Years From Now You Will Be Happy!

Years From Now You Will Be Happy!

For many of us the first day of school has passed.  We’ve jumped for joy or cried our eyes out.  You already know which mom I am.  Not afraid to say I was jumping for joy.  Like I said, I can’t keep these kids entertained all day.

We talked about first day of school traditions the other day and I’ve spent a good bit of time talking about documenting and capturing those moments.

Did YOU take that legendary photo of your kid on the front porch?

You might remember my photo from the other day HERE.  Honestly I can’t be that fancy photographer in the morning.  I was the mom with her pajama’s on… no bra and my hair sticking up all over the place.  My eyes were barely open because the mascara I forgot to take off was melting my eye lids shut…. I had coffee in one hand and the iPhone in the other to get the picture.  My kids looked scared in the pictures not because of school but their mother standing on the porch looking HIDEOUS.  Not kidding.

There was no time for the cute signage to be made saying what grade they were in nor was there any time to pose.  If I’m being REALLY honest I had to run down the street after Alexis (that was NOT pretty mind you) because I almost FORGOT to get her picture.  I figured I could photoshop/picmonkey the signage later. <genius I am!>

Now putting ALL that aside, let’s be real for a second….

There are a lot of emotions going on in those kids brains that first day of school.  Especially for the wee ones stepping into Kindergarten.   What are they thinking? Scared? Happy? Abandoned? These are the things we should document.  AND we should also document how WE are feeling.

Yes it’s true… I was jumping for joy.  I was also a wreck thinking about my son (who I’ve not seen a hint of puberty hit) and his first day of high school with these ginormous kids standing around him.  I wanted to text him all day and ask how he was.  Was he scared?

NO, I didn’t do that.  Thought about it… but I let him spread his itty bitty wings…

Let’s get to the meat of things….

Today, I share once again something I am SO passionate about. Telling that story AND it’s a great day for a TGIF challenge!

I am pretty excited about this Project Life layout because it’s a 12 x 12.  PLUS, I’m giving you a sneak peek of a GREAT new Stampin’ Up! Project Life kit available on Sept 1st called Seasonal Snapshot 2015 Project Life Card Collection.  Stampin’ Up! did an AMAZING job with the graphics for this kit.  It includes Back to School, Halloween, Autumn, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  LOVE it.

Let’s take a closer look…

So many elements in the accessories kit that I love.  Stickers (who knew I love them so much still?), wooden elements, clips, sequins… WAY adorbs.

I did my editing for the photos in two different places.  First I did some editing in PicMonkey and then finished in Photoshop Elements.  I didn’t do much honestly.  Just a little color adjusting and then of course I added some elements to the photos such as the year and school.

You can be as FANCY as you wish!

With Project Life you can be quick and easy or fancy and free.

I decided to get a little fancy on a few pockets.  I decided to use the wooden elements and sequins in a 2 x 2 sleeve then I used my sewing machine to close off the pocket.

This layout I tried something VERY new.  I printed my journaling directly onto my pocket card.  I was able to get it done correctly on the first go BUT… I needed my margins over slightly more.  Next time this process should go a little smoother.

Make it work for YOU!

Remember I said I didn’t take many photos.  Therefore I had a few naked pockets to fill.  Because of the sleeve I chose I needed one more 4 x 6 pocket card.  Since I had none left in the color scheme I took 2- 3 x 4 cards and put them together.  I loved how this turned out.  Meet your needs and you will be happy.  Besides, this is YOUR story….

I’m happy as a clam that I have their first day of school completed.

Now… hang on.  I have MORE ideas for you.  Seriously… this has been a great week of inspiration.  It’s our weekly TGIF Challenge and this week you do not want to miss. (Don’t miss any week… these designers are AMAZING!)  We are all sharing Back to School ideas.  Get ready to be inspired.  Click HERE and see what everyone else has designed and don’t forget to play along.

Looking for Project Life products?  Click HERE to see pocket card kits and accessories that you are sure to LOVE.

WAIT!  One More Thing….

Did you get my newsletter yesterday? 5 projects, color inspiration, Project life… Like REAL inspiration overload? If you haven’t signed up make sure you do.

See the big red circle with “Sign Up?” Just look on the right side bar on my blog and sign up.  You have to opt in to get my newsletter.  Yes…  I want to make sure you REALLY want to hear from me.  If you are reading this from a RSS feed  you will have to come to my blog to sign up.  I’ll resend this weeks newsletter on Friday to new subscribers.

Have a FANTASTIC weekend.  Laugh, love and make something pretty.

Love to each!

XOXOXO