Amy Kingsford

As you might have noticed, I've been struggling over the past several months to find the time and motivation to scrapbook.  Some months I struggled to get even one layout finished and I started to see the number of photos I was taking dwindle as well. But I was determined to keep the memory keeping fires burning.


So last November I decided to make one more last ditch effort at making Project Life work for me. Rather than trying to start right in the busiest time of our lives though, I gave myself permission to hold off until the new year and  I decided instead to spend the months of November and December gathering my supplies and my thoughts.

Below I've shared my plans for my 2015-2016 Project Life album and the products and tools that will help me along the way.

The Plan

LETTER-SIZED: With all of the great 9x12 albums and protectors that were released last year I decided to stick with my beloved letter-sized format for this project not only because I love the compact size, but also because I can include any regular layouts I make over the year in my album as well.  

AUG 2015-JUL 2016: After looking at my photo log I decided to play catch up and date my album back to August 2015.  For some reason the start of the school year has always felt like a more natural starting mark for our family. Its when we are most organized and geared up to tackle a new year; its when we take our family photos and its when I send my boys off into the world another year older and another year wiser.

MONTHLY SPREADS: I've decided to go for a monthly approach consisting of 1-2 spreads and a "Currently" section to honor myself a bit more in my memory keeping.  This section will utilize the 9x12 protectors with all those cute little 3x3" pockets and will consist of an anthology of the tv shows, music, books, and trends that I'm currently into.  

HYBRID: I'll be using a mix of both physical and digital products and will be doing the bulk of my printing at home.    

My Tools

 NIKON D7100 | Nikon

I'm so excited about my new camera. Its my first DSLR (shhh don't tell anyone) so there's a bit of a learning curve but it will definitely keep me snapping photos this year!

My Title Spread

Supplies: Studio Calico Lollipop and Arendal Documenter Kits.

Supplies: Storyteller Kenner Fillers by Just Jaimee; Through the Years by Amber Labau Designs and Studio Calico Lollipop Documenter Kit

Wow I can't believe it's that time again already! Time to start thinking about December Daily...

It seems like just last month that I was finishing last year's December album (oh wait...that's probably because I did just finish it up last month :blush:).


Well anyhow, this year is a new year right?! And I have to say I'm proud of the planning and progress I've made so far, largely due to the inspiration that I've received from Wilna Furstenberg's holiday workshop Heartfelt Christmas. It was just what I needed to put me in the right mood for a little holiday crafting.

The Album

The Supplies

The Making Spirits Bright Collection by Sahlin Studio 

Cut files by iHeart Studio (Wilna Furstenberg)

I'll also be supplementing with quite a bit of leftover Christmas themed product from my paper stash, including wood veneer, stickers, twine, washi, mini clothespins, glassine bags, sequins and more.

My Approach

Happy Holiday Crafting!

Those of you who know me, know that I love fall!  And once October rolls around the signs of autumn begin to pop up both outside my house and in!

My kitchen sports a hint of fall year round because I love its beautifully warm colors, but I decided to turn up in honor of my favorite season with this simply, yet fun leaf garland.

I'm sure you've all heard of the "Envelope System" at some point or another in your life.

Welcome to day 4 of Hybrid Holidays, where I've been sharing a few of my last minute hybrid holiday creations.  Today I've got a fun ornament idea that could also be used to make Christmas tags for your gifts!

My oldest really wanted his own tree in his room this year, so we got a small tree for him and we've had some fun making ornaments together over the past few days to decorate it.  Aside from some fun spin art ornaments and the ornaments he's made in school, I decided to make these dimensional die cut ornaments to hang on his tree as well.

What you'll need:

• Photoshop or Photoshop Elements
• Printer
• Silhouette Cameo (or other diecutting machine)
• White Cardstock
• Christmas Word Art or Patterned Paper of Choice (Digital or Physical)
• Twine
• Adhesive
• Foam Squares

DISCLAIMER: The instructions below are for a Silhouette Cameo, but if the necessary adjustments are made these ornaments can be made with almost any diecutting machine.

1. Decide on patterned papers/word art that you would like to fill the centers of your ornaments with.


2. Open the Ornament Back template and word art/papers of your choice in Photoshop and clip them to each of the ornament backs.


3. Save your ornament designs and open them in your  Silhouette Studio software.


4. Open Ornament Back cut file and layer it over your design so that the cut lines correspond.


5. Set the registration marks for your document and print (2) copies of your ornament designs using the Studio software. (NOTE:  the registration marks should print out on the page, so that the Silhouette can read them and cut out around your printed designs.)


6. Now cut out both pages of your printed designs with your Silhouette.


7. Next open the Ornament Front cut file in your Studio software and layer it over your printed designs just to make sure the lines correspond--resize if necessary.


8. Once you've checked the size, copy the cut lines for your ornament fronts to a new cut document.


9. Cut two sets of ornament fronts from white cardstock.


10. Glue the corresponding printed designs back to back using your adhesive, so the design can be seen on both sides.


11. Using foam squares layer your ornament front cuts over top of both sides of your printed ornaments for a nice dimensional look that can been no matter which way your ornament happens to be turned.


12. Now thread your ornaments with twine and hang them from your tree!

Happy Holidays!

.

It's day 3 of Hybrid Holidays and I've got the perfect solution to your last minute solution holiday gift wrapping!

These Christmas Pillow Boxes have turned out to be real life savers in the gift wrapping department this year, as they turned out to be perfect for gift cards, treats and plenty of other small gifts.  I used this Pillow Box Cut File from Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs and patterned papers and tags from Celeste Knight's Brown Paper Packages Collection to craft these simple but elegant boxes.

What you'll need:

• Pillow Box Cut File or Template
• Patterned Papers of Choice
• Tags
• Twine
• Adhesive
• Doilies (optional)
• Vellum (optional)
• Buttons and bling (optional)

1. First select the patterns,tags and embellishments you will be working with.


2. Setup the cut document(s) in your die cutting machine's software, making sure that your shape is sized appropriately for your gifts. Create separate documents for different sizes.


3. Cut the appropriate number and sizes of pillow boxes you will need.


4. Fold along all perforated lines, then secure flaps and edges with adhesive. Remember to leave your top flap unsecured for access.


5. Add tags, sleeves and any other optional embellishments to your pillow boxes.


6. Tuck your tiny gifts inside for safe keeping until Christmas.

Note: For my own Holiday Pillow Boxes I took a few different approaches: for some I added tags attached with  twine and vellum layered over top for an elegant look and then for others I wrapped my boxes with doilies and then created sleeves with word art that would easily slide over top of the pillow box.  

Happy Holidays

Thanks for joining me for day two of Hybrid Holidays, a fun filled week of last-minute ideas for cards, decor, gifts and more!

This year I decided to make "Letters to Santa" Mailboxes for each of the boys, so that Randall the Reindeer (our version of "Elf on a Shelf") would finally have somewhere to leave his "Naughty or Nice" Reports each morning.  And now that my oldest is learning to write he likes to communicate  with Santa a little more frequently--making sure that Santa know he's sorry for teasing his brother and amending his Santa gift choices on a weekly basis.


The inspiration for this project came from this adorable mini mailbox template and cut file by Kelleigh Ratzlaff  Designs.  And when I saw Deena Rutter's Hello December Kit I knew it would be perfect for the project!

What you'll need:

• Mini mailbox template and cut files
• 3-5 coordinating patterned papers
• Electronic Die-cutting Machine
• (2) brads
• Adhesive

1. Open the cut file in your die cutting machine's software and decide which pieces you want cut from which patterns.


2. Set up separate cut file documents for each piece of paper with the correct number of pieces needed on each.


3. Once cut, fold along the perforated lines of each piece.


4. Assemble the pieces of your mini mailbox, using adhesive to make sure everything is secure.


5. Add functional features such as the latch and flag using your brads.


6. Now check to see if you have mail from Santa!

NOTE: For my own mailbox I printed out my favorite patterned papers from Deena Rutter's Hello December Kit on white cardstock.  I also altered the cut file to create the cute town scene on the inside of my mailbox, which was cut from one of the journaling cards in the Hello December Kit.  This is my favorite feature because every time you open the mailbox its like your peeking though your very own window to the North Pole.

Happy Holidays!

Every year it seems I get a bit of a late start on my holiday crafting.  By the time November is done I have usually made up my mind that I'm not going to do anything special this year--but by the end of the first week of December I start to rethink my decision as I become inspired by all of the holiday crafting that I see going on around me.  

If you're at all like me and find yourself in need of a few last-minute ideas for cards, decor, gifts and more, then join me this week, where I'll be sharing a few of my hybrid holiday creations!

Over this weekend I finally hunkered down and got photos taken of the boys. Then with the help of Photoshop, a few of my favorite fonts and this Christmas word art from Marie-Pierre Capistran, I designed myself a quick and easy hybrid photo card.


I printed them at home and added a small handmade touch to give each card that "made with love" feel.  From the time I opened Photoshop to the minute I stuffed the cards into their envelopes, it took me less than a couple of hours to make 25 cards!

What You'll Need:

• A photo
• Photoshop (or photo editing software of choice)
• Digital word art or fonts
• 4 x 6 photo paper
• Vellum
• Mini clothespins
• Paper Trimmer

1. Choose the photo you want to use on this year's card.


2. Create a 4 x 5.5" document in Photoshop or other photo editing software.


3. Combine your photo of choice with your card's message on your new document, using digital word art or your favorite fonts.


4. Print finished photo cards onto 4x6" photo paper.


5. Cut your photo cards down to size by trimming off the excess.


6. Cut vellum into 4 x 5.5" pieces to layer over your photo cards.


7. Clip the vellum over your photo card using a mini clothespin and you're finished!

NOTE: For my own Christmas card I paired a photo of my boys in front of a snowy backdrop with white dotted vellum for a fun effect. I also decided to use decorative paper clips on the few Christmas cards I was mailing to cut down on bulk.

Happy Holidays!

Get a closer look at my family's advent calendar over on the Jenni Bowlin Studio Inspiration blog, PLUS get the steps for making your own Matchbox Advent Calendar.


These cute little boxes are the perfect size for including a small treat and/or a fun little holiday activity for each day!


Does your family use an advent calendar? If so I'd love to hear more about your family's approach to this fun tradition in the comments below!

My son has his first big Halloween Party coming up this week which definitely has me putting my crafty skills to use!  So I thought I'd share some of my creations with all of you.  Stop by throughout this week to see how I've simplified the party-planning process by introducing a few digital products into the mix--that's right it's going to be a Hybrid Halloween!

Here's a glimpse at a simple little Halloween-inspired garland I strung along the wall in my kitchen.  I added coordinating cardstock behind some of the pennants to introduce some pops of color and left others so you could see through to give it a playful look.  DISCLAIMER: Apologies for the not-so-great photo, my kitchen isn't exactly known for its lighting ;)

What You'll Need:

• Black Cardstock
• Coordinating Cardstock (optional)
• Twine
• Assorted Halloween Bunting Cut File (or similar cut file)
• Die Cutting Machine
• Adhesive

1. Set up your die cut document in the software that accompanies your die cutting machine with your assorted pennant designs.  NOTE: (4) assorted pennant designs should fit on an 8.5 x 11 page.

2. Cut the desired number of pennants from your black cardstock.  NOTE: I cut 16 pennants to make a banner that would stretch across a 10 ft wall.

3. Once cut, decide if you'd like to layer colored cardstock behind all or some of your pennants.  If so edit your cut file and remove all of the interior points so that you have only the outline of of your shape exists and cut from coordating colors of cardstock.

4. Use adhesive to layer the colored carstock behind your black pennant designs.

5. Cut a length of twine that corresponds with the desired length of your garland.  NOTE: For my own garland I used 15 ft of twine.

6. Adhere the twine to the backs of your pennants at regular intervals through the length of your twine.

7. Hang your garland up on the wall and accent with additional decor.



NOTE: For my own Halloween Garland I used black cardstock to cut the assorted halloween banner bunting shapes from and then backed some of my pennants shapes with seafoam and butterscotch mats to tie into my color scheme. I used a single spool of American Crafts black and white baker's twine and spaced my pennants at 11.25" intervals along it's length.

Have a Happy Halloween!

My son has his first big Halloween Party coming up this week which definitely has me putting my crafty skills to use!  So I thought I'd share some of my creations with all of you.  Stop by throughout this week to see how I've simplified the party-planning process by introducing a few digital products into the mix--that's right it's going to be a Hybrid Halloween!

Making these Halloween Photo Booth Props, was probably one of my favorite creations I made for the party, so as you can imagine I'm excited to share them with you.  My photo booth consisted of a backdrop made of polka dot gift wrap and a bench and the addition of these simple props made for an inexpensive yet fun party activity.

What You'll Need:

• Colored Cardstock
• Straws and /or Craft Sticks
• Monster Masks  Cut File (or similar cut file)
• Halloween Photo Props Cut File (or similar cut file)
• Die Cutting Machine
• Adhesive

1. Set up your cut files in your die cutting machine's software.

2. If you are using layered designs (like the monster masks) set up separate documents for cuts that will be made in a different color.  For instance, for my monster mouth masks I set up all of my teeth on one sheet, all of my outlines on another sheet and all of my mouth pieces on another--this helped to save on time and paper.

3. Assemble pieced cuts with adhesive.

4. Adhere a straw or craft stick to your photo prop as a handle.

5. Now place your subject--with props in hand--in front of a fun backdrop and snap away!

Have a Happy Halloween!