MD Pocket life tutorials

Setting yearly goals

Mediterranka Design — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 11:23:45 +0000

Like Every year, I start a new album the same way — with a page dedicated to my yearly goals. It’s a small ritual that has become an essential part of how I approach both planning and memory keeping. This page is not about pressure or perfection. It’s about direction. It helps me pause at the beginning of the year, reflect on what I’m dreaming about right now, and turn those thoughts into something tangible. Once the goals are written down, they stop being abstract ideas and start feeling like a path I can actually walk, step by step. Over the years, this first page has become more than just an introduction to the album. It’s a reference point I return to throughout the year — to check in, to mark progress, and sometimes simply to remind myself why I started.For me, planning is the first real step toward making a dream come true. As long as a dream stays in my head, it remains abstract — beautiful, but distant. Writing my goals down turns that dream into something tangible, something I can see and work toward. This yearly goals page helps me translate vague wishes into clear intentions. It doesn’t mean that everything has to be perfectly defined or set in stone. Instead, it creates a direction. A plan becomes a quiet guide for the year, reminding me what I want to move closer to and why it matters. By putting my goals at the very beginning of the album, I give them space and importance. They become part of the story of the year — not separate from everyday life, but woven into it, one small step at a time.From a scrapbooking point of view, the yearly goals page gives my album a clear structure right from the start. It works as an anchor — the first page that sets the tone and intention for everything that follows. I come back to this page many times throughout the year. Sometimes to check in with myself, sometimes to mark what has already been done, and sometimes simply to see how my priorities have shifted. In that sense, this page is not static. It evolves together with the rest of the album. Having this reference point at the beginning also helps the album feel more complete and intentional. The stories I document during the year don’t exist in isolation — they relate back to the goals, dreams, and directions I set at the start.The goals I write down each year are not random. They are meant to move me closer to a specific dream — or sometimes to several smaller dreams that shape the season of life I’m in. I don’t see goals as rigid rules or boxes to check. Instead, they act as gentle markers along the way. Some of them are practical, some emotional, some creative — but together they point in the same direction. This approach takes away a lot of pressure. The purpose of these goals isn’t to achieve everything perfectly, but to stay connected to what matters to me right now. Even if a goal changes or no longer feels relevant by the end of the year, it still served its purpose by helping me move forward with intention.When it comes to my yearly goals pages, the focus is always on the words. The design, embellishments, and techniques are there to support the text, not compete with it. Over the past three years, I’ve created three very different yearly goals pages — each reflecting where I was at that moment. Sometimes I choose a more free-flowing text format, where I describe in my own words what I’m hoping and striving for in the year ahead. This approach feels intuitive and allows space for emotions, uncertainty, and nuance. More often, though, I prefer working with a list. A list gives structure. It makes my goals more visible, easier to revisit, and simpler to track over time. Visually, it creates clarity on the page, and practically, it helps me stay focused without overwhelming myself. For me, lists don’t limit dreams — they help hold them gently in place. This year, I combined both approaches on one page, pairing a structured list of goals with a short section of free-form journaling. That balance felt just right — clear, but still personal.The techniques I use on these pages are always simple and intentional. Because the text carries the main meaning, I avoid anything that might distract from it. I usually start by placing the words first — deciding where the journaling or the list will live on the page. Only after that do I add photos, cards, or small decorative elements, using them to frame the text and create visual balance. These pages are not about showcasing complex techniques or perfect compositions. They’re about creating a calm, readable space where my goals can exist and be revisited throughout the year.Starting the year with a yearly goals page is more than a planning exercise or a scrapbooking step. It’s a way to pause, reflect, and connect with what matters most in this moment of my life. Each goal, whether listed or written freely, becomes a thread in the story of the year. Returning to this page throughout the months reminds me not only of what I hoped to achieve, but also of how far I’ve come. The page evolves with the year, just as I do. I hope this post inspires you to create your own yearly goals page — a place to capture intentions, celebrate small wins, and hold space for the dreams you want to bring to life. One page, one story, one year. Liked this post? Give it a like!PRODUCTS I USED IN THIS TUTORIAL Olesya Rudenko Manaz Hi there! I’m a graphic designer, scrapbooker and storyteller. I enjoy creating quality supplies to make scrapbooking and storytelling easy, fun and practical for you. Like

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FREE JOURNALING FONTS

Mediterranka Design — Sun, 13 Mar 2022 18:25:53 +0000

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TUTORIAL: 02/22 POCKET LIFE KIT

Mediterranka Design — Mon, 14 Feb 2022 11:47:09 +0000

Like Hello dears.Today I want to show you, how I created the title page for my 2021 storybook using my February 2022 Pocket life kit.WHAT I USED TO CREATE MY STORYBOOK PAGELET'S DO IT!START WITH A DRAFTHow always I start with a draft. I take a sheet of plain paper and think, where photos, story cards and pocket cards will be placed. I want to use big numbers 2021 in the centre, a story card with our goals, plans and dreams, one photo of our family and a couple of motivation quotes. I think about all details and draft a sketch. CHOOSE A TEMPLATEOpen the template in Photoshop. I used the template #12 from my free Pocket life templates pack #2. Feel free to rotate it, if you need it. PLACE YOUR PHOTOFor my title page I used just one family photo. I placed it on the white background, that's why I changed the color of the template block to the white. Double click to the picture of the layer - Color overlay - Change color to ''White''. To separate the photo from the white background add the white stroke and shadow to it. Double click to the layer with photo - Blending options - Stroke (size 40, position - inside), than Drop shadow. I add our family name to the card with photo. To make a line, create a new layer named ''line'' as a clipping mask to the layer ''family photo''. Make right click to the tools panel - choose Line tool - set shape settings like on picture below - make a line pressing SHIFT - press ENTER. Rasterize the ''line'' layer. To delete the unnecessary part of the line press SHIFT+M to choose rectangular marquee tool - crop the are around our family name - press DELETE - CTRL+D. Merge 3 layers to the one and name it ''family photo''. ADD 2021 NUMBERS TO THE CENTER ROWI used the color cards from my February 2022 Pocket life kit and free stamps set with numbers. I also changed the color of stamps to the white and added shadows to them (optional). ADD OTHER POCKET CARDSChoose and place other pocket cards. I think ''Hello'' card works perfect for my title page. I also added some cards with quotes and a card with our goals for 2021. ADD SHADOWSAdd shadows to all layers. Double click to the layer - Blending options - Drop shadow. FINISH YOUR PAGEMerge all layers CTRL+SHIFT+E. Save your page.It's all for today. Use comment box for your questions, tips and suggestions.The main idea of this page isn't mine. I saw similar pocket pages in Pinterest and adapted them to my own needs. Thank you other pocket scrappers for inspiration.X.O., your Olesya. Like

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Photoshop shortcuts

Mediterranka Design — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 18:27:38 +0000

Like Hello dears.Today I want to share with you some Photoshop shortcuts. They will help you to make your creating process easier.Feel free to download the PDF clicking on the download botton below.DOWNLOAD FOR WINDOWSDOWNLOAD FOR MAC X.O., your Olesya Like

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TUTORIAL: 01/22 POCKET LIFE KIT

Mediterranka Design — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 20:54:36 +0000

Like Hello dears.I already started with my 2022 storybook and today I want to show you, how easy and quickly it is with my January 2022 Pocket life kit.WHAT I USED TO CREATE MY STORYBOOK PAGELET'S DO IT!START WITH A DRAFTI always start with a draft. It saves your time and helps to vizualize the finished work. Just take a sheet of plain paper and think, how many photos, story cards and pocket cards you plan yo use. Think all in details (composition, sizes, orientation, colors etc.), make notes and draft a sketch. CHOOSE A TEMPLATEOpen the template in Photoshop. Change its orientation, if you need it. I used the template from my January 2022 Pocket life kit, which I rotated horizontally. Image - Image rotation - Flip canvas horizontal.PLACE YOUR PHOTOSPlace your photos to the template. Click ALT + the space between the two layers «photo original» and «photo 3» (when the clipping mask cursor appears). You will get the clipping mask.I usually evenly alternate photos with cards. Don't merge the layers at this stage. You need to have a possibility to replace the photos until you are quite sure, that everything is in its right place. At this stage I also pay attention to brightness and contrast of the photos, because it looks not good, if one photo is brighter than others. ADD STORY CARDSAdd story cards to the template using the clipping mask. Use CTRL+T to resize story card, if you need it. ADD A DATE/WEEK CARDI always start my storybook page with a week card. For this one I used my new numbers stamp set. I left them black, because I like this typography-look like the title letters from newspaper. But you can color them, if you want. I also added the name of the current month and the number of the current week. ADD OTHER POCKET CARDSChoose and place other pocket cards. I like the pages, that look clean, simple and have enough white space. That's why I pick up the white pocket cards first and than add some color to my page using the colored cards. USE COLOR CARD AND PATTERNED PAPERIt's optionally, but I like to use the hex color cards in my projects. For this page I used the card named Mars, because this is the color of Illy's scraf and dried leaves on the ground. It's also optionally to use patterned pape. You can use other pocket cards or some kind of decorative elements/wordbits to fill this space. The small photo will also work good. WHITE SPACEFor the right side I used the January 2022 card from the free add-on to January Pocket life kit. It looks simple, but very attractive. To the small card left side I decided to add a couple of sentences about the photo in the centre of the page. I simply colored it. Double click to the picture of the layer - Blending options - Color overlay - Select white color. Rasterize layer style. CHECK ALL COMPOSITIONLook at your page. Does everything look good? You still can replace photos and cards, if you need it to get the better result. MERGE LAYERSUse CTRL+E to merge each block of template with its clipping mask. Rename the new layer. It saves time to find it later. Repeat with other layers. ADD WHITE FRAME TO THE PHOTOSFrame the photos with white stroke gives extra white space to your page. Double click to the layer with photo - Blending options - Stroke. Play with size to change the frame thickness. Position must be choosen as inside. Copy layer style. Select ALL photo layeres (CTRL+ layers one by one), paste layer style and rasterize all photo layeres. ADD SHADOWSAdd shadows to all layers. Double click to the layer - Blending options - Drop shadow. ADD YOUR TEXTAdd your story. Press T to activate text. Click and drag your mouse to create a text box. Move the text box by clicking on its outer edges and moving it to your desired location. Change the size of the text box by clicking and dragging one of the tiny boxes in each of the text box's corners. I truly recommend to create the text box to be sure, you will not going out of card with your text. It's time to write your story! FINISH YOUR PAGEMerge all layers CTRL+SHIFT+E. Save your page.It's all for today. Use comment box for your questions, tips and suggestions.X.O., your Olesya. Like

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