I see the bee: Summer Manifesto 2012

A few weeks ago I shared my Summer Manifesto.

Ever since then I’ve been thinking of a way to make those intentions a bit more visible.

What I really wanted was something I could flip through and add to as we experience our summer.

I ended up creating a Summer Manifesto 6×6 Album that includes room for words and photos. The album package is available at Designer Digitals and includes layered templates for use in Photoshop (so you can customize colors and backgrounds) and a 43-page PDF for easy printing (which is what I ended up using).

Here’s the basic steps I followed:

Print the PDF or play in photoshop and print the individual pages (Persnickety Prints prints 6×6). I printed on Epson’s Premium Presentation Matte Paper. If you print the PDF file there are 43 pages. At first I thought I would do it on photo paper and use a Slick Writer for my journaling but decided to go with the presentation paper because I liked the texture better.
Trim pages.
Adhere pages back to back. I used Scotch adhesive around the edges.
Punch holes. I used a Crop A Dile for punching the holes.
Add 1-inch binder rings.
Write your manifesto items.
Add photos and more writing throughout the summer.

Here’s a look at some of the inside pages and progress:

If you choose to just print the PDF the cover is shown above.

I decided to open the PSD file in Photoshop (all included in the album package) and use a photo as my background instead.

You could totally use this as a way to record your summer at the end of the summer and make all the “number” pages with a photo for the background.

On the front cover (and to end the album on the back) I used a 6×6 piece of Hambly’s Clearly Heavy Overlay.

I was very sad to learn recently that Hambly was closing it’s doors. I’ve long loved and extensively used their overlays in a variety of projects.

On the inside cover I adhered a 6×6 piece of Amy Tangerine’s Oh Happy Grey to the back of my photo cover.

I also added a piece of 6×6 Hambly yellow bicycles from my stash.

This is what it looks like when you print out the pages (minus my own manifesto item number one that’s handwritten on the left page). I’ll be adding a photo on top of the “photo here” section and adding words to the “summer story” section as we experience our summer.

One of the reasons I went with simple binder rings (vs. something like The Cinch – which I seriously considered) is the ease of adding more pages or photos over the course of the summer.

I added just one photo so far. I’m going to print mine with a white border this time for variety.

The Epson PictureMate Show 4×6 printer I’ve been using and loving has this as an easy option.

I had 13 items on my manifesto but decided to add in a few more pages as options if something comes up I want to add. The package includes up to number twenty.

The printable package includes a “Goodbye Summer” page to end your album. On top of that I added the Hambly bicycle overlay + a Clearly Heavy Overlay.

My plan is to share more throughout the summer as it all unfolds. Here’s to celebrating and experiencing with intention!