hello all!

this month i wanted to share a new project i started this year. lately i’ve been combining an art journaling style with a pocket page format in my scrapbooks. this is a great way to document everyday life and have fun at the same time. combining digital elements with handmade pieces and traditional scrapbooking products has really been working for me lately. i try to stick to a somewhat weekly format, though sometimes a spread is more about a topic or a specific day/mood. while i do love the idea or capturing every single little detail of life, let’s be honest they aren’t all particularly interesting! this format leaves room for times when i just want to enjoy the process of making things and have a more “art-journaly” approach. here are a few of my recent spreads:

this one is a mix of a cut down coin pocket and a full 6×8 sleeve, both with a blue background that was painted/misted with a dark grey to feel cohesive. shots of my school project process, a business card from brunch at el almacen, an instagram photo of chloe and i (with the comment and hashtag for authenticity), veneer quote and a fortune cookie all visually represent moments from my week. a shot of the frames in a local tattoo parlor and some graffiti on blue brick at school add a little atmosphere, while the bought + loved card tells the story of the blue pants.  i used the week of with a date stamp on the pants picture and made a new friend today strip on a facetime photo.

here i used a poster from a recent record release on the left (that record has been on repeat, obviously),with some shots from lunch with friends on vellum. i also included a list of the songs on my current playlist, which were inspired by this particular artist. a photobooth pic from a coffee break at the ace hotel and a yoga mat package combined with 3×4 photos from brunch with a  friend and the new shelves i hung in my room tell the story of my week. i had a card calendar from january that i didn’t end up using but i loved it and held onto it anyway.  i folded it up under the photobooth pic, which has a 35 stitched to it, and it hides this year’s affirmation so only the 2014 from the calendar peeks out. i always have an affirmation that i print out and attach to that year’s birthday photo, and while my bday isn’t til august, i finally came up with my affirmation so i notated it here.

this spread was fun because i made a lot of the elements. left side has leftover sticker negatives from an alphabet set and a watercolored journaling card, while the right side contains a card made from a bunch of yogi tea fortunes i’ve collected, and a piece of cut up chipboard that i was experimenting on (white spray paint, inks,stamping, pencil, alpha negatives and some stitching). the march 2014 tab and new life pieces came from a catalogue, and the 3×4 card of six photos goes along with the journaling next to it. i cut up the xo and stuck it under the paperclip from the previous spread, and used some patterned paper to journal a quote on the tea fortune card.

this spread has a floating window from the spread before that holds a business card from dinner with a friend. i journaled on top with vellum and stuck the “west” arrow underneath, since we discussed a possible move scenario (my third daydream this year). below that i used a fresh start tab since chloe is going for surgery and i’m excited for her to feel new and refreshed. to make it stand out a little more, i cut out the bottom and right side to slide a piece of patterned paper underneath. the currents card is on aqua patterned paper to go with the alpha you see in the floating window, and the photo of the white leather jackets has floral washi tape at the top to cover up some background stuff happening in the photo. the paper clip on the 4×6 photo is a grouping of chloe’s post-surgery photo, typed out texts from friends wishing her luck, and an alphabet card printed on kraft paper for some texture. the let it go card is perfect for my mixed emotions about taking some time off of school. oh life.

this last spread was another fun one because i made the striped collage paper from catalogue clippings. the 4×6 is the chloe picture from her fundraiser page and the journaling is about our experience with her surgery this past saturday. above that are a bunch of out takes from me playing with the camera timer. the hello perfection card functions as the title for this spread and some veneer and cork give a little texture and depth.

i love using paislee press releases as digital elements atop photos as well as printed out pieces i can cut and manipulate. i’ve been asked how i decide which digital elements to use, and of course there isn’t a simple answer. some months i’m just so excited about a new release i will base a whole spread around it (like the week of spread), while other times i know i want to use a digital element but i go searching for something that fits (the fresh start tab above). i have all of my paislee press stuff in it’s own folder, and i also have a separate folder called “need to use!” that is filled with elements i love but don’t know how i want to use them yet (there’s a lot of brightside and eternal sunshine in there, and i’m really holding back with the latest picture + words because if i didn’t there would be one of those on every single spread). now that i have more ink for my printer, i am excited to start printing out the patterned papers again, and manipulating the scale to work in smaller sized pockets. like i said, the process isn’t a definite trajectory but i try to leave myself little hints along the way so i don’t forget to add digi stuff because it really does add a fun layer to my books.

thanks for visiting!!

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You can find all of my hybrid project posts here.