Hello Paislee Press fans. I am so excited to be the guest blogger today. I am a huge fan of Liz’s designs!

My normal project life process is one spread per week, Monday – Sunday, with the occasional insert for big events, holidays, etc… But, this time, I decided to do something a little different. My husband, Zach, and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary last month and to celebrate we ran a marathon (yes, a marathon, it was a crazy idea, but we did it!) and then spent a few days in San Francisco. I ended up with two spreads documenting our trip.

On the left side of the first spread I started with our marathon. I took this fun selfie at mile 6 and used the Sunday overlay from Pictures + Words No 5. I then used two of the cards from Diptych Cards No 2 and some thickers to document our finish time. I then slightly altered one of the Road Trip journal cards to tell a little story of running to the gate to make our flight. One of the things I love about digital files is that you can alter them slightly to get exactly what you need. The rest of this spread is from our surprise vow renewal. Yes, my husband planned the most perfect surprise vow renewal for us. (top right and bottom left photos were taken by Richard Cao Photography and the bottom right was a film photo by my husband, who also happens to be a professional photographer). I love how the frame (Gallery Frames No 5) really draws attention to the photo without taking away from it. More word art from Pictures + Words No 5, a definition template from Presslines No 18, and a filler card from Downtime finish off this side of the spread.

On the right side, I wanted to include our vows that we read to each other so I typed them up on 4×6 PSD with space to include a cut banner from one of the Downtime cards. I also used one of the elements from another Downtime card to add the flowers on the lower left card. I then moved on to some photos from Tuesday and Wednesday of our trip. I resized one of the frames from Gallery Frames No 5 to add into a 3×4 spot, a filler card from Downtime with some journalling, and more word art from Pictures + Words No 5 and Presslines No 18.

Next up, the left side of the second spread. This side includes more of Wednesday and Thursday morning. We rented bikes and rode across the Golden Gate Bridge up to the Muir Woods on Wednesday. Thursday we took the Alcatraz tour, which was awesome! I added a circle tag from Presscards No 25 (no longer available?) to the top left photo of the bridge in all the fog. Loved that fog! I added a frame from  Gallery Frames No 5 to the Scenic Route card from Road Trip with some journalling and some wood veneer bikes from Studio Calico. I used the Today Was word art from Pictures + Words No 5 and then typed the words on the right side of the timer shot of us on our bike ride. Seriously, gorgeous bike ride, worth the challenge for sure! Another Downtime journal card, more word art from Pictures + Words No 5, definition template from Presslines No 18, and framed coffee photo using Gallery Frames No 5 because we drank A LOT of coffee to finish off this side.

I had many more photos that I really wanted to include so I made some collages to use some more selfies and lots of food pics. I masked a filler card and the snapshots card from Diptych Cards No 2 into my collage to frame it and I love how it turned out. I also used another Gallery Frame for a timer shot of us waiting for our flight home. I combined a few different files from Gallery Frames No 5 to make the This Week card and then handwrote my journalling. Next to it I used the same Gallery Frame but typed a little review of our week in SF. The last two filler cards were from Downtime with the label cut from a card from Diptych Cards No 2 along with a few thickers and letter stickers.

Overall, I’m so excited how I was able to beautifully document our trip. I love how the different elements came together so well. Definitely going to be a favorite of mine for a very long time!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Love & Light, Michelle.

Michelle Wear

I am wife, mom of three, believer, photographer, storyteller, blogger, project lifer

Storytelling: Clean and simple with an emphasis on the photos that tell the story.

One day I’d like to: Someday, I would love to live in another country and experience every ounce of the culture. But…I will always call Colorado my home.