Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The Slice and Project Life: journaling cards inspiration

I have been following other people's Project Life projects for a while now. Sometime toward the end of last year, I decided to jump on the PL wagon, but use it in a slightly different way. I have only been scrapping for a few years and yet I've been into photography for much longer. A light bulb went on when I first started to "get" Project Life because I realised it answered a lot of the questions I had about "how the heck will I ever get 'caught up'?!" Now, I know that "being caught up" is a bit of a myth and is also not necessarily something to aspire to. However, for a long while I've been wanting to document SOMEthing from my existence prior to becoming a scrapbooker, but hadn't been able to figure out how.

The way I've now started to use PL is simply to provide an overview - typically a double spread per month (or so) rather than per week. I'm adding in extra pages where I need to, for important events. Thankfully, my hoarding tendencies mean I have kept some memorabilia and ephemera "just in case" and can justify my actions now that I have the perfect place to put it! :)

I've discovered that the Slice is absolutely fantastic for using with Project Life. The designs are just the right size, and below I'm sharing some of the ways in which I've dressed up the basic journaling cards in different ways. I've used a bunch of different design cards here; if you have questions about a specific one, please feel free to ask! Not all the journaling cards use the Slice, but it definitely features heavily here.

These are some of my ideas, tips and inspiration on how to make journaling cards your own.

Repeating a theme (in this case, circles)


Add texture and dimension (this was made by embossing Core'dinations cardstock with the Cuttlebug)


Create a colour-coordinated cardset - even with different fonts, these look like they belong together.




Add a fun shape or embellishment - this would work great with a travel theme, for example.


Use a repeated shape in different ways - even though the colours, position and orientation changes, using the same shape brings some continuity.


Numbers - who can go wrong with numbers? A very popular theme right now - great for embellishing and creating lists (which can help break through that "writer's block")



Create a whole matching set - easy peasy! Just pick some patterned paper that goes well with the photos for that spread.


~ Caroline ~

P.S. Yes, I've decided to stick to British spellings on here now; seeing as I'm English it seemed the right thing to do. :)

5 comments:

  1. OOOH! Thank you for this post! What a fantastic idea for using the Slice!!!

    I'm going to post a link to your blog on my blog.

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  2. OOh - I quite like seeing that I'm on your site now!

    As you are English, are you in the UK or in USA? I'm on the web looking at all things Slice, as I have one, but am experiencing some problems. (and have just heard about the sale of Slice machines and peripherals at 'Michaels' which seems a shame given how much I've paid!)

    I hope that I can be as creative when I get the machine and card working correctly.

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    Replies
    1. Hey Jenbar, apologies for the delay in getting back to you!

      Yes I'm English but I live in the US. Michaels had a closeout on all their Slice stuff, and is no longer carrying any. Making Memories has just been acquired by Colorbok, and I'm really hoping they'll keep the Slice on - I feel the same as you about being very invested in it! :)

      Let me know if you have any questions about using your Slice; I'd be happy to help.

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  3. Hey, a belated thank you. I didn't see your reply.

    I'm determined to do more with my slice - I bought 2 cards (vintage findings and noteworthy) and the embossing tips, along with a bag in the online sale recently.

    I noticed that someone on the Splitcoaststampers forum recommended looking at yahoo groups, so I'm going to look there too.

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  4. Jenbar, I love both those cards!

    I'm a member of this Yahoo group for Slice users:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aSliceofCreativity

    If you have any other questions about your Slice, or things you'd like to see on my blog, let me know and I'll see what I can do! :)

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