Laura Vegas

I've seen so many people doing the 52 Favorites challenge this year (a journaling challenge started by Paper Issues), and I really wanted to give it a go. We're not too far into the new year, so I knew it would be simple enough to catch up.The basic idea is to document one favorite thing each week. Easy peasy, right?

I'm sharing the first five weeks of my 52 Favorites album over at Kerri Bradford Studio. I knew that I wanted to work in a Travelers Notebook for this project, and I knew that I would keep the same overall design for each weekly spread. I've always approached mini albums in that way (and I like to think of Travelers Notebooks as "mini albums"), starting years and years ago when I used to create a ton of mini albums. 

I like the cohesive look to my pages, and it also makes them easier for me to complete. While I might love the idea of every page having it's own unique look, I also know that I'd be less likely to keep up with a project if I told myself I needed to be original on every page. Lol. So the same basic design throughout just works for me. 

I wanted to include patterned paper on one side of the spread, and keep the other side white. I worked on the first five weeks at once, and used Jillibean Soup patterned papers for all of my spreads. I'm not 100% sure if I'll stick to ALL Jillibean Soup papers throughout the entire year. But I just might, if I can make it work. 

Now, I'm not one for solid white background pages. I still like to have a little something-something to my pages, if you know what I mean. I turned to my all-time favorite circle background cut file from Kerri's Background Basics kit. If you know me, you know how much I love to use this cut file with white cardstock, to have that white-on-white effect.

I was able to get four backgrounds from each sheet of cardstock. and they fit perfectly on the right page of each weekly spread. I spritzed each piece with some black misting spray before adhering them. 

To number my pages, I went with Kerri's Brooklyn Etc stamp set. For whatever reason, I was thinking way back to when I would use the large number foam stamps from Making Memories, and I would stamp with paint onto small pieces of cardstock. I thought it would be fun to do the same thing here.  

I really should measure and trim little pieces of cardstock for future numbers, because I wasn't very straight in my cutting when I trimmed them with scissors. Note to self 😉 I adhered the numbers, along with a stamped asterisk, to the left page of the spread, and added an enamel/puffy sticker to the top of each piece.

I printed my photos as 3×4's, leaving a white border around the edges when trimming. I adhered the photo to the right side of the spread, adding a torn piece of washi tape along the top of the photo. 

Below each photo, I also added a label that coordinated with my patterned paper for that week, and used some of Kerri's stamp sets to add little phrases to each label. I pulled from the One Fine Day, Gather Together, Thankful stamp sets for the phrases you see on these pages. 

I believe all of the labels that I used on these five spreads are from Elle's Studio, mainly because I had them all out and in one place to trim up. I think I've mentioned that I'm working on corralling a lot of my like-supplies together. For instance, I'd love to get all of my little label stickers/dies into one spot, so I don't spent so much time looking for them.

I'm fairly new to working with Traveler's Notebooks, and it shows. I need to remember to cut my patterned papers a little smaller, so they're not laying so close to the inside of the notebook. You can see the inside edges already curling up a bit, because it was too tight of a fit. 

I also added an enamel heart or star to the top of each label. I don't want to bulk up the notebook with embellishments, so enamels are a great fit since they're relatively flat (if you pick the right brand). 

If I keep doing a 2 page spread for each week, I will actually end up needing 3 Traveler's Notebooks to hold the entire year. Good thing I have 3 of the same style 😉 While I am fully aware that I could make my own TN's, I like the ease of having them done for me. I'm using a black and white, polka dotted notebook from Felicity Jane. 

When I die cut my circle background pieces, I went ahead and die cut a few extra sheets of cardstock. So I have several backgrounds all ready to go, which should help me keep up with this project. 

It's such a simple design, and one that will be easy to add to each week throughout the year. I already have my photos printed from weeks six and seven, so I'll be adding those in later this week.