4x4 Pockets & Daily Diary

Welcome back everyone! Wow...I cannot believe August will soon be over and this is my last official pocket page for August to share.  This month sure did whizz by.  I hope your month was filled with many memories and moments so you will have tons of photos to scrapbook with this incredible kit! ;)

I always let my Noel Mignon Daily Diary kits take the lead when I am creating.  By this, I mean I usually allow the products to guide the types and styles of pages I am going to create with the kit.  This month, I noticed a lot of the products were really fun and different square sizes of products.  There were fabulous little 2x2 die cuts, awesome 3x4 cards and these really cool 4x4 die cut frames.  They all inspired me to create something different with the kit, yet I ended up with all pocket pages...just very unique from one another.  I love when that happens! :)

So for this layout, I allowed myself to be inspired and drawn to creating a 12x12 pocket page, with 4x4 squares.  The gorgeous die cut frames were my total inspiration for this page.  I love the size, the style, the colours and how cute they adorn my photos.  They are truly the funnest overlays and really make your photos pop!

I hate wasting product, so I am always looking for alternate ways to use up remainders of my kit and stash.  So because I did not have enough of certain papers to fill the large 4x4 pockets I simply created these fun triangles and alternated patterned paper.  I then used my Fuse tool to secure them in the page nicely.  The 'hello' card was actually a 4x6 which I trimmed down accordingly.  I then used the awesome Project Life alpha stickers to add the 'sunshine' below.  I love how alphas can be used to customize cards for whatever layout one is doing.  This kit came with so many alphas, I loved it!

In keeping with using up my stash, I created the "days like this are the best" card by simply trimming down a 3x4 card and adhering it on top of a 4x4 card.  The centre card, with all of the word strips I love!  I simply took these wonderful strips, and using my sewing machine stitched them onto just a white piece of 4x4 card stock.  The super cute camera clip I clipped onto the top.  I just loved this piece from the kit!

I added my journaling this month directly onto a 4x4 card that I initially trimmed down from a 4x6.  I knew I wanted to add in my thoughts onto the pennant so I made sure to trim so that I would have enough room, yet fit my pocket.  I simply jotted down my thoughts and I love how it all turned out and helped to complete my page.

I hope that I have inspired you to get out the remainder of your August kits and use up that stash!  These kits go such a long way and there is always a way to make something work for you when you need it!  Happy creating everyone...I am ready for September's phenomenal kit, aren't you?

Country Life Daily Diary Photobomb

Hello creative friends! Michelle Zerull here, to share another project that I created with the Country Life Daily Diary Kit. Usually I make Binder pages and I seldom make 12x12 pages, so this was a stretch for me. But with all of the beautiful 4x4 cards included, I knew that I wanted to include this in my "big" album.

This layout was inspired by the frame that I used in the center. It was a creamy white that wasn't prevalent in the other papers, so I added acrylic paints to some of the papers to unify the look.

I'm all about customizing the papers. Paint is relatively cheap and a little goes a long way.

Notice the photobomb in the background? My family is a lot of fun. I didn't even realize that they were back there until after the photo was taken! :)

The month is almost over, but there's still lots of fun left. Enjoy your day!

Home Life with Country Life Daily Diary Kit

Hello Everyone! Hope you're doing well. I'm back today with a Project Life page using the awesome Country Life Daily Dairy Kit. A few weeks ago I spent some time at my parents house helping my Mom recover from shoulder surgery. Since I was going to be away for close to two weeks I brought my furry family with me. Everyone got along well and Mom is doing great!! My parents neighbors were so good to my Mom, stopping by to see if she was doing well. The Country Life Daily Diary kit coordinated so well with my photos from that week! Here's my page.

I love how bright and summery the kit is. Included in the kit are a few doilies and if you know me, you know how I love doilies!

There are several fun journaling cards included which I typed on with my vintage typewriter.

Here's a few more close-ups.

I added some stickles to the sunflower 3x4 card.

 

Thanks for stopping by today and there are a few Country Life Daily Diary kits left so grab one - you won't be disappointed! See you soon!

 

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.

Life Lessons, Me & Daily Diary

Hi everyone!  Today I am sharing a pocket page I created using August's Daily Diary Kit.  This week's focus has been on "Life Lessons".  I always love an opportunity to "dig deep", to write and reflect on things that I know to be true, things that I need to work on, and things that just bring me back to a place of centre.

Life is crazy. Life is busy.  I know for me, scrapbooking and paper crafting has always (and will forever continue to be) a place that brings me much peace, solitude and joy from a very chaotic and noisy world at times.  So to celebrate this, and to reflect on some "life lessons", I created this very simple pocket page to showcase some photos, some of my favourite life lesson reminders and personal journaling.

I used a 9x12 grid pocket page.  I created each of my 3x3 pattern paper squares from the kit.  I wanted to keep a similar colour trend going so I stuck close to the pinks and reds in the kit, popping the centre with the gorgeous blue and green floral card.  One of my favourite embellishments in this kit is the "this is the good life" banner.  So I simply used my sewing machine and stitched it to the 3x3 card.  Again, I wanted to keep this page simple.  Because for me, simplicity and "keeping things simple" is a huge ongoing life lesson for me.  I wanted my pocket page to reflect that.  To remind me that scrapbooking doesn't have to be complex, or difficult, or too busy and with too much stuff.  It can just be a mix of pretty patterns, photos, and a few extras and still be beautiful too.

I included some of my very favourite phrases into my pages.  "Choose Happy", "Smile Often", "Create Daily" "Be Brave" and "Love Always".  To create these cards with these phrases, I used the fabulous Project Life Alphas that were included in this month's kit.  They come in such a fabulous font...there are a million alphas...so I knew I would not run out of letters either. It was perfect and worked out great.

I then also added some personal journaling on 2 of the 3x3 cards.  One I wrote down some thoughts, and the other I simply chose words that pertain to happiness and just repeated them over and over.  I love how it created a background on the card and helped to accent the "happiness" sticker.

I really loved this challenge, and found it very therapeutic for me.  I love to create, but sometimes we all need reminders that bring us back to what matters most in life.  I am happy to have this page and add it into my collection for whenever I am needing inspiration, a quick pick me up...or to just look at pretty pattern paper! :)

Life Lessons with the Country Life Daily Diary Kit

Our Life Lessons theme continues this week with my Project Life page using the Country Life Daily Diary Kit. My lesson is to embrace the everyday. It's very easy for me to get wrapped up in commute, work, commute, repeat. The routine becomes boring and tedious and I forget to enjoy the small things! I love summer ... it's a time to enjoy the longer days and embrace the everyday. Here's my PL page.

I used my handy dandy Fuse Tool again for this page to create a small shaker pocket with various sequins inside and adorable epoxy bees on the outside.

All my photos were printed with the Collect App and Pic Monkey.

Here's my last few close-ups.

We would love to see how you incorporate your Life Lessons in to your Project Life Pages or Layouts - please share them on the Noel Mignon Members Page. Stay tuned for more Life Lessons ideas from the DT!!

 

Country Life Daily Diary Giftbox

Hello! Michelle Zerull here, soaking up the Summer sun and enjoying the Country Life Daily Diary kit. In my heart, I will always be a crafter first and foremost. The papers in this kit are gorgeous and perfect for a fun craft project. I fell in love with the pretty pink calico print "B" side paper and couldn't wait to cut it up and make something.

I only used half of my 12x12 paper. The rest I can use later for another project. I used my Sizzix to make my little giftbox, but you could easily use the kit to decorate a pre-made box as well.

All of the papers and embellishments came directly from this kit. The only thing that I added was some matboard and glue. Even the green gingham button embellishments are in the kit. They made the cutest little drawer pulls!

Each month the NoelMignon Daily Diary kit consists of many papers and embellishments that can be used for pocket scrapbooking a lot, lot more. I hope that I've inspired you to look at the supplies a bit differently. Don't forget to share your projects on our NoelMignon Members Facebook page. We love seeing what you've created!

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. 

Lovin' the Country Life

Hey Everyone, Lynn K. here with another Challenge and Project Life Page using the gorgeous Noel Mignon Country Life Daily Diary Kit. Check out what is PACKED in this kit ...

The reds, blues, greens and yellows are so lovely! Not to mention all the embellishments!! You will LOVE this kit!

This week the Design Team has been hosting challenges - we hope you are enjoying them. As a reminder the prize is a Daily Diary Kit of your choice IF you complete all SIX challenges. You have until August 30, 2015 to complete the challenges. Please post your projects to the Noel Mignon Members Facebook Page! You do not need to use a Noel Mignon Kit in order to participate and if you have never purchased a kit this is a perfect opportunity to see just how amazing these kits are!! We look forward to seeing your creativeness!!

My challenge to you so simple ... Be Inspired - either by someone or some technique and incorporate that into your layout or PL pages. I was inspired while browsing Heidi Swapp's Blog. Designer Jamie Pate created a beautiful tag album using PL cards. I loved all her layering and wanted to incorporate that technique onto my PL page. Here's my page

Each 3x4 card has a photo stapled to it and embellishments on and under the photos. The journaling is hidden underneath the photo ...

One of the 3x4 cards has an overlay, then the photo with journaling on the card. Each layer is decorated with embellies including the lace that comes with the kit ...

The kit also includes some cute 2x2 cards. My photo pocket page didn't have 2x2 pockets so, enter the Fuse Tool! I created 2x2 pockets from one of the 4x4 pockets! I'm so lovin' the Fuse Tool!!

Also included in the kit is a bottle of Heidi Swapp Color Shine. If you haven't tried these spray inks, you simply must. The shine is stunning! I splattered some of the cards with the Color Shine. I dipped a paint brush into the bottle and splattered the mist onto the cards. Be sure to shake the sprays well first - there is a mixing ball in the bottle. This will allow all the mica that settles to the bottom to mix well ..

For the last card I added a die cut flower and an adorable bee popped up with foam tape ...

I hope you will challenge yourself to Be Inspired by someone or some technique. We'd love to see your projects. Thanks for stopping by!