Project Life Wk 38 - 41

A bit of a catchup.  I had the gift of time yesterday morning, spent the morning catching up these last 4 weeks.  I had printed the photo's, just needed to add the journaling.  I also printed up my Week In The Life, and simply added to my Project Life 2 album.  Yay.

So here goes:

Week 38:  The Week after our devastating fire which occurred on the Sunday.  Supplies used  here are a mix of the Clementine & Blush Editions, as well as Ali Edwards Heart Boxes (cut using my Silhouette).  Journaling on photos is font Impact.

Week 39:  Once again a mix of Clementine & Blush Journaling cards, a bit of washi tape, and Ali Edwards Week In The Life Circles.  I included an insert of 6 6x4 photos (I cut a big insert down and simply made a spine using cardstock & washi tape) of Daniella's Border Badminton Tour.  The red card is blank as I'm waiting for her to write up her thoughts of her week away.  I also downloaded Cathy Zielske's Photo Card (3x4) and am loving including pics in my 3x4 journaling row.

Week 40:  A combination Blush Edition & 'Double Scoop Studio Calico PL Kit' Journaling cards, Ali Edwards overlays, and the tags on the photos are also from the SC Kit.  I simply journaled on them and attached them using my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher (LOVE!).  Also used my Project Life Jouranling Pen to journal directly onto the pic of Fudge & D's slipper.  Insert is Polly's Ballet Award and breakdown of how her marks were allocated.

Week 41:  I love this week - funny how some weeks you just love more than others?  Used the Blush Edition & SC Kit again.  The colours are just so fun.  2 of CZ Photocards, all of Ali's overlays and my Week Card is actually a postcard that i received when ordering something from Yuppie Chef.  Have a whole collection of these and plan to use them in my PL! Inserts are the 3 Awards that D received last week.

What can I say about PL?  I love it.  Nothing gives me more pleasure that sitting down and writing up our weeks.  Remembering the little things that so often go by unnoticed.  Taking photos of 'the everyday'. Using my phone to take impromptu 'on the road' pics when I don't have my camera handy and I don't stress to much about quality.

Any questions?  Pls ask.

Appreciating the Everyday - Week in The Life 2013

I wanted to share today, my thoughts on the importance of documenting the everyday.

Why?

Because it is important.  Because, you have  no idea, from one day to the next, from one minute to the next, what is going to change.  You never think the 'bad stuff' is going to happen to you.  It always happens to other people.  Always.

Until it does happen to you.

Last week I participated in Ali Edwards Week in the Life 2013.  I ummhed and aahed about it, was our story really worth documenting?  Did i really need to take pics of us eating breaking, the animals on the farm, the flowers in my garden, the laundry on my line?  Does anyone really care?  Do they?  Are my children going to look back through my albums one day and really care about what they had for breakfast 10 years ago?

Will they?

But now, it doesn't really matter.  Because now I know, again, just how important it is to document the everyday, because you never know when it may all come crumbling down.

We are sheep and cattle farms in a small town in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.  Stutterheim in the town's name.  It is made up mainly of farmers - dairy, sheep, cattle and agricultural farmers.  It's a very small town.  A few grocery stores and one robot (traffic light).  The time of year is a horrific time for us.  The farms are dry, the grass is short and there is no water.  We are a summer rainfall region, so by the end of Aug (the end of our winter) we are desperate for rain.  So this time of year is fire season.  And this time of year the wind howls.  It just blows and blows and blows.  And never stops.  The sky is always a haze of smoke, there is always a fire somewhere.

Yesterday that fire was on one of our two farms.  Luckily, the bottom farm.  The one that we use solely for grazing.  We don't live there.  Thank the Lord.

Because yesterday that farm was wiped out.  Completely and utterly burn't to cinders.  I cannot begin to tell you the despair one feels watching the flames jumping and licking at the heels of the flame in front of it.  Not letting up.  Raging ahead.  Not even a river able to stop it.

It was a horrific day.  Our whole community (and more) joined together to fight the fire.  To beat it out.  To spray flame repellant on the flames.  It was a mammoth job.  Luckily my husband foresaw that the fire was headed our way, and managed to move all his stock up to our Home farm.  Thank the Lord.  Thank the Lord the wind direction eventually changed and the fire started burning back on itself.  Thank the Lord we had the help we did.  Because without it, i'm not sure if I would be here this morning, documenting the everyday.

If there was one thing I learn't from yesterday (aside from the fact that God never lets us down) is that the everyday is important.  From the mundane to the magnificent.  It is all worth capturing.

Because you never know when it may not be there anymore.

My view of the smoke from our Home Farm

In the car, right beside the fire, on our adjoining farm

Burning right in the valley

The chopper assisting with buckets of water

Some of the stock from the adjoining farm, moved onto our Home Farm

Still burning at 9pm

And still a few stumps burning at 8am the following morning

An entire farm, burn't to cinders

These photo's don't really show the devastation as it actually is

A month before the fire

Week In The Life 2013 - Saturday

Saturday - probably the least amount of photos taken (we were busy) and more with my phone that Canon.

Sleeping (and peaking!)

Latte-ing

Colouring

Shopping

Loving

Napping

Watching

Soon to be eating

Week in The Life 2013 - Friday

Here they are, my Friday photos.  Taking less, focusing on what's important and still loving the process

Packaging

Blossoming

Playing

Looking Cute

Planting

Greening Up

Prepping

Driving

Dating

Chilling

Week In the Life 2013

I ummhed and aaahed for a long time about doing WITL 2013 for a very long time.  I wondered if i'd be able to stick to it, if my life wasn't just a little bit too tedious right now, and if i/we really had a story to tell.  After all, what really happens here in the second week of September.

But once I saw all the WITL posts popping up everywhere, the pics in Instagram, and Ali's own pic's, I knew I had to do it.

Monday there were very few pics.

But here we are.  Mon to Wed done and dusted.  I bought the Templates last night and love the simplicity of my pages.  Nothing earth shattering, but they capture our daily life.  And of course the arrival of our new puppy!

My only sadness is that D is not in these pics.  Being away at hostel can be a real bummer at times.  So i've asked her to take pics, and i'll do an extra day dedicated to the Life of a Hostel Student.  Fun!

SO here we go.

 

 

 

Thanks for looking (and i hope i've maybe inspired you to join in?

Happy Thursday :)

Project Life Catch Up

Some of my blog friends have been nagging me to show my PL weeks, so here goes.  I am completely up to date in my album, but very behind at sharing.  I have picked a few random weeks to share - I simply cannot go back and share everything that I have not!

So, here goes:

Week 26:

What Happened this week?  It was the July school holidays.  Lots of time spent with friends and family.  Date Night for D & I and a bit of a splurge at the Exclusives Winter Sale.  Miss Tina's freebies for the 3x4 insert cards, and Ali's brushes directly onto the photos.

 

Week 27:

 

What Happened this week?  We celebrated our 7th Wedding Anniversary.  Fetched the girls from Kei, D rote a scooter for the first time, more friend action, a Movie date with O & I and the Wimbledon Finals.  Journaling cards are a mix of the Clementine Edition and Studio Calico PL Kit.  Cut out one of Ali's Love Today on my silhouette, and of course more brushes on pics. One 6x12 inserts with the scooter & friend action pics.

 
Week 31:

What happened this week?  Back to normal after my weekend in CT.  Homework, carpool, playing, vegging, eating and a picnic at The Dam and our puppy was born.  Very exciting.  No idea what the journaling cards are, bought the paper in CT.  The Everyday brushes are Cathy Zielske and the others Ali.

Week 32:

What happened this week?  Daniella made the Border U17 Badminton Team, I received my new flash (still learning), it was a long weekend and that's about it.  The brushes on these photos are all Ali's Messy Edge Day of the Week brushes.  Love them.  Very ordinary photos from a very ordinary week.

Week 34:

What Happened This Week?  A very ordinary week at home.  Some gardening, a winter walk, yummy food and self portraits (O's fav thing right now).  This was also the first week I used the Blush PL kit - I am absolutely in love with it!  And also my PL Journaling Pens (black).  I documented the first official Royal Family Pic (Royalist that I am).  Brushes again from Ali. 

Overall thoughts on my Project Life Process:

Design A is by far my favourite sleeve

I prefer close up photograps

I use Ali's brushes/overlays on most photos

My favourite fonts are Impact & Champagne & Limousines

Simple, clean, uncluttered pages does it for me.

My own handwriting

A few 3x4 journaling cards, mixed in with a couple of 3x4 photos really works in the middle row.

A brief synopsis, day by day, is normally included in each week.

Linking up over @ The Mom Creative

Hope you enjoyed looking as much as I enjoyed creating :)

Project Life Weeks 21 - 23

So we're into June already - and yet i'm still managing to fit into 1 Album?  I think perhaps I don't have as many inserts, or 'thick' embellishments, hence the reason my album is lasting longer.  Don't think it's going to work for too much longer though, i reckon by the end of June I'll be in my 2nd Album for 2013.

Absolutely *loving* this project.  I just never tire of it.

Herewith my Weeks 21 - 23.

I am completely up to date, bar some journalling from DH and a couple of pics from D (hostel pics) that i've given up asking for!

Week 21:

 

Page 1 & Instagram Insert.  Polly took this pic of her LPS (little Pet Shop toys) she is suddenly mad about them.  Other two pics are of her raking up the leaves, and then destroying the pile.  Journaling cards are all from my Studio Calico (SC) and Clementine kits.  Am getting into the swing of things and loving stamping again.  I have received a whack of stamps from SC, and am planning on using them often.  Instagram insert is of my cute Kitty enjoying the fire, Pollyanna's 5th missing tooth and 

The back of the Instagram Insert:  Dean making biltong, my Nachos (a regular weekend meal) and D and I at The Tavern.

The first page of the 6x12 Insert is a poem that D submitted for SACEE.  It was a joint collaboration between herself, K & I and we had a ball!  Waiting to hear her results.  The theme of the poem - I have a Dream.

Page 2:  Two fav pics here - the one of Polly with her bath toy container on her head, claiming she is a light, and the one of D - a classic studying scene.  Also love the pic of D&G - we were out celebrating his b'day.  Journaling cards are all Clementine, apart from the Love This one, which is from my SC kit (and documents the details of someone's first date :)

The back of the 6x12 Insert is The Kookaburra Song, and a pic of one that I took on our visit the The Python Park (a few weeks back).  Polly loves this song and i often find her humming it to herself.  It is rather catchy!

Week 22:

Page 1.  This is a very subdued week (colour wise).  I'm not mad about it, but it's done now and it'll just have to stay!  Brushes from Ali once again.  The first 3x4 journaling card is also an Ali product, the rest are all from my SC kits.  The stickers are from my SC kits.

Page 2:  Same again - the first 3 are SC and the last is from Ali -here is the link. 4 out of the 7 pics are about food this week - hmmm, wondering if i have a problem :)  We do love our food though and with the cold weather we're eating a lot more of our favourite stewy, slow cooked meals!

I love the Weekend cards you get - love to condense our weekend onto one card.  This one is avail at Designer Digitals.  I had to journal about the Lief! cake competition that ruled my life for a week!

Week 23 (last week - see I'm very up to date!):

 

Page 1:  The Wk 23 Card is from SC kit and the WK23 are thickers.  Some journaling about our week, and I'm also documenting D's thoughts on each exam (can't find where I wrote down last week's, hence the blank spaces next to each subject).  Our tasty stew for lunch on Monday, and a pic of me (taken by Polly) as she thinks I look like a bug when I wear my sunnies.  Thanks honeypie!

A close up of the freebie calendar we received with one of our SC kits, as well as a simple PL grid card jazzed up with card, washi tape and a stamp (Just a little Randomness from the SC kit).  Also some sweet gold stars.  Not sure where the Story card is from - was in my stash.

The first side of my Insert for the week - documenting Olivia's first visit/overnight in hospital.  I kept this really simple, just adding Ali's brushes and some text to the pics.  The Happy Together tag is from my SC kit.

This is the back of my Insert (Design G).  I dedicated it to a Flora Walk that Dean and the girls went on, on Saturday.  Dean did the journaling, and I added a flair badge (my SC kit) and an Ali brush to the photos.  The rest I left untouched.  Still in awe of the colour!

Page 2 of Wk 23.  Very general photos here.  I use the font Impact to print on my pics if i'm not using on of Ali's brushes.  The 'photograph goes here' filler card, and the dotty envelope are both from the May SC kit, and the other two are from the Clementine Edition.  Simply jazzed up with some washi tape, twine and a sticker or two.

I had fun stamping on these cards too, using stamps that i received in my SC Kit (which i've since cancelled my subscription to as the exchange rate is just out of control).  Newsflash, 8 and FYI are all stamped.

Hope you've enjoyed the peek into my Project Life - if you've any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Linking up  to The Mom Creative

Happy Wed x