Just a quote for Friday- Deb's challenge

A few weeks back Deb at Paper Turtle posted this photo and set  a challenge to play with it, add a quote and link back to her for her weekly "Just a quote for Friday" meme.

Well, I did just that....

I loved how graphic the photo was and played with several ideas about light and the colour red. What came out most to me though was the geometric shapes and how great they would look if repeated. I also figured that an ombre effect couldn't go a miss! I fiddled with the photo several times to get varying shades of red and liked how abstract it turned out.

The quote was a bit trickier. I eventually stumbled on this one and it couldn't have been more perfect. It summed up the way I viewed that picture but also how Deb had seen it and how other bloggers had seen it and seen different things. 

Thank you for such a fun challenge Deb and for letting me use your lovely photo.

The great big swap

So this package was sitting in my pigeon hole yesterday. The french stamp got be excited before I had even opened it...

and it got even better when I did... how amazing is this?

Sweet little sentiments

An Amy Tangerine notebook

and the cutest card.

The "friends" meme continued on these intriguing envelopes....

How lovely is that fabric? There was a final envelope that was labelled "the one with the surprise" and contained two new stamps!

Alinor thank you so much for such a wonderful parcel. I can't wait to start crafting with this! It was the best way to finish my exams! Sian, thank you for such a lovely idea, I have loved sending a parcel and I have loved receiving one.

let's talk project life...

The other day after posting project life Amy asked me whether I see this project continuing next year and it got be thinking about doing a bit of a review/chat about project life so far.

The short answer to Amy's question is yes. I like this project, I like that I have a comprehensive document of my first year of university and I like that I am getting into scrapbooking again. I think to have three albums, one for each of my years at uni will be rad. 

The long answer is this... 

My photo taking has increased and improved. I am more conscious, especially towards the end of the week, of having enough photos to fill a spread. Project Life has made me realise that I value having everyday photos and how grateful I am for the camera on my phone.
It has also made me use those photos I take of "things because they look nice". I have endless photos of the sky but on project life they do get used. I like this. I also like that any crafts I do get documented in a way they didn't before.

I like the simplicity of project life. I don't know if this is because I am doing it in digital form but for me it feels clean and simple and uncluttered. I feel in many ways like it is an extension of the blog. Photos and words paired together in a graphic way with bursts of colour and pattern. I like the fact that a lot of decision making like photo placement is basically done for me. 

I like that I have tailored it to suit me. I think this project can go anyway you want and I enjoy the flexibility of that. I feel that it would work brilliantly as once a month spread or a special moments album. I think my advice to new project lifers would be that you have to be prepared to let your album be how you want it to be. It is very easy to be swept away in all the other layouts out there but really however you do it is fine because this project is quite personal.

I have to admit it but it does get dull. The first few weeks are super exciting but as the year progresses it  becomes another job. I find this worst on the weeks when I know that I don't have as many photos. 

Probably linking to getting dull is that it can feel overwhelming. I will find myself putting it off just because I don't know where to start. Again this happens when I don't have enough photos or when I have too many.

Having an aim is key. I can so see why it is easy to fall behind on project life or to just stop. When the dullness kicks in, it really is just another thing on the to do list. I have found having an aim is crucial. I had two simple aims for project life. One was to share it on the blog each week and the other was to have my digital spreads made into a book. So far I have shared on the blog nearly every week. It is a good way for me to feel accountable and to make sure I do a spread each week. The thought of the book at the end of it though is what is really pushing me. The thought of having that hard back book in my hand with a years worth of memories in is the best.

I think at the end of it I have learnt that photos and words are more important than finished or perfect spreads. That getting behind is ok and normal and that sometimes it is dull but that the finished project will be so worth it.

Ruth summed it up well in the comments by saying this "Embrace the monotony of PL- it shows exactly what life is like: a steady line of routine, interspersed with peaks and troughs." 

I also loved this from Elise Blaha"This project is a marathon, not a sprint and just like a marathon, you have to come up with ways to stay inspired and keep your mind moving forward."

Do you do project life. If you do, what are your thoughts on it? 

If you don't do project life are you tempted to or are you not interested? 

Project life week 21

I love it when the weeks are busy and there is a lot to record. A bank holiday always helps too! 

This is what my week looked like...

Photos: 

I didn't plan it like this but the left hand spread is all instagram photos and the right side are photos from my big camera. I had to include that tea photo just because I am so chuffed I finally managed to capture it. The pictures on the right hand spread document the arrival of my school friends in Durham. I love having lots of photos to play around with on a spread. 

Journalling: 

A few bits and bobs to document this week. I wanted to record how the exam had gone this past week and how I had found the week quite long. I also wanted to record how fun it was seeing everyone. Less journalling on wrap around tags this week and more little sentiments directly on photos. 

Techniques: 

Still loving spreading a big photo across a few spaces. I also ran the three portraits through a new action. This black and white matte effect seems to be a bit of a thing at the moment and I quite like it. I often have a battle with how much I am going to edit photos on my spreads. My feeling is I want this to be a form of art so if editing a picture works I tend to go with it! 

Anything else: 

I have been using lots of Elise's sweet quote cards over the last few weeks and the one on the right hand page seemed to some my week up quite well with the spontaneous arrival of my friends.

Do stop by tomorrow when I am going to be sharing a few thoughts about project life, now that we are just a month off being half way through!

What did your bank holiday weekend look like?

Let's sit and have a cup of tea...

Hey, it's great to see you on this bank holiday monday. I'm hoping its sunny with you? Would you like to stay for a cup of tea....

If I were meeting you today I would take you to the back garden in college. I would usher you to the picnic bench under the magnolia tree and we would smile at how nice the weather is and how good it is to finally feel comfortable sitting outside. If you were from warmer climes you would probably sit shivering and I would rush in and grab you a big quilt so you didn't get too chilly.

I would pass you the first cup of tea, or juice or maybe something stronger,  and we would put our heads together and enjoy this monthly meet up that seems to have become tradition now. I would ask you if you liked our little garden and I would laugh and comment that I don't really lead a conventional uni life! We would look up at the magnolia tree and I would tell you how it was so late to blossom but how lovely it is to look out of my window and see it.

I would moan that I have just one exam left and that I can't wait to be finished now. You would reminisce about your exams at school and university and I would be intrigued to hear about your experience of revision and staying motivated. I would confide in you that we have so much planned for June. That June is like a fun month in Durham. That we have a summer ball to look forward to as well as my college day and plenty of trips out of the city planned too. I would ask you what your summer plans were, if you were helping smaller people get through exams, if you were taking exams yourself or if you were just going to spend some time in the sun.

I would push the plate of biscuits towards you and as you bit into your first one I would excitedly tell you about the last weekend. That my friends from school came up and visited and we had a mini reunion. That I feel so blessed to have had such a happy time at school and that meeting up with these special people is always cause for celebration. I would ask you if you still stay in contact with school friends. I would tell you that I hope we do keep in contact and do keep meeting up. That from boarding we are all close and seeing each other again feels like no time has passed.

The sun would go behind the clouds and it would start to feel a bit cooler. I would check you were warm enough and then bring us round to the subject of crafting. I would laugh as I tell you that I have been so crafty in the last few weeks when I should be working but that I am not going to try and stem this sudden inspiration because it surely won't last! I would share with you my feelings about project life and tell you that I am going to be writing a post about it soon because there is lots I want to say. Leaning closer I would whisper conspiratorially that I am working on a scrapbook page. The first in about a year and I don't think it is quite ready to be shared just yet but that I am enjoying the process.

We would inevitably get onto talking about blogging. I would bemoan that I am eager to change a few things up with the background but blogger is really not cooperating at the moment and that it is being really frustrating. Do you have the same problem that effects can't be applied? I would also comment that I have read an re read a post from Rinda about pinning and photos and privacy and have found it so interesting. I would tell you with a laugh in my voice to go check it out.

We would smile at each other as the last dregs of tea were drained and as the last few biscuits were demolished. I would laugh and tell you not for the first time how quickly time seems to have gone chatting to you. How easy it is to share things and wonder out loud if this comes from naturally sharing our lives through our blogs. I would give you a hug and show you out onto the quaint cobbled street and make you promise to see me again in a month.

If we were sitting together in the sun now, what would you tell me?

If you would like to write a "tea" post please add it to the linky at the bottom so we can all sit and share with you! The linky will be open for a week so you have plenty of time! 

Life right now according to instagram

Oh instagram. I am such a fan and I think I have converted several friends too! I am so ready though for my phone contract to finish and to upgrade to a phone with a slightly better quality camera. 

A fun instagram feature that has been added to the recent upgrade is that you can now tag photos. On your profile there is a section to see pictures you have been tagged in. I don't really know what I think about it to be honest because if I have had a photo taken of me I will tend to be following the person whose picture it is anyway. Have you used it? What do you think? 

Besides that, here is what has been happening in the last month....

Top row left to right: we bought a silly amount of chocolate for less than two pounds at the beginning of term, the sunsets this month have been wonderful, typically drinking lots of tea. 

Middle row: going on revision break walks, taking photos of blue skies as they are such a novelty and the loyalty card at the student cafe at church. 

Bottom row: blossom on the trees, eating the first ice cream of the year outside and fabric heaven. 

Top row: we got a bit bored whilst revising and decided to improve my friends hair instead, a green canopy, pretty pumps. 

Middle row: more skies, enjoying having flowers in my room and my favourite person on the way back from Church. 

Bottom row: doing a bit of crafting. I am so proud of this picture of milk being poured into my tea and the meeting of the sun and the clouds. 

Another busy month and so many fun pictures to capture it. 

A quick plug, on Monday 27th I am going to be sitting down, pouring a cuppa and sharing a bit of life again. If you would like to join me for tea please do, it would be great to see you. I will add a link like normal so we can all enjoy what you have to say! 

Project Life week 20

Week 20 sounds exciting doesn't it?! Last week never got posted and that is ok, it got made and that is the main thing.

This is what my last week looked like...

Photos:
Not a huge number of photos this week but a nice mix of instagrams and big camera photos. I like it when i get a mix. I am gutted that I forgot to include a rad photo of a cup of tea that I instagrammed at the weekend. Ah well, I'm sure it will grace the blog sooner or later! The aztec pattern is something I have been working on in quiet moments. If I get an iphone (which will hopefully be this summer with a contract renewal) I hope to get this pattern printed into an ace cover.

Journalling:
Quite a bit this week. I wrote about our walk to observatory hill on a beautiful evening, about the start of the exams and about how I have become oddly creative during the last week. I also added a few bits and pieces on several photos.

Techniques:
Nothing too out of the ordinary this week. I feel this week looks a bit flat which I'm a bit sad about but i  guess that it is swings and roundabouts. Some weeks I love it and some I don't. I did use that great watercolour brush in white to surround the feather tag photo. I like this effect a lot as it is something I would probably do in the paper version.

Anything else: 
I am really enjoying using this set of free project life cards with the cute camera motif. I'm sorry, another blurred out photo this week. This is my exam timetable. I really enjoy including details like this and know that it will be fun to look back on in coming years. Obviously it has personal details and as some of the exams haven't happened yet I guessed it was best to blur it!

So that is week 20 in a nutshell. I am loving this documentation of my life.