Telling simple stories 1

I'm moving at the end of May. My new job is very exciting and creative but moving house is a wrench. In no small part due to the fact that I adore living right by the sea in a really beautiful part of the country. So now I want to record lots of things about the place before I go for my seaside-sick moments.
I was sent a Simple Stories designer binder and the pocket card kit and couldn't wait to start playing.

I quickly realised that I am really no project lifer and have made loads of mistakes but it is still turning into an album that I know I will love and treasure.
Here is the first page

 I struggled with photo/card placement as I will have a lot of landscape photos and decided in the end to just have pages that need you to keep turning the binder in different directions to read!
I used papers from the main kit to mat my photos and journalling along with the cut out sheet of labels.
I didn't read Leo's warning about the lovely rubber charms (ie "please use them with a solid fixing such as a brad, sewing or a staple or put them in a pocket and avoid positioning them directly on photos as rubber can react to some photo emulsion coatings") but so far so good. Ironically I am doing something I love which is to put some things inside the pocket and some on the outside so the charm is on the photo but the phrase below is on the pocket

My next page is all about the excitement of seeing one of our local seals - who looked much bigger to the naked eye!

 
 This page is on the other side of the one before and I got myself very confuddled about placements. I stuck everything directly on to the same cardsand in the end the opening to the smaller pockets is at the bottom so those cards risk slipping out. Doh.

I cut up some of the little squares from the squared paper and layered them (cutting one in half) behind the Pinkfresh Studio Felicity die cut frame. The little arrow is made from a dissected  Atwell arrow/chevron shape

I'm on a steep learning curve and am realising that simple looking does not equal faster completion time but I am enjoying myself immensely!