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Cooking and scrapbooking are my 'things'. My passions. I guess I would also include listening to music here. I am the kind of person who has a huge cookbook collection. I am the kind of person who gets excited when I find a hard-to-source ingredient. I am the kind of person who starts thinking about what I can cook for dinner when I wake up. I am the kind of person who makes everyone dinner when we are away with friends. I am the kind of person who makes her own almond milk. I don't mean to sound like some domestic goddess, it's just what I love. Today I was reading an old cookbook while waiting for my kids at guitar lessons (I am the kind of person who takes cookbooks to read while waiting for my kids). Rachael Ray: My Year in Meals is part food diary/part cookbook and documents everything Rachael cooked and ate over a year period with all photos taken by her and her husband. She has a monthly calendar with all the meals in it then goes day by day with recipes and notes. It's so cool to see what she whips up after a busy working day. Sitting there, I got the idea to make my own My Year In Meals book. That might seem like a huge undertaking but I'm already kind-of doing it. For years I've kept a dinner diary (on and off) of things I'm cooking, inspired by Jenny Rosentrach of Dinner: A Love Story. Her food diary is amazing - here's her post about it. (I also LOVE her mother's Post Feast Analysis System. These are my people). I also take a lot of food & cooking photos. I even have a separate instagram account just for food (HERE). So it's just a case of bringing the two together in a simple way. It would be a lot of work but also really valuable to me. I started sketching out some simple template ideas when I remembered I'd already made a template that would work well for this - my abandoned Project Life template. So I started putting in some words and photos this evening and I think it will work. My plan is to try and do a digital spread every week to be printed as an 8x10 photobook. I'm not going to note down every single thing we ate in a week, but I'd like to document the main things I cooked (or ate out). My regular food diary with some photos added in. I'm not including recipes either. Adding another year-long project to my workload might seem a bit bonkers, but this really is a passion project. I will love this book forever if I can pull it together. I'm starting this week - I don't believe year-long projects have to start in January or even on the first of the month. Rachael's book starts in April so she obviously says it's OK :) I'm calling my project "My Year In Food". Love it when two hobbies collide!

A few years ago, I was into making my own 3x4 digital journal cards and today I found this one in my stash and thought I would share. Download your PDF copy (HERE) to print and use. I've included two different colours. And this is how I used it today in a 5x8 digital page. Enjoy! #Freebie

It's been a while since I shared my Project Life pages on the blog so I thought I would catch up today. I'm still happy with the template and look forward to working on the spreads every week. It's been a few years since I did weekly Project Life and I like the immediacy of it as well as the ease of only having seven days to consider (compared to pulling everything together from the last thirty days when I was doing a monthly project). Hopefully the enthusiasm lasts a bit longer! WORK-FLOW Ten weeks in and I've got a good rhythm and work flow going. I have an office job Monday-Wednesday so I don't get to sit down with my pages until Thursday. That's when I write in one or two stories, chose a journal card or two and add in the photos I have from the week so far. At this stage, my spread is about 2/3 complete then on Sunday afternoon I try and finish it off with any weekend stories + photos. If I get to Sunday and we've had an awesome weekend with lots to document, I'm happy to override some of my earlier photos/stories with the more interesting ones. I've settled on adding in one or two journal cards each week and using that as the colour scheme for the spread if possible - I like carrying colours over to the other page to give everything some cohesion. When one of my photos fits in with the scheme, even better (and usually random). I have a huge digital journal card collection so I like having a place to use them every week. COLLECTING MEMORIES + STORIES I have a couple of methods of collecting the little stories and tidbits I might want to include in my weekly spread. I use my paper diary to make notes of things that happened during the week along side our appointments and school activities. I use this diary and love that it has my weekly schedule on one side, and space for habits, goals and focus on the other side as well as a large blank area for notes. I also use my phone as a memory-keeping tool. Besides my regular photos, my camera roll is filled with screen shots & photos of anything I want to remember/try/buy/document. Books, food, movie tickets, recipes, quote cards from instagram, important news headlines and things that make me laugh. I've tried so many note taking and capturing apps but this crude method is the one that has stuck and works for me. I am always looking through my camera roll so it's the best place to keep anything I want to remember. Notes & Products: I'm making my pages digitally in PSE - one double spread per week - using a grid template and plan to print an 8x10 photobook with Blurb at the end of the year. I've set my template up with a few Paislee Press products that I use for every week - templates within a template: journaling cards (HERE), 3x4 photo templates (HERE) and the weekly number (HERE). I am also digging into my collection of digital journal cards by Ali Edwards (HERE) and Becky Higgins' Project Life (HERE). #ProjectLife #DigitalScrapbooking

February - I hardly knew ya! I don't know where the last month went but here we are almost halfway through March. A few full and busy weekends have put me off my scrapbook game a little bit but that's how this hobby goes. Last weekend I finished up a few wayward half-finished pages for February and got them loaded up into my Blurb book so I could get going on March. I have a lot less pages for February than for January and that's OK. (As a reminder, last year I made a digital Commonplace Book that I loved and knew I would do that again for 2019. I also made a large number of more traditional 6x8 digital layouts for my binder. This year I've decided to blend the two into one book that I will have printed at Blurb as a 5x8 tradebook). With this new 5x8 size I find I'm making a lot more double spreads to get enough space for a photo and a larger story. I'm also enjoying the mix of 'scrappy' pages, where I'm using my Story Class Kits and other digital products, and more simple pages that represent the Commonplace aspect of the book. I will say that changing your scrapbooking style/routine/size is scary and that's OK. Since mid 2017 I have made my little 6x8 pages, printed them off at home and slotted into my binder with a happy sigh and a smile. Going the photobook route this year feels a bit weird and ethereal. There's nothing to hold and everything is living on my computer and in Blurb waiting to become a book that I can only hope makes me as happy as those 6x8 pieces of paper did. But I know that the binder method is not sustainable for me. So here we are. This is a video of how my Blurb book is coming along so far - thanks for being here. As always, happy to answer any questions. #Photobooks #Commonplace #DigitalScrapbooking #MyBook #Video

Now January is over, I wanted to do a little review of how my two big projects are coming along. (Both are digital and will become Blurb books once complete). First, I have Project Life (a post about this year's set up is HERE and you can see my pages HERE). I'm doing a weekly spread, 8x10 each side. This format is working well for me and I am enjoying adding things to my little rectangles each week and telling a few short stories. I have done a monthly format for Project Life the last few years and going back to weekly has given this project new life for me. I am enjoying only having seven days worth of photos/stories/life to sift through each week and just one simple spread to complete. Second is my 5x8 scrapbook project - my commonplace book. For the last two years I have built a small, digital, personal book to keep all of my lists, favourites, quotes, ideas, recipes, random thoughts and things that didn't have a place in my 'other' scrapbooking. I made my first version of this project in 2017 to have break from traditional Project Life. It was totally me-focused with no rules, totally random, very simplistic and I loved it so much. It was my favourite project to work and might be my favourite scrapbook ever (you can see it HERE). I didn't even know the term 'commonplace book' when I made it. Last year when I went back to a more family-oriented project (HERE) I missed that little side project so much that I started one up again, first as a 4x6 paper mini with binder rings, then repurposed into a 5x8 Blurb book (HERE) This year I've decided to try mixing in my regular scrapbook pages into this book too instead of having this plus a binder of 6x8 layouts. It would save me a lot of shelf space and just meant that I had to get used to scrapping at 5x8 instead of 6x8 which hasn't been that hard. So far, so good. There is some crossover between the this book and Project Life but I am OK with that. For me, Project Life is a look at my life while my 5x8 is a look in my head & heart. Today I finished up my January pages for both (I'm splitting my 5x8 book by month just to give me some kind of structure) and have loaded them into Blurb. I've done a quick video walkthrough of how both books are looking in Blurb if you want to check it out. Thanks for being here!

We were away over the long weekend, so I had to wait until today (Wednesday) to catch up on last week's spread. The good thing about being away is that I had tonnes of photos and had trouble narrowing them down. Plenty left for other projects and pages :) It only took me about twenty minutes to get this week done. This week I've used two journaling spots, a TV poster, a concert poster and a 'Today' filler card from the Fresh Project Life digital kit (HERE) - the rest are photos. The card was originally green but when I put in the concert poster on the other page, I changed the colour to match. I always like to have a colour cross over to the other page if I can. That's it for this week. Simple and done. #ProjectLife

Week 03 is done. I was back at work and a more usual routine this week, even though the kids aren't back at school for another week and a half. I had more photos this week too which was good. Sticking to my formula of a couple of journal spots, some filler cards, some small photo templates and then the photos. I really like the journaling spots and being able to tell a few quick stories each week - big or small. I've also bought some of my older Project Life stash (and some other older digital supplies) into Lightroom from Photos and I am enjoying having some new/old supplies to work with. Some of these supplies are more than eight years old but still hold up. I like being able to use some of my 3x4 filler card stash in this project because they don't get used in my regular layouts very often. I made the Date Night journal card using a digital sticker from Ali Edwards' Gatherings Story Kit and a Saturday circle stamp from Paislee Press. Again I worked on this spread over the week rather than leaving it to Sunday to complete. Notes & Products: I'm making my pages digitally in PSE using a grid template and plan to print an 8x10 photobook at Blurb at the end of the year. Paislee Press: journaling cards (HERE), 3x4 photo templates (HERE), Saturday circle (HERE) Ali Edwards: Pink quote card is from the Joy Story Kit and Date Night sticker is from the Gatherings Story Kit (HERE) Project Life: Loving, Feeling, Wearing... card is from the Fresh kit (HERE) recoloured from yellow. #ProjectLife

I am working on week three of Project Life today so I thought I'd make a video as I work on my digital spread in real time. Happy to answer any questions here or on Instagram (HERE). Thanks for being here :) #Video #ProjectLife #DigitalScrapbooking

It was my last week home from work for the Christmas break. Spending more time at my desk than usual, I kept my digital project life spread open on my computer and worked on it as the week went by. A little story here, a photo there. That worked really well. Not sure if I can do that every week, but it was easier to type my stories straight in or add in a photo rather than wait until Sunday to pull it all together. I didn't take many photos this week. I had a friend visit for a few days and didn't take a single photo with her (she had a nasty sunburn so she was actually happy about that!). We also socialised a bit on the weekend but again, no photos. I'm calling it December Daily burn out :) I don't stress about low-photo weeks. It's such an ebb and flow thing for me and I will make a more conscious effort this week as I get back to work and the city. I quite like having some blank spaces to use up some of my digital journal card stash and there are ALWAYS food photos on my camera roll. I watched a lot of movies this week too so that filled a few spots. I'm enjoying this project again by simplifying - hope it lasts! Notes & Products: I'm making my pages digitally in PSE using a simple grid template and plan to print an 8x10 photobook at Blurb at the end of the year. This week I'm continuing with the Paislee Press journaling cards (HERE) and 3x4 photo templates (HERE). The LOVE and number card are from the Project Life Fresh Kit (HERE). Totes Adorbs stamp is from Cathy Zielske (HERE). #ProjectLife

I've been talking a lot about photobooks lately. This year I have two projects on the go - my 8x10 Project Life book and a 5x8 commonplace book for my random pieces as well as regular layouts. I usually build my book at the end but this year I'm planning to add my finished layouts to the book more regularly, so I made a short video as I set up my new 5x8 book in Blurb. #Photobooks #Video

Week 01 is done. Not a lot going on this first week of January - really hot start to the year in Sydney so we haven't been going out. Much cooler weather and storms yesterday and today thankfully. It's been great time to catch up on scrapbooking and my around-the-house to do list before I go back to work in another week (kids are off school for the summer until 30 January). Lots of purging and cleaning happening room by room (even before I saw that Marie Kondo is on Netflix this week). Saturday I had a vague idea that we could probably rearrange Eli's room to get a desk in there like we had done for Zara in November (he got a little Chromebook laptop for Christmas and was so excited to set up camp next to me in the study, decorated with some Funko pop vinyls and all "Can this be my desk?"). By Sunday evening his room had been cleaned out, rearranged, Zara and I had done an Ikea/Starbucks run, Brett had built said Ikea and by bedtime Eli had a new room. That's how we roll. I haven't taken a lot of photos this week (December Daily burnout?) so I've added in some movie and television posters from Google images. Love including that kind of thing in my yearly projects. I'm also looking forward to using my neglected stash of digital journaling and filler cards for this project. Planning to go through today and tag some of my favourites. Notes & Products: I'm making my pages digitally in PSE using a simple grid template (blog post about my set up HERE) and plan to print an 8x10 photobook at Blurb at the end of the year. This week I've stuck with all Paislee Press digital products: journaling cards (HERE); 3x4 photo templates (HERE), weekly number card (HERE); 2019 card (HERE); Happy New Year card (HERE). #ProjectLife

I've been planning a series of post for digital scrapbooking beginners but the scope is so large I just thought I'd dive in with a video about using digital templates, which is an awesome way to learn. A QUICK NOTE ON SOFTWARE: I use Photoshop Elements (PSE) for all of my scrapbooking (even though I also have Photoshop as part of my Adobe subscription). PSE is a more simplified version of Photoshop with less features but I have always found PSE to do everything I need. It is perfect for beginners and even long-time digital scrapbookers. In terms of cost, PSE is available as a standalone piece of software that you buy outright - in Australia it is $145.19 at the Adobe online store. I believe you can also buy it at big box stores in the USA and there are often deals and discount codes. PSE is updated every year but you can keep using your current version through a few updates so it's not a yearly cost. I am using PSE 15 right now, which is not the latest. Photoshop CC (or what people refer to as the full version of Photoshop) is more expensive with more features and is not available as a one-off purchase. It is part of Adobe's Creative Cloud so it comes as part of a monthly subscription. I pay $14.29 Australian per month for the Photography Plan which gives me Photoshop CC and Lightroom (which I love). I will probably move to Photoshop CC for scrapbooking one day because I'm already paying for it, but there is a big learning curve there in the switch and I would rather spend my time scrapbooking than futzing around and being frustrated for now. LAYERS A PSE page works with layers, just like a traditional paper scrapbook page. You have your base layer then working from there up, your journaling, title, embellishments. Keeping things in separate layers gives you a lot of control over your page, you can: delete layers switch layers on and off to see your layout with our without that item move the order around to put your embellishment on top of your journaling etc duplicate layers if you want to repeat an item duplicate layers if you want to play around with resizing or colouring but want to keep the original there in case you change your mind The Layers Palette is where you can see all of your layers and add/delete/switch off/re-order. I keep mine always visible to the side. VIDEO: WORKING WITH LAYERED TEMPLATES & PHOTO CLIPPING #ProjectLife #Video #DigitalScrapbooking #DigitalTips