Archive for January, 2011
Sunday, January 30th, 2011
Just came across some notes I took on time management in the context of working at home. I appreciated the reminders and thought maybe some of you relate to the whole working-at-home thing. If you can read my chicken-scratch, perhaps you might benefit from a pointer or two.
 These notes are based on a couple short videos I saw online sometime last year. They were done by Julie Morgenstern, professional organizer, who teamed up with Canon to do a series of videos on organization and time management. I wish I could share the link but I can’t find them now. If anyone else knows, feel free to post the link.
Tags: julie morgenstern, work-at-home
Posted in organization | 37 Comments »
Saturday, January 29th, 2011
When I announced on Tuesday that I was giving away a set of 40 handmade cards to someone, I didn’t expect nearly 600 entries, most of which were on behalf of a wonderful cause. I am deeply touched with how involved and concerned you are with various organizations and fundraisers that bless individuals and families.
For those of you directly involved causes in any way, bless you. My heart is always warmed to see people reaching out to help one another. Serving others results in an unmatchable feeling and increased love. There is most definitely a need for this now more than ever. We need to continually lift one another, build each other up, and look for ways to serve others. Always.
Life is too precious, too short for negativity. May we resist urges to criticize, gossip, belittle, and assume things about people too quickly. Instead may we continually seek to do good and speak kindly about one another. I already knew my readers were awesome. It is now even more clear to me how good you are. I love you for that.
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So who is getting those 40 cards? Let me just say it’s a good thing I wasn’t choosing based on who “should” get them, because there were far too many wonderful causes. So … congratulations to Amy Sorden, who was randomly selected.
Amy said: I would love to win these BEAUTIFUL cards ! I have the perfect place for them….you see, there is a 5 year old little girl in our community that was recently diagnosed with leukemia. Her name is Aly and we are having an all day breakfast, lunch, and supper benefit for her, along with a bidding auction and a silent auction. We are trying to raise funds for her family as they have to travel for her medical needs, let alone all of her medical bills that have piled up. This is a very sweet family with 5 children who needs our community support. I think these cards would and could bring in some money for a great cause! Please pray for little Aly! She IS a fighter! Thank you in advance for your consideration!
Amy, I will pray for Aly. With close friends and family members that have had Leukemia, we too have been affected by this. I will happily send you these cards for your efforts in helping Aly’s family raise money. Send an email to projectlife@beckyhiggins.com with your mailing address and I’ll hook you up!
Tags: giveaway winner
Posted in giving | 22 Comments »
Friday, January 28th, 2011
I’d like to tell you a little something about the year 2008.
I was pregnant 9 out of the 12 months that year. Pregnant for me is synonymous with sick. I was blessed (so, so, so blessed) with 3 healthy pregnancies and 3 healthy babies but man, I did not feel well the whole 9 months. I’m not complaining — not for a second. It’s just the way it was. 2008 also happened to be the first year I attempted taking a picture a day to document our life. I started on January 1st (before I was prego) and that lasted, well … not even 2 months. That pregnancy just kicked me over and it was all I could to do muster the energy to care for our other 2 children and work and carry on with life as a semi-functional human being.
I have a point to sharing this.
2008 went pretty much un-documented. Sure, I took pictures. (How could I not?) Definitely didn’t take quite as many and I certainly didn’t get much scrapbooking done that year. Soooo … fast-forward to now. Guess what I just finished? (**insert squeel**) Our 2008 family yearbook! I am so pumped, people. Like totally & completely so happy about this.
How did I pull off that little magic trick?
I used Digital Project Life. Specifically, the month-at-a-glance template. I chose 7 pictures to represent each month, dropped my pictures in the template, added my journaling, done. One layout per month and just like that, 2008 was documented! Yes, I’ll share more of this with you when I received my printed book in the mail. Of course this can be done with the physical kit as well. It’s all the same concept: Documenting life with the most simple approach to scrapbooking.
Want to see a few digital Project Life books? Today I’m sharing books completed by 3 different customers, each with a different approach. These were all done using last year’s Original design. Of course we now have 2 new designs — Turquoise and Amber. Oh, and psssst. Have you noticed that there is a 30% sale going on right now? If you want to pay in advance for your book (and still be able to take your time creating it), the Digital Project Life books are 30% off through the 31st (Monday). So if you’re thinking about it, play around with it this weekend.
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Brittney made a book as a Christmas gift for her parents who were leaving on a mission. It includes pictures of her siblings and each of their respective families. She removed all the journaling cards to make it a picture-heavy book. This turned out to be an awesome gift that will make home feel not-so-far for these grandparents while they’re away. Check out Britt’s entire book HERE.
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Laurel made a book of her family’s 2010 — all 52 weeks. Showcasing 7 pictures a week (each layout is a new week), she used the Original week-at-a-glance template in its most original format. In other words, she left the default square photo spots all square (you can easily alter the size & shape & scale), which resulted in a very nice, uniform look. Check out Laurel’s entire book HERE.
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Jill also did a 2010 book but she used the month-at-a-glance template (like I did). Some months are represented with just a page and some months take up 2 or 3 layouts. She even added a few full-sized pictures in the mix, which I love. Jill said, I tripped over the Project Life web site in late December and I quickly decided that it was the perfect solution to help get me caught up on my scrapbooking. I was able to put the whole 2010 book together in less than a week. And, I had a lot of fun working on it — especially once I realized that I could alter the template pages if I wanted to. Check out Jill’s entire book HERE.
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Digital Project Life is flexible to your needs, just like the physical kit. I love seeing the different variations and how each customer is making the book work for them. If you have completed and ordered a Digital Project Life book, you would have been sent an email that has a link to your viewable (not editable) book. Feel free to share the link in a comment here … if you’re open to sharing that with everyone.
Tags: digital, digital Project Life, sample books
Posted in organization, photography, products, scrapbooking | 39 Comments »
Thursday, January 27th, 2011
Say hello to the girls of Fort Wayne, Indiana! This picture of a “Project Life Kick Off party” accompanied the following email from Betsy (she’s the cutie in the bottom right corner):
Hey Becky! I just wanted to share with you how PL is shaping up in my corner of the world. Soooo many of my friends were intrigued with my Project Life album that I convinced 14 of my friends — yes, you heard me, FOURTEEN — to purchase a Project Life kit for 2011! Some of them have been scrapbooking for a while and some of them are brand new to the world of scrapbooking. ALL OF THEM are new to Project Life.
For me, my scrapbooking has ALWAYS been about capturing the everyday moments of our lives and documenting our stories. So, Project Life fit in real nicely to my scrapbook concept. But so many of my friends were intimidated by the word “scrapbooking”. Or they “didn’t have time”. Or they “weren’t creative”. What I love is that 14 of my friends have committed to documenting the everyday lives of their families for 2011. They will each have a treasured album with lots and lots of their awesome stories inside. My heart is exploding with excitement for them and what they are starting to create this year!
We created a little Project Life community among us and will be getting together one time each month to work on our albums, be inspired by each other, get POTD ideas, and just celebrate life together. I know I will treasure this little community of Project Lifers. Those of us who could make it met last Friday and had a BLAST! Some of us had already started our Project Life albums and were comfortable with how to execute this project. Others were nervous and had no idea where to start. By the end of the evening, we had EVERYONE’s Project Life albums set up and ready to go, and they were even able to add photos and start their journaling. Everyone left more confident and ready to attack this scrapbooking journey!
Becky, THANK YOU for creating the Project Life concept. I adore you for how you have marketed this product and spread the word about how EASY “scrapbooking” can be. I am so thankful that my friends are on this Project Life journey with me this year. Its all about documenting our stories and YOU have made that possible for SO MANY who thought they were unable to do that. Thanks, Becky!
Here is a link to my blog where I share some of my POTDs as well as my first two weeks of my Project Life album: http://www.onemillionreasons.blogspot.com/
Sincerely,
Betsy
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So very cool. Anyone else getting together with friends as you work on your Project Life books? How about those of you making this a real family affair? What’s the rhythm you’re settling into?
Tags: fort wayne, indiana, Project Life
Posted in Uncategorized | 20 Comments »
Tuesday, January 25th, 2011
Should I just warn you right now? I should. This blog post contains a lot of pictures. And maybe — just maybe – a little nostalgia for some of you.
This is the sight of organization in progress:
I recently had the sudden urge to go through every cabinet, every drawer, every shelf in our home office. And since the drive and the energy and the motivation were all very much alive, I went with it. I didn’t resist.
In this process, I came across a lot of stuff. Stuff as in … a lot of stuff I have been hanging on to for years. I take on a big project like this at least annually and it was definitely that time again. I did a serious assessment. Even more “serious” than in past years because of the personal evolution I’ve experienced these past couple of years.
In going through my stuff, I asked myself a few simple questions:
- Why am I hanging on to this?
- Do I ever use this?
- Do I really value this?
No? Then buh-bye. Clear out the clutter. Let someone else enjoy it. If yes, then fine. Keep it. Note to self: Remember I have this stuff and make more effort to use it more often. Otherwise there is no point for it to take up valuable storage space.
Want to know what supplies in my stash I couldn’t let go of? Well, plenty of things actually. You know — patterned paper, cardstock, basics like that. But also — flowers & brads. Even though my decorative/creative scrapbooking days are far & few between these days, I just can’t seem to let those go.
And letter stickers. Gave a ton of letter stickers away to friends … among many other products. I love that you can see Claire & her little friend reaching in to choose some for themselves here. But I still hung on to a healthy amount of favorites. To me, letter stickers are a staple for creative projects.
So you know what I did throw away … and I even surprised myself? Old Christmas cards! No – not our family’s extra copies. That’s our family history. But after 15 years of hoarding Christmas cards from loved ones, and realizing we truly never go back and dig them out, and reminding myself that I’m not responsible to be the keeper of other families’ histories … well … in the name of SIMPLIFYING … I finally let go.
And it felt very liberating.
Here are some other nostalgic pieces from the past. Like the binder where I kept all of our house ideas for years and years — floor plan ideas, decorating ideas, favorite magazine tear-outs, sketches, color inspiration.
Other books full of inspiration, more specific to scrapbooking and paper-crafting projects.
I know this will bring back some memories for some of you who have been familiar with my work from “long ago”. Behold … the sketches. Many, many, many sketches.
And some organizational stuff from several of my book projects. Lists & calendars & scheduling my tasks and deadlines. Some things never change. : )
Even my homemade Prismacolor colored pencil reference sheets. Nerdy? You bet. Necessary? I sure thought so at the time.
Oooooh. Anyone remember this album? I taught a Creating Keepsakes University class called “Snapshot of Me” that was all about telling the story of your life & personality right then & there in that time of your life. Anyone happen to be in one of my classes? This was from 5 years ago. I’m so glad I did that project. I’m even more glad that hundreds of others did it too. That’s a lot of story telling. A lot of life documenting.
Here are even more themed books that are currently sitting pretty in a cabinet.
And this … This. Wow. Talk about nostalgia. This album was the start of my very first little Project 365 – a picture every day of the year, starting January 2008 — just 3 years ago.
I used a photo album I picked up at Target, stayed faithful with my daily documenting until a very sick pregnancy took over my life that year. But the idea never died. It was only a matter of months that the concept came to be in the form of a scrapbooking kit. Of course this eventually evolved into what we now know as Project Life.
Kinda fun to come across that.
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Oh, and one more thing. I came across a lot of homemade cards that I made over the years, especially ones that I designed specifically for my 2002 Creative Cards book. I’m hanging on to a few favorites.
But the rest of them? Good grief. Did I really hand-stitch pieces like this for a card?
Guess what? I’ve got a collection of about 40 cards — each one of them a unique handmade card by yours truly — and I am giving them away. The whole collection. Got a strong desire for handmade cards? Know of an upcoming auction that we could donate these to? Another way you plan to use the cards? Leave a comment and be sure to include your first name, city, and state. I’ll announce the winner by the end of the week.
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Thanks for taking a stroll down memory lane with me.
Tags: cards, giveaway, Prismacolor, scrapbooks, sketches
Posted in organization, scrapbooking | 599 Comments »
Monday, January 24th, 2011
For those of you who don’t give a hoot about the rest of the blog post because you just want to get shopping — (that’s quite alright!) — all you need to know is that Project Life is BACK IN STOCK!!
Click HERE for the Turquoise Edition.
Click HERE for the Amber Edition.
Of course everything we currently sell can be found HERE in our Amazon store.
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We feel the excitement. I think these happy customers do too. : )
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I so enjoy hearing from so many who get it. They get how Project Life is designed to be a SOLUTION. Here is a recent email from Courtney in Florida:
Becky, I just wanted to share a little something I figured out this afternoon. I was on the phone with my very good friend Sally today, talking to her about Project Life and how great it has been for me. This is my second year purchasing PL and I was trying to explain how it has REVOLUTIONIZED the way I look at scrapbooking (and yes, I mean REVOLUTIONIZED!). She mentioned she was not sure if she wanted to get it this year because she hadn’t “caught up” from previous years and doesn’t want to start yet “another” scrapbook.
THAT was when it hit me. I suddenly burst out, saying “That’s what I’m trying to tell you! I feel like a HUGE weight has been lifted off my shoulders… From now on, I will ALWAYS be caught up on my scrapbooking!”. It may sound a bit cheesy, but I feel so free! Not only do I have a plan for all of my future scrapbooks, but I have a plan for all the scrapbooks I feel so “behind” on!! I even know how I want to do my future children’s scrapbooks based on your simple concept. It’s very obvious that your products come from your heart, you put a lot into them and it shows! I look forward to all of your future projects!
Thank you from the bottom of my crafty little heart 
Courtney
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This is an email from Michelle in Woodbrige, Virginia:
I bought the Project Life kit last July and being half way through the year, and being slightly OCD about such things, I decided that I couldn’t start until Jan 1, 2011. Yeah, I am like that. And then inspiration struck this year and I knew why I was holding on to this book. I have about 7 boxes of “old” memories. Life before I was a scrapbooker and the less important life moments since I have been one. Things I couldn’t bear to part with but I couldn’t image doing a whole scrapbook page on.
And that is where Project Life comes in. Next weekend I will join a great group of church ladies for a day of scrapping. And my one goal is to use the book to “remember” those moments. It is my project: Life. It is not Project 365 (although I wish I was disciplined enough to do that). It is literally snapshots and momentos of those moments that may not define me, but they are all pieces of the puzzle that is me. Thanks so much for all of the inspiration and for giving me a venue to remember this amazing life that God has given me!
Tags: amazon, Project Life
Posted in Uncategorized | 51 Comments »
Monday, January 24th, 2011
1. With about 2,800 comments, Friday’s post about the giveaway had a record-breaking number of comments. Wow, guys!
2. Congratulations to these two randomly-selected winners: Tiara in Dubuque, Iowa and Amy P. who nominated her sister Becky in Independence, Oregon. Congratulations! I highly, highly, highly recommend you winners get in touch with us ASAP today with the shipping address & phone number. Don’t forget to specify which Project Life edition you want! We’d like to get your kits ordered the second they arrive. And … they may be arriving very soon (*wink*). Send your information to projectlife@beckyhiggins.com immediately.
3. It’s always exciting to announce giveaway winners but this is not all you’ll hear from me today. Oh no. Check the blog later for the real fun. : )
Tags: giveaway winners
Posted in Uncategorized | 22 Comments »
Friday, January 21st, 2011
Let’s just cut to the chase.
In anticipation of more inventory arriving to Amazon early next week … I’m going to give away Project Life to [2] fine readers. Each of the randomly selected winners will get to choose — Turquoise Edition or Amber Edition or Digital Project Life.
Want a chance to win a kit for you or a friend? (Feel free to nominate someone.) Leave a comment with your first name and city + state. (U.S. only, sorry.) Winners will be chosen at random and announced on Monday.
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Also — you’ve had some great questions about the Digital version of Project Life. We’ve added & edited & updated the list of FAQs. All frequently asked questions can be found HERE.
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Happy Weekend!
Tags: giveaway, Project Life
Posted in Uncategorized | 2,821 Comments »
Thursday, January 20th, 2011
There are thousands who have embarked on a journey called PROJECT LIFE. These are just a few of those who have trusted that this approach to scrapbooking is truly flexible to meet their needs. They are taking pictures and jotting down memories and putting those things together – with ease, with relief, with enthusiasm. They are using Project Life as a solution for documenting life.
My heart is full. I am overwhelmed (in a good way) by the comments and emails and blog posts that you’re writing about how Project Life has helped you and what significance it has in your life. I am grateful that you’re sharing the Project Life love with your friends.
I know I’ve said these things before. I just wanted to say thanks again.
And I’m pleased to give you an update on the timing of MORE inventory on its way since we’ve been sold out for a week or two. We are expecting more kits to arrive to Amazon early next week. Notice that I said “expecting” … not “promising”. : ) When they arrive, I’ll announce it here on my blog, on facebook, twitter, and in an eBlast. There are no pre-orders.
***Amazon is for U.S. customers only. Our international distributers in New Zealand and Canada are also receiving more inventory as well — just not quite as soon.
Join me in crossing fingers, toes, and maybe even eyes … that all will go smoothly with the arrival of more Project Life kits this coming week. I am super excited to welcome thousands more to the Project Life par-tay!
Tags: amazon, Project Life
Posted in products, scrapbooking | 31 Comments »
Thursday, January 20th, 2011
These are my glasses. From my teenage years. For. Real.
When I came across these the other day and blew the dust off these old things, a flood of memories came pouring in. I haven’t seen them for years. My kids got a kick out of knowing that these were on my face every day for years.
When you come across something old and nostalgic, perhaps that could be your POTD. Or maybe you have something old and sentimental currently out or on display in your home. You see it all the time. It’s a part of your life today, just as it was back then. Take a picture. Memorialize the item. Jot down some associated memories. What does it represent?
Tags: glasses
Posted in photography, scrapbooking | 17 Comments »
Wednesday, January 19th, 2011
First of all, I’m excited to share a POTD idea that I just implemented into our Project Life book yesterday. It was kind of an exciting a-ha! moment for me in my little quest to document life.
{ POTD idea }: Take a screenshot of a satellite view or map of your neighborhood.
Totally a worthy POTD, don’t you think? So what that you didn’t actually take the picture? We can thank crazy-expensive technology for that. Just head over to GoogleMaps and plug in your address. Click on Map or Satellite for options. Zoom in & out to see if you want a wider angle or a close-up view. Then get a screenshot (I use SnapNDrag on our Mac) or a snapshot (with an actual camera) … and there you go!
(No, this isn’t our neighborhood. I just picked a random suburb in the middle of the U.S. to illustrate.)
Where you live is very much a part of your story. Including a birds-eye view is just one more angle from which to document our life. Then journal about why you love the area, or what makes it hard to live there, or whatever you want to write about.
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If your approach to Project Life is documenting a little piece of life every day, you may find yourself wanting a little inspiration from time to time. A few ways to get POTD ideas:
1. If you type “POTD” in the search field here on my blog, a list of blog posts will come up that have POTD inspiration in some way. I will continue to share POTD ideas on my blog from time to time.
2. If you click on the Photography category here on my blog, you can scroll and scroll and scroll some more to find more ideas — from me and also from awesome fellow blog readers.
3. The Project Life Community always has the latest & greatest in idea-sharing among fellow Project Lifers.
4. Check out other favorite blogs of those participating in Project Life or any type of 365 project. For example, I’m recently inspired by Susan Weinroth’s approach, which is to use her iPhone for their family’s daily shots. No fancy camera, no editing.
And now … I’m pleased to announce yet another way to get life-documenting-picture-taking inspiration! As most of you know, I use the platforms of facebook & twitter to share ideas, links, tips, and even an occasional POTD idea.
5. Now — moving forward — you can expect even more consistent POTD idea-sharing on facebook & twitter. Yippee! Not necessarily every single day but pretty close.
It’s simple: Just click HERE if you want to “like” my facebook page so you automatically get my feed. Or click HERE if you want to get see how to get my twitter feed. I’ll share the same ideas in both places. No reason to follow me in both places.
{ This is the fun part }
I’ll share plenty of my own POTD ideas, sure. But I also want to share the very best reader ideas too. Variety is the spice of life. Have you got a knack for taking great pictures? Have an inspiring POTD idea that most people can relate to or find inspiration from? Here’s the scoop:
1. Email your POTD idea(s) to submissions@beckyhiggins.com anytime. Subject line: POTD.
2. JPG format. Full or medium size.
3. Be sure your picture is already edited, if needed.
4. No deadline. I’m always interested to see what you’re photographing!
5. Must include your first name … and it’d be great to know which state or country you call home.
6. Please include just one quick sentence that describes the concept or idea behind your POTD. Remember, ideas I’ll be passing along via twitter & facebook have to be very short & sweet.
7. By submitting your picture(s), you automatically grant permission for me share/use your picture. Just because you submit a picture doesn’t mean it will be shared or used. If I do share or use it, I’ll let you know. Did you catch all that? : )
Tags: facebook, inspiration, pictures, potd, Project Life, twitter
Posted in photography, scrapbooking | 20 Comments »
Tuesday, January 18th, 2011
Hi. How are those resolutions coming?
Or … should we not talk about it? : )
One common goal for many of us at the start of a New Year is of course, better health. Betting eating habits. Less sugar. More exercise. Less take-out. More water. Something along those lines … right?
One thing that has helped our family in the past is e-Mealz. I’ve talked about it here before. Many of you heard of it long before I ever did and some of you are already using the service. I’m bringing it up again now for two reasons:
1. Because in our little family, we’ve totally gotten off-track lately with consistently homemade dinners. Holidays, wacky schedules, stress, feeling slammed with so much to do. Excuses, excuses, excuses. We’re so ready to get back on-track.
2. There is an e-Mealz promotion going on right now that will knock off $2.50 from the already-cheap subscription price. Click HERE to learn more and if you sign up, enter ORGANIZE. This code expires January 31, 2011.
We’re so getting back on e-Mealz. If you’re not familiar with how it works, you’ll learn all about it on their site. For me (and anyone else who uses it), it helps in several areas – budget, weight management, simplifying, and organization.
I know you guys well enough to know you’re going to ask me for this recipe. It was an e-Mealz recipe we made this past Fall but I’m afraid I don’t remember which one, sorry. It involved stir-frying rotisserie chicken and zucchini and red peppers in a little olive oil and we added pine nuts. That’s all I remember. It was delicious.
I also know you’re going to ask me if the kids like the food. Mostly, yes. Our kids are picky eaters like most kids. Yes, they say “ewww” and “ugh!” more than once a week when they see a pile of vegetables on their plate. We’re over it. As we say over and over and over again – You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.
Here’s to more consistently homemade meals. Here’s to sitting around the table each night as a family. Here’s to better health and stronger family ties. Wishing each of you the very best with whatever your goals and resolutions may be.
Tags: e-Mealz
Posted in food, home, organization | 40 Comments »
Monday, January 17th, 2011
We’re all pretty good at taking pictures of life’s big moments. Birthday parties, travels, first day of school, holidays. And most of us are getting better about also capturing the “mundane”. The everyday. The simple stuff that makes up our life.
Today I just want to put a little reminder out there, to capture the moments that aren’t necessarily our favorite moments in life. Now obviously there are challenges and even horrible things that happen in life that aren’t meant to be photographed and displayed. That’s not what I’m talking about. Sometimes we need to photograph and/or document moments because they play an important role in who we are, what we believe, and how we gain strength through hard experiences.
This POTD is a picture that not only represents more than $4000 worth of damage, but it documents an event in a family’s life that changed their outlook on life forever.
With permission, I am sharing an email I received last week. She ties her experience into Project Life, but it’s not about the product. It’s about the concept of documenting life. This is from Beth in Ohio:
Yesterday I was driving down the highway, hit a patch of black ice, and spun out across three lanes of traffic. I hit the guard rail and ended up facing oncoming traffic. I will swear to my dying day that I felt God’s hand push me across the highway. No cars hit me, and unbelievably there were no semi trucks on the road at the time. Our three-year-old was with me, buckled snugly in his car seat. No one was hurt, but our car is totaled.
What I am getting at is that even though I have just started this project for the first time, and it is just the beginning of the year, what I do for five minutes a day would have been there to bless my family if things had turned out differently yesterday. They would have had a visual and written record of the last 8 days of my life. This tiny little time commitment and the $53 is well-spent to record life AS IT HAPPENS.
Yesterday I used my first bi-fold journaling card to record the accident and my feelings about it. If I had waited to “scrapbook” it, these things would have been lost to memory. I can’t believe how much I am preserving with just FIVE MINUTES a day.
Becky, thank you for this product. What an incredible blessing it is to so many families. You have created something that allows our lives to be preserved and remembered in this time-crunched world. I feel more so much more strongly about Project Life now than I did a week ago — it has taken on a meaning that, although I knew was there, I had never felt the urgency of until now. We never know what will happen in any given day, and what better way to be cognizant of that than to remember the everyday moments each day.
My POTD for that day was actually a photo that my husband took of the damage to the car. I find that the visual reminder of the damage brings those moments back. I know that sounds odd, but I want to remember how grateful I was just to be alive, and feel that all the other stuff is just stuff.
I can only add one thing to what Beth has so beautifully communicated: Like every one of you reading this, I am so grateful that she is okay and their sweet little boy is okay. Their lives were spared that day for a reason. There is more life to live. There is more love to give.
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On a similar note of documenting our not-so-favorite moments … but on a much, much, MUCH lighter note … check out this moment that my friend Kara happened to capture in our home last month.
If you look closely through Claire’s hair, you see a face of huge disappointment and sadness. Crew, of course, just looks shocked. Yes, Crew. When you throw a snow globe on the floor, it really does shatter. For real. Don’t mind that it was Claire’s favorite Christmas decoration.
The reason Kara was even able to capture this moment is because she was hanging out with our family for the day. She was documenting A Day in Our Life. It’s one of the greatest gifts a family can have for themselves: The documentation of a day. I am so excited to share with you that Kara is adding this “offering” to her photography business. Learn more about it HERE.
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Folks, life is happening. Good stuff, funny stuff, blessed stuff, hard stuff, devastating stuff. It’s all there. This is life as we know it. Let’s do our best to cultivate a good life and record it.
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Added note: As you know, the Project Life kits are currently sold out. We are very close to having more inventory in stock. We expect those kits to be available on Amazon (for U.S. customers) by the end of January. Any sooner would be a pleasant surprise. We all want to be pleasantly surprised! Thank you for your patience (and your interest!). As always, I will communicate updates & information as we get closer — especially here on my blog and on facebook and twitter.
Tags: beth, car wreck, challenges, snow globe
Posted in photography | 36 Comments »
Friday, January 14th, 2011
{ refresh }
I’m going to ask you to do something: Please click on your refresh button. We made some changes to the website, namely the red background. If you’re not seeing red, you need to refresh. See it now?
{ why the red? }
Today we are exactly one month away from Valentines Day. So I thought it’d be fun to splash the color of love on the website to give us all that constant reminder of … well, LOVE. (This is not a permanent change.)
{ love }
Love isn’t just about being in a relationship. It’s not just about having a boyfriend or girlfriend or even being married (although that’s certainly significant and wonderful. In fact, marriage, as we know, often leads to children and I believe FAMILY is most definitely central in God’s Plan of Happiness.)
Love is about even more than that though. Love is what can heal. Love is what can lift another. Through love, burdens are lifted, hearts are mended, and a crummy day becomes blessed. And it doesn’t always mean a close friend or family member. Sometimes it’s a stranger. And you know what? They need love too. Do you realize that even a simple smile can change someone’s entire day?
{ love is a verb }
That’s what they say, right? Well because it’s true. A relationship takes effort. You don’t see a friendship blossom on accident. You don’t see a marriage make it through hard times because husband & wife are waiting for the other to make the first move.
This is a small invitation to each of us to be more proactive in being loving human beings. More patient in our driving. More willing to volunteer our time in service. More likely to following that prompting to phone a friend or write a note of kindness or stop everything you’re doing to read with your child. More effort in changing the subject when gossip flares up. More likely to express gratitude. Being quick to forgive. And more smiling. Definitely more smiling.
{ a visual reminder }
As a small token of my gratitude for you, dear reader, I’m sharing a couple “Love One Another” prints to use however you’d like. Let this visual be a daily reminder of what I hope we can all focus on this month … and always.
Head over to the Free Stuff page to snag your free print(s).
PS – Want a more tangible way to share love this Valentines season? If you missed it last February, this Post-it Love idea might get the wheels a-turnin’. (Unfortunately all the reader comments were erased in last year’s blog server transfer.)
Tags: frame, print, valentines
Posted in holidays & seasons, home | 62 Comments »
Thursday, January 13th, 2011
Okay, so seriously. Seriously you’d think I have drummed up some sort of Project Life Dream Team or something. While that actually sounds like a terrific idea — Hmmm. I’ll tuck that away for later. — I am realizing over and over again that there are just amazing and talented and GOOD people out there. Everywhere.
And today I’d like to share a few of them with you. Maybe they’re familiar to you. Maybe not. Either way, they each have really fantastic Project Life ideas to share. And that’s just what they’ve been doing on each of their respective blogs. They each explain their individual approach to the project. I didn’t ask them to; They’re just awesome like that.
And that, of course, is the key to Project Life. Which is … approach it the way you want to. Make the project adapt to you. Have a look at these very inspiring articles by clicking on the links. And if you’ve done something similar (thank you!), feel free to leave a comment with a link to your blog too.
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Jade (a.k.a. “Super Organiser Mum”) in Australia. Go HERE.
 …..
Ali Edwards. Go HERE.
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Jessica Woodford. Go HERE.
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Michelle Wooderson. Go HERE.
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Kelly Willette. Go HERE.
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{ giveaway }
Un-related to Project Life, but I’m super excited for Becki Crosby and her “baby”. She’s put a lot of hard work into making her vision a reality. Did you hear about Whippy Cake’s newly-launched website and the new product line of deliciously tempting accessories? I’m loving. You’ve gotta check it out.
Oh, and pssst. While you’re there you must click on her BLOG because guess what? Yep — It’s a Project Life Giveaway. Enter to win! In the meantime, I’ve got my eye on the “muffy”. Aaaand a few others.
Tags: ali edwards, giveaway, jade, jessica woodford, michelle wooderson, Project Life, whippy cake, willette
Posted in organization, photography, products, scrapbooking | 44 Comments »
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