Freebies #6 | Everybody's working for the weekend

It's been a while since I've shared a printable freebie - and I found this sheet that I've designed a while ago, but haven't posted up here yet... so here we go!

I designed this a few months ago back when I was in the middle of my 6-month full-time internship. The quote was so, so appropriate because the 8 hour days were SO long to me and I wasn't used to it. I know most of you are probably on vacation right now, but I'm sure it'll be applicable in just a few weeks when work and school start up again!!

Here's a look at how I used these printables in my own Project Life:

Kept it simple here and added the filler quote card and left it as is.

The days of the week card is perfect for a quick recap of your week, and can even be used every week if you want!

One thing I love about printables is that I don't feel anything holding me back from altering them however I want. I find myself cutting a lot of circle pieces like I did above to make them work in certain spaces. It's all okay, because you can always just print another and you don't feel like you're "wasting" it!!!

If you like these printables, you can download them here and be sure to leave a comment telling me what your favorite parts are! Even better, send me a link to a project you made using them - I'd love to see what you come up with!!

xx

Banners and such

Today I’ll be talking all about banners! These things are such a great design element, and without meaning to, I did THREE layouts these past few days, all using banners.

My first layout is inspired by one done by WaiSam Ho about a month ago. Honestly, I was having a hard time on this layout - I had just gotten home from a week long Thanksgiving vacation in Texas, and hadn't crafted in a whole week! And then, out of nowhere, I thought of Sam’s layout because I had loved the design of it so much - talk about a lasting impression!

I just absolutely love how the title takes center stage (especially with these gorgeous, bold and graphic thickers).

And I got to play with all sorts of fun banner goodness at the top and botton.

I cut up one of the journaling cards from my last set of printables to make a banner shape, and then cut out the other flowers from the bottom of the card to use as an embellishment elsewhere. That’s a great thing about printables – you can feel free to cut and manipulate them because you can always just print another if it goes wrong!!

I’m currently making my way through Art Class 1 with Wilna, and am absolutely loving it. There’s a whole chapter on washi and glitter, and one of the ideas is to make a washi banner.

Though I don’t have a huge stash of washi, these banners don’t need much so I could really make a THOUSAND of these banners and still have washi left over!! It’s such a great way to make a statement with minimal supplies.

Still absolutely loving (and actually using) these resin flowers. They were a bit of a splurge (for me), but totally worth it. They are gorgeous. I think I may need to treat myself to some more ;)

My last layout also has a washi banner, but on the vertical.

If you didn’t know, Silhouette America is having a great sale, and it seems all their shapes are 50% off. I downloaded a few, including this intricate background. I love designing my own SVGs, but with something this intense, sometimes it’s just more worth it to spend 50 cents, haha!

In the end, though, it ended up being too distracting for the background layer – but a thin layer of white paint muted it a bit and fixed it right up!

I love that you still get lots of texture from that die cut. And it’s just appropriate to use my Cameo on a layout that’s about getting my Cameo ;)

I'm also really loving making washi bows right now - what can I say, I'm just going washi crazy these days!! You can't blame me when they're so cute and versatile! :)

Have you made any layouts lately with banners? Give it a try, because it’s an easy way to make a really fun layout! Share with me if you do :)

Oh, and before I leave, I just wanted to share a picture from when I was in Texas. Just because I really like it and I'm missing that Texan sunshine. ;D You might have seen it if you follow me on Instagram.

I wish it was sunny and warm like this in Boston... Have a great week! xx

Life In Details Sponsor | Free printables

Today’s printable is extra special because I made it especially for the wonderful Life inDetails blog. They’re an Australian challenge blog completely dedicated to providing inspiration for Project Life and similar pocket systems, so if that’s your project of choice, definitely check them out!!

I had a special request to use the theme “family” or “thanksgiving,” so I tried to include some relating elements in my designs. In particular, the filler card was all about family and blessings, and it also ended up being my favorite one. I decided to use it as the title card for a layout and here is what I came up with:

I’m so happy that this layout was even featured on Elle’s Studio last month!! :)

Here's a look at the whole sheet of printables:

And you can download these for free here.

I hope you enjoy these designs! Whether you’re a regular follower or coming from the Life in Details blog, please do share anything you make with these printables, because I’d love to get some inspiration and see how you use it!! Who knows, maybe I’ll even feature your project ;)

Happy scrapping!

Life Right Now | Elle’s Studio Thursday Sketch

Recently, I’ve transitioned into making 8.5x11 layouts. I don’t think I’ll completely convert to this size, because I just love the freedom and space of a 12x12, but the smaller canvas is just a little challenge for me that I think is fun. It also means I can document lots of “smaller” things without fear of using too much stuff or taking up too much space (I’m legitimately afraid that within a few years, my scrapbooks are going to take over my apartment… tell me I’m not the only one who feels like this!!)

I decided to make a “Currently” layout. I haven’t done many of these before, because I include a lot of this stuff in my Project Life, but I just felt like showcasing it a bit more this time and making it onto its own layout. I’m also in a place right now that I really want to remember because I’m working my first co-op job, which will be over in just two months, and I want to remember the little things about life right now! Of course, I just had to take this opportunity to use the “Life Right Now” journaling card in my latest free printables. Then I decided to use this sketch by Elle’s Studio:

I really took to heart the advice that Glitter Girl gave in one of her most recent episodes to really use products you love on this page, as that gives another glimpse into your life right now. I cut into some of those beautiful papers from the Carta Bella “Hello Again” Collection, and finally used some cute chipboard from My Mind’s Eye “Cut and Paste.”

Instead of using mist like in the sketch, I decided to sprinkle little journaling spots around the page – love how Karen Grunberg always pulls this off so beautifully, so I thought I would give it a try. I think it works especially well for the bullet type journaling I had for this page.

So there’s my quick little layout of my life right now. Don’t forget to document yours! Life changes so fast and it’s important to include those little moments that make your life what it is. Sometimes, when I know I don’t have time for a full layout about it, I’ll still jot things down in my notebook or on my phone, so I can still look back on it in the future! Oh, and I'll be entering this into the Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge, as anything goes this week!!

Before I leave you today, I also wanted to share some exciting news – I’m going to be contributing a guest post on the RUKristin Papercrafts blog for her Holiday Extravaganza!!! If you haven’t heard of this yet, be sure to check it out. It’s going to be fun and packed with awesome crafter contributors, so mark those dates on your calendar!!

Happy Monday, and have a great start to your week!!

Freebies #5 | Watercolor accents

I know, I know, it's been quite a while since I've made and shared a printable freebie - I know these are more universal, as not everyone can use the SVG files I share (and I don't want to be super exclusive), so I finally put aside some time to make a new set!

I'm pretty happy to say that I think that this just might be my FAVORITE set of printables that I've designed yet... I included LOTS of watercolor accents (which were hand painted by me! ;D), which I am loving at the moment and are also really trendy right now.

Here's a peek at the set:

And you can download this freebies here.


I'll probably be sharing a project I make with these soon (though don't hold me to that, hehe)!

How are you liking the watercolor trend? Are there other trends that are really catching your eye right now (that maybe I could include in my next set of printables)?

As always, I would love to see what you make with these, so be sure to leave a link in the comments below! Happy scrapping :)

*Use Your Words* - Tough

Hi everyone! Man, I can’t believe it’s September already… this summer just flew by! I’m not going to lie, I am really dreading the coming of winter. Winters in Boston sure aren’t fun!  But I still have many happy, summer memories to document, so hopefully that will help me to pretend it’s still hot and sunny outside, haha!

I’m here today to share another layout for Use Your Words. The challenge word this time is “tough,” and man, it was quite hard for me to figure out what to scrap about for this one! Eventually, I ended up picking a hiking trip I took last month. It really wasn’t very tough at all, but since it is definitely something that we wouldn’t normally do, I thought it was good enough, and I managed to work “tough” into my title without too much trouble!

My favorite layouts are usually one photo layouts, because there is so much room to play. Multiple-photo layouts tend to be more difficult for me, so I went looking for a sketch that I could use and though this one by Shimelle would be perfect! For one of the photo spaces, I included a 3x4 card instead, that was from my second set of freebies! I just really wanted to show that even if you’re not a Project Lifer, these cards are perfect for scrapbooking, or really any other paper craft!!

So this is the layout I came up with:

I have to admit, I’ve been saving that background paper… it is just soo lovely. I’m a big fan of having white cardstock, or subtly printed background at the moment, and this one is neutral but also has some interest! I think I’ll have to grab another sheet or two!!

Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to stop by the Use Your Words blog to see what the other DT members have come up with! There’s a big range of styles among us, so you’re sure to find something that will inspire you! And don’t forget to link up your project if you play along… there’s a neat, exclusive printable for one lucky winner, made by yours truly! ;)

Freebies #3

Hi everyone! Today has gotten off to a rough start for me, but I’m hoping that the day will get better. Instead of sharing the bad stuff, though, I want to share some GREAT news with you all today – first of all, I made the Design Team for Sweet Stamp Shop!! If you haven’t heard of them, they are an awesome manufacturer of cute and trendy stamps. Check them out!! I’m so excited to be working on this team of lovely ladies.

Second – my wonderful boyfriend just ordered an early birthday present for me this morning – a Silhouette Cameo!!! I’ve been eyeing one for the longest time (and Dan has been hearing about it for quite a while too, hehe), so I am super excited for that to arrive.

And thirdly, I want to share my latest set of free printable with you all here. We’ve had a couple of cool days that really made it feel like summer was ending… and I just could NOT have that. So I picked the most summery color palette I could find as my inspiration:

And I made these cards from it:

You can downloadthese printables here.

Let me know what you guys think, and if you have any requests. And if you make a project with these cards, a link back to this post would be greatly appreciated!

Also, since I will be getting my Cameo very soon (thanks to Amazon Prime!) I’m thinking that I’ll probably be designing a lot of cut files for myself. I’ll share these files with you all, either in addition to or in place of the printable freebies! Hope that sounds good to you all, and enjoy the rest of your week!!

Freebies #2

Hi everyone! I’m here today with a little bit of happiness – a new sheet of free printables! I’ve gotten a great response from the last set I designed, so I wanted to thank everyone who left me kind words of support.  I’ve been working hard on this next set, so I hope you enjoy them! :)

Like last week’s printables, I started with a color combination as my inspiration:

And here are the 3x4 cards I came up with:

You can download them here.

If you like these cards, be sure to follow my blog if you don’t already so you’ll always see when I post new ones!

In the future, I’m thinking of designing a few sheets of printables all from the same color scheme (almost like a collection) with 3x4 cards, 4x6 card, and possibly some circle elements. I’ll offer one sheet for free on my blog, just like this one, but I’m thinking of selling the others for just a few bucks. What do you guys think? Is this something you would be interested in? 

I’m doing this all in the hopes of one day having my own line or business, so I really appreciate all the support you guys give me – I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without you!! And if you have any suggestions or requests, be sure to throw those in, too. :)

I’ll be back tomorrow with the next design team reveal for the Use Your Words blog. See you then!! :D

My newest endeavor...

Life has been very busy recently. You know, I had always imagined that having a full-time job would be less stressful and that I’d have more free time while taking classes. Boy, was I wrong! I’ve been slowly adjusting, and trying to get back into a routine after our business trip last week (that was exhausting).

So in the free time that I do have (i.e. when I’m at work and need a break from datamining or whatever droning task I’m working on), I’ve been working on something very fun and cool – well, at least I think it is.

For those who don’t know, my all-time dream job is to be a designer for papercrafting/scrapbooking products. Kind of like Amy Tangerine or Kelly Purkey or Kristina Werner. Incidentally, those are some of my biggest role models ;). So I’ve been trying my hand at making some cool things – starting with something small and simple right now, just some 3x4 journaling cards, which I find are great for Project Life of course, but even for scrapbooking and cards. I’ve just completed my first sheet of these, and am so happy and excited to share them here with you today…. Oh, and did I mention that these will be FREE printables? Yeah, because I know how everyone loves freebies.

The plan is to do this hopefully every week, though I have a feeling it might be biweekly. Nothing is set in stone, but I really did enjoy making these, so I’ll definitely be doing more in the future.

Okay just a bit more and I promise I’ll show the journaling cards. I just wanted to walk you through my process a little bit… First, I explored on Pinterest and pinned a bunch of color combination inspiration photos. I eventually settled on this one:

Having the color scheme all chosen made things really easy, and I just played with a bunch of ideas I had and came up with these…. Ta daa!

You can download these freebies here.

I hope you enjoy them!! If you make a project with these, please do leave a comment with a link to it because I would love to see you using them! Or you can just let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions/requests. And if you post it online somewhere, a link back to this post would be really, really appreciated.

Until next time, have fun crafting!