Stampin' Creative Blog Hop - Summer Lovin'

Welcome to the monthly blog hop of the Stampin' Creative girls and this month the theme is Summer Lovin'

School holidays have started and it's the time when holiday fun begins … Having recently returned home from a fun family holiday to Portugal, I thought I'd make something different for you this month to capture just a snippet of that holiday. 

Scrapbooking and journaling our photographs has become a big craze and although Stampin' Up! have Project Life by Stampin' Up!, I thought I'd make something of my own, using some Cardstock and the Envelope Punch Board.

Can you believe that just four envelopes and some matting card stock helped to create this mini album.

It really is just a snippet of our holiday, but a few memories all the same.

All too often now a days, our photographs remain on our digital devices and barely get looked at, which is why so many now tend to print them off and keep them in Memory albums.

Project Life by Stampin' Up! is a fantastically quick way to scrapbook your memories. No big pages to create, just smaller, more manageable elements, that make it perfect for those lacking in time. Well this may not be an official album, but it's my Mini Album and it only took an afternoon to create.

Believe me, we didn't take this many suitcases … in fact, we thankfully still manage with just two between the three of us, although I'm beginning to wonder if things will change next year, with a rapidly growing son. These are from the stamp set PL Lets Get Away, which I've used throughout.

Can I just say … I have NEVER scrapbooked in my life, but found this incredibly easy and most enjoyable to make and decorate. Perhaps because the 6" x 6" pages aren't particularly big to decorate and the various elements from the Hello Life Project Kit are so usable for this kind of project. You'll see more of this set used throughout. 

Awww this was sleeping beauty upon our arrival at the Villa. He was insistent on wearing his new holiday sun hat and sunglasses for the entire 1 hour journey from the airport to Carvoeiro.

To help avoid bulk with the matting of the pages, I have used the plain side of the new Envelope Paper here, which is much thinner. I so love Mint Macaron!

This is a child, who until last year's holiday, didn't like Ice Cream or Ice Lollies … Well, he couldn't get enough of them this year.

I love how the colour of the plant in the background, coordinated so beautifully with the Crushed Curry colour of the photo frame. 

The only thing the stamp set was missing was Fish and our memory of the beach was just that … oh, along with a black crab, the first that Bertie had ever seen. This photograph was taken from the open window of the restaurant that we were eating in. They served the most fabulous fresh fish.

Other than the word 'Happy' on the front page, which I die cut using the Hello You Thinlits, the lettering throughout this album, was creating using the ever so versatile Alphabet Rotary Stamp. It meant that I could literally choose whatever wording I wanted and really personalise it. Great for using up scraps too! 

The various banners were again, taken from the Hello Life Project Kit. There are so many elements in that kit that you could create a multitude of things using it … and I just love the photo frames that I've used throughout.

For those of you who know me well, you'll know that my family mean the world to me, so to be surrounded by hearts was a must for this page. Enjoying the evening sun after an enjoyable meal in our favourite restaurant and day trips out exploring …. and that random, one off family photo of us all together. That seldom happens with hubby usually being behind the camera.

I wanted to leave this final page as plain as possible, leaving space for some journaling from the holiday. I loved the bird stamp … it reminded me of the birds to the top of my blog here. 

Well there you are … a snapshot of our holiday, all wrapped up in an enjoyable afternoon's worth of mini album making … and with pockets created behind each overlay, there's still plenty of space to add more memories … Tickets, more photo's, Postcards etc.

Now, lets see what wonderful project Louise has created for her Summer Lovin' post.

Enjoy the rest of your hopping and the rest of the holidays … and remember to cherish those moments and don't let them get forgotten on your digital devices.

Mikaela x

Running order:

Lesley - http://lellyjellys.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/stampin-creative-blog-hop-summer-lovin.html
Emma - http://www.coastalcrafter.com

Kim - http://kimfeecrafter.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/stampin-creative-blog-hop-july.html

Eimear - http://stampincolour.com/stampin-creative-july-blog-hop-summer-lovin

Mikaela - http://thecraftyoinkpen.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/stampin-creative-blog-hop-summer-lovin.html

Louise - stampindelight.co.uk/stampin-creative-blog-hop-summer-lovin/

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