If you want to get the real stuff, I recommend shopping at Two Peas In Bucket, as they just got a brand new selection in & a restock of favorites.

GIVEAWAY: To win a spot ($20 value) in the workshop, leave a comment telling me something fun! Contest will close Monday, May 21st at 8:00am PST and a winner will be announced shortly after. Hope to see you all in the Washi Workshop!

From here you’ll go to Stacy Cohen. And then to Allison Waken. Be sure to also stop by Creating Keepsakes and the Studio Calico blog for more chances to win.

Week 17 and yup, you guessed it. Still loving Project Life. Though I attempted to do Week In The Life for the 3rd year, it didn’t quite work out as planned. And it’s ok, because this year is being thoroughly documented with Project Life. Although each week my system tends to vary, the basics are about the same. I try and do just a little bit during the week, and then the following week (usually on Mondays) it comes together and I make myself finish the previous week. I like to plan out all the printing of my photos of the week at once – and most of them seem to come from my Instagram feed. I print them at home and most of them come out to 2×2. As you can tell, I like incorporating the “stuff” from life – magazine clippings, business cards, food labels, etc. After doing this successfully for over 4 months (which is a total surprise and accomplishment), here are some tips that work for me.

1. My #1 rule:Use what you want. Make this project work for you. It’s your life and feel free to document it in a way that works for you. Don’t feel limited. I try and use my newest products (in an effort not to hoard them) along with a lot of stuff from my stash, including my PL core kit.
2. Go with the flow – When I sit down to work on a week, it’s  probably going to be a bit different than the previous week. Some weeks will have more photos, some will have more souvenirs and bits. I try not to spend too much time over agonizing over what I have an what I don’t. If there’s a lack of photos and stuff, then I can always supplement with fun supplies from my stash.
3. Don’t be afraid to mix and match – I don’t pre-plan too much when it comes to color. As I flip through my pages, I have noticed that I like bold accent colors, especially yellow and teal. Matching colors to photos is a good start. If you choose to use a color not seen in photos, keep in mind you can use the same product (patterned paper for example) in a few different places on your 2 page spread so the colors tie in nicely. I don’t like to stick to one collection entirely. I find it much more fun to mix it up and use elements from collections that complement one another.
4. Try new techniques – I love the little journaling card slots. The size is 3X4, which makes for a perfect little canvas to experiment on. If there’s something you’ve wanted to try, like watercolors, misting, stitching, anything really – sample it on one of these cards. Remember, there are no mistakes; just happy accidents.
5. Focus on just getting it done – Documenting some weeks will go by more quickly than others. Sometimes I struggle with a lack of photos or inspiration from a certain week. I remind myself that the whole is more important than the sum of its parts. It’s important to remember that years from now it really won’t matter that I didn’t have the perfect embellishment or I wasn’t happy with the way the watercolor turned out on 1 journaling card. I will enjoy and relish as I flip through the delightful pages and realize it’s a good life – a life worth documenting. And I’ll be super happy I did it.

Here’s how I got this week done:

Supplies: Studio Calico exclusive stamps, Weekdays stamps, Heidi Swapp Petite Paper pack, Daydreams Thickers, Sketchbook 6X6 paper pad, Studio Calico 6X6 paper pad, mostly from Two Peas in A Bucket, some from the local independent stores I visited recently.

I love everything Ali Edwards does, including Project Life.  I am thinking I need to sign up for her new 31 Things class at Big Picture. Another class that I am considering is Happy Go Lucky Stitchalong with Amy Powers.

You can see all my Project Life posts here. In case you missed out, Project Life photo pocket pages are back on Amazon. Feel free to ask questions in the comments section. How are all of you doing with Project Life?

It was another busy week. Still loving every single bit of this and still trying to keep it fairly simple. And colorful, of course.
The week started off with Buster doing a final photo shoot for the independent film he’s in. We got to see a rough cut of the short film and I have to say that I am super impressed with it. I will share more information when I can. JC got us each a Nike+ FuelBand and I am obsessed with it. We had delicious meals out and in, and I had a quick 1 night trip to Reno to teach at Paper Daisies in Sparks, NV. The owners are some of the sweetest in the business and they know how much I love to eat. We went to an institution called BJ’s and had some delicious BBQ. Not to mention some Kick-Ass Fries. No, really, that is what they are called. And they ain’t lyin’, the fries were kick-ass.I flew Southwest for the first time and quite enjoyed it. It was my only direct option home at the time I wanted on Saturday evening. The lining up thing wasn’t all that bad – I even got a window seat in row 5 and was able to see Lake Tahoe since someone very sweet advised me to sit on the right side. As much as I loved my first Southwest experience, my loyalties still remain with Delta.

Supplies: white Journal Thickers, , airplane stamp, Sketchbook 6X6 paper pad, Sadie’s Story paper, jillibean soup Alphabean letter stickers (my new fave), Studio Calico 6X6 paper pad,  Hambly herringbone overlay, mostly from Two Peas in A Bucket, some from the local independent stores I visited recently.
You can see all my Project Life posts here. How are all of you doing with Project Life? My Q&A post on Project Life will have to come in the next couple weeks when I take some more process photos. Oh and there’s been a big restock of the Project Life photo pocket pages on Amazon, in case you all missed out.

Fast forward to age 33.  For the past 3 days, I have spent 90% of my waking hours horizontal. Either in bed or on the sofa. I am exhausted. Totally exhausted. And not afraid to admit it. (You see in Chinese culture – or at least how my mom was raised, you are just expected to work all the time, and just rest when you’re sleeping. To her, there is no such thing as a medical condition called exhaustion.) I am and always have been a workaholic, though I am still trying every single day to work smarter, not always harder.

I looked at my calendar for April as I was laying on the sofa with Buster’s butt at my chin, and I realized that I had worked every single day except for 1 Sunday. And even on that Sunday I had actually spent about 4 hours on the computer getting stuff ready for the following week. Plus in the month of April I added a healthier diet and exercise routine. Last weekend, I went hiking twice, went on a bike ride and then starting Monday, ran after work every day. Until Thursday. At around 4:30 I just had to lay down. On the floor. My body apparently was like, “Hold up, wait a minute. Not only do you want me to have all the energy to get all your work done, you want to work out every day now too?! Umm, I need a break.” So then it shut down.

You see, I am not trying to gain your sympathy for something I brought upon myself, in a way. I’m blessed to do what I love, and to have a thriving little creative company. I just wanted to share some of the thoughts that have been running through my head while I have been resting. I am still not feeling well, and am horizontal once again. I shared with some of you online folks that I have been feeling sick, and I truly appreciate your well wishes. Thankfully, I have had some very good caretakers filling up my water glass, making chicken noodle soup, going to the store and buying saltine crackers and Gatorade for me, making sure I am not too hot, too cold, and being super patient. They have taken care of me and I am so grateful. I don’t think I am contagious, as I have looked up fatigue and exhaustion, and it is clearly what I have. My muscles are achy, sometimes I feel super cold and hot, and I can only sit up or stand for 30 minutes at a time. So as much as I try to have happy, light hearted postings on here, I thought a little dose of not-so-fun reality wouldn’t hurt. Although my body is aching right now, telling me it’s time to close my eyes again. Or maybe take some more Advil. As soon as I am well again, I promise to relax more and restore even more balance into this crazy little (mostly) happy life. Hope you all had a much better weekend than I did. I read this interesting article on stress and really should have it printed out and hanging next to my desk. And enjoyed the thoughts in this article by Kyla Roma too. If you have tips on restoring balance, please do share. My mind and body will be so thankful.

I am the last stop on the Garden Girl Morph and there are prizes at each stop. Enter by leaving a comment on each layout. Shannon, Wilna, Lynn, Wendy Sue, and I had a lot of fun with this project. Happy crafty weekend!