Wednesday 22 January 2014

A Slight Moan

Yes, but only slight. My Project Life bits are still not here and I don’t know WHEN they will be! I ordered them from Amazon UK, but it will my last Project Life order with them. First of all, I didn’t realize that they would be shipped from the USA. That just takes tooooo long! Second, I got two notices that the order has shipped; one was shipping via USPS (US Postal Service) and one was via DHL Couriers. I wrote and asked which one is the real one, and they (the seller) replied they ship out of the US via the USPS and then in the UK it’s delivered via DHL, but they couldn’t/wouldn’t give me any kind of tracking number. So now I just have to sit and wait, possibly for a couple more weeks, and hope it comes. Meanwhile, I could have ordered it through a UK-based company and would have had it all by now! I did look for one, but didn’t find it until after I’d ordered! Anyway, I’ve since found some page protectors at Hobbycraft, who have a fair selection of Project Life supplies, and some other goodies from Sarah’s Cards Ltd, who have lots! I’ve also found several web pages of printable (and free) PL cards, so I suppose I could get started.

Banner

Also, I’ve found tons of wonderful examples, information, ideas, and more on Pinterest as well. (Pause to answer the door) Oh my goodness! It’s here….. a huge box with my album, core kit, page protectors, and more. Now if the order comes from Sarah’s Cards today or tomorrow, I’ll be well away……

About finding things to document: I’ve been getting so many ideas of things to put in the album that I hardly know where to start. We were away this weekend at the youngest grandson’s christening, so I took several pictures there, of course, and a few along the route. And photos of things I’ve made this month so far, and the month isn’t over yet!

I’ve also started my 5:2 Fast Diet. It’s going well…. until this weekend away, that is. But never mind, I’ll just get right back on the wagon. I’d lost 8 lbs this month until the weekend and now gained back 2.6 lbs. I’m not too disheartened.

fast-diet-recipe                           new-fd-book

Well, I’m salivating over my non-food parcel just now. I’m sure I’ll be posting more later, with photos. If anyone have comments on either the diet or on Project Life, I hope you’ll share them.

Wednesday 15 January 2014

Project Life

After hearing about Project Life for a few years now, I've decided to give it a go. My scrapbooking efforts have become, well.... a bit soul-less lately. I want to get some enthusiasm back into my crafting, so here I go. In case you don't know about Project Life, it's a scrapbook method of documenting your everyday life. Most people buy the page protectors that have little 4x6 or other small size pockets for storing photos, memorabilia, journaling notes, etc. The beauty of it that you don't have to spend hours in agony over papers, layout, embellishments, and the usual messing about that goes along with it. I did a Google search on Project Life Images and here's what I got:


As you can see, there are many approaches to scrapbooking in this way. To get started, you really could use just about any normal scrapbooking supplies, but I've ordered some of the Project Life dedicated set:


As usual, when I decide to do something, I jump in head first. I've also ordered some "Theme Cards" just for fun. I hope it all arrives soon as I can hardly wait to get started now that I've caved in to the idea!

The idea of Project Life is to "document" your life as a project. Some people (not many, I assume) choose to do a layout every day. Others do one per week and still others do it once per month. I'm going to attempt the once per week, which means that at the end of the year, I'll have 52 layouts . . give or take a few, no doubt. The thing is, I do take  photographs that aren't necessarily worthy of a whole scrapbook page and all the effort that goes into it, but I want to start taking more photos and better ones. This Project Life is perfect for that. Also, I've started a new diet (more on that in a moment) and I'd like to document my progress, assuming there IS some progress! It sounds very similar to the "Book of Me" scrapbooks that we did several years ago, but much easier and quicker. You can also take a sort of art-journal approach, using the theme cards, sketches, and your own original art on small cards. I like that idea a lot, as nothing intimidates me like a blank piece of 12 x 12" paper or a blank page in an art journal. I'm hoping to let my limited creativity have full rein and see where it takes me.

Now about the diet. I read about the "5:2 Fast Diet" in several recent articles in magazines and newspapers. I've tried several other diets and they work well and I do lose considerable weight to begin with, but then I get terribly tired of obsessing about calories or points (Weight Watchers) or GI content, etc. and fall off the diet. I end up putting back on the weight I lost PLUS some!! The last time I tried Weight Watchers and failed, I said never again. Now this diet is decidedly different. In a week, I fast two days (usually Tuesday and Thursday, but it's flexible). On the two Fast Days, I can have up to 500 calories, which isn't much but it does keep you from going into starvation mode. The other five days, you can eat relatively normal, providing "normal" isn't pigging out on chocolate cake, pasta, fried potatoes, etc. I've honestly found it isn't near as hard to do as I thought it would be. There are several good cookbooks specifically designed for the diet and loads of help online. Since 31 December, I've lost 8 lbs and that's included five Fast Days and trying to eat sensibly on the non-Fast Days, so it's working okay so far. Apparently there are many health benefits, aside from the weight loss aspect. I suppose those would become noticeable after I've been on it awhile. 

Here's hoping my Project Life things arrive soon, so I can get started while I'm so enthusiastic.




Wednesday 1 January 2014

A little video tour

I've been working for hours but can't seem to get it.... I wanted to add the video in my sidebar. When I did, it covered the whole blog! So I'm going to try to add it here, as a blog post, until I can figure it out. 



Hope you enjoy it. When I converted it from a .mov file to .mp4 file, it lost some clarity. I've got to get this sussed. If anyone has tips, please leave comments. They will be GREATLY appreciated!

Playing a little

Today is New Year’s Day 2014 and I’d like to wish all my friends, family, and anyone reading this blog, a very happy new year! It’s started off really crummy with rain, wind, and more rain, so maybe it will soon be fine. Hmmm….

I’m beginning to go more than a little stir-crazy with the weather and the holiday chaos, so I braved the gales and went to my craft cabin this afternoon. I did three scrapbook layouts last week:

Catherine CameronJacob 1Louis First 2 years

If these seem small, remember you can click on them to enlarge them. The first is of my Texas grandchildren. The little guy, Cameron, is now 1 1/2, so the photos aren’t exactly current. I did them in “black and white” because my printer does B&W as a sort of soft cocoa colour. I’ve tried everything to reset it, but nothing works. My previous printer, also a Canon, did the same thing. With these papers, however, it seemed perfect. The paper is old but I seem to remember it has the name “Daisy” in it.

The middle layout is of our youngest UK grandson with my husband. It was taken just after Jacob’s first birthday (October) so is fairly current. I’ve had that star paper for awhile and thought the colours seemed to be perfect with his red shirt and yellow trousers, complemented by the blue in my husband’s shirt. The little animals I stamped, coloured with ProMarkers, then cut out. The paper is old so I have no idea about the manufacturer.

The right layout is of another UK grandson. I had a few photos I really liked, so decided to make a sort of timeline type layout, from Christening to his second birthday. The little animal figures are from his birthday cake. I saved them, as we do, knowing they’d be great on a layout! The patterned paper is Basic Grey’s Urban Prairie.

The other thing I did today is a little plaque. I found the card in a Simple Stories paper set, so I’ve used some Basic Grey (discontinued collection pack, can’t remember the name) and mounted it on an 8x10” canvas with Mod Podge. It only took minutes but I love it!!!

motto

It’s so fitting as it’s just the way I feel  when I’m in my craft cabin. It’s my sanctuary, my happy place, my creative space, and my favourite spot to just sit and think. I put together a video tour today but can’t get it to load so I’ll have a poke at YouTube and see what I can do. Watch this space……….