Little Summer JOY - Celebrate Lesson 1

Happy Independence Day, fellow Americans! (And Happy July 4th to you non-Americans!)

Today, I'm bringing you a little page I have created in my Little Summer JOY traveler's notebook for Lesson One at Little Paper Projects' - Celebrate the Little Things.

First, can I say that I'm just celebrating this little moment right here - I'm sitting on the front porch, drinking coffee, all the people in my home are still asleep (late firework/boat night last night), and catching up on photos and blogging and all the gorgeous crafty inspiration in my virtual world. It is glorious!

This moment could be short lived, so on I go, to share with you the first page I've created for Alexandria's lesson.

How appropriate for today's holiday - but I didn't even plan it like that! I just snapped these cuties on the way to school Friday, both in their red, white & blue, dnd the photo turned out SOOO cute I had to create with it.

It's hard to tell with photography, but the background card is red metallic. The washi is gold stripes and stars, and I just love the whole patriotic feel of it all.

I used a Studio Calico Christmas stamp set for the stars, and an Ali Edwards digital summer passport stamp for the celebrate word. I tell ya what, Ali's digital stamps were literally the best accompaniment to this Little Summer JOY summer project, and I do not believe there was even a collaboration there!?

I had fun creating this super simple page of my boys! This amazing project will continue through the summer so please, JOIN US!

Thanks for looking & hope you play with a little sparkle & fire today!

My setup for Little Summer JOY 2016

We're just a couple days away from the official start of Little Summer JOY 2016 & I've been preparing my supplies in anticipation of all the wonderful lessons full of inspiration that Little Paper Projects is sure to bring!

I posted about my notebook cover the other day, as well as a link to the class. You can find that right here. It explains about the free class, as well as the optional paid portion of the class with additional features. You can also sign up by clicking the Join Me link to the left.

Today, I'm sharing my part II cover & some on-the-go traveler's notebook tips.

Traveler's Notebook Insert

So I bought the traveler's notebook inserts at Michael's from their new Boho collection meant for their "string journals." I typically keep my traveler's notebook inserts in somewhat of a vintage travel theme, but I decided to go all out bright and colorful for Little Summer JOY, so the crisp white inserts were great. However, upon review of the notebook organization suggestions, I realized that these little books did not have nearly enough pages to complete the project!

Never fear - this just means I got to make a part II notebook. I really enjoyed creating my first cover, so I pulled out the Pink Paislee citrus bliss stack & found another summery paper to brighten the book.

I really love the brightness of the cover as much as Part I!

To show you a little of what I did (it really is super simple), I just laid the insert flat upon the paper and lined up the straight edges. I left a couple inch strip to wrap around to the inside of the cover. I taped down the paper on the front cover, and used some washi tape to adhere the edge of the paper to the inside cover. Then I trimmed off the excess paper from the top. Here is a photo of the inside of the insert to demonstrate:

While you do not have to have a Traveler's Notebook cover to enjoy using a Traveler's Notebook insert, if you plan to travel or take your notebook anywhere outside the home, I suggest one for protection of your Little Summer JOY creation. They have them really inexpensively at Michael's, you can find plenty on Etsy, or you can DIY! There are loads of suggestions for this on the LPP blog.

What's in the bag?

The entire idea of the traveler's notebook, which began with Midori Traveler's Company in Japan, is to have a handheld notebook (hence, the perfect size) to carry with you at all times when you travel. It can hold multiple inserts, and the traditional, leather cover is designed to absorb some travel abuse and display it as character enhancing, worn in distress. I LOVE it.

I love the idea of carrying my TN with me outdoors & relaxing in nature & releasing my memories and thoughts into the journal. However, to create the types of layouts I desire in my TN inserts, I require some on-the-go supplies. Enter two little zipper bags.

I like to use two separate bags because of lessons learned from tops coming off stamp ink ...

I use a plastic pouch (this is my favorite one from Freckled Fawn) to hold pens, inks and stamps. It's also a good idea to carry a small pouch of some type of wet wipe (unless you have small children, because then we know you have them, how did you survive without them before?!) to clean your stamps.

The cloth pouch (from Joann's, I believe) holds paper ephemera, adhesive, washi tape, alphas, journaling cards, and anything else you may want to put in your TN. I would also put my instax photos in there until I was ready to stick them down.

They also sell zipper pouches made to fit inside a Traveler's Notebook cover, but I just do not believe they would hold enough supplies for my liking.

So when I travel or just go on a day trip where I plan to have time to journal, I will throw these pouches into my bag with my TN and go!

This summer I'm documenting my Little Summer JOY with my TN and my instax camera. Also, don't forget the film! :)

I really hope you'll consider participating in this fun summer project. It will be so inspirational & your final product is guaranteed to be phenomenal! Sign up here! You won't regret it!

Thanks for looking!

Little Summer JOY 2016

Y'all I'm so excited I've become involved with a new project for the next couple of months & I would love for you all to join!

My friends over at Little Paper Projects are working hard on their second year of Little Summer JOY - a free class and inspiration portal to encourage making your summer magical & documenting your adventure in a realistic, manageable and beautiful way. I'm so thrilled I have found this inspirational outlet & I cannot wait for the classes to start!

I discovered the traveler's notebook earlier this year, and I have really enjoyed incorporating it into my creative regime for documenting life. I LOVE that Little Paper Products is really focusing on the TN in the #LSJ2016 project. The traveler's notebook is so manageable for any level of crafter. Even if one does not consider oneself "crafty" you can make a TN beautiful. Its simplistic nature is what makes it so wonderful.

And there will be plenty of participants using other forms than a traveler's notebook. Any small notebook or album will work & be gorgeous. It's all about finding the documentation style that is best for you - the style you enjoy creating - and committing to finishing your summer album!

I created my first notebook's cover the other day & I really love how it turned out. It captures the bright fun of summer I wanted to represent.

I'm planning to use my Instax camera to document my summer, but there are so many options to create your summer joy!

Please consider joining FOR FREE over at Little Paper Projects & document your Little Summer Joy. If you are incredibly interested in this project, and wish to take it further, you can sign up for a paid version of the course here! With the paid version, you will receive additional technique lessons, videos and freebies. Use the code save5 before June 30th to save $5!!!

This project is going to be so much fun & I look forward to the MOUNTAINS of inspiration awaiting us over the few weeks. Join the Little Summer JOY movement, and you won't regret it! Remember to use the hashtag #littlesummerjoy so that we can all share in our beautiful creations.