Documented Life unPlanner 2016 - Finished!

I spent the last few days of 2016 finishing up the last few weeks' of December in my Documented Life unPlanner. Whew! I did it! All 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days of 2016 in three (yes 3!) stuffed, lovely binders. I got behind sometimes, due mainly to our travel schedules, but I did keep going... This will be wonderful to look back on in a few years and relive all the memories.

So here are the last few weeks.

Week 2 - Dare 2B card

I used a tag that I had gotten at a demo at a scrapbook convention ("be a blessing today" was stamped on it already). I added washi tapes and inked the background. "Dare" and "2" are stamped.

I added the List Ten for Week 3 on the back of the tag.

Week 3

The background is acrylic paint. Lots of washi tape and stickers. We had the boys this week so I had several activities to add.

The PAC challenge for this week was to add crayon. I used Distress Crayons for the background over collaged book text and also colored over the stamped trees with them. I doodled with white pen.

Week 4

This was Christmas week as well as leaving for Mexico. I stamped with red paint and a chevron roller stamp (love that stamp!) for the background. I used labels for journaling and also wrote inside the white stripes. The "believe" card for Christmas Day is attached with a washi tape hinge and opens to reveal some journaling and photos.

The art challenge for this week's PAC was to use colored pencils.  I was inspired by the colors and metal work of Mexico. I bought a small silver heart ornament there and drew it on my card. Both the heart and background are done with colored pencils.

Week 5

This background is watered down acrylic paint, stamped with white flourishes (barely visible).

I couldn't leave the back of this page plain, so I added some artist paper and then journaled about the year and the experience.

The PAC challenge was to use gold paint or ink. I used a "mop-up" page for the background and added a few artsy stickers. Then I stenciled the leaf with gold paint and edged the card with the paint. I "stole" Rae Missigman's idea that she used on her card - adding 365 tiny marks to symbolize the 365 days of 2016.

 I added the five PAC cards to a cut down page protector and embellished the edge with circle stickers cut in half.

Monthly Pocket Picks

I had lots to include for this month. I picked up a postcard in San Miguel of all the pretty, unique doors. I used that for the first "page" of my monthly pocket picks and collaged photos from a brochure on the back.

Then I used a page protector for the other items, mostly photos, for the rest of the month.  I added photos from babysitting Carl and Mitchell on the front and photos from our trip on the back of a large black tag. Then I fused smaller pockets on the right edge to hold other miscellaneous photos from the month. One pocket is filled with gold sequins for New Year's Eve.

Front

Back

Here is the third binder holding the last four months' of the year.

And this is what a full year of my life looks like! It spreads out to about 12 inches when not contained with a book band!

Can't believe it's done! Now I need to decide what to do for 2017. I'm thinking of using another Traveler's Notebook for a planner/art journal. I guess I'd better hurry up and start, as we are already a few days into January.

I'm Back - and November Catch-Up

I returned last night from Albuquerque and had fun babysitting the two boys, but a few weeks with a one- and four-year-old have worn me out! One day I took them to the Abq Balloon Museum for story time and craft hour. They had a blast (though you wouldn't know it from the look on Grant's face) and it was a nice change of pace from staying in the house!

November Documented Life unPlanner Update

I've been trying to stay current with the DLP planner but haven't been home long enough to do much posting!  Here's Week 2 - the background is "smooshed" paints and I added several cutouts and die cut leaves.

The art challenge for the PAC this week was to start with a photograph. I had a duplicate 2" x 2" photo of all four grand boys so I used that along with some stitching and doodling on a pre-painted background.

 For the Dare2B card this month, I decided to use "thankful." I added a black card stock spine to an art pop card from Roben Marie Smith and wrote my list with a Faber Castell Pitt artist pen.

I switched to kraft card stock for Week 3 and used a chevron roller stamp with white ink for the background. The yellow flowers were stamped with paint and stickers added to centers.

This week's art challenge was to use pen and ink only. I loosely sketched a scene I'd seen on Pinterest and watercolored it to evoke fall trees. It came together so quickly.

I used the back of the Dare2B card to add my List Ten. This month's prompt was to list your life advice in ten words.

Week 4 is also kraft card stock (the back of week 3). Again, I scraped a few paints on the background and added Art-to-the-5th circle stickers (halved) for the dates.  I also doodled white white pen to brighten it up. For Thanksgiving Day I glued on a stamped and colored fall wreath that I found in my stash.

For this week's PAC we were to explore pointillism. I struggled with this one. I finally used a gelli-plated and stamped paper for the background  and just kept adding dots in a few colors to enhance the abstract design. It's not my favorite! When I finished I felt it still needed a focal point, so I added the stamped and gold-embossed title.

I added all four PACs to a cut-down pocket sleeve, embellished with a stripe spine and scalloped border.

There were still three days to go for November, so I added a kraft half-page calendar for this partial week.

I didn't have much ephemera for my monthly pocket picks, as I spent most of my month babysitting one set of grand boys or the other.  Instead of my usual pocket page protector, I used a large black tag to add some photos. I love black tags embellished with white pen and colorful hole reinforcers.

Front

Back

So that was November!

October DLP unPlanner 2016 - Week 4

More catchup...

This is Week 4. I was at my art retreat this week and working on various projects (I will share later) so not much on the calendar.

Since Oct. 31st fell on Monday, I didn't want to use an entire weekly page so I used the back of a darling Halloween card I received. (See second photo.)

Here is what I did for my Monthly Pocket Picks. I used another full sheet protector and fused pockets in it according to the sizes I needed.  Once again I used a black tag for some photos of the month. I love how that looks.

Front

Back

I still have a few October PACs to catch up on so will share those next.

Recap of DLP September

Catching up on posting the last few weeks' of September's DLP pages.

Fourth Week

I scraped pink and yellow acrylic paints on kraft background, then stenciled the large flowers with yellow paint. The centers of the flowers are messy-painted circle flowers. I used up many random bits and pieces on this page.

Fifth Week

For this background is dry-brushed some white paint lightly and then stenciled the harlequin design with yellow paint. The owls were cut from an old sticky note.

Back of Fifth Week Page

Because there was an extra week in Sept., I was left with a blank page. I glued on some artist paper from the DLP gals (love, love, love this paper) and then added one of Roben Marie Smith's journaling cards to summarize the month - quick and easy.

This is the last week's PAC. The challenge was to use stripes.  When I was thinking about this challenge, I was watching an Illustrated Faith video by Shanna Noel. She was sketching a girl similar to those of Beth Cupitt (also of IF).  I decided to try my hand at it and sketched this girl on watercolor paper. After watercoloring her, I cut her out and glued her to this pretty scrapbook paper which had little tick marks on it, a kind of stripe. I attached a small piece of IF printed acetate and sewed around the card with pink thread. Love it!

And, finally, the Monthly Pocket Picks!

I love doing these. They are part scrapbook, part pocket page, and part cleaning up the bits and pieces I've saved over the month! I used my Fuse tool which I had purchased especially for this project.

I used a black tag again - love the look of photos and white writing on the black.  One fun thing I did - I had an extra space on the page so make a shaker with all the colorful circles left over from punching holes in the spines of my pages through the entire year to date! 

Front

Some of the items I added this month: photos of happy mail (orders and swaps), a movie ticket stub, a card and pin from the Pinners Conference in Dallas, photos from camping in Bandolier and the boys in Albuquerque, and a ticket and photo of the Children's Aquarium where I took Carl and Mitchell while I was babysitting earlier in the month to pet and feed the stingrays.  Love the memories!

Back

DLP unPlanner - June catch up

It seems that I am always a few months behind and am always playing catch-up! I can't believe that in a few days June will be over and we will be at the half-year mark for the unPlanner!

Here are June's PACs (Pocket Art Cards). This month I cut down a four-pocket protector to stack the cards vertically. I stitched (messy, yes) the right side closed and added paper and painted reinforcers to the spine.

Week 1's challenge was to pick a shape and repeat it. I chose some stenciled scrap paper with circles and enhanced the circle theme.

Week 2 we were to doodle a flower.  This card was left over from a few months ago when we were supposed to have someone else doodle on our card. My friend, Lynette, had graciously done two cards and I had saved this one. I added the large doodled flower.

Week 3's challenge was to use tissue paper. For this card (top) I covered the background with a "dirty" inky paper towel. The text strip is a torn piece of Christy Tomlinson's printed tissue paper.  I also stamped the butterfly and word "fly" on regular white tissue paper and glued them on. I love that the tissue paper disappears once it is dry. This is a great way to add stamping to textured surfaces.

For the fourth week we needed to incorporate watercolors. I used green and blues to create the background and then stamped and heat-embossed the quote. I matted the card on black card stock - very simple.

Before I left I shared my June monthly divider and monthly view calendar.  Below are the last 2 1/2 weeks of June.  I still have a few days' to fill in on the last week.

Here is my monthly pocket page. I used a two-pocket page protector. 

n the bottom pocket I finished up my Washington DC and Colorado memories. We went to the Holocaust Museum and everyone was given an ID card of someone who was in the camps. It made it very personal. I also added a portion of the brochure from the Library of Congress and two photos which hinge with washi tape. The bottom photo is from CO and the top one is the four of us saying goodbye in the Albquerque Airport at the end of the trip.

The top pocket holds photos and the movie ticket stubs from my week of babysitting in Austin.

The back pockets hold: photos from the reunion; Delta bag claim check; and, my favorite, a scrap that Drew (age 4) wrote his name on all by himself while we were in DC. This is my favorite part of the entire project - getting to keep random scraps and mementos together along with my calendar.

So, I think I am officially caught up! Now on to July!

DLP unPlanner - Monthly Pocket Picks

This month I combined my pockets for the PACs and my "monthly pocket picks."

This first photo shows the first two weeks' PACs in the top pockets and a DC postcard in the larger bottom pocket.

Front of page protector

Here are the last two week's PACs on top and ephemera from our US Capitol tours on the back of the postcard. I made a "flip" with two photos - one inside Congresswoman Grisham's office and one on the Capitol balcony - attaching with washi tape.

Back of page protector

Photo Flip

I used a second page protector without pockets and fused areas to fit my ephemera.

On the front I added some tags from some "happy mail," a shaker pocket with some shells from Florida, photos and bits and pieces from Orlando,  and our plane, train and subway tickets for DC.

Front of page protector

The back contains photos and a map of the National Mall in DC.  The map was long so I folded it in thirds and slit the side of the protector so it would fold up on the outside of the pocket. 

Back of protector with map folded

Here is the map unfolded (the back is attached to the ticket stubs).

And here is the back of the map covered with "under paper" and photos.

There was a lot to document this month and I'm happy to be caught up. Now on to June.