I hope the start of the new year is treating you well! Something I always focus on at the beginning of the year is my memory keeping plans for the upcoming year. Since I started Project Life two years ago, it's been a much simpler process for me. This year will be a little different since we are moving and I don't have a dedicated crafting space in the new home. I thought I'd share just a few of the plans I have in place for 2013.
Project Life Medium
Becky Higgins offers a few different ways of completing Project Life. The first is the physical products of the core kit, page divider & album. This is the closest option to traditional scrapbooking. She also has partnered with Shutterfly for digital scrapbooks, and with ACDigitals for digital scrapbooking elements.
I'm choosing to go with the traditional version of Project Life again this year. I've made Shutterfly books in the past {and occasionally still do}, and while I love them, it just doesn't feel like scrapbooking to me. I like the idea of feeling the layers of photos and papers and embellishments, so I'm continuing with this method again this year.
In some of the forums I participate in for Project Life, questions often come up about how albums will be shared in later years or amongst children. We don't have that issue right now, but once we do, I'm sure my methods will change. If you know me from the PL forums, then you've already heard this, but for those who are curious, here is our plan: I will use the PL Baby or Childhood editions to complete physical scrapbooks for each of our children. When they graduate high school, they will likely have several albums that are theirs for the taking when they're ready {I'm under no illusion that our children will want to take thick PL binders to their college dorm rooms with them.}. I will also complete a family PL album every year, most likely through Shutterfly. The reason behind this is that I can print multiple copies to share with our children in later years while still keeping on for myself. That was a random tangent, but I do get questions about it from time to time, so I wanted to address it.
Project Life Design
First, what I've done in past years. in 2011, I used the Amber Edition core kit and the Amber binder. {I still haven't completed this album, by the way.} In 2012, I used the Clementine Edition core kit and a gray binder from We R Memory Keepers {the company who makes the Project Life binders}. I'll hopefully be finished with this album by the end of January...well, that's the goal anyway.
In 2013, I'm planning to use the new Seafom Edition core kit and the same gray binder from We R Memory Keepers {assuming I can find it in stock somewhere}. Here's a glimpse of what that edition looks like:
The Seafom Edition { and the Olive Edition, which is also new for 2013} should be available sometime in early January, so I will be ordering that from Amazon as soon as it is. A helpful tip, if you're waiting for a product to appear on Amazon from Becky Higgins - she is excellent at updating her followers on Facebook & Twitter about the releases of products for sale. Follow her and you won't have to stalk Amazon.
Becky also announced in 2012 that she's partnering with American Crafts to make Project Life available in retail stores. I'll share more information on my blog once I have it - it will be so nice to have all the elements easily accessible!
Project Life Organization
I'm not sure I've ever photographed it for my blog before {probably because it's always a disaster}, but I have a table in my dining room dedicated to Project Life. It holds my printer, my core kit, my album and page protectors. Printed pictures are kept in drawers until I can get them into the album. I did a post awhile back on the Martha Stewart organizing trays that I use to corral my journaling cards, filler cards & title cards, plus some go-to tools. You can read that here. This system works out pretty well for me. The table is very close to my dining room table, so when I wanted to work on my album, I could just move the organizer over to the dining room table where there is plenty or room for me to spread out.
Since we're moving in the next month or so {hopefully}, I'm having to re-think my system. I won't have a dedicated craft room, and I'm not sure I want the clutter of all of this in our dining room like it is now. I'm currently storing all my plastics in the flat boxes they are packaged in. I need to figure out a way to actually separate them by type so I can find them easily, so that's a goal for next year.
I'm not sure I'll use this Martha Stewart organizing system again. I don't tend to journal as I take pictures, so I don't think everything needs to be out in the open like it is. The box the core kit is packaged in is probably fine, plus it will stack easier since it's the same size as the plastics boxes now. I'm looking at having more of a craft storage closet, so the more use of my space I can get, the better.
I do like the idea of having all of my go-to tools and supplies together. Most likely, I'll keep a small basket in the closet near my PL supplies with my corner rounder, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, date stamp, etc. That way, when I'm ready to work on the album, I can pull out my plastic box, my core kit box, and my tools basket and be ready to go.
Project Life Layouts
People do this project in any number of ways. Some do a photo a day method, others do weekly or monthly spreads. Some people keep things very simple by putting photos in their holders and journaling in there holders - that's how this project was designed. Others get more elaborate and add embellishments to their photos and journaling cards. Any of those ways are great, as long as they're working for the person completing the album!
In 2011, I did {am doing} a chronological album. In 2012, I started with a chronological album and switched mid-way through the year to make my album more topical in nature. By this I mean that I'm rearranging the photos so they are grouped with other similar photos. Some of my categories include Family, Gather, Pets, and Everyday Life. I'm still in the process of grouping photos from last year, so there may be more than that. I'd like to do a 2012 Project Life video for my blog when the album is completed, so check back for that later on this year.
In 2013, I plan to go the chronological route. This one makes the most sense for me to try out at first. I like the idea of doing 2-page weekly spreads. This doesn't mean I'll be taking a photo a day {although some weeks may be just that}, but over the course of the week, will have taken approximately 7 pictures.
The great thing about Project Life is that if I decide that layout isn't working for me, I can always go back and change it up to do something that works better with our lifestyle.
Project Life Inspiration
There is a wealth of information out there related to Project Life, but here are a few of the places I regularly turn to:
Becky Higgins - Becky has info on her products, her creative team, her blog, and links to all the ways she communicates with her customers through social media. This is the best source for staying up to date on all things Project Life. Becky also regularly posts photo ideas and inspiration for cultivating a good life on her Facebook & Twitter.
Big Picture Classes - I participated in a free Project Life forum and Project Real Life last year through BPC. I don't see anything yet for 2013 in the way of classes, but I'm a little out of the BPC loop at the moment. A great e-book resource I found on BPC is Project Dig Deep.
Pinterest - Pinterest is full of all sorts of memory keeping inspiration. I have a Project Life Inspiration board where I keep interesting things and that I'll continue to add to over the year.
Instagram - check out #projectlife for tons of awesome pictures and layouts.
If you're interested in previous posts about Project Life on my blog, you can check out my Project Life tag. I'll also be tagging future posts so they can all be kept together.
Are you planning to take on Project Life during 2013? I'd love to know who else will be completing an album and what your plans are. Have a great day, everyone!
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