Jillibean Soup Bean Talk

Life Album with Melanie Blackburn

Hello!  Melanie here today to share another installment of my Life Album spread.  To create week 21, I used alot of my favorite Jillibean Soup items, such as the new Placemat Frames, Wise Words, Soup Labels, and one of my favorite collections Macho Nacho Soup.  Even though the Macho Nacho Soup collection has a masculine theme, it is perfectly acceptable for a Life Album spread.  The combination of colors is one of my favorites and the Bite Size Bits cards are perfect for the spread.

Isn't this the perfect card for my intro for my Project Life spread?  Paired with Alphabeans and Wise Words, it's the ideal way to document the week and date.

One of my favorite journaling techniques is to pair my journaling with Alphabean stickers.  I will choose one or three words to highlight with the stickers and build my journaling around those words.  [And yes, I realize there was a spelling mistake.  Rest assured, it was fixed:)]

On the following card, I created the journaling directly on the picture using a fabulous new APP called 'BeautifulMess.'  Since the journaling was complete, I simply had to embellish the card.  The new corrugated words are perfect for the spread.  They are not too bulky and I can easily add stitching to adhere the words.

Most of these pictures were taken at our local fair, which sometimes other people are unavoidably included in a picture.  This is exactly what happened below.  To hide the face of the person, I added corrugated words and embellished around the picture.  I still use the pictures, but I do try to crop out the person as much as I can.  When that is not possible, I resort to using embellishments in a creative way so that the person is no longer visible.

Another pleasant surprise for me when I created this spread is that the Placemat Frames are the perfect size for the 3x4 sections of the page protector.  How fabulous is this?!  Of course, I had to use a couple on this spread.  They are perfect to frame a picture and the bottom part is ideal for journaling.

Supplies:
Jillibean Soup
Patterned Paper:  Macho Nacho Soup/Bite Size Bits, 2 Parts Boy, 4 Parts Hero, Pinch of Cool; Soup Staples II/Yellow Salt
Pea Pod Parts:  Macho Nacho Soup
Coordinating Cardstock Stickers:  Macho Nacho Soup
Alphabeans:  Whipped White, Apple Green, Newberg Navy, Gumbo Green
Wise Words:  Smile/Yellow, Blue, White
Placemats:  Kraft Frames
Kraft Tags:  Small
Corrugated Shapes:  Words
Soup Labels:  Life Is Sweet, Journaling II, Little Things, Journaling Sentiments
Unity/Jillibean Soup Stamps:  Sweet and Sour Soup, 100% Genuine

Other:  App/BeautifulMess.

I hope that you enjoyed seeing all of the additional close-ups.  I really like adding the little details on my spread, but I am careful not to add anything to bulky.  The coordinating stickers and die cuts are the perfect embellishment to achieve this look.  Make sure to upload your spreads to the Jillibean Soup Facebook page.  I would love to see how you incorporate Jillibean Soup.

Life Album with Melanie Blackburn

This week I thought I would share my process for completing a Life Album spread.  I wish I could say that my process is fast, but I'm a slow scrapper.  So, it usually takes me 3 to 4 hours to complete a spread, which includes photo editing and printing.  After choosing and editing my pictures in PSE, I print them to various sizes:  4x6, 3x3, or 3x4.  Afterwards, the set up begins.  I usually take over the dining room table.  Needless to say, dinner on those nights takes place in the family room, which my girls think is the best thing ever!

Once I'm comfortably set up, I select my paper, embellishments, and start outlining the general design of the spreads.  This is only the first draft and the end result will most likely not look like this.  I try to spread out the pictures of the girls i.e. not all the pictures of my youngest together (except if they are the same theme such as a birthday).  I also try not to reuse the same pattern paper on a page.  As well, I try to separate 3x4 pictures in the middle with a journaling card or an accent.  I find that this creates a more appealing and cohesive design.  Finally, the date is always situated in the top corner of the left page.  Again, I find this contributes to a cohesive design throughout my album.

As I was working on this spread, I realized that didn't have enough pictures.  So, I went back to my trusty iPhone.  I noticed that I missed half the week in pictures.  So after selecting new pictures, I had to move things around to make it all fit.  I was much more happy with the new design.  Often, I use post it notes to indicate the location of missing pictures or journaling that needs to be typed.  These little reminders are very useful as I usually don't complete my spreads in one sitting.

Once I am satisfied with the design, it is time to embellish, add journaling and stitching.  Most of my journaling is either in pencil or with a typewriter.  As for sewing, I usually add it on a label or title work.  I love how a little stitching can add a lot of texture and detail to a card.  Embellishments are usually kept to a minimum, as I don't want a bulky album.  I'm hoping to make the year fit into two albums.

As I'm looking at this spread, I notice that I kept the journaling to a minimum.  I guess I didn't have much to say and that's ok with me.  I don't put pressure to include every single detail of our lives, which would be impossible.  Sometimes, I just let the pictures work.  I also noticed that the 9 month needs an 's.'  Oops, I'll make sure to add that!

Supplies:
Jillibean Soup
Patterned Paper:  Irish Farm House Soup/Beef Stock, Parsnip, Bite Size Bits
Pea Pod Parts:  Irish Farm House Soup
Coordinating Shape Stickers:  Irish Farm House Soup
Coordinating Label Stickers:  Irish Farm House Soup
Alphabeans:  Banana Yellow, Diced Denim
Wise Words:  Happy, Smile
Corrugated Shapes:  Words Kraft

Other:  flair button, Studio Calico white index cards, Tiny Attacher, Jillibean Soup Cameo Cuts, Silhouette America.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my process for creating my spreads.  It's nothing fancy, but it works for me.  Simplicity is sometimes best.

Life Album with Melanie Blackburn

Melanie here today to share week 14 of my Life Album.  Week 14 was a very quiet week.  For some reason, I didn't have many pictures.  For that exact reason, I knew Jillibean Soup Bite Size Bit cards would be very useful.  The quotes from Fresh Vegetable Soup are just lovely.  This week's spread also features various Jillibean Soup's stamps, from a background stamp to a journaling stamp.  These were very useful in creating cards for my spread.

I love creating polaroid cards for my Life Album spreads-see the photo of my daughter and I.  This is a perfect way to include journaling with a picture.  To create the polaroid photo, I print my picture on a 4 x 6 paper and trim down to size.  Most of the time, my picture is resized to 2.5 x 2.5, which leaves plenty of space for journaling and embellishments.

My middle daughter loves to play with her kitchen, playing chef is her favorite thing to do.  I knew this deserved a special highlight in my album.  Of course, this was the perfect to pair these cute pictures of her with the Fresh Vegetable Soup collection.

Stamps are one of my favorite ways to embellish a project, from a scrapbook layout to a Life Album spread.  Stamps are a must have for me.  On this spread, I used Jillibean Soup/Unity stamps.  The background stamp was used to create the date card and the journaling stamp created additional cards.  One thing to keep in mind is that stamps don't have to be used for the exact purpose of the design.  If you see the image below, it is a calendar month; however, I didn't use it as a calendar.  I used the stamp to add a fun design to the card, which I added some Alphabean stickers to document the subject of the images.  In this case, it was my daughter's love for her kitchen.

Supplies:
Jillibean Soup
Patterned Paper:  Fresh Vegetable Soup/Chicken Base, Crushed Ginger, Bite Size Bits
Pea Pod Parts:  Fresh Vegetable Soup
Coordinating Shape Stickers:  Fresh Vegetable Soup
Coordinating Label Stickers:  Fresh Vegetable Soup
Alphabeans:  Banana Yellow, Blueberry Teal, Organic Orange
Corrugated Shapes:  Word Kraft
Unity/Jillibean Soup Stamps:  Lattice Background, Sweet & Sour Set, Noted Itty Bitty Stamp, Life Calendar Stamp

Other:  Silhouette America Cuts, MME Enamel Dots, Bella Blvd washi tape, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher.

I would love to know how you design your spreads.  Do you use stamps?  Is your journaling handwritten or typed?  Do you prefer to use one collection or do you mix it up?  Don't forget to share your spread that feature Jillibean Soup products on our Facebook page.  I would love to see what you created.

Happy documenting and don't forget to take lots of pictures (lesson learned for me).

Life Album with Melanie Blackburn

Melanie here today to share another installment of my Life Album.  This week, my spread features week 13, which was a very busy week with family activities and Easter.  I had alot of pictures to showcase; therefore, I opted for a minimalist design.  I focused mostly on embellishing the pictures and journaling cards with the Pea Pods, Shape Stickers, and Label Stickers from the Chilled Cucumber Soup collection.  These are the perfect embellishments for any project, including my Life Album spread.

The first page of the spread features multiple pictures of the week, which vary in theme and colors.  To achieve a cohesive design, I included white journaling cards and cardstock, which were embellished with the Pea Pods and Stickers.  Of course, I have to add a bit of stitching to all my projects, including my Life Album.

This page features pictures from Easter, which were again embellished with the same items as in the first page.  I also used the Jillibean Soup stardust cut file available in the Silhouette store, which I misted with Gold mist.

As for the journaling, I used a combination of typewriter and handwritten.  Although I am not a fan of my handwriting, I do think my daughters will appreciate this personal touch.

When working with a busy week, remember to keep it simple, include white cardstock and some black and white pictures.  I find these three items really work well with design.  I hope you have enjoyed this week's Life Album post.

Supplies:
Jillibean Soup
Patterned Paper:  Chilled Cucumber Soup/Peeled Cucumber; Soup Staples II/Yellow Salt
Pea Pod Parts:  Chilled Cucumber Soup
Coordinating Label Stickers:  Chilled Cucumber Soup
Coordinating Shape Stickers:  Chilled Cucumber Soup
Alphabeans:  Blueberry Teal, Yam Yellow

Other:  Silhouette Cuts, Bazzill cardstock, Studio Calico journaling cards, Heidi Swapp mist gold.