this and that: 2012.04

4.22.2012

Week in the Life 2012: The Plan

Here we go! Week in the Life starts tomorrow. Some have already started and others will start Monday. Yet others will do a totally different week and that is cool too. It's awesome to see the #weekinthelife hashtag start heating up on Twitter and Instagram. Just awesome to see different approaches and the excitement with it all. I think it really helps me personally to maintain the level of excitement I need to be able to document so much for the full week.

I wanted to share some of my preparations I did today. Since I actually finished my project from 2011 (even if it was last week!), I decided I wanted to keep it simple and repeat the recipe. I also like having at least a few matching albums to put on a shelf. You can find the link to my project here.

Here is the Martha Stewart with Avery album for 2012. I like to add a few filler pages just to get a feel for the direction I am headed. I'm going with a little bit calmer feel hopefully. Not that the week is looking any calmer to say the least!

I also like to gather my supplies that I might use. Almost looks like a little Week in the Life kit. Stacy Julian calls these "Materials Files" and I like doing this because it keeps things together and helps me get an idea of where I'm headed.

Some of the supplies I am probably going to use are these journaling cards from Bananafish Studio. I am also using her daily cards and am hoping to use some of her stamps or other items. These are actually a digital file called Simple Sayings that I just printed and trimmed to fit the size of pockets I'm using. What's cool is that with the digital files you can customize them too. I'm kind of excited to play around with these this year. You can get the link to the daily cards here.

And I'm hoping to work in some of these really cool wood veneer cameras, arrows, cars, and hearts from Studio Calico. Maybe add a little Shine too. I'm also loving the flair and other bits and pieces. Not sure it will all make it into the album but it's fun to look at and be inspired by it!

As for the patterned papers, I am using mostly Studio Calico from either the Take Note collection or the Classic Calico Collection Volume 2, some transparencies and paper from Hambly, and some other things like corrugated cardboard, cork board and even a shopping bag from the Container Store. See that cool blue paper? Totally cut up a shopping bag!

A few letter stickers is always fun. The cardboard is from Pebbles, and the smaller stickers are from Studio Calico Abroad collection.

Also wanted to note that the silver bookplates from Martha Steward/Avery are sold separately from the binder. Here you can see them on the paper they come on. I will just use one of those on the spine and add my title to it.

As for the interior pages, I am mixing it up just a bit. I fell in love with Ali's new Daily Banners, so I am going to use them on the first page of each daily spread with a full size photo (my pages are 5.7 x 8.5). On the right side of the layout I am probably going to use the 2010 Ali Edwards template that I resized for 2011. I got the updated sentiment tabs, and that template design gives me a chance to add in some patterned paper, which I love. Here is a little mock up of what it might look like.

Between the left and right sides for each day is a trimmed down baseball card protector page. It has four pockets per side, each is 2.5 x 3.5 inches. Here I will have the transparency and the flair for each day, plus photos, journaling cards, ephemera, etc. And the awesome days of the week flair I am using this year are from Shelley Haganman on Etsy. You can find these here.

I'm sure I will try to work in some stamps too. These are from Ali Edwards Studio AE from Technique Tuesday, and some from Studio Calico (they were the exclusive Project Life sets--I hear they are making new ones too) and Bananafish Studio. I also like the little label stamps from Jenni Bowlin, and the little banners and camera are from Dear Lizzy.

Okay! So there we go. I really need to go clean up now and finish getting ready. Here are some items on my checklist or some tips that might help:

Charge the camera and iPhone. Upload and delete photos from the SD card and the iPhone.
Print the daily sheets from Ali Edwards. Really great resource for documenting the week. You can find those here.
Clean the house just a bit. Reality is one thing, total sloth is another!
Brush my teeth and get to bed. I really need some sleep.
Relax and have fun.

I'll try to be posting some during the week but not sure I can with my work schedule. Will most likely be posting on Instagram. You can find that here or follow me on Instagram: annetteharing

Thanks for looking! I had fun pulling product and making a few preparations. Now ready to say Hello to Week in the Life 2012 and Hello Routines! Here we go!

4.18.2012

Week in the Life 2011: The Initial Plan

So I wanted to share a little of the backstory. The behind the scenes. The dirt. ha ha. I always love it when people share not only the completed projects, but also the prep stage and also some of those plans that may have taken a different direction.

I initially had an idea to do Week in the Life with an old Franklin Covey planner binder. My hubby had one he said he would never use and wanted me to take it to Goodwill. When I saw it a lightbulb went off and I thought, "How cool would this be to use an actual planner binder to document my actual week in it?!" Wheels turned. The office product lover in me just got so excited. So I worked with some page protectors I had from C-Line and trimmed down some baseball card protectors. "This could work," I thought.

The initial plan: an old Franklin Covey planner

Then on a retail therapy trip to Office Max I saw these lovely business card holders and even more lightbulbs went off! So cool. I am always collecting business cards wherever we go.

Lovely business card holder. Note to self: Eat at Sunflower Cafe whenever possible

I knew I wanted to use these Ali Edwards templates, but initially had trouble re-sizing them. I initially just tried the Resize Image function and that doesn't work so well. So I googled it and found an awesome tutorial on Designer Digitals. You can find it here. I spent one evening just resizing them and then had to tweak them a bit when I actually added the photos to the template just to make them look right. I bought the Sentiment Tabs for 2011 and these journaling cards from Ali.

I added the Little Circles transparencies in black from Hambly and the weekly badges from Ormolu (idea from Ali Edwards), and I thought I had found my perfect plan! Here is the initial plan:

2011 initial plan title page

Love these flair buttons from Ormolu.

Initial plan: Each day is a two page spread with a trimmed baseball card protector in between. Four pockets on each side seemed like a lot less to fill than nine.

Or so I thought. After taking all the photos and scribbling notes, etc like you do for Week in the Life, I did a few of the templates and cards, then just got busy with other things. I guess I just wasn't feeling it. There were too many holes for one thing and it made the pages hard to turn. I just didn't love love it. So away it went in my Ikea box for unfinished projects (idea from Noell Hyman).

Until this January. I saw photos of the Martha Stewart labels popping up on Instagram and had to check them out. I ordered the bookplates and thought I could use them for something. The blue mini binder looked too cool, so I ordered it thinking it would be a good place to plan projects, etc.

Then it came in. Hello lovely binder. So nice to meet you! My mind immediately jumped to my abandoned Week in the Life project and I started adding the pages. Voila! It was like magic! Suddenly I had excitement and desire to finish this project! I ended up going with the black, but the blue one is way cool. The red one looks awesome too. By the way, I like the smooth one, not the bumpy one.

Yay for finishing projects!

Week in the Life 2011

So there it is, a little behind the scenes. So have hope for unfinished projects. Sometimes they just need a boost like a Martha Stewart mini binder and suddenly all is fresh and new!

A few people have asked for the dimensions:

C-Line page protectors: sold as 5x5 x 8.5, but I measured them and then resized my templates to 5.7 x 8.5 so they wouldn't slide around. I wanted a snug fit.
Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery Small Format Binder: 5.5 x 8.5 inches.

Also note: the awesome bookplate does not come with the binder. It comes in a package of 6. I got the silver vertical 1 1/16 x 2 1/8.

Bookplate from Martha Stewart with Avery

I hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any questions! I would be happy to help. By the way, I think there are many many ways to complete a project like this. I am seeing all kinds of approaches, from mini books to full 8.5 x 11 and 12 x 12 to just adding it in Project Life. I even think just taking a regular photo album like from Target and getting a pack of 4x6 index cards would be cool. Add your photos, write a bit and you are done. Of course, you can always add labels!

I am planning on updating my original post to share my favorite layouts from the project and a little more of the story when I have time. I am also happily planning my 2012!! Remember it is next week if that works for you!!

4.16.2012

Week in the Life 2011: My Completed Project

I finally finished my 2011 Week in the Life project! It was July 25th-31st. Finished just in time for this year's project: April 23rd-29th. I hope to post more details soon, but wanted to celebrate the fact that for one thing, I actually finished a project, and second, I love love love it! Seriously. I think sometimes it just takes finding the right products to create what you have in mind. I loved using the mini circle transparency + Ormolu days of the week badges (idea from Ali Edwards). I also resized these templates from Ali Edwards at Designer Digitals to fit the smaller binder. Speaking of binders, I absolutely adore the mini binder from Martha Stewart (you can get it at Staples). Also the silver bookplate comes separately. It is the silver vertical 1 1/16 x 2 1/8. You can find it here. Now to go rest up for next week!

Week in the Life 2011, my set on Flickr.