Goodbyes Are Always the Hardest

We thought about staying up all night, but alas we were tired. That didn't stop us of course from dancing the night away in a ballroom in our dormitory. Kick lines were involved, we're not really sure why.

Here's a look at our goodbyes:

A blurry photo full of action, I was going to layer it with vellum, but I thought that would blur it even more. I stamped "A Night to Remember" with the Kelly Purkey Outline Alphabet. As you can tell in the photo the stamping got better the more letters I did.

Our Last Day

After time-sensitive deadlines and treks across the state we finally finished our newspaper. What else was there to do but celebrate with a day at the pool and a night "out on the town".

Here's a look:

I love the chaos of the photos. Like how someone's thumb is in the way, or the fact that the bottom photo was taken on a flip phone but still captures the amount of happiness and friendship in all its pixelated goodness. The "I love right now" wood veneer perfectly captures my feelings about that moment (I attached it with my tiny attacher), and the "Low quality photo high quality friends" is one of my favorite captions to help make bad photos infinitely better (I inherited the bronze tag so I don't know where it's from). 

We decided to have a mini photo shoot before we left for dinner, but my favorite photo would have to be the rockstar selfie I took with my friend Jerrell on the way to dinner.

All chipboard stickers are from Me and My Big Ideas. 

Enjoy today, you got through Monday already so that's an accomplishment. Bravo!

xo 

Ally

Exploring Professionalism

I have to say the University of Alabama trusted us a lot with our skills in journalism. After running around the state getting information for good stories we took a trip to Birmingham Magazine and AL.com to get advice from more professionals. 

It was great to see how a typical magazine office ebs and flows. I was intrigued by how no one had their own desk, but instead there were lots of different spaces where you could set up for the day, but still take off at a moment's notice to cover the next story. It was a true display of how quickly the world of journalism is changing. 

The top left card is from the Studio Calico Park Ave. Kit. I love how the pink hexagon pulls out the pink light coming through the window in the bottom photo. The letter stamps are from Walmart.

This layout is actually on the back side of the layout above. The yellow card is the back of the pink one above. I love being able to use one card for multiple layouts (makes me feel like I'm saving money or something). The date stamp is from Studio Calico. 

How's your Sunday going? Have you had a cup of coffee? You should probably fix that if the answer is no. Either way please kick back and relax, take in the day to recharge.

xo

Ally

Party Like a Journalist

One of the best parts of the Multicultural Journalism Workshop was that we had the opportunity to work at the level of fully paid journalists. We were each given what I formally refer to as a "fancy camera" and a city to research. My group's city: Scottsboro, AL. We researched and researched and researched until we found two beautiful spots in rural Alabama including Gorham's Bluff and Pikeville Store-N-Deli. 

But more about that later, let's take a look at the layouts (I apologize for the photo quality in advance I just found these laying around this morning and realized I never photographed them, lets just pretend that the blue tint is some kind of ethereal artistic choice, it'll be our little secret):

Gorham's Bluff was a beautiful bed and breakfast community tucked away in Alabama. It was absolutely breathtaking and these photos don't even do it justice. So if you're ever in backwoods Alabama look them up and kick back and relax.

The top photo is of me and the ladies in my group. We were the only group of all girls, and we had a lot of fun. The bottom photo is the view from the backyard of Gorham's Bluff. 

Everything in this layout is from Me and My Big Ideas. Here's the link to both the alphas and stickers. I don't know which set the card is from though. The date stamp is made by Studio Calico, but I inherited it from my mom's collection so I don't know where she got it.

Our second stop on our trip was at Pikeville Store N Deli, a little hole in the wall burger joint at a literal fork in the road in Scottsboro. It was the BEST burger I have ever had in my life! And it was so CHEAP! I'm just saying that if I'm ever in a 2 hour vicinity of Scottsboro you can guarantee I will be making the trip to the store again. 

The top photo is of the marvelous burger I devoured, and the bottom photo is of a staircase from Gorham's Bluff.

The "Good Stuff" stamp is from Amy Tangerine and the "Headline" card is from Me and My Big Ideas, although I'm not sure which kit.

Here's to hoping you're having a great Friday Eve!

xo

Ally

MJW: A Week of Journalistic Fun

For the next week I'll be posting a look at my Multicultural Journalism Workshop layouts. If you want more info about the workshop you can check out my opening post here.

The blue checkered 4x6 card is from the Studio Calico Walden Project Life Kit, and the gold alpha is from American Crafts.

I used PicFrame to print the two 3x4 photos on one page. The "hi. hello" washi tape is from Joann and the diamond washi tape pieces & label on the bottom photo are from the Walden kit. I used the Phonto app to write "Dorm Shenanigans" on my photo, but my Canon selphy cut off the top half of the letters. 

Hope your Tuesday is sweller than your Monday.

Here's to a great week!

xo

Ally

The Long Weekend: an experience of a lifetime

Coming out of my junior year of high school I was scouring the internet for good journalism programs for the summer. I needed to do something, I couldn't just sit at home all summer. I needed to write.

I got into NYU's Pre-College program, but after laughing off the $13,000 admission price I moved on to another option. The University of Alabama's Multicultural Journalism Workshop, also known as the best week of journalism in. my. life.

The Multicultural Journalism Workshop accepts 15 students from across the nation for a full scholarship to attend a week long program in Tuscaloosa, AL. I'll have more details about each day in future posts, but let me just preface with the fact that this program blew my expectations out of the water.

The program started off with 'The Long Weekend', a journalism seminar for students entering grades 6-12. It's jam-packed with journalism workshops and classroom lectures with a final project at the end to showcased what you've learned.

Here's a look:

I absolutely love this title page. It's bright, colorful, and detailed. I used identical cards from the Midnight Core Kit on the top and identical cards from the Sunshine Core Kit on the bottom. The alphas are from American Crafts. I used an old Studio Calico date stamp to document the beginning and end of the weekend, and then I scripted 'the university of alabama' at the bottom of the layout. 

The above photo is from the first day of brainstorming and lectures. The 'Today' washi is from the Walden Project Life Kit from Studio Calico. The bottom photo is my lovely Team Yellow group that helped me fall back in love with journalism. The sticky note-tab is from the Park Ave. Project Life Kit and the twine is from the Walden kit. I tried to make a bow, now it just looks like some abstract object, it's cool, I've accepted it.

Hope your day is full of trafficless rides and warm cups of coffee.

xo

Ally

Dreams Do Come True in New Orleans

Why not start off your Sunday with a Disney reference, it can only help the day get better am I right or am I right?

Let me just start this post off by saying that my parents are experts. Experts at hiding a gem of a city from their children for upwards of 16 years. 16 years I say! For people who live outside of New Orleans but still in Louisiana, 'NOLA' is the city you stay away from unless you want hot smelly walks down the street, at least that's what I was told.

I find that in the south there are four magical weeks in the year when the weather is just perfect. Two in the fall and two in the spring. You never know when they're going to hit, but the second they start, prepare to pack all of your outdoor activities into them.

Luckily for us, our visit to New Orleans fell right into the spring session of weather magic.

We didn't even break a sweat, hell I think there was a light breeze. That ladies and gentlemen is how you should tour New Orleans. Well that and with a beignet in hand at all times, don't worry Cafe Du Monde will keep you stocked.

Here's a peek into our trip:

While the layout doesn't capture the sprawling landscape of the city (I wasn't a big photographer last year), it does capture the details of what I loved about our visit).

The top left card is from the Sunshine Edition Core Kit. I used old pink alphas to spell out 'nola'. The top right photo is my sister and our cousin, he's adorable and you can bet your money that if he visits a picture of him will make it into my album (i.e. my easter layout).

The bottom left photo is but of course a Starbucks picture. Yes they spelled it wrong, no I'm not bitter the drink made my hurt feelings melt away. The bottom right card is also from the sunshine kit and the silver heart is from Me & My Big Ideas.

Finally, I saved the macaron box from Sucre (you must go there if you visit it is SO GOOD, it is also the only macaron I've ever had so I'm probably biased) and did a little journaling on it. I then hole punched it to go into my album.

Hope you're enjoying a lazy care-free Sunday. Have a cup of coffee for me.

xo

Ally 

Dutch Princess Meets Taylor Swift

I'm not a fashion blogger. Repeat after me: Ally is not a fashion blogger.

If anything I'm a grandma that somehow ended up in a college girl's body. Please don't go sharing this blog with your friends telling them I'm a fashion blogger. Because trust me, they'll get all excited, start looking at my posts and realize that all I do is write hilarious anecdotes complete with scrapbook layouts. And while you and I might think that's the coolest thing ever, they won't. They'll probably cry, and then I'd have to hand them a tissue, which I guarantee you will be single-ply because I'm a college student and can't afford to splurge.

So before we go any further remember one thing: Ally is not a fashion blogger. [If I was a fashion blogger I would've had enough sense to pick a better pose. Like really self? You went with the awkward "I'm going to hide one leg behind the other aaaannnndd yeah arms will look good by my side" look? Really?]

So here it goes. Basically I actually had time to get ready this morning so I decided to put some effort into my appearance.

Sunglasses: Papaya

Top: Old Navy (but it's like really old because I got it at Plato's Closet [aka the best store to find clothes])

Skirt: H&M

Shoes: Payless (because I'm classy like that)

Topped it all off with a dutch braid and some red lips because that's just how I roll.

So ladies and gents, share this with your friends but remember: Ally's not a fashion blogger.

xo

Ally

It's Crawfish Time... I Mean Easter

Growing up in the south Easter time meant two things family and food. That food being crawfish. And that family being everyone you could fit on the back porch.

Here's a peek into what I was doing Easter of last year, project life style:

The above picture is from Easter morning. Yes we still have the Easter baskets from when we were babies, no we don't plan on changing them any time soon, same thing goes for our Christmas stockings.

The bottom picture is of the family at the annual crawfish bowl complete with a 'Today' sentiment from Me & My Big Ideas.

This is one of my favorite layouts from this year. The top left picture is me and my sister licking icing off of beaters (let's be honest isn't that the whole point of baking). I love how her shirt coordinates with the blue in the other two pictures, and how my shorts coordinate with the crawfish picture.

The wood veneer is from the Studio Calico Park Ave. Kit, I secured it with glue dots and later added staples from my new tiny attacher (not pictured). On the bottom left picture I stamped "Seriously Cute" from an old Fiskars stamp set I got at JoAnn's with Staz On Ink. 

I cut down the picture of the crawfish to eliminate any negative space, and so I could mat it with this cute card from the Midnight Core Kit. And to top it all off I wrote 'laissez les bon temps rouler!' or 'let the good times roll'.

Although it's not Easter in real time, it is hot outside. What are your favorite ways to beat the heat? Leave your suggestions in the comments below.

xo

Ally

I Just Spent Hard Earned Money on Coloring Books and I Don't Regret a Thing

Yeah, you read that right. Coloring books. Like the things that used to keep you entertained for hours as a kid. or maybe just a few minutes if you were more of the rambunctious type. Nowadays artists are making it big in the world of coloring book designing.

The fad of Adult Coloring Books has taken off and I am totally on board. You don't have to tell me that scientists say it reduces stress levels to get me to grab a crayon and get to coloring.

Here are the coloring books I just ordered, and thankfully through the grace of Amazon Prime they'll be here in two days. Just in time for a road trip! Don't worry there will be plenty a post about where I'm going later.

Animal Designs 

Balance

Until then, pick a coloring book, grab a pencil, and color your worries away.

xo

Ally

Throwing it Back to Easter

Have I mentioned that I'll never be caught up on Project Life? It's inevitable, I should just accept it, but it's hard to see all these other bloggers that scrap weekly and seem to have their life in order.

I love how Juli Maniago is doing her own Project Throwback over on her YouTube channel. (P.S. you should totally check it out). Maybe one day I'll just put all my old stuff on the back burner and start with the new. Maybe that will be my 2016 resolution, or maybe, just maybe, I'll miraculously catch up on everything. You'll just have to stay tuned and see ;)

Anyway here's a sneak peek into April in my 2014 Project Life album.

The "hello" card is from Studio Calico's Park Ave kit, the grey card is from Becky Higgins Sunshine Edition Core Kit. The wooden stickers I used are from Walmart many many years ago.

Prom, Prom, Prom, Prom

Every month my high school let off for a long weekend so that kids had the opportunity to go home. Lucky for me we got off the weekend of my old high school's prom, so I was able to visit with all of my old friends and dance the night away.

Here's a look at the layout:

The chevron glitter card is from Me and My Big Ideas. I stapled the ticket they gave us for the prom (they never took mine at admission for some reason) on top of the card with a regular stapler (again pre tiny attacher).

I decided to make the bottom two photos black and white to match the purply silver theme. I find that putting low-quality photos in black and white makes them look better anyway.

Finally the "Favorite" sticker is also from Me and My Big Ideas.

Hope you're having a relaxing Friday eve,

xo

Ally