Project Life | the title page

20 January 2014

We’re about three weeks into the New Year and I’m finally getting around to sharing my title page on the blog.

I was able to put together the title page on New Year’s Day. I had my photos printed and ready to go, so it was just a matter of moving things around on the page and deciding where I wanted them to go.

As I mentioned in this post, I’m mainly using the Design A page protectors this year.

Overall, I kept things pretty simple with a handful of selective embellishments (namely, thickers and wood veneers), and a black-white-coral color scheme.

Funnily (or not), I’m already behind on my weekly spreads from all the travel I did a couple weeks back. But I’m really hoping to catch up soon! With how simple I’m planning to keep it, catching up shouldn’t take long at all.

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Supplies used: Midnight Edition Core Kit, Studio Calico wood veneers, Chic Tags Everyday Life II journaling tags, American Crafts thickers, Basic Grey Fresh Cut 6×6 paper pad

Project Life is a memory-keeping system created by Becky Higgins. I’m embarking on this year-long project to document all my memories in 2014. You can see my other Project Life posts here.

Project Life | the plan for 2014

3 January 2014

Project Life and I have a little bit of a history.

I started Project Life in the middle of 2012, but quickly fell off the bandwagon a couple of months later.

In 2013, I determined to document life (both in my 21 list and my New Year’s Resolutions) but ended up failing miserably on both counts.

But in 2014, I’m determined to stick with it and finish the year. So I’m setting myself up for success.

Here’s how:

Decide on a core kit. This year, I’m using the Midnight Core Kit, together with the Cut & Paste mini kit and Maggie Holmes mini kit. I was torn between getting the Midnight or Sunshine core kit. But I eventually decided to go with a more neutral kit so I could mix the kits instead.

Have a system and make it work. Since I don’t have a photo printer at home (yet!), the plan for photos is to upload and print them online each week. I’m hoping to accumulate my journaling and thoughts throughout the week, so putting it together once I get my photos will be a breeze. I will probably put the week together in one sitting, instead of little bits throughout the week. Also, since I’m printing my photos online, chances are I’ll mostly be working on the week before, instead of the current week.
Have a limited selection of embellishments. I’m narrowing my slew of embellishments so there aren’t an overwhelming number of decisions to make later on during the year as the months go by.

Stick with one design of page protectors. I’m mainly using Design A pocket page protectors. Because I realized that having a variety of page protectors to choose from makes for far too many decisions which really end up stressing me out instead. But I might throw in a different design once I get the hang of things.
Blog about it! I’m sharing all these thoughts with you because I really want to be accountable and make it to the end of 2014.
Be flexible. I’m reminding myself that a plan is after all, just a plan. So while I may have this plan written out, I’m open to making changes to make this work once I actually get started.

This is a very rough idea of what I plan to do this year. But altogether, the key is just to keep things simple. The fewer decisions to make, the better. The pretty creative stuff can come afterward, once I settle down into a routine for this.

Here’s to documenting 2014.

Thoughts on Project Life

16 May 2012

Warning: This post is going to be wordy!

So far, so good.

All this is still really new to me and I’m still trying to find my groove, trying to figure out what works for me (and doesn’t), what I should include or leave out.

Honestly, it’s so easy to get overwhelmed, especially when I think about all the weeks I have to catch up on, all the photos that need to be sorted and printed, all the details that need to be recorded. My head is really just a mess of things that need to get done sometimes.

But I constantly remind myself that:

At least the stories are being recorded.
Sometimes, I forget and leave out photos that I’d meant to include, only to realize I don’t have any more room. Sometimes, it works for me to rearrange things; sometimes, it doesn’t. Whatever the case, I try to take what I have and roll with it and not worry about trying to get every single thing in because I am already accomplishing my goal by doing Project Life because I’m printing photos and documenting life.
It’s okay to be imperfect.
Things won’t always be perfect; some days, I’ll make mistakes in my documenting. And that’s okay.
I do what works for me.
As much as I love the details/layers/embellishments that some of these very creative ladies put into their pages, I know that it isn’t always possible for me. But I try to work with whatever resources I have. (Still, I wouldn’t mind a silhouette cameo!) Because I order my prints online, I don’t really have the option of printing a combination of photo sizes (especially the larger ones). So while things aren’t as flexible as I like them to be, it’s okay.

I’m enjoying this so far, especially when I resist the temptation to get stressed/overwhelmed. I’m excited about how much fun it will be to look back on this album at the end of the year. And I’m really anticipating these new inserts coming soon!

Also, having a pinterest board of inspiration and ideas to include in my Project Life is so good especially on weeks when I get stuck in a rut.

So there you have it!

Thank you for reading my rambling thoughts, if you made it all the way down to the end of this post. I don’t blame you otherwise if you didn’t though (:

And a good reminder before I run off:

Source: piccsy.com via Amelia on Pinterest

I hope your week is fabulous!

Project Life: Taking the Plunge

12 April 2012

Four months into 2012, I have finally decided to start Project Life. If you’ve read this post, you’ll know that I’ve been tossing this idea around in my head for awhile now. I thought of waiting until next year to start. But this post really grabbed me and made me realize that if I didn’t start Project Life this year, I’d look back at the end of 2012 and wish I had. And life is too short for regrets. Starting now is better late than never. I might go back and catch up on the weeks past. But I don’t know yet; we’ll see how I well I get used to this first.

Source: studiocalico.com via Amelia on Pinterest

But I’m not going to make this complicated, or stressful, or frustrating. I’m not going to worry about how things are supposed to be, not worry about trying to keep track of every little thing. I’m going to make this work for me as is much possible right now, to work within my means, even if it means not having cool software, printables, or inserts and whatnots, which would always be nice to have. I’m going to take what I have and roll with it. I’m going to keep this simple. I’m going to make the most of what I’ve got, make this fun, make this inspiring, make this something I’m going to enjoy looking back on.

Source: michellewooderson.blogspot.com via Amelia on Pinterest

This isn’t just about me jumping on the bandwagon. It’s about motivating and inspiring me to take more photos again, to actually print pictures, to capture the everyday, to remember the stories, to just document life as it is.

There are tons of inspiration out there – I’m really looking forward to all the cool ideas and stuff.

And in the meantime, while I wait for supplies to arrive, I’ll start recording and recollecting all the stories so I’ll be ready to write them down when I need to.

I think this journey is going to be a good one (:

New to Project Life? Read more about it here.

To do Project Life or not?

18 January 2012

That is the question.

Honestly, I’ve been so behind on printing photos this last year that I really should get on the Project Life bandwagon, seeing how horrible I’ve been at documenting life lately. And it really isn’t too late to jump on either, I suppose. But ahh, we’ll see.

And even if I end up deciding not to, I promise I’ll try to document life better this year than I have years before. All the resources and ideas alone about Project Life on the web are inspiring enough. Have you seen the work out there?!

Let’s see how I do on my own this year.
Then maybe, I’ll take on Project Life next year.