spring break mini.

this spring i was SO blessed and fortunate to spend some quality time with my family in the beautiful sunshine of california.  my mom's dream was to always take us to disneyland, and this year it happened. we all took 5 days off and flew to california where we visited disneyland, universal studios, newport beach and huntington beach.  it was such a fabulous holiday. SO busy, but SO good. and SO fun. i seriously think disneyland is much funner for adults than kids! ha! at least we thought so and had the best time acting like little kids. it was hilarious!

i came back with so many amazing memories and photos, especially of our day spent at huntington beach.  i wanted to create a little mini book of just those photos and memories since that was one of our most favourite days.  for this particular project i really combined collections. i used heidi swapp, crate paper, maggie holmes, pink paislee and some amy tangerine.  bits and pieces of each and although this album is still a bit of a work in progress (as i still have journaling to complete, as well as add a few more photos) i still wanted to share it because i thought it turned out SO cute.  i love looking through it all and reliving the memories. for me that has to be one of the best parts about scrapbooking. the reliving and remembering.

i created the mini album using the mini heidi swapp color pop memory files.  i bound this album with my bind-it-all machine so i trimmed the file apart.  i then worked on building the cover.  i took a piece of mint green striped paper from the sugar chic paper pack that is available at michaels.  i cute a large pennant out of that paper and placed it atop the memory file cover.  i then added a definition sticker, pink paislee luxe glitter alphas (LOVE these) and the die cut camera from the maggie holmes collection.  i then added some color pop banner delights underneath the camera and a clear pop 'amazing' tab to the side. honestly you have to see this in real life...the layers are SO fun!  i then took some mint green acrylic paint and outlined the edges lightly. i love how it just adds some bold contrast!

underneath that flap i have a photo of us jumping on the beach acting silly (but of course this turns out to be one of my favourite photos!!). i added a crate paper photo overlay from the DIY shop collection overtop. i adore these!  i also added some heidi swapp sentiment stickers, a color magic star misted with mint green colorshine.  i added some bits of acrylic paint and some stitching.

 the remainder of the album is a collection of pages, transparencies, photos and even a few postcards that i purchased while walking around huntington that day.  i created this album from scratch cutting various papers and patterns and just mixing them together. i love when i really have no plan in mind. i just create what i feel and this is what evolved.

i fell in love with this postcard.

i kept the inside pages fairly simple.  some have more detail than others.  i always love the journaling.  it is SO easy to forget the little details and moments that make memories like these special so i always want to make sure and note down the things, thoughts and feelings i had at that time.  sometimes it is hard to remember, but often the photos evoke the feelings back so strongly when you look back on them.  i remember being at this beach and thinking that it was exactly how i imagined a california beach to be.  it was really cool.

again, more glitter pink paislee luxe alphas. these are AMAZING.

i love this photo.  truly what i envisioned california to be.  huge sidewalks lined with palm trees.  busy streets to the right, and the pacific on the left.  SO beautiful.

one of my bucket list moments was to have my photo taken with everyone under a beautiful rustic pier. and we made it happen.  i ADORE these photos.  there is just something magical about a pier. i love them!

i still have more journaling and details to add into this mini, but more often than not my albums and books are always a work in progress. i love to add bits and pieces here and there as i remember them.  for now i am just happy that i have my favourite photos together in one place. the rest will come.