having a pool party!!

Ok, I'm not really having a pool party because....I don't have a pool! Unless you count the kiddie pool we have in the backyard ;) But I have been playing with the Pool Party kit. A lot. I always say Noel's kits are my favorite (which they are) but this kit really is tons of fun in a box!

Now I'll be honest, I don't have a ton of photos to scrap this year. At least, I don't have a bunch yet. We're taking a trip to Disneyland at the end of the summer and between gearing up for that (and saving $$) and baseball & church camps we haven't had a ton of opportunities to do all of the 'traditional' summer activities. However, I went back a couple years and realized I had a bunch of photos that hadn't been scrapped yet. So this kit was perfect for tackling those! 

And, I'll be honest, it was fun to go back and scrap some of these memories :)

I loved how Virginia used that great dark blue patterned paper in her layout last week. It seems to make the photos pop on the page! I love using little tags for journaling on my pages & tucking them behind the photos. I seem to do that a lot lately! This tag was cut from one of the patterned papers in the kit. Love those!

This yellow starburst patterned paper is great for showcasing movement...perfect for a photo of our lab doing what he does best - fetching!

I love, love, love that camera stamp that came in the kit. I stamped it a few times purposely not giving it great ink coverage. I like that look on a layout, peeking through from behind my photo! For this page I put the journaling right on the patterned paper, just under the title. I usually do that when I have patterned paper that's not too busy or if I just have a line or 2 of journaling.

And my third layout isn't about summer activities but it was shortly after my 3rd child was born...hence the tired eyes I have in the photos ;) But it was in the summer and I loved that patterned paper that I used for the background. I just went a bit softer on the summer embellishments & stuck more to the enamel shapes, chipboard, & wood veneer. 

I also added that great sheer ribbon to add a bit of softness to the page. And for the journaling I used those washi tape strips.

Sometimes journaling about past events can be a bit difficult when you're several years removed from the event. So usually what I will do is stick to the facts, adding a line or 2 about the day/event that I'm scrapping. Sometimes I will jot down notes about an event either in a notebook or on my phone or even in a document on my computer. That way I can go back and use that journaling for my page. Facebook is also a good tool to go back to to help with journaling! And lastly, sometimes I've already journaled about an event in my Project Life albums (I do traditional and PL) so that's a great reference for me as well!