PL2017 - Weeks 9&10

There are no rules, to my project life album this year. I'm really trying not to be too hard on myself, and just document stories.

I have missed a week, here and there. 

I have documented one story, rather than cover a whole week. [There are stories I haven't shared here, and won't] I'm taking a very laid back approach to this years album. 

I didn't have a lot of photos to share, for weeks 9&10. So, I condensed them into one week. 

All our winter, consists of sitting in cold arenas, for either hockey or ringette games. By this time of year, that's getting a little bit boring. For everyone. This is the time of year, that hockey and ringette are gearing up for playoffs. Ringette, were bounce back and forth between city play-offs and provincial play downs. They are two totally separate things. 

• Snapchat... I don't use this app, except to take ridiculous photos that I save. All but Mason has fun with it. At nearly 15 years old, he now thinks his parents are crazy.
• My little sidekick. If I'm sitting on the sofa, so is she. And she absolutely has to be touching me somehow. Has to sit on, not by.
• Ringette party... Jello shooters for the adults, a tray of Bottle Caps and Porn Stars.
• The girls won the silver medal in city play-offs. In the standings, our team came in first place in the division, but Cal-East played a pretty good game. We played them 3 times in play-offs, we won a game, they won a game, and then they won the final game. It's a pretty awesome accomplishment to do so well. 

The following Sahlin Studio product was used: 

Celebrate Elements

Celebrate Journal Cards

Also, something to note, Ali Edwards A Week in the Life [WITL] is happening next week, April 17th-23rd. It's more than project life, it's going much deeper into your every day. For more information and to read what Ali has to say about it, click here.

I have followed along with a WITL since 2008. In all that time, I have missed one year. I have 8 years of in-depth looks into our ordinary every day. The first time I followed along, I had a 6 and 3 year old. My kids are now nearly 15 and 12. A lot has changed in those years. I do look back on the years. Some albums are very photo heavy, with little journaling. Some are very word heavy. It's a big job, to document your life in such great detail. But the results are SO WORTH IT. And looking back, I realize I really like the words. I need to add more words. So this year, I my focus will be on, more words and stories to accompany the photos.  

Last year, I played along, and made the project extremely simple. I was in kind of a slump. My camera wasn't working well, I was bummed out. I didn't know if I wanted to play along with WITL, but I knew I'd regret not. I used a 4x4 size, and followed the same format used by Stephanie Bryan. Looking back now, I wish I would have included more information, but at least I have the photos. I might wish there was more, but I have at least captured a snippet in time. If you're interested, last years WITL is here. 

If you're on the fence at all, about WITL, my recommendation is DO IT. Trust me when I say, you won't regret it. 

PL2016 - October

I still have a few more spreads to spreads to share, before I'm completely finished with 2016 project life album.

Here is October:  

In October, we used up some airmiles and made a trip out to the west coast. Despite the rain, we had  a great time. Barry and I have been to the coast during the storm season, so we did anticipate the rain. What we did not anticipate however, was that it absolutely POURED rain. We now know the difference between water resistant, and water-proof. Water-proof, most definitely, being what you want... 

Before our trip, I spent the day with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, making Lefsa, a Norwegian flat bread.

A few photos of our time away. The weather was crazy. While were there intact, we were lucky enough to see some storms! Eeks. Our trip up to Botanical Beach will always be remembered by us being in awe, at exactly how violent mother nature can be. The pictures will never do justice, what we saw/experienced that day.

• We went to watch my nephew play hockey at the Saddledome. This past season he played for Prince Albert, so they came to play against the Hitmen. It was so fun to be there with all our family. 
• Miss Madelyn was in a fashion show towards the end of October, and she did awesome, strutt'in her stuff on the catwalk. 
• On-going trips to the orthodontist.
• Halloween this year, Madelyn was a vet, perfect costume, for the perfect vet-to-be.
• Grade 6 field trip to the Municipal Buildings downtown. 
• Lastly, this years pumpkin creations. 

The following Sahlin Studio Product used:

Left side:

Life as We Know it

Monthly Calendar Cards

Right Side:

Project Mouse Halloween Bundle

PL2017 Week 8

Here we are, with week 8 of this years album.

• After I'd been cooped up in the house for a week or so, I was getting a bit squirrelly to get out. We took Miss Libby for a walk up on the hill. 
• On the couch with Libby. She's been such a great little companion dog. 
• The text with Mason, I love that my kids are getting to an age now, where we can have a few more 'adult-like' jokes. I mourn the ages they were, and look forward to the ages they're coming into. 
• Mad's team kicked butt at our provincial play downs. We won both games in Rockford, AB, and got a buy, which meant we automatically qualified for provincials. Way to go Storm!
• The epic night of the Oscars. The best picture faux-pas... The different options available on snapchat... Mason tolerates these shenanigans, but only just...

This page was created using the newly released Project Mouse Beginnings, a collaboration of Sahlin Studio and Britt-ish Designs. You have to check it out! There are papers, journal cards, elements and word bits. You can also get the bundle and save. 

I like to use this to showcase, that you don't have to have a Disney theme to use the product.  It's pretty versatile. Having said that, would love to make a trip to Disney, to use the product that way too! I have doubts that the kids would ever forgive us, if we made a trip to the happiest place on earth without them. But I have definitely thought about it...

The following Sahlin Studio product was used: 

Project Mouse [Bundle] by Sahlin Studio and Britt-ish Designs

PL2017 - Wk7

Sometimes I have a shortage of photos.

This week, was one of those cases.

So, instead of stressing about what photos I didn't have, I created a 'currently' type layout.

For this layout, I focused on only what I myself was currently doing. I can see now, I didn't mention that specifically. Perhaps throughout the year, when I'm lean on photos, I could do this for other members of my family as well.

The following Sahlin Studio product was used:

Currently Journal Cards

PL2017 - Week 5

It's March 10th, but you'd never know it.

Wait a minute, that's not exactly true. If you gauge spring by the fact that the days are getting lighter, earlier every morning, and staying lighter, later every evening; you might think to yourself, spring is imminent. 

However, if your were to gauge spring by our current weather, the snow which seems never-ending. The frigid temperatures which are being called unusual and 'January-like'. Yesterdays day time high was -19 degrees. With the windchill, it was closer to -30 degrees. Come on, already. It rained basically our entire summer. We've certainly had our share of snow and cold this winter. I am ready for some nice weather. Pretty please.

Here is week 5 of my project life album:

• Grade 6, first and last COP ski days with school. I'm joking about it being the first and last a little bit. The week before the lessons, it was really warm, a lot of snow got slushy and melted. Then it got super cold. The snow turned to ice. Enough said. The first day out, of this 2 day program [which has never been done at the school since my kids have gone there] there were 4 fractures. Not even kidding. 3 broken wrists and 1 broken arm... 
• Cookie Panookie. Used my brand new cast iron skillet, and made this giant cookie. Two thumbs up. 
• Where my little dog likes to be. All. The. Time. 
• Good Hair day. They don't happen every day. 
• Documenting Miss Madelyn in the penalty box, in Rockyford. Mason was working the box, so he had to let his sister in and out. 
• The boy playing hockey. He's had a great year, even though the team hasn't done awesome.
• Student-led conferences at school. Miss Madelyn always excited to show off her work. 

Currently, hoping that the weather warms up. It would be nice to have temperatures that match the fact that we're moving towards longer days and warmer weather. Fingers crossed. 

The following Sahlin Studio product was used: 

Everyday Routine Elements

Number Journal Cards

March Template Freebie - He Drives

Well, it's that time again, a new template freebie from Sahlin Studio. This template is available for the month of March only, get it while you can, by following this link.

I did a bit of a different take on this months freebie. In my album, I like to alternate between 8x8 and 12x12 sized pages. Not only do I think it makes my album interesting and visually appealing, it definitely saves some money when it comes to printing.

This months template is 12x12 size, but I wanted it to be 8x8. 

I've also found that when you're printing pages off, there is almost always a little bit of cropping that snips off the edges of the pages. I didn't want to crop any of the edges in this layout.

This is what the original layout looks like:

Here's my version: 

In PSE 15, I shrunk down the entire 12x12 layout. I added the layout to an 8x8 sized canvas. I knew I wanted to add a few photos of my son, driving for the very first time. I didn't have great photos of this, as teaching him to drive, was more important than the photo op. [You can see, that if the edges of the layout were cropped it would take away from seeing my sons face]

I love the flexibility these layouts give, even though many people may have this exact layout, once I make a few subtle changes, mine looks different from everybody else's. 

I often alter layouts, to suit my needs. I love being creative, even with layouts that have been created for me. It takes away some of the planning, but still lets me tinker. 

The following Sahlin Studio product was used: 

Worth a Thousand Words - Elements

Worth a Thousand Words - Paper

PL2016 - September Overview

September is always a busy month. This year was no different.

Not only do we get shockingly back to early mornings, and school routines. All the extra curricular activities start up again. This year, Madelyn's first ringette evaluation, was the same day she started school. We go from the lazy days of summer, to the hectic days that are the school year. 

This September, Mason also went on the Grade 9 West Coast Sailing Trip to add yet another element of the unexpected into the mix.

Here is a brief overview of September: 

Close up of the left side:

• Barry was best man at his friends wedding. A huge job, which required a bachelor 'weekend of golf' in Banff, a rehearsal dinner and the huge responsibility of shuttling the groom around on his wedding day, and NOT losing wedding rings... Thankfully he managed the task on point. 
• Mason - off to the West Coast... Eeks. There is something a bit nerve-wracking about sending your kid to the airport, by himself, for the first time. The sailing trip was a huge success. He had a great time, and will be doing chores/house work for us, until he leaves home. 
• Overnight for the kids and Grandma & Grandpa's, while we did 'wedding things'.
• Ringette party, where Mad got stuck in a swing... 
• So far, our fall has been exquisite. The colours have been amazing. Enjoying as much time outside as we can. 

 Close up of the right side:

• Celebrating Barry's birthday! 
• More time outside, walking the dog, and enjoying time together.
• Date lunch with my Grade 6 girl.
• I can't describe how excited I was to see my boy walk through the gates at the airport, after being gone for 5 days... He on the other hand, was being silly, and refused to smile nicely for a photo. 
• Sweet peas... In full bloom, and loving the sight and smell.
• When Mason was in Grade 6, 3 years ago, Madelyn said to me "I hope you don't expect me to be a patrol when I'm in Grade 6. I'm just not interested" It's funny that 3 years later, being a patrol is a right of passage. She tried out at the end of Grade 5, and has taken her roll as patrol, very seriously. 

The following Sahlin Studio products were used: 

2016 Calendar Cards

Kindred Elements