Thursday, January 14, 2016

Scrapbooks and Journals and Planners! Oh my! Part One: Project Life


Scrapbooking in some form or other has been a hobby of mine since my teen years. I remember seeing decorative scissors for the first time and completely falling in love. I was one of those people who cut my photographs into fancy shapes. All of my pictures from 1998 until 2003 have lovely ornamental edges :D

In 2008 I was perusing an issue of Creating Keepsakes Magazine and saw an advertisement for a scrapbook kit called Project 365. The premise was to take a picture a day to document everyday life.


I was immediately drawn to the sleek design and the divided page protectors. I always struggled where to place things on traditional scrapbook pages. The idea of being able to slip your photos and journaling into the pockets seemed simple and easy. The perfect way to document  life's little  moments, not just the birthdays, holidays and vacations.



During that first six months of that year I took a picture each day. Then life got busy and I slacked off. I am so glad that I have those six months, but I was a little disappointed that I didn't finish out the year.


In late 2012 Project 365, now called Project Life began to get really popular. The company was preparing to sell  kits in major retailers Michaels and Hobby Lobby in early 2013. Project Life was all over the scrapbooking blogs and message boards. I decided to give it another try. During 2013 I created a two page spread for each week, which filled up two 12 X 12 albums. I adore those albums and love looking back through them. The process of keeping up with a weekly layout was really overwhelming, as was the thought of storing two large albums each year.

In 2014 I began documenting life by the month. I didn't set a goal of how many pages I was going to do each month. I document what I want and when I want. Most of my photographs are from my phone. My albums are a glorious mishmash of Facebook status updates, tweets, memes, current world events, photos, and ephemera. Some months may have four photos and other months one-hundred and six. I am okay with this anything goes style.

Here are 15 Things I Document in my Project Life Album



1. Current Viral Phenomenon

Do you remember "THE DRESS" from last winter? I found  the pictures on Facebook and printed them out. I still have no idea how my husband only saw white and gold.


2. Fun Mail

Post cards, note cards, and thank-you cards go directly in. I don't bother adding them to a page protector.

3. Copies of Newspaper Clippings



4. Copies of Family Recipes


5.  Movie Posters

6. Books That I'm Currently Reading

7. Favorite Quotes



8. Day-in-the-Life



9. Internet Memes



10. Fun Packaging

11. Business Cards



12. Pictures of What I'm Pinning on Pinterest


13. New Recipes


14. Photo Challenges  

You have probably seen on Pinterest different photo-a-day challenges. Each day there is a photo prompt that is open to your own creative interpretation. .



15. Lists

Project Life is so versatile. At it's simplest form you can just add photos and journaling to the pockets and call yourself done. Add embellishments! Create cards using photo editing software Document your current life or tackle that box of photos that your Grandmother gave you. It's really up to you!

The most important part for me is that I have found a system to collects my photos and memories. My photos aren't just sitting in the "cloud" somewhere. My stories are being told. Everyone has a story to tell. How are you going to share yours? 



Want more information about Project Life? Here are a few links to get you started!

1.  Project Life-Discover the System 
2. Becky Higgins' Blog-The creator of Project Life
3.  Ali Edward Blog - A popular memory keeper and author
4. The Answers to All Your Project Life Questions-Fantastic post by blogger and artist  Elise Blaha Cripe
5. Catching Up on Project Life-How to Keep from Giving Up When You're Behind- post by Traci at Traci Reed Design
6. Project Life App-Available in the App Store. Coming February 2016 for Android.





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