I recently shared a video about how I’m personally using Digital Project Life as my preferred system to organize and document our family’s life and memories. And the kids’ art. I have proclaimed my love for this solution. You know how I feel about it. And I’m grateful – so grateful – that this format is helping many of you too.

I also know that there are many of you who want to dive in but you have some questions. I totally get that feeling of uncertainty when something is new or different. We have loads of helpful FAQs but there are still more questions. I’m glad you’re asking! I’m glad you want to give it a shot! I so wish that I could sit next to you at your computer and show you in person how easy it is so you can have all sorts of little ah-ha! moments.

But since I can’t, this is the next best thing. I hope this post will bring more clarity and motivation to drop some pictures into a Digital Project Life book and give it a try. You have nothing to lose. It’s free. No obligation to buy anything. If you like it, pay when you’re ready to have the book printed. If you want to pay now and save, the current 25% off sale goes through this Sunday, April 10.

……….

{ MAKING A BOOK }

Q: Will you please go further into how to be creative  (not using the provided template)? I don’t understand how to do anything but drag + drop using the program.

A: Digital Project Life is set up as a template so as to simplify the process for you. Drag + drop your pictures into the photo spots. Add your titles and journaling to the cards. That’s it. However, if you want to create a photo book without the given template, you can certainly delete the template elements (background, journaling boxes, title cards, photo spots) and start from scratch with each layout if you prefer. Choose a colored background then drag & drop your photos. Make them any size you want, create the layout design that you want, add text wherever you want. Or create full-bleed layouts where the images cover the entire page.

Let me share an example of how I modified a layout in our current 2011 family yearbook. This could be applicable to a big occasion or holiday or some event where you just can’t say all you want to say with one picture and one little block of journaling.

Case in point: I’m doing a picture-a-day to document our life. In February, Porter and I were riding on a quad and we were in an accident. We rolled off a small bank and the quad landed on top of us. Please don’t get too caught up in this. We are completely fine. We were wearing helmets. Porter walked away with zero injuries and a strengthened testimony of prayer. I walked away with a bruised back and a greater appreciation for the tender mercy that we had experienced. We both learned a lot that day. (And yes, my phone is always on me, so that’s how I got pictures.)

Anyway — Because that experience deeply affected the two of us, I added a page to the book (by clicking on the blue + icon) and dedicated an entire layout to sharing what happened, what we learned, and even Porter’s entry in his own journal. I enlarged one of the journaling blocks so I had ample room for writing. I dragged + dropped photos, moved them around, enlarged, added a title … You get the idea. I made the format work for me.

Bottom line: There is flexibility if you want it.

…..

Q: Can you show us how you customized your family year book with the family photo on the cover?

A: Sure! Here is the step-by-step, using our 2010 family yearbook. (Turquoise Edition shown.)

Step 1: Crop your photo to a square using whatever program you usually use for cropping. Cropping the image to a square before uploading allows for that black edge on the left to remain. If your image is rectangular, it will cover the entire cover. This is an option and also a great look.

Step 2: After uploading your photo, drag + drop the photo onto the cover.

Step 3: Click on RESIZE and enlarge your photo.

Step 4: Click on MOVE and move your photo as needed.

{ NOTE } All photos will automatically have a thin, white border for a clean look. You’ll notice that I enlarged my image just slightly past the cover edges, which resulted in the white edge showing on just the left side.

Step 5: For our family yearbook covers, I add a year date stamp. You’ll find these under the CLIPART tab.

…..

Q: How do you get a vertical picture in the template?

A: You can upload photos of  any shape, size, or orientation. It’s once you drag + drop your photo into a photo spot that you can start playing around with orientation, tilting, moving, enlarging, etc. Here is a layout in our 2011 family yearbook. You’ll notice the photos on the left page are all evenly sized squares. That’s the given template. I dragged + dropped photos into each spot and that’s it. On the right page, you’ll notice both horizontal and vertical pictures. That’s because I adjusted the pictures as needed.

Here’s how: When you drop a picture into a photo spot, a pop up menu automatically shows up. All the options are clearly labeled here.

It’s nifty, really. Play around with each one so you can see. Okay, so if you drop a vertical picture into a square spot, all you need to do is click on CROP. Grab the side(s) of the photo and move it in to create the vertical shape. Then click on EDIT PHOTO and you’ll zoom out to see your entire image. Continue adjusting as needed. I promise that if you haven’t already figured this out,  you’re about to have a serious ah-ha! moment and you’ll love Project Life 10x more … just like that!  : )

…..

Q: What is the page limit on the books? Is there a minimum as well?

A: The page maximum for a Week-at-a-Glance book is 110 pages while the minimum is 106. For Month-at-a-Glance, the minimum is 26 and the max is 100.

…..

Q: Is there any way to zoom in to be able to see things better? I do use the maximized screen, but the sizes of these things are still small.

A: The big screen option is really the simplest way to enlarge things, but really only pays off if you’ve got a large enough monitor to benefit. For instance, on one of the newer iMacs you can maximize the browser to the full screen then click the “BIG SCREEN” button in the top-right corner and it is really a better experience.

There is an alternative, which we don’t often recommend. Your browser has a built in zoom feature you can utilize.  On most browsers you can zoom by using the Zoom option under the VIEW menu at the top of the browser. There are also some handy shortcuts for these functions. On a Mac the key commands are ⌘= to zoom in, ⌘- to zoom out, and ⌘0 to reset the zoom to normal. On a PC the keys are ctrl= to zoom in, ctrl- to zoom out, and ctrl 0 to reset the zoom.

……….

{ PORTER’S ART BOOK }

Q: Do you use a scanner for your artwork?

A: Yes, I’ve been using the Epson Perfection 4490 (flatbed) for years. We also have the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500M which has helped us in our quest for going paperless in our home office and it does great scanning art and photos as well.

…

Q: What do you do about large and odd sizes that will not fit on a regular-sized scanner?

A: Photograph them with good, natural light and a clean, simple background.

…

Q: Do you still keep the original art?

A: Just the favorites. Not everything.

…

Q: Where did you get the box that you store your son’s art in?

A: I love these White Punctuate Storage Boxes from The Container Store.

…

Q: How did you get the scanned art to take up the entire space on the page?

A: See above for how I did the book cover. Same idea. Drag + drop the image then enlarge and move as needed.

…

Q: How do you add text on a page if you take up the entire space with a scanned image?

A: See the TEXT tab at the bottom? Click on that then drag + drop a text block anywhere you want on top of your image. Then move it around, increase the width, change the size, font, color … anything you want.

……….

{ ORDERING A BOOK }

Q: Will this current sale (25% off) work to print multiple copies of the same book?

A: Yes definitely, but you must pre-purchase the quantity you want to print. So if you want 3 copies of your Week-at-a-Glance book at 25% off, then you need to pre-buy 3 of the “Pay now and save” Week-at-a-Glance books.

…

Q: Can I apply this current discount to books I’ve already been working on? Or does this apply to only newly created projects?

A: This discount can apply to any project new or old. Just use the “Pay now and save” to purchase a voucher at the discounted rate. Later when your book is finished, you will redeem the voucher for your printed copy.

…

Q: I don’t see where the digital books are 25% off as it said in the blog. I only see 10% off if you pre-pay.

A: 10% off is the normal, non-sale special price for the “Pay now” option. So long as the sale is active, you should see the sale discount of 25% off.

…

Q: Why is the regular cost for a 106 page book $99.99, while an approximately 60 page book is $92? It doesn’t make sense to me.

A: This is because the 106 page book is being offered at a discounted rate. With the larger book you are getting  a discount on what would normally cost much more. We are able to offer this because the two books are actually built totally differently. Normally it is very expensive to print such a thick book on-demand. We have to use a classical library binding method to bind the thicker book, which requires different equipment and techniques.

…

Q: Can pages be subtracted from the book and thus a cheaper price?

A: Pages can only be subtracted down to the minimum allowable page count, or in other words: 26 pages for Month-at-a-Glance books and 106 pages for Week-at-a-Glance.

…

Q: Is there a discount for ordering a LOT of books (more than just a few)?

A: Currently, the only discount this provides is on shipping if you are ordering multiple copies of the same book. The base price is not affected. Since our books are printed and made on-demand, for us each copy is just like doing an entirely new book over and over again, so we don’t save on manufacturing time or resources the same way that the traditional bulk book printers do.

…

Q: Totally love Digital Project Life but I am not in the U.S. so how does that work?

A: You create your book online just like anyone else. You place your order just like anyone else. We ship internationally.