I was sitting at my desk creating my weekly layout when I remembered this – my mom has a big milestone birthday coming up in December. I looked up the cost of a round trip flight from Texas to Southern California and I was surprised. Astonished really. The flight was $51 each way (just for reference, flights from Houston and California are typically $300-$500). At that price, I called my sister right away. Within minutes we booked our flights home.
Then I contemplated what to do with my dog. Since my husband was joining me on this trip, I couldn’t leave Cinco at home. My sister and her husband are the next option, but they were going too. In the eight years since I adopted Cinco, my parents would watch him if my husband and I went on vacation. Now that we’ve moved to Texas, my parents are no longer down the street. My only options are take him to a kennel resort or take him to California. That was an easy answer.
I’m one of those dog owners who refers to her dog as her son, so it’s no surprise that he was coming to California too. I called the airlines to take care of the Cinco situation. Here’s what I found out. The airlines only allow four small animals per flight and they allow the animal in the cabin under the seat in front of me (not in the cargo hold). Great news.
Then came the price. No matter what, Cinco was coming to California. But I figured his fee to travel would’ve been an added baggage fee somewhere close to $40. I was totally wrong. Ready for the cost? Cinco’s ticket to fly was $110…one way! Yep. Crazy right?
Anyway, after all is said and done I’m excited to go home and see my parents and family. And I’m also excited to share my journal layout for the week. Check it out.
Supplies
- Notebook
- Distress Ink (3, 15)
- Ink Application Tool
- Stencil
- Circle Tags
- Removable Adhesive
- Brush Pen
- Drawing Pen
- White Pen
- Spider Stamp
- Acrylic Block
- Stamp Ink
- Days of the Week Stamps
Step One
I started this layout by placing round circle tags around the notebook. Just an FYI, the circle tags act as a stencil, blocking color from getting to the covered area. The circle tags can be purchased at an arts and crafts store, cut with a die-cut machine, or cut by hand. Then I applied removable adhesive on the back side of the tags so they wouldn’t move when I applied ink. Be sure to use removable adhesive or washi tape as permanent tape can rip the pages during the removal process.
Step Two
When applying multiple Distress Inks on a layout, it’s important to use the lightest color first in order to see both colors. With that in mind, I used orange Distress Ink and Ink Application Tool to cover the layout. The only parts not getting color are the spots with the circle tags (those areas will remain untouched).
Step Three
Once the layout was covered in orange. I placed my stencil on the layout and applied black Distress Ink right on top. A question I’m often asked is, does the ink seep or ghost through to the other side of the page? The answer is no. It all has to do with the weight of the paper in the journal. The journal I use has a paper weight of 100 gsm (read more about journal paper weight here).
Step Four
Next, I removed the stencils from the layout and with my purple brush pen, lettered the month into one of the circles. I added a bit of details with a white gel pen, added the dates with a drawing pen, and stamped some spiders (a bit too many spiders) from a Halloween set by The Sassy Club.
Step Five
Last, I stamped each day of the week into each circle. This is the acrylic block I used to hold the stamps and this is the stamp ink I used.
