enJOY it by Elise Blaha Cripe

project life : week 38.

Week 38 and I still love this project.

(click photos above to enlarge for a [somewhat] clearer image.)

Fairly simple stuff this week (which is really LAST week). Projects and football - that's what fall is for, right?

I didn't take a lot of photos this week. No big deal but it meant I was stretching it a bit to fill the pockets.

Because of this, I needed some pocket filler. I decided to go with a simple statement. I dropped letter stickers from Studio Calico on patterned paper (this one is by American Crafts) and added a bit of handwritten text.

I included a small insert this week to say goodbye to summer. The photo grids on the front are from this post and show 75 (!!) different summer images. (Many of which are already in the albums from this year, but I love the look of all of them together.)

And the backside is the text from that same post, printed out onto three different 4x4 papers and slipped into the pockets.

The right page is dominated by the USC v Cal game from last Saturday. We made up a fun drinking game to play while we watched. I wrote our "rules" on 3x4 journaling cards and slipped them into pockets behind "his" and "hers" stamped stickers. Sweet.

supplies / Paper Source circle labels, Martha Stewart & Avery labels, American Crafts patterned paper, Studio Calico thickers, Amy Tangerine patterned paper (red day of the week), Elise Joy his & hers stamps, Office Depot date stamp, Design A page protectors, We R Memory keepers 4x4 square page protector, Clementine core kit, Bebas quote font. I use a Fiskars corner rounder (it's not amazing, but it's lasted the longest of any corner rounder I've ever had). I am using a Zig Millennium 0.1 pen and Recollections glossy marker throughout this album.

Confused by Project Life? Start here. Have a question about how I am tackling this project each week (including questions about the quotes & photo printing)? Check here. See all my Project Life posts here.

project life : week 37.

Week 37 and for sure I am still a fan of this project.

(click images above to enlarge and they'll be [somewhat] clearer.)

Still catching up on sharing spreads (but we'll get there). This is from the week we were in San Diego AND the weekend that we went to Beer Fest with some friends. Lots of photos means more than a few inserts this week. I am having so much fun adding "extras" to the middle of these spreads. For me, the inserts are what keep this project from getting boring.

Because really, this project is all about the photos for me.

And without a doubt I have printed more photos this year than the past five combined.

As mentioned, there are two inserts this week. The first is a Design G with photos from our trip to San Diego. I didn't do too much "extra" here - most pockets hold photos plus one with patterned paper and a "hello" sticker from Amy Tangerine. Those small letter stickers are Basic Gray for Studio Calico from the Roller Rink kit.

I also added a vellum speech bubble from the same kit to decorate a photo.

Backside is all photos.

The second insert is a coin protector page that perfectly fit instagram photos from Beer Fest, patterned paper and more speech bubbles.

You can read more about my process with this insert here.

Of course, to keep things simple, I continue to use the same tricks over and over again. Like paper-clipping Instagram photos to a 4x6 patterned paper and adding journaling to diagonal stripes....

...and using "white space" on photos to add handwritten text.

Yep. Totally hooked. Love it.

supplies / Paper Source circle label, Martha Stewart & Avery labels, My Mind's Eye patterened paper (diagonal gray stripe) Amy Tangerine stickers & patterned paper, Studio Calico roller rink kit, Office Depot date stamp, Design A page protectors, Design G page protectors, coin protector pocket page, Clementine core kit,, Bebas quote font. I use a Fiskars corner rounder (it's not amazing, but it's lasted the longest of any corner rounder I've ever had). I am using a Zig Millennium 0.1 pen and Recollections glossy marker throughout this album.

Confused by Project Life? Start here. Have a question about how I am tackling this project each week (including questions about the quotes & photo printing)? Check here. See all my Project Life posts here.

around here.

Paul has been out of town this week for training. Six days is nothing compared to a seven month deployment, but it's been interesting having the house to myself again and crazy how all my old routines have returned. I am counting my blessings that I am comfortable and enjoy being alone. If I didn't, I am not quite sure how this relationship (me + the military) would work.

And you know what they say... when the cat's away, the mouse will turn every room into a craft room, do a bunch of projects and watch a lot of guilty-pleasure television. On one hand, it's frustrating that my one week of no work deadlines is the same week that Paul is gone but on the other, it was pretty spectacular to have an endless stretch of time to just make stuff (and blog and keep up with email and plan for what's next and ship orders...).

In fabric news : I sewed a dress this week (I'll share when it feels a bit more like fall around here) and got started on four different quilts. Three of them are going to be gifts and one of them (the solid colored triangle) is for me. I figured it would be easier to cut all the pieces first and then go through all the steps in stages, but we'll see how it goes. I am thrilled to be riding a creative wave this autumn and will hold on as long as possible until the surf board flies out from under me.

In paper news : I am a new Tips & Tricks contributor on the Studio Calico blog. This means once a quarter I will be using their kit (most likely in my Project Life album) to share a "tip" or "trick" (and sometimes both!). My first post went up last night and you can see it & download a PDF with a bit more info here. I'll be sharing two more weeks of my Project Life album, including that fun insert, here on my blog tomorrow and Sunday.

This weekend is an awesome one because Paul will be home and we have absolutely nothing planned (except introducing him to the new Mumford album and watching Tuesday's episode of Sons of Anarchy). I predict a lot of red wine and college football in our future. It shall be amazing.

Have a good one.

september, currently.

drinking lots of tea.

appreciating this article on making a marriage work.

watching old Parks & Recreation episodes.

laughing at The Mindy Project.

eating one giant batch of spaghetti all week long.

willing the last of the tomatoes to turn red.

waiting anxiously for The Casual Vacancy to arrive.

prepping to sell stamps at the Queen Bee Market at the end of October.

opening the windows at night.

sleeping in the middle of the bed while Paul is out of town.

remembering what it's like to be alone.

brainstorming on something new.

wearing shorts while it's still warm.

considering embarking on a "daily project" this holiday season.

making lists, always making lists.

feeling tired, but too restless to sleep well.

getting a lot of writing done and blog posts planned.

loving that there are four quilts in my head right now (more on this later).

having insane dreams about oceans & waves.

listening to the new Mumford & Sons album.

crying over this extended trailer for Les Miserables.

turning into one big goosebump in excitement for that film.

acknowledging the differences between this year and last.

flipping the calendar to October a few days early.

enjoying the quiet.

thankful for so many things.

joining Ali Edwards today & sharing a piece of my story right now.

my garden photo book.

Have I mentioned that I had a patio garden this summer?

Ah, yes, I have.

It's no secret I was totally obsessed. (Though I've currently lost interest and that patio needs a serious intervention this weekend.) It was a huge joy to plant, fuss over, trim, harvest, water, take photos of and eat our garden over the past six months.

I wanted to do something with some of my hundreds of photos (I wish I was joking - what I am going to do when I have actual children to take pictures of?!?) and thoughts on having a garden. I didn't keep any sort of "garden journal" this year (but plan on it next year!) so this is a great substitute.

I stuck with what I know works - a 7x7 Blurb photobook. You can see my first one here and my second one here. I imported all of my garden themed instagram photos right into Blurb Bookify and uploaded some additional ones from my computer.

I like Blurb because I don't have to do much work. They have templates. I have photos. I drop in the photos. They print the book. (Their customer service folks are great if you're having trouble with anything!)

Once again, I decided to add all of my text by hand once the book was printed. I wish I could say I do this because it's artistic, but really, it's because it's so much easier than worrying about creating "print ready" files in PSE with my photos and text.

My book is 78 pages and I used an acid free Zig Millennium pen to write directly on the pages. I gave the spreads about 30 seconds to dry before turning the page and wound up with no smearing.

I didn't add to every page, just where I felt like I had something to say/where I had white space on the page to say it.

Super simple and, perhaps most importantly, complete.

It looks adorable with its two book friends on the shelf too.

Want to make your own photo book? Blurb is offering a discount code to my readers! Use code "INSTAELISE" by 9/29 (that's this Saturday!) to save $19.95 USD, CAD, $21.95 AUD or 17.95 Euros off your book total (GBP not allowed). Coupon is valid just once per customer and only on books made by you. This offer may not be combined with other promotional codes, volume discounts or used retroactively on previous orders. Please note : this is NOT a sponsored post, but links throughout are affliate links which means if you buy a book through one, I will make a small commission on that sale. Thanks! And have fun bookmaking!!