deployment mini album
I'm so happy with how this project came together. I hadn't done anything Project Life-related with the photos from the eight month deployment my husband did right after Ben's first birthday, so I decided to do a mini album to give to Nick for Father's Day.
I had a hard time narrowing down which photos and events to include, but once I had the photos printed, I was able to wrap it all up in about two hours. I absolutely love the mini album size. It's small enough to put in my purse, but it holds so much. Here are some snapshots of the finished project.
The front cover and title page. I used one of the journaling cards from the midnight core kit to slip into the front cover (below, upper right). I played around a lot with the title page, but I'm pretty happy with it.
I traced Ben's hand on a piece of pre-cut light grey cardstock and added a typed message with the date. For the title card (below, left), I introduced the wood grain motif that appears throughout the album.
Ben's first birthday party. There were a million great shots from this day, but I managed to narrow it down to the most important details. In addition to the wood grain journaling cards, I used a few 3x4 cards from the midnight edition core kit.
Our October road trip to southern California.
The wood grain motif makes a little appearance again, as do a couple of the road trip journal cards from Paislee Press. I love the pic in the lower right corner of Ben on FaceTime with Nick, who was in Thailand at the time. It was the first time we'd "seen" him in over a month. The "hello" journal card from the midnight core kit was perfect for that spot.
Thanksgiving.
For each month throughout the album, I used THESE 3x4 calendar journal cards.
The holidays.
A little snapshot of our December while Nick was on the boat. I absolutely love that "right now" card from the midnight edition.
A few of my favorite journal cards.
See below for all of the info on the materials used for this album.
Homecoming.
This is the best day of deployment: the day it ends. My sister took the photos (one week post-partum - she's amaaaazing!). What a moment seeing the guys fly overhead, knowing they've all made it home. These pics give me goosebumps... and that's me in them! I was there! A little over a month later, it all seems very surreal.
The end.
I had a hard time with the title and closing pages, but I love how they both turned out in the end. On the closing page, I put a 2x2 of each calendar square I sent to the boat (that's what you see across the top - one for each month). At the bottom, there's a 4x6 card with THIS Brian Andreas quote and one of the 3x4 journal cards.
Products I used: midnight mini album + midnight edition core kit both from Project Life wood grain and road trip journaling cards + 2012 and 2013 calendar cards all from Paislee Press
There's a tutorial for putting together this and other Project Life mini albums HERE