I cannot believe we are going to be in April next week! 2016 is flying by! Here's April's moodboard for FILM CLUB. I have to say, this kit had me gasping at nearly every patterned paper choice. That's a good thing!! I love them all! 
A little planner peek. The water check off stickers, brilliant!! 
Lovely stamp set by Life Love Paper. I usually am a bit stumped at these "building" kinda sets but this one has so much potential. Definitely gonna need to play with it more. It's in the SB main kit. 
I'm hoping to get my hands in this kit a bit more to have more to show at Studio Calico's Reveal on the 1st! Check back then! :)
3 kelly purkey projects
I have really enjoyed playing with Kelly's stamps this month. It didn't hurt that I got her entire set of inks in the mail yesterday so I will totally preface by saying that they inspired both of these projects because the colors are so pretty and I wanted to use ALL OF THEM! :) 
Here I used the playlist stamp set and primarily used the LALALALALA stamp. That stamp is so perfect as I live in LA and I feel like it can be used for that and the song sense! :) 
Can I just say how hard it is to photograph white in the winter? Cringe. Sorry. 
I had envisioned an entire page of these XO stamps but thought after I used all 16 inks that they looked pretty good. I didn't plan on them fitting within the 3×4 card but it was just the right pop of color and border so there you go!
One more layout for the month! 
Hop over to the shop before she sells out, again! These guys are going so quick! :)
6×8 handbook, yay!
I'm so excited about this. I have been a 12×12 layout scrapbooker for almost the whole 14 years I've been scrapping. Sometimes I'll do an 8 1/2×11 but for the most part it's the basic paper layout that I have loved. Part of me taking a break a few years ago was because I felt super burned out on the same designs I've been using for so many years. So last year when the planner craze hit and the midori craze hit, I was so excited to take on new forms of memory keeping and documenting. Over the weekend, this beauty arrived. I have been on the fence about any sort of pocket scrapbooking basically since the start but I have to say that this album helped give me a little push 🙂 Also, working with KP and Paislee Press helped too! They use lots of pocket scrapbooking elements so I am excited to keep them all together in this album. 
Here are my first spreads for the book. I love the 6×8 format, it's not too overwhelming. I realize a few years back I did an 8×8 December Daily and I'm surprised it didn't hit me how much I love that format. So here we go! 
I'll be sharing more bits and pieces of this book along the way! Thanks for looking!
So many lessons
There are so many things I would like to teach my four children. How to cook, how to clean, how to learn, love, let go. So many that I can sometimes find parenting overwhelming and need to crawl under the covers for a little to let it all settle down. I know that after doing this for nearly 21 years that I'm doing my best and even some days, I could have done better. One of my favorites is to let it go. Chin up. Get back up. Don't stay on the ground. Mentally, emotionally, everything. I made this little page in my traveler's notebook using Kelly Purkey Bushwick stamps. 
One of my favorite quotes I have come across is from Scott Cormode, "I want to prevent my children from pain, but I also want my children to have the resilience that only comes from pain." Sometimes, harder said than done! The lessons we learn from hurting are always so powerful a few years after the fact. My goal is to be there for my children while they're weathering that storm and of course, the time of celebration after it passes.
xo
my new hello forever studio calico planner
I received my new planner in the mail last week and I have to admit I've been a bit nervous to dive in! There's something exciting but intimidating about a blank canvas that scares me off! Well we are almost halfway done with February so I knew I needed to get in there and get some groundwork done. 
I chose these One Little Bird stamps to fill in my numbers. They were a little big so I had less square space for the calendar but I like them bold like that, I think I prefer that over my own handwriting for the numbers, just a little more uniform. 
Happy to report I only made one mistake and that was just leaving the zero off on day 20. Phew! I used this ink and had zero bleed through. Now I just need to add some more color, but wanted to show you before all that took place. 🙂
best version of you! I mean me!
I seem to have a few different Midori's that I'm diving into for 2016. I can count off the top of my head at least 3. There's no rhyme or reason, really and I'm just gonna go with it! This is a little faux-dori that Amy Tangerine was offering for awhile. I think she may be sold out in her shop right now. Did a spread today with the Studio Calico Arendal Documenter kits.
I've been feeling like I haven't really accomplished much this week and I used the excuse, "recovering from the holidays" as my reason. Ya, I can't do that next week. So this past week I managed to clean out a few closets, organize my desk, put things up on Craigslist and deep clean my dishwasher. Why can't that be enough and make me feel like I accomplished so much? Because I did! 🙂 I know I did, just doesn't seem like fun accomplishments. ha! I need to keep reminding myself that I'm doing a pretty good job being the best version of myself. 🙂 I'm gonna just find some inner peace about that and move on 🙂 Happy Friday and weekend! xo
Related articles
sharing
Studio Calico's September Kits are available now! This month is called Brimfield. I have to say, that the process of creating each month again has been a fun experience. There have been times where I've been stumped, where there were colors or patterns that I thought weren't 'me'. When I've designed for 2peas waaaay back in the day, there was pretty much free reign and you could create whatever you wanted. Designing for a kit club where they choose your supplies/ingredients has been surprising and a good creative stretch for me. This month felt so good though. Every paper and color were 'me'. I didn't have to overthink anything. Things just meshed. This layout took me about 5 minutes. All I did was stamp the title and glue everything else down. That's my kinda creating. Capturing our memories and recording them on pretty paper. That's my motto. :)
Summer Midori Notebook
It's the perfect size and I still need to get the hang of writing more consistently, but I'm determined to get my summer bucket lists in there and take it with me on some trips!
My 15 minute layout class at BIG PICTURE CLASSES
5 layouts. 18 photos. Done in under 75 minutes. I'm so excited to share an afternoon of creating out 5 layouts with you! I have put together a class at BIG PICTURE CLASSES that shows you my process for making 5- 15 minute or less layouts. Here's a little write up on the class:
Create five layouts in one afternoon! In 15-Minute Pages, Jamie Waters will share tips and techniques to speed up the scrapbooking process so that you can focus on creating instead of decision-making. You'll learn how to stretch your supplies by mixing patterned papers and making your own “kits.” Jamie will show how easy it is to create layouts in 15 minutes or less so that you can spend more time making memories instead of recording them.
I'm happy to be able to offer non members a free month trial at Big Picture. You can take as many classes as you'd like in that free month. Imagine how much you can get done!
*Free month trial promotion end August 25th, 2015 at 11:59 pm EST. First month free offer valid only on new memberships and is not valid for current or previous members. Click the “Start Your Free Trial” button and follow the steps to begin your free trial. Enter promo code in promo box and continue checkout process. Not valid on previous purchases. Must enter promo code at checkout. Refunds will not be issued for misused or non-entered codes.
Code: BPCJAMIE
The Fringe Hours collab with Studio Calico
When I got this book a few weeks ago, I have to admit that while I was reading it, I found myself nodding and patting myself on the back as I have incorporated ME time into my weekly schedule for a few years now. Being a mother of 4, where was this book when they were all younger?! Those were the times I felt overwhelmed and this book would have shed light on what so many of us women/moms are searching for. I have 3 teenagers now and a 9 year old so I can clearly see pockets of me time, the FRINGE HOURS. It's harder to discover those Fringe Hours when you are immersed in toddlerhood. It's sometimes hard to give yourself permission to take advantage of those Fringe Hours. I know I did. Reading this book is like having coffee with Jessica, she's sitting there nodding at your same struggles but telling you it's okay. Everything will be alright. 
Be sure to check out Jessica's blog post at Studio Calico to read more about her book and be sure to download the free printable cards they've designed. I've printed mine out, ready to do something fun with them as it is ME Friday today 🙂 Enjoy xo.
watersix 