Archive for December, 2010

Project Life: Let’s get this party started!

Friday, December 31st, 2010

Many of you have your Project Life kit.

You’re ready to roll.

You’re ready to ring in the New Year with a strong resolve to do something with your pictures … to tell your story … to document life.

GOOD. FOR. YOU.

Just when you thought I was taking a break from videos, here’s a video tutorial that will walk you through setting up your album, step by step.

Music is A Change Would Do You Good by Sheryl Crow.

SIDE NOTE: The album I put together in this video is actually a gift to our niece Kyra who is getting married next week. What I wouldn’t do to have an album like this from our first year of marriage (or any year, for that matter).

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As I’ve said before — and I’ll say it again and again — it’s your story, your way. That means you set this album up however you want. It means your approach doesn’t have to be like your friend’s approach to Project Life. It means if you only want to include a few favorite pictures here & there, that’s great. It means you can try taking a picture every day if you’re feeling ambitious, but if it turns into monthly layouts instead of weekly layouts, so be it. It can be a mixed bag. Keep it chronological or focus completely on themes and topics in no chronological order. Maybe your approach is to go back through the past 5 years of pictures and get those memories into an album.

The album will adapt to your needs.

That said, those of you taking the picture-a-day approach may be contemplating this: On which day do I start? I am personally going to end our family’s 2010 Project Life on Saturday (tomorrow), January 1st. Our new 2011 Project Life will begin Sunday, January 2nd. The reason for this is that I’m a Sunday to Saturday girl. That’s how a calendar is laid out, so that’s how I see weeks in my head. And so that’s how I lay out my weekly layouts in Project Life.

How about you? What’s your approach? (If you haven’t already looked, there are some awesome ideas & links in yesterday’s post.)

thank you.

Thursday, December 30th, 2010

Thank you for the most genuine, kind, heartfelt comments on yesterday’s blog post. I am so grateful that video “spoke” to so many of you.

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me, and tell me how you were touched, and how you feel motivated to move forward with documenting your life in 2011.

Thank you for all the kindness & feedback on all of the videos that were a part of my 12 Videos of Christmas series.

Thank you to Charlene, a fellow blog reader who happily and eagerly volunteered to do all the transcriptions for the videos so that no one missed out on anything that was said. I know several of you benefitted & are grateful too. (This is Charlene with her hubby.)

Thank you for your patience. We’re just about ready with the new web forms, in case you having any missing or damaged items. We’re also really close the arrival of the Journaling Cards & the Divided Photo Pocket Pages sold as additional items outside the kits. These are scheduled to arrive at Amazon the first of next week. I know some of you are waiting for these additional items so you can purchase with the kit, to save on shipping (which is smart).

Thank you for all the Project Life SHARING that’s going on — between you & your friends, the mentions on your blogs, the conversations with family members, and especially over at the Project Life Community, where there is a lot of great idea-sharing.

Thank you for all the Project Life glamour shots you’re sending in. Loving these. Will be sharing more. (Anyone can submit their picture anytime you want. Email it to projectlife@beckyhiggins.com.)

Yes, that’s Ali Edwards (top, center). This will be her second year doing Project Life and I’m honored that she has made it a part of her life-documenting journey, like so many of you. Anyone who knows Ali knows she’s an incredible example of telling stories & documenting life.

If you’re interested getting a peek at Ali’s 2010 Project Life, click HERE. She will likely be sharing her plan for 2011 soon.

If you’re interested in Kelly Willette’s plans for Project Life, click HERE. She’s a super talented photographer & designer.

I know I’m just scratching the surface here. Again, I’m so grateful to all of you who are blogging about your plans for Project Life. Please feel free to share a link to your blog post if you’ve done something similar. You know how I feel about inspiring each other.

12th Video of Christmas

Wednesday, December 29th, 2010

As we wrap up the Twelve Videos of Christmas, it is my hope that you have felt a little uplifted, a little inspired, a little motivated in some way.

For the final video in this series I hope you feel a little bit of all of that.

All photos are from our family’s 2010 Project Life.
Music is 100 Years by Five for Fighting

11th Video of Christmas

Tuesday, December 28th, 2010

Click HERE for the PDF transcript.

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NOTE: My sweet husband was the first to point out to me that the music at the beginning & end is a little too loud. Some of you will agree. If you’d like to view the REAL version of this video (with better sound) — it’s on the Products page. The version here is edited to be a part of the Christmas Video series and I’m not going to have time to go back and fix that sound anytime soon. : )

I’m undecided on what the 12th — the final — Video of Christmas will be. Lots of ideas floating around in my head and I’m pretty sure I know what I want to do. But I’m asking you to share with me … Your suggestion. Your recommendation. Your idea. What should my 12th Video of Christmas be? Sharing your thoughts just may inspire me to steer in a different direction. Or at the very least, you’ll give me ideas of future videos you want to see. This movie-making is sorta fun. : )

So … a penny for your thoughts?

Project Life is being delivered.

Monday, December 27th, 2010

I hope everyone had a truly wonderful weekend. I’d like to share this poem with you. Written by a fellow blog reader, this showed up in my inbox just before Christmas.

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Twas the morning of the 23rd, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

.

The boys were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of x-box games danced in their heads.

With mamma in her bed, still trying to sleep

Could not figure out what was making that peep

.

When at my front door there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the stairs I flew like a flash,

Tore open the front door and hoped I didn’t crash.

.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of early morning to objects below.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a Purolator Man, and a box filled with cheer!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

.

He spoke a few words, but went straight to his work,

And handed me my package, then turned with a jerk.

And laying his finger on the box for me to sign,

I quickly followed by putting my name on the dotted line!

.

He sprang to his van, to his horn gave a whistle,

And away he drove like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,

“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!”

My box full of cheer was a total surprise!

Didn’t expect it would come , I’m not gonna lie!

She continues…

Just wanted to share my excitement about getting my Project Life 2011 early! I am SOOOOOOOOO excited. I live in Canada and we always get things late, late , late. But this was such a nice surprise to get my package early, early, early!!!!

Thanks for creating this project. I got my first Project Life this year and it has been such a blessing in my life. I have taken pictures of moments that would have never been captured. It’s so much a part of who I am now – taking pictures of the everyday stuff. Thank-you for helping me to capture in a book what MY life is really all about.

Tamara in Okotoks, Alberta (Canada)

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Thank you Tamara! I love her wit and humor and excitement and the fact that she took the time to share that with me. Dar-LING. And remember MaryAnn’s video thank-you message and tour of her Project Life book? She, like Tamara, and like many of you, has also received her Project Life.

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I’d love to see everyone’s I-got-my-Project-Life! pictures. It’s simple.

1. When you get your product, have someone take your picture with “the big white box”. Or get in front of the mirror. Or set the timer. (No, it doesn’t need to be in front of a Christmas tree.) Get creative or keep it simple. However you do it, you’ll have a little glamour shot of you + Project Life.

2. Email it to me at projectlife@beckyhiggins.com

Note: When you email me the picture, please be aware that you are giving me permission to share your picture here on my website or in other promotional material.

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No, we are not done with the 12 Videos of Christmas. As far as I’m concerned, the Christmas season lasts as long as I’m eating fudge. And I’m still eating fudge.

The next video will be a tour of the Project Life kit, for those who are curious about what to expect when you open the box. In the meantime, many thanks to those of you who have ordered and who are telling others about Project Life.

Day 1 of sales resulted in Project Life being the #1 and #2 best-selling products in the entire Home & Garden section of Amazon on December 23. This screenshot was my POTD (picture of the day) for that very exciting Thursday. Again, thank you!


merry wishes.

Saturday, December 25th, 2010

Project Life is arriving!

Thursday, December 23rd, 2010

It’s true. Amazon is literally receiving the product right now. All the product is NOT there yet. They’re literally unloading pallets from the trucks and loading them into the warehouse as I write this. So exciting! Here’s the update as of right now.

- Project Life: Turquoise Edition is FOR SALE. CLICK HERE.

- Turquoise Binder is FOR SALE. CLICK HERE.

- Project Life: Amber Edition is FOR SALE. CLICK HERE.

- Amber Binder is FOR SALE. CLICK HERE.

- Divided Photo Pocket Pages, both Design A and Design B are both coming in next week.

- Journaling Cards are coming in next week.

- Digital Project Life is almost ready to launch as well. Sometime this weekend or early next week.

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I will continue to update this post so if you’re wondering about which products have arrived, just refresh this page and hopefully you’ll see more “FOR SALE” links becoming available today.

Happy Ordering!

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Side note: The Project Life kits that are arriving today are less than half of our entire order so … IF THEY SELL OUT quickly, no freaking out and thinking all hope is lost. That’s crazy talk. In fact, all is well. More kits are coming soon. I’ll keep you posted on that timing as soon as we know more.

Remember to smile today.

10th Video of Christmas

Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010

The talented Zachary Baird plays an original rendition of The First Noel on the piano. I looove piano music, so I’m having him serenade all of us today. And … one day when he’s really famous for his amazingness, you can say you first heard about him here on my blog.  : )

Enjoy.

The transcript for this video can be viewed & printed HERE.

2 more days

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

I was just reading a book with my kids called, The Night Before The Night Before Christmas. It’s a sweet reminder that the season can be crazy. We get sick. We get rushed. We get overwhelmed. We get caught up in things that aren’t going right. Toward the end of the book, the dad says to the mom, plain and simple …

“These things are just stuff. Christmas is about love.”

I hope that amidst the busy-ness that is typical this season, you’re able to slow down, wrap your arms around those you love most, and focus on what’s most important.

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Speaking of the title of this adorable book … I just got word this afternoon that we finally have a scheduled appointment for the Amazon delivery of Project Life kits. You guessed it — the night before the night before Christmas. In other words — THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23.

Note: This announcement is for U.S. folks. If you’re in Australia or New Zealand, click HERE. If you’re in Finland, click HERE. If you’re in Canada or anywhere else in the world, click HERE.

I know some of you are bummed that they won’t be arriving to your door in time to wrap and put under the tree before Saturday, and I’m sorry for that. It’s disappointing to us as well. In the end, we all just want it in time to begin a new project of documenting life as we ring in the New Year. And that looks to be very promising.

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If you were planning to give the gift of Project Life this weekend, click HERE and print this sheet.

Roll it up & tie it with a bow. Fold it up & put it in an envelope. Place it in a box and wrap it. Do some origami with the sheet and hang that from a tree like an ornament.

Okay, so maybe that’s a stretch. My point is — You can keep it simple or get creative. No matter how you go about it, you are still giving the gift of Project Life.

9th Video of Christmas

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

Remember the Big Photography Giveaway in May? Let’s take a look at how some of those photo shoots turned out, shall we?

Featured music: Imagine (Glee cast version), Dust in the Wind (Kansas), and When You Say Nothing at All (Alison Krauss).