April Template | Sahin Designs

April templates have been released from Sahin Designs. I adore working with circles. So this did not disappoint one bit.

Here are the templates:

This is my layout using one of the templates.

Surprise, surprise, it's a Cover-19 layout.

If nothing else, Coronavirus is giving us something to document.

Does this still feel surreal to you? It does me. I've been home now for 42 days. I've only left home a handful of times. I still can't quite believe that there is tape around playgrounds, indicating they are 'closed'. I can't believe there are empty shelves at the grocery store. [Last week I found yeast, the week before that, snagged the last 10 kg bag of all purpose flour] So baking can continue [which is a good and bad thing, my waistline will tell you]

Ironically, one thing I haven't been able to do is settle down and read. What? At the middle of March I'd already read 17 books. Seventeen!! And since March 14th, I've read 1... I don't quite understand it myself. I have the green light to sit and read, and I just can't seem to focus.

Covid has shut down so many businesses, I can't even imagine what things will look like a few more months down the road.

I'm so ready to get back 'out there' to the normal every day things I'd be doing. Yet, so nervous at the same time.

So thankful that the sun is a little bit more dependable as of late.

Sitting in the front or back yard, feeling the sunshine on your face, nothing is as good as that.

The following Sahin Designs products were used:

April Template: https://sahindesigns.com/products/april-2020-layout-templates/
Homebody Elements: https://sahindesigns.com/products/homebody-elements/
Homebody Papers: https://sahindesigns.com/products/homebody-papers/
Covid-19 Digital Stamps: https://sahindesigns.com/products/covid-19-stamps/

PL2020 - Week 1 | Sahlin Studio

Here is the first week of my 2020 Project Life album. 

This week is a bit journal heavy. I honestly didn't have a lot of photos. 

The time between Christmas and New Year's around our house, was very quiet. It was lovely. But not much happened. So I highlighted a few of the stories that matter. 

I am still working on a title page. That always seems to be something I incorporate at a later date. 

I'm still using photos and a project life album. Page protectors seem to be harder and harder to come by, but I'm going to improvise if I have to, and use my stash of stuff. 

At one time, I considered creating digital layouts, uploading them and creating a digital book. However, I don't like the idea of having to wait so long to see the finished product. Obviously I'd have to have the whole years worth of pages before making a book. 

I created my first project life type album in 2011. I was new to digital format, but I did it. 

I love to go back and look at the past years. So do my kids. 

While they're still at home and I'm still loving this format, I'm keeping it going. 

Here we are in 2020 and here is week 1: 

• Mad's posse met up for a skate at the outdoor rink, and then to an escape room.
• Zoo Lights on NYE with Madelyn and Barry.
• New Year's Day dinner at M&D's place, starting the new year out right. 

I used the following Sahlin Studio product:

PM Vibes - Elements:  https://the-lilypad.com/store/Project-Mouse-Vibes-Elements.html

PM Vibes - Journal Cards:  https://the-lilypad.com/store/Project-Mouse-Vibes-Cards.html

Disney Memories

One of the things about being a creative team member for Sahlin Studio, is the awesome product she comes up with. All the time.

Some of my favourites are anything that has to do with Project Mouse. Project Mouse is Disney themed, and there are many different elements to this. All the Project Mouse products are listed in one convenient place, click this link to jump right there.

In the past, I have created quite a few Disney pages. I've also created quite a few pages that have nothing to do with Disney. So the product is very versatile.

For the latest Sahlin Studio release, I dug deep into some Disney memories. This was our one and only trip to Disneyland, back in [gasp] 2011.

The kids were so little! It was one of our best trips as a foursome. We had so much fun, to say I wasn't a bit melancholy while creating this pocket page, would be a lie... I mean come on... Mason now towers over me! And I expect by the time she's in grade nine, Madelyn and I will be looking eye to eye. Currently, she's only a couple inches shorter than I am.

I'm so glad that I have digital photos and can go back and create a page like this, that everyone in our family gets so much joy from.

And we definitely need to get busy and make plans for another trip as a foursome, to the Happiest Place on Earth...

Project Mouse - Main Street

PM Main Street - Enamel Pins: https://the-lilypad.com/store/Project-Mouse-Main-Street-Enamel-Pins.html

PM Main Street - Artsy - https://the-lilypad.com/store/Project-Mouse-Main-Street-Artsy.html

Project Mouse product, doesn't always have to coincide with a trip to Disneyland, here are a couple of pages I created, using Project Mouse elements, but had nothing to do with a trip to Disney.

Project Mouse - Adventure

Artsy -https://the-lilypad.com/store/Project-Mouse-Adventure-Artsy.html

https://the-lilypad.com/store/Project-Mouse-Adventure-Enamel-Pins.html

https://the-lilypad.com/store/Project-Mouse-Adventure-Journal-Cards.html

Project Mouse - Wilderness
https://the-lilypad.com/store/Project-Mouse-Wilderness-Elements.html

https://the-lilypad.com/store/Project-Mouse-Wilderness-Journal-Cards.html

https://the-lilypad.com/store/Project-Mouse-Wilderness-Word-Art.html

Here are some other layouts I've created using Project Mouse. Some from Disney, and others not. [This layout, from Thunder Mountain, remains one of my most favourites of all time]

Project Mouse - Frontier
https://the-lilypad.com/store/Project-Mouse-Frontier-BUNDLE.html

Project Mouse - Tomorrow
http://sahlinstudio.com/project-mouse-tomorrow/

Project Mouse - Halloween
http://sahlinstudio.com/project-mouse-halloween-edition/

Project Mouse - Christmas 
http://sahlinstudio.com/project-mouse-christmas-edition-freebie/

PL2017 - Weeks 35 and 36

I'm constantly taking pictures. Drives my kids crazy. But every so often, I look back at the weeks, and  as shocking as it may sound, I hardly have any photos. So, I just make do with what I have. 

Sometimes when that happens, I look at what I've got, and then I cut a page protector down to accommodate them. I actually like that the page protector is cut down, it gives the album a bit more visual interest, to have something a little different. I should actually do it more often.

Week 35:

• Epic back yard water fight between Barry and the kids. So fun. The hose is now totally involved, and everyone gets SOAKED. The best part, there are no tears...
• Barry rented a sheet of ice for the kids, so they could get their rink legs back.
• Madelyn was nervous about starting at a new school. We drove to it, and walked around the neighbourhood to familiarize her with the area a little bit. 
• Crazy hazy sky sunsets.

Week 36:

• Annual parade, and totally ready to catch ANY candy that comes her way [Having candy thrown out is definitely a small town bonus]
• First day of school. Grades 7 and 10. 

I had to honour Mason's request for privacy. This nifty product was a freebie from CZ a few years back. I have used it a couple of times. I absolutely don't want to embarrass my kids. [If I did, they'd never let me take another picture]

The following Sahlin Studio products were used: 

Week 35

Photo Overlay - Love 

Hello Kit Sampler

Number Journal Cards

Week 36

Apple Orchard

Number Journal Cards

More CZ Inspiration

A few weeks back I wrote a blog post about the fact that I was re-taking CZ Design Your Life class. It was a 'go at your own pace' type class. It was over a 4 week period, each week there were two new layouts introduced. 

I got busy, as life does, and didn't get the chance, or rather, have the time to watch the videos or complete the layouts. I had only completed 2 of 4 weeks.

Here are the two layouts I created from week 2, which I guess I forgot to post here on my blog:

These are both 8x8 sized layouts. I like them. I got a couple of stories down, which makes me happy. But I don't love them. Sometimes I feel a little like I'm 'reaching'. With these two layouts, that's how I felt. 

This past week I found I had some free time. So I went ahead and watched the week 3 videos and got right to work on my layouts. Now I'm not sure why... The pictures themselves... The subject matter... The layout size... [8.5 x 11 compared to 8 x 8 size] But I love how these two layouts turned out. Love, as in they make me absolutely giddy.

Here they are:

I'm looking forward to seeing what week 4 brings. Hopefully I can set some time aside sooner rather than later.

CZ Class - Getting Inspired

I recently took a class from CZ Design called Design Your Life 2.0.  I'd taken this class 9 years ago back when I was just dabbling in digital. All my layouts from that time period, are paper and embellishments. I now am mostly a digital scrapbooker, except for the odd crafty thing I do. 

The product that I have squandered away... My husband never need know about... 

I love scrapbooking. Still. With a passion. It's never changed since I scrapbooked my wedding. 19 years ago!! Eeks! I love going through past albums. I love re-connecting with stories. I love remembering tidbits I'd forgotten. I love looking at my kids. One thing scrapbooking thing does, is freeze time. Forever more.

On occasion, I go through a dry spell. I'm not totally creative every day. On occasion weeks go by before I sit at the computer. When I saw this class was being offered again, and alumni got a bit of a discount, I decided to go for it. 

Sometimes it's exactly the kind of inspiration you need.  Here are two layouts that I made for the class. The templates were given, but photos, papers, embellishments and stories... Well, those are all mine. 

 

Two of my most favourite photos of Mason, taken 8 years apart. [Sigh] Another thing that taking all these photos does, is make your life flash right before your eyes.

Documented evidence of Madelyn's 12th birthday party. Such a fun time spent with her very best girlfriends. 

I had so much fun creating these pages, to suit my needs. It was just what I needed to get the creative juices flowing.