Day 2 of the Fall Harvest Crop

Good morning girls! I am bringing you yet another challenge in the Fall Harvest Crop. Make sure to keep coming back to the blog everyday in addition to joining us in the NoelMignon Facebook Group. You don't have to be a NoelMignon subscriber to join the Facebook group or to join in on the Crop fun so come on over and join us! And without further ado, your challenge from me today:

Pumpkin Spice Latte

This challenge is all about scrapping your guilty pleasures. I took a pocket page approach and documented eight current guilty pleasures. 

I used the Blue Moon Daily Diary kit to create this page.  I cut down the 12x12 Pink Paislee Cedar Lane to get some of these cards.

I tried to come up with as many guilty pleasures as I could think of but if you decide to document only one, so be it! 

So, have you figured out which guilty pleasure(s) you will be scrapping? Well, get on it because there is a prize specifically for participants in this challenge. Only those who scrap their guilty pleasure by Saturday, Oct. 24th and post it in the corresponding album in the FB group will be eligible for this gorgeous prize! 

There are several more prizes available this week so make sure you join us in our Facebook group to keep up to date. Can't wait to see what you all make. 

Pocket Page Insert with Blue Moon

Good morning! I've got another pocket page up using the Blue Moon Daily Diary kit. I decided to also stick with the lighter cards and elements in this kit to make this page.

I stuck with the general color scheme of pink, blue, and gold and carried this out on all the cards to pull the spread together.

I got some new gold metallic thread and it was the perfect finishing touch for this layout. How have I lived this long without it?!

I cut apart some of the journal cards to act as labels for journaling on the pictures. My typewriter was acting up but I think the mistakes add to the homemade-ness of the page. Perfectly imperfect :)

The Blue Moon Daily Diary Kit is still available. Head over and check it out and pick one up before they're gone!

Hand-Stitching with Show and Tell

Good morning! The design team members were asked to share a technique this week and I'm not a very technique-y scrapbooker, but there are some things that I turn to time and time again. I decided to share my hand-stitching process with you. This is definitely a tutorial for the clueless, those who have never picked up a needle and thread. If you've cross-stitched or similar, you might want to skip on past. :)

After deciding what I wanted to hand-stitch, I drew the shape with a faint pencil line.

Once you have your shape drawn, you will need a wide-eyed needle, embroidery floss, a paper piercer (found at most big box craft stores), and something soft and cushy to pierce the holes on (I used a sheet of felt, but if you have a mouse pad, that works awesomely). 

Now just poke holes along the pencil line, trying to space the holes evenly. Make sure the holes aren't too close together though, or you'll risk tearing two holes into one big hole once you start stitching. Erase the pencil line after all the holes are poked. 

Next, thread up your needle. Pull the floss through your needle just a little bit so you have a small portion that is doubled up. Pull this thread through the backside of the page, first hole. Tie a knot once the thread is pulled mostly all the way through. 

I did a backstitch so I went through the back of hole 1, and down through the top of hole 2. 

Now go up through the backside of hole 3. Then you will go back to hole 2 and pull the needle through the top side of hole 2. 

Keep stitching like this until your shape is completed. Tie a knot in the thread once you are finished or just secure with a piece of washi and trim the extras.

It's not rocket science, but it's fun and adds texture and dimension to your pages with just a little bit of work.

My finished pocket page. I used Becky Higgins Design E for the page protector, which has 4 6x6 pockets. I've never used this design before but decided to treat every pocket like a mini layout.

I used the ribbon from the Classic Kit and pleated and then used my sewing machine to secure it. I love the texture of the pleat.

Thank you so much for stopping by today. Have you seen the new October kits? Come check out the Blue Moon Classic Kit and the Daily Diary Kit.

A Layout and a Pocket Page with Show and Tell

Hello! This morning I have two pages to share with you. I bought the Classic Show and Tell kit because I loved it so much and have happily gotten back to creating layouts. It's been too long.

This layout is made primarily from the Classic kit and was inspired by that gorgeous Crate Paper alpha Thickers. I wanted them to take center stage on my layout and mixed them with the Basicgrey alphas for a fun effect.

This picture I took of my son when he was 6 months old just slays me. I've scrapped it before and I'll probably scrap it again, but I just love it so much. I outlined the letters in my title with the gold pen that came in the kit. It took a while to finish, but it gives it a painty-feel and I love it. By the way, isn't that sheer ribbon with the gold glitter dots absolutely divine?! I need about 100 more feet of that ribbon.

And because the Show and Tell kits make me want to scrap, I have a pocket page for you too using mostly items from the Daily Diary kit.

I mostly used the 12x12 cut apart sheet from the Daily Diary kit by Crate Paper. I love 12x12 sheets like that because when I trimmed it all up, not only did I have several 3x4 cards but I also had quite a few tags and embellishments too. All from one 12x12 paper!

I did some hand-stitching just by paper-piercing holes around the circle and speech bubble. I had a few extra photos for this page so I included them in an envelope and decorated the outside of it.

I've been addicted to sequins lately so included some atop this mason jar die cut. I used my typewriter to finish up some journaling. I made some mistakes with the typewriter which happens almost every time, but I think it adds to the charm.

I love all the gold bits in this kit and think they go together so well with my desert photos. I tried to keep things fairly simple but as is usually the case, I had several embellishments that I couldn't NOT use so I tried to make it all work.

Those are my pages for today. Make sure to join us in Noel's Reveal Facebook group to see the next month's kit before it's released to the public. Plus we play lots of fun games and have prizes, so why haven't you joined yet? ;)

Show and Tell Process Video

Good morning friends! Today I am sharing my first pocket page with the September Daily Diary Kit, Show and Tell. I made a process video for this page and will be sharing that down below.

For this page, with the exception of the sequins, the only things I used are items that came in either the Daily Diary kit or the Classic kit. This is my first time purchasing the classic kit but there were so many awesome things that I couldn't resist it.

I made the sequin pocket by throwing some sequins into a page protector pocket and stitching it closed with my sewing machine. I then added a sticker from the sticker sheet in the Classic kit and stitched it on as well. I made sure some sequins were below the sticker and some were above because the stitching prevents a lot of them from moving too much without vigorous shaking.

I used the Heidi Swapp stamps that came in the Daily Diary Kit to give my journaling cards mini titles. I used the enamel dots as accenting pieces or when I felt I need a little extra dimension.

The photo of my daughter's art work was done on a dry erase board. I took a picture and then converted it to B&W. I often like to include pictures of art work and school work because I feel less horrible when I throw them away.

And the Process Video if you're interested in how I made this:

Crafting Life Lessons with the Daily Diary Kit

Happy Saturday to you all. I found myself recently taking a lot of photos on a particular day. It wasn't officially a "Day in the Life" project but I wanted to document what a day was like for us this summer, the summer before we enter a new era of a school-going kid. I took out my Country Life kit to document it.

If there is one life lesson I have learned in crafting, it is to not overcommit myself to a project and to remember that it's okay to do a project on my own terms. This is no where near a full day documented. I didn't set my camera on a tripod to catch myself doing the daily routines; most of these pictures were taken with a few hours of each other. But this is pretty representative of a day in my life this summer even if it is lacking a few extra details.

Another life lesson I've learned in crafting is nothing will ever be perfect. There will always be something you wish would be different or could change on your page. But at some point, you've got to just let go and let things be as they are. I didn't particularly like the way this die cut heart made that picture feel too heavy. I worried that it made the whole layout a little off-balance. When I tried to pull it off, it was going to rip my photo so I had to let it be. So then I added a few other embellishments, using a red word art strip because having it be the same color as the heart made it so that it didn't add much extra weight. The small wood veneer heart in contrast with the larger die cut heart also seems to make it feel a little lighter, in my opinion. So is it perfect? No, but it works and I'm leaving it.

Another crafty life lesson I'll share with you today is that it's okay to go outside your normal style. On this "remember" card, I did several things that I don't normally. First, I made a smaller photo on top of a patterned card and then I included a lot of layers (for me anyway). It's busier than I tend to go but it was what I was feeling at the moment. I used to be concerned about all of my pages having similar styles so the albums seemed more cohesive, but now I've realized that nobody will ever be looking through my Project Life albums pointing out how varying the styles are. They will be more interested in the pictures and the stories. So I do each page how I feel inspired to make it and am no longer worried about overall album cohesion.

That's all I have for you today! I did an unboxing video for the September Daily Diary Kit called Show and Tell. You can watch it here.

Going Square with Country Life

Good morning! I've made another pocket page with the Country Life Daily Diary Kit. I decided to go completely square with this page and chose a page protector that has eight 4x4 pockets and four 2x2 pockets so that I could use those cute little cards that came in the kit.

I printed up my 4x4 photos and 2x2 photos by making a 4x6 collage of my photos. I repeated the theme of lace, washi, and embellishment on all the photos.

We recently moved and my beloved sewing machine has yet to be hooked up at the new house, so I substituted lace to provide the texture I was missing from my machine stitching.

I cut the washi in half so it wasn't quite as thick and took on more of a supporting role. I used staples to fasten the lace on to provide a contrast of hard and soft with the lace and the metal. I also outlined my Becky Higgins alphas from the kit to make them stand out more atop a louder pattern. 

Be sure to follow NoelMignon on Instagram to keep up to date with what's being made with the kits. 

Creating Pocket Cards with Country Life

Hello all and welcome to challenge week! If you didn't see Danielle's post yesterday, the DT is bringing an entire week of challenges. You'll have almost a full month to get them finished and if you complete all challenges (6 in total, I believe), you will be entered to win a Daily Diary Kit of your choosing as your prize! How awesome is that?! Plus, you don't have to use the kits to complete these challenges so if you've never tried NoelMignon but would like to, play along using your stash and you'll be in the running to win the kit.

Okay, enough of the logistics. Let's get to talking challenges. I am challenging you to make your own pocket cards. If you are not a pocket page maker, don't worry, I've got a challenge for you too. First, my page and card I made using the Country Life Daily Diary Kit:

I made a card by layering some strips from the 6x6 sheets of paper included in the kit and added one of the gingham buttons and a word art strip from the kit and some veneer from my stash.

 I didn't really have an idea in mind when I started this so I recommend just sitting down and playing with paper and seeing how it goes. Or if you need to plan it out, feel free to do that too. Or if you really would like some help, feel free to use this sketch (but it is not required that you use the sketch to enter the challenge):

For all of you non-pocket-page people, your challenge is to use this sketch as inspiration for a layout or whatever type of project you'd like to make. To play along, join the NoelMignon Facebook Group and there will be albums there that you can upload your projects to for each challenge. Can't wait to see what you all make. 

Beginnings of a Summer Album with Daily Diary

I've been doing pretty good at maintaining my 2015 Project Life album but summers around here are always special. I feel this summer holds so much extra weight and fervor with the anticipation of so much change. We are moving to a new house. My daughter is starting Kindergarten. I start a new job. It seems like this particular portion of our lives will be the time capsule we look back on to how things were before. That fact alone warrants an album unto itself, I believe. So I've been working on a 6x8 mini album in PL style and the Pool Party Daily Diary kit has helped me get it started.

So this summer has actually not been the greatest so far. We've suffered a lot of setbacks and disappointments but it illuminates our resilience that we are still trying to make it the best summer it can be. It's too hot outside and it's too hot inside with a broken A/C so we are trying to keep the kids busy. I want to remember these little moments of free play and self-expression.

I have any addiction to all-square pocket protectors. I could do my entire albums in square pockets if it weren't for all the photos that need a fuller canvas. I trimmed down some of the 6x6 papers that came in the kit as well as some 3x4 cards to come up with the 2x2 squares. I picked some photos that best illustrate what these days are like for us.

I wanted to use the pocket that came with the kit so I included some journaling strips. I will use my Fuse to slice an opening in the page protector to enable the reader to pull out the strips. I also used a chipboard frame and a cardstock die cut along with a picture and a 3x4 card to fill the other pocket. I put a word art brush on my photo before printing and then used the smaller alphas from the 12x12 alpha sheet in the kit.

I'm sure you'll be seeing more pages in this format as I attempt to keep up two simultaneous albums. Have you followed NoelMignon on Pinterest? It's one of the many ways you can keep up with what people are making with their kits. And don't forget to link us up to show us what you're making!

Documenting Summer with the Pool Party Daily Diary Kit

Good evening! Due to a little misunderstanding in scheduling, my post is coming at you extremely late today but I'm eager to show you my first pocket page spread using the Pool Party Daily Diary Kit. I love the bright, vibrant colors in this kit and they just went so well with my photos.

I used the heck out of the Summer Vibes stuff from Simple Stories that was included in the kit. The cards are absolutely gorgeous and had the perfect phrases for the photos I used.

I layered some die cuts from Simple Stories and some of the word stickers from the 12x12 sticker sheet in the kit.

I usually try to layer the bigger word art die cuts with a shaped die cut underneath like I did with the cloud and "hello there summer" on the top left card.

I like a lot of white space in my spreads but there were so many brightly colored cards that I wanted to use. To offset this, I decided to make the borders around my photos wider to give more white space.

It was fun to create the journaling card with the word art stickers and gives an added bit of color to this side of the spread. I layered some more die cuts on the journal cards and love how it turned out.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Are you following NoelMignon on Instagram yet? If not, please hop over and give us a follow so you can keep up with what the team is making with their kits, not to mention some awesome sneak peeks of upcoming kits.