacious goals. :)  It's both for work (Stampin' Up!) goals, family goals, etc... I am keeping charts, notes, ideas, etc... in it. 

The quote works perfectly for what this is and I am inspired by it every time I open it.  Mission accomplished!

Here's a peek at the inside cover:

 
I put the envelope in so that I could keep those little post-it notes and such that I'm always writing in the same place as the rest of the related stuff.  BTW-  decorating envelopes is a great way to use scraps. :)

It's prbably obvious, but I made it out of those composition books that are on sale at the beginning of the school year.  This type of thing would be a great starter project for you when thinking about your new goals, or needing to focus or organize, or even to keep track of progress on a New Year's Resolution.  Of course, it works well as a plain ol' regular journal too.  It would also be a great gift!

I used the Daring Adventure Stamp set, Morning Mocha Specialty paper (love the texture of these papers!), the nuetrals buttons, black taffeta ribbon, linen thread, and crumb cake envelopes. 

You can order all the supplies you need for this from my Stampin' Up! website (except for the composition book). 

And don't forget I also fill wish lists you might want to give your husband or friends!

Anniversary Guest Book/Scrapbook

My husband and I recently celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary.  We've always said that we would celebrate the round years with a vow renewal and party.  Some of you have seen posts over the last several months with the Save-The-Date cards I made and the invitations I made.  I've been using 5th Avenue Floral along with Not Quite Navy and Crumb Cake for my fun little items. 

Of course I had to continue the theme with our guest book for our party.  I used one our 6x6 linen albums.  In Lieu of a guest book I made simple pages and asked guests to write a wish, favorite memory, quote, advice, etc...whatever they wished on them.  I had them in a basket with some pens.

Here's a shot of the book itself:

 
As you can see, I kept it simple, but didn't sacrifice style.  I stamped the corner with a the Fifth Avenue Floral set in Not Quite Navy.  I used a classic ink pad, which gave me the slightly worn look.  If I had wanted a crisper image on the linen album I would have used a craft ink.  I tied some coordinating ribbons around the side for a bit of an added touch.  I used the crochet trim, very vanilla satin ribbon, and early espresso 1/8" tafetta on this one.  Here's a bit of a closer look at the stamping:

 
Here's a glimpse of the inside:


To get those pages I ran a piece of Crumb Cake through the Big Shot with the Manhattan Flower embossing folder.  Then I dragged my Not Quite Navy Ink pad over the raised image to pop it out a bit and leave that semi-streaky look.  I layered the Very Vanilla over it for the comments with a flower stamped in the corner. 

Here's a better look at that page so you can see the embossing more clearly:

  

The great thing was, it really didn't matter which way the page turned.  It all looked good.  I made extras and will now put some of my favorite pictures of the evening into the book using the extra pages, interspersed with my comments from friends. 

Remember that you can purchase any of these supplies and see more projects at  my Stampin' Up! website!

An Anniversary Guest Book

My friend Heather threw a surprise anniversary party for her parents' 40th anniversary.  Her idea was to sort of recreate the original wedding.  She used the colors and made mongrammed wedding favors.  Super cute idea.  She asked me to come up with something in lieu of a guestbook, but really inexpensive.  Here's what I made for her:

I used the new FABULOUS bride specialty papers from Stampin' Up!  So easy to make things look classy!  Inside, the pages are made from 6x6 page protectors and simple, yet elegant stamped pages.

 

Sorry about the shadow on there.  It's really hard to see but the corner has a flourish stamped in grey from the Baroque Motifs set.  The papers are basic black and shimmery white.  It looks really classy in person, hard to get that from the photo.

I know what you're thinking, it looks like a scrapbook instead of a guest book, right?  Well, it's both.  Because this was an anniversary and celebration of 40 years of memories, Heather wanted more than just signatures.  She wanted something that added to the memories collected over the years and she wanted something that was more interesting to flip through in the future.  So she came up with this fabulous idea!  She made little cards with short prompts, like: "My favorite memory of _____ & _____ is ..." and "The funniest thing they ever did was...".  She made those cards and trimmed them down so they mat perfectly in those black photo mats I made.  At the party people go to choose which writing prompt they wanted and filled it out, put it in the book, and signed the mat. 

Keeping it simple helped keep the cost and time down.  This came together in a flash.  Yet it's not missing anything by way of classiness.

It would be great at a wedding too.  Have someone take pics of the guests and put their photos in there on the page they sign.  What a time capsule item that would be!

The cover is made with chipboard, covered with the bride papers.  I used the cropodile to easily punch through it and threaded ribbon through for the binding.  Covering chipboard is a great way to make a sturdy cover without the expense of an album.  And these papers combined with the organdy ribbon are sleek and elegant.

The recipe:

Baroque Motifs stamp set

Basic Black cardstock

Shimmery White cardstock

Gray ink

White Organza Ribbon

chipboard

6x6 page protectors

cropodile

*All of these items are available for purchase on my Stampin' Up! website.

Book Review - Photo Freedom

I am absolutely in love with this book:

 

Photo Freedom 

Why you ask?  Well, like all but one person I know, I am far behind on my scrapbooking.  I cannot even call myself a scrapbooker.  After having read this book about 15 times I am thoroughly convinced that I can let go of guilt for being behind.  I am now motivated to continue with excitement, and am inspired to scrap in a way I have never scrapped before.  It's true!  I not only have no negative feelings when I think about scrapbooking, but anytime I want to scrapbook, I know just where to start.  How's that for Photo Freedom?!  I am going to be implementing Stacy's system over the next several weeks.  You might just see updates as I go.  Right now I am picking out storage albums and ordering pictures that I have never printed.  

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to do more scrapbooking, or start scrapping, or wants to just not feel like you're letting down the world by not using your supply stash.

 

PS- I also no longer believe I am behind.  There is no such thing as behind in scrapbooking!  Woohoo!