Key Largo Handbook: A Guest Post from Christine

Today's post is a guest post from up and coming scrappy blogger Christine Cieri. She's sharing a beautiful completed Handbook mini album from her recent vacation to Key Largo. I'm so excited to show off her fantastic project! Make sure to leave her a comment and let her know your favorite part!
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Hiii everyone! My name is Christine and I'm so excited to be guest blogging here at Rukristin papercrafts. Today I'm going to share with you a vacation mini album I created and I hope you enjoy!




I started scrapbooking in 2005 when I was a senior in High School and I got my first digital camera. I still remember buying that first camera and wow, it changed my life. I am an avid scrapbooker and can't imagine doing anything else I love more in my spare time. I l.o.v.e. scrapbooking and preserving my memories this way instead of keeping them in a unsorted box. I enjoy doing mostly layouts, mini albums and Project Life (just started this year!).  If you'd like, come follow me at http://christinecieri.blogspot.com/ and see more.

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Project Life: Week 3

This week brought a huge change to my normal Project Life spread. Instead of a single page condensed Design F for the week; I created a two-page spread with an insert. This week documents more of our trip to Southern California, we took so many pictures and did so many things worth documenting that anything less than this would have been a disservice to our memories :).

Please excuse the mediocre quality of the photos -- the weather has been absolutely terrible for taking photos the past few weeks, every day is just dreary. I am completely ready for winter to be over.

 

*Warning -- this post is VERY photo heavy, it might take a couple seconds to load :)

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Project Life Essentials: My Must Haves

These are my Project Life Essentials. They are all products that I use week-in and week-out. They sit on my table when I'm making my pages, and today I'm going to share them with you. I only recommend products that I use consistently and really love. If you have any questions please feel free to email me or leave a comment at the bottom!

The Basics:

• Becky Higgins Page Protectors -- these divided page protectors make it easy to break up your week into little snippets and document all the fun everyday moments. I mainly use the Design F pages, but the Design A, and Variety Packs are also popular.

• Project Life Core Kits (currently unavailable: expected mid-august-september) -- these kits have enough cards to get you through an entire year. I tend to use them sparingly throughout my book, but they are great to have on hand for quick pages and jotting down lists or notes. I have both Clementine and Cobalt; but I'm also liking the look of the new Cherry kit as well. 

• Project Life Grid Cards (currently unavailable) -- I use these all the time; both for Project Life and for various notes and lists I write for myself. I even use these cards to sketch out my Project Life layout for the week, the grid lines help to keep everything even. 

***Don't worry if these are unavailable; its super easy to use your own stash to make all the cards you 

need. 

The Tools

• Fiskars Softgrip 8-Inch Scissors - I've tried lots of scissors, and these are the ones I always come back to, especially for Project Life. They are a great size, not too big & not too small. I use them every day, and they clean very easily for a brand-new feel every time. 

• Corner Rounder -- This EK Success punch is the one I use. It's small and fits on my desk. It works every time and never gives me any problems. 

• Silhouette Cameo -- I use my Silhouette all the time, It's great for cutting out titles, and making lots of journaling cards. This starter kit from Amazon is a great deal: Silhouette Cameo Starter Kit Bundle Cutter. There are lots of different retailers who sell the Silhouette Cameo; I bought mine off Amazon because of the reasonable price and the super fast shipping. Here's a list of all the free Silhouette cuts that I've created, please feel free to download and use any of them. 

• Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher -- This is by far my favorite little tool. It's a strong mini stapler that has a good reach. Its great for attaching ticket stubs or any other memorabilia, and for adding a little bit of texture/dimension.

• Zig Millennium Markers -- These are my main journaling pens. They are a pure black color. I use all the sizes but I'm most partial to the .005 for fine writing, the .03 for regular journaling, and the .08 for a bolder look. 

• India Ink Pen -- If I had to use just one pen for the rest of my life; this would be it. It has a great feel, and it writes super smooth. The color is a bit of a faded black, which I really like. Sometimes the Zig markers are just too harsh of a black, and this India Ink pen has just the right amount of fade to blend into pages and pockets that are a bit more muted. 

Paper & Embellishments

• 6x6 Paper Pads -- I love working with the smaller size paper for Project Life, the prints are all shrunk down and look better in the smaller pockets. A few of my favorites: Studio Calico: Classic Calico (probably the best neutral 6x6 pad out there), Crate Paper: Storyteller (love the muted tones & map pages), Studio Calico: Hey Day (love all the various & well coordinating colors). 

• Clear Stamps -- Stamps are definitely the most economical embellishments, I use several of the same sets each week. I keep them right on my desk with a couple of ink pads and integrate them into almost all of my PL pockets. Here are a few of my most used sets:

 Studio Calico: Stepping Stone Alphabet 

Studio Calico: Hey Y'All

Lawn Fawn: Sophie's Sentiments

• Hero Arts Shadow Inks -- I love the saturation of these, they ink a bit blotchy at first, but then spread out as they dry to a really pretty color. I use wet cement the most, followed by soft pool & butter bar. I just recently ordered soft pink & the new neon colors. 

• Prima Inks -- I have these chalk inks in lots of colors. Its a great way to expand your ink colors without breaking the bank. They're also small and don't take up too much room on the desk/in the ikea cart. Starter color recommendations: Ladybug (a real red), Moss Lawn, Teal Damask, Attic Dust, & Old Road.

   

• Washi Tape -- I have lots of washi. I use washi on pretty much every pocket. You get a ton of it on a roll, it can act as ribbon, patterned paper, sticker, access. Two Peas had a great tutorial on using washi in Project Life, I was lucky enough to guest design for the challenge. Washi suppliers: Freckled Fawn, Love My Tapes, & Two Peas has a good selection. 

These are my most loved Project Life products; the essentials that I need each week and can't go without. I'll keep this list updated to include any new products that make their way into this list. If you have any questions at all, feel free to leave them in the comment section and I'll do my best to answer them!

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