This isn’t a post about Project Life. There’s no big announcement. No newsflash. No product update.
It’s precisely because I’ve shared so much of all that lately, that I wanted to simply share a few pictures I recently took for a friend. This is little Sadie and she is one. Completely precious, isn’t she?
By the way – not Sadie-related – I just wanted to let you know that I am pretty excited about the line-up we have for my annual 12 Videos of Christmas series. Some videos are by Yours Truly. Some videos are by fellow readers. It has been really fun to see the variety of submissions!
As you watch the videos over the next few weeks, you just may laugh, cry, learn, or feel inspired in some way. Each one has its own flavor and I can’t wait to share them all! Tomorrow I will be featuring one of the winning videos.
December is looking mighty fun here on the blog, friends.
This is my 1,111th blog post. I just happened to notice that.
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{ #2 }
The Binders are in! The Binders are in! They literally just arrived to Amazon this morning and you can find all 4 Project Life Binders in our shop right this very minute. (NOT the Black Signature Binder or the White Signature Binder yet.) Direct links are listed below for your convenience.
Available only for U.S. customers until our international distributors receive their Binders. If you live outside the U.S. you can get any + all updates directly from your distributor.
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{ #3 }
The Cobalt + Clementine Core Kits + Cardstock are very close to becoming available. I would love if they arrive to Amazon before the end of next week. Everyone cross your fingers and toes right now. I know we’re all super anxious to get those new designs in our hot little hands. We’re soooo close.
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{ #4 }
It is with great pleasure that I announce Project Life is now available in Africa!
This truly makes me so happy. David and I have many fond memories of being in that beautiful corner of the world, connecting with many wonderful people. I taught some scrapbooking classes but most certainly felt like the student there, not the teacher. We loved learning about life in South Africa and quickly learned that they are some of the most genuinely sweet and kind-hearted people.
Thank you Tammy Morales for making this arrangement happen. And of course a huge, huge thank-you to Stylish Storage CC who are distributing our product there. If you are in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Swaziland or Lesotho, head on over to projectlife.co.za to learn more and of course pre-order your Project Life.
We are kicking off the 12 Videos of Christmas with a bang. It was an honor – and more importantly, an absolute pleasure – to have Marvin Goldstein and Vanessa Joy perform a beautiful Christmas number for us right in our own home yesterday. Our picture-of-the-day:
I imagine many of you are familiar with Marvin’s music or have at least heard of him. I’ve listened to his music for as long as I can remember. Vanessa is my friend with the voice of an angel and a heart of gold. Now, after spending a few hours getting to know Marvin, I can say that he’s a friend too. Super fun guy. I got to tell him what “scrapbooking” was (he truly didn’t get it) and I’m pretty sure I have him convinced that those thousands of pictures he has stashed away in boxes will end up in Project Life books. ; )
Together, Vanessa and Marvin are a powerhouse that are inspiring people all over the world. I feel very blessed that Marvin happened to be visiting from Florida at just the right time and that they were both able to come do this for me, for you, for all of us.
Today is the last day that you can submit your video to be considered for my 2011 series of 12 Videos of Christmas (explanation + contest rules here). Just email the link to your video. I will do some of the videos and the rest will be other videos (perhaps yours?) that we choose to share.
I’m starting something new. And I’m calling it Feedback Friday.
Between my blog, facebook, twitter, emails, forums, and message boards there are plenty of questions floating around at any given moment. You’re looking for feedback on various topics – related to Project Life or not. We will do our best to gather those questions and comments and I will offer my feedback to as many as I can … each Friday here on my blog.
Sound good?
Here we go – round one! : )
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I love and own Project Life. It’s a wonderful way of expressing my creativity in a efficient and fast-paced way. I hate to complain so don’t take this personally, but it’s all that’s ever seen or discussed on your blog. You used to have so many ideas on organization and floral arrangements and photography. I just miss all the other aspects of your blog that you used to post.
Feedback: I don’t take that personally. I take that as constructive feedback – thank you! I’m so happy that you love Project Life. I’m fully aware that my sharing as of late is very, very heavily Project Life-related. This is because it’s a particularly busy time for our company because of our new partnerships, new products, new Creative Team and other news-worth happenings. I want to be sure to keep everyone in the loop since most of you are using (or contemplating using) Project Life.
That said, I do agree that it’s time to bring back the balance of content. I’ll be very happy to get back to “other” topics soon. Whether or not my sharing is related to ideas or products or anything else, I certainly appreciate that you’re stopping by and hope you continue to enjoy your time spent here.
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I’m so excited about all the Project Life elements available on JessicaSprague.com but I was hoping for some full page templates.
Feedback: We agree! And … we’re working on those right now, actually. Coming soon!
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I’m confused. Are these the digital elements that you need to use to create the book to be printed at year-end by Shutterfly? Or is that coming later? I am hoping for a drag and drop digital book.
Feedback: The digital elements available on JessicaSprague.com are for you to be able to use the art however you’d like. It’s for people who use Photoshop to create their own pages, party invitations, and other projects. If you are brand-new to this concept and want to learn the very basics, I recommend taking a beginner level class such as Up & Running with Photoshop: Beginning Digital Scrapbooking (which I see is on sale right now!). As mentioned above, we’re also about to release our full 12×12 scrapbook page templates – Project Life style. So that makes the design process super easy! No matter how you choose to use the digital elements, you would then print your projects however you’d like.
If you are looking for the drop-in-your-photo-and-add-your-journaling method, that’s the Shutterfly photo book – coming in December. The concept is that all the pages are already designed for you (with our Project Life art) and you just drop in your photos + journaling and Shutterfly will send you a printed + bound book. Very cool.
Everyone has their preferred way of doing things, which is why we’re so pleased to add these digital options to the option of the good ol’ paper-and-photos-in-your-hands method. : )
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Do you need Photoshop to use the digital Project Life elements?
Feedback: Yes, Photoshop Elements is the most commonly used program but you can use just about any editing software.
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Where is a good place to order prints? I want something fairly cheap, good quality and would be nice to have less than 1-2 week turnaround.
Feedback: Great question! I know there are a lot of fantastic online resources, and I also know a lot of people choose to print at their local Costco, Sam’s Club, WalMart, Target, Walgreen’s, etc. In other words – endless possibilities! I would love for anyone to comment on their favorite online resource!
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Is there any way to transfer my current pre-paid project on Zilbio, to Shutterfly? I have barely started my Ziblio project, but would love to take my pre-paid amount and apply it to a new album with Shutterfly.
Feedback: Sorry, but Ziblio and Shutterfly are not affiliated with one another and so that’s not an option. If you have started a project with Ziblio, you can either finish it (I’m actually quite excited to finish a couple projects that I have in the works there) or you can inquire about a refund. I don’t know that it’s possible, but you can ask them. Call the customer support line at 877-209-1560 or email support@ziblio.com
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I would love to see you do a leather or faux leather album.
Feedback: Personally, I feel like We R Memory Keepers nailed it with their leather albums. I’ve been using them for years.
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I have thought a lot about doing a black and white version of Project Life and wondered if you had considered that?
Feedback: We have thought about a more neutral edition of Project Life, yes. We have also thought about a wedding edition, and baby editions, and classic editions, and grunge editions, and contemporary editions, and … you get the idea. There is so much fun potential to grow the Project Life family of designs and we have plans to do just that. : )
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I’d LOVE to see some examples of Project Life used in a baby album.
Feedback: Me too! I know some people are doing this and I would love nothing more than to see it with my own eyes. Anyone is welcome to share their projects with us, any time! Just email your pictures to submissions@beckyhiggins.com. As I mentioned, I would love to do a couple baby editions of Project Life but it’s going to take a little time. Focusing on the school/childhood stuff first. ; )
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I saw your mom’s crocheted washcloths on Facebook. Does she sell them? I love those kind of washcloths!
Feedback: That’s so cute. She loves to make them (she loves just about any kind of needlepoint work) but no – she doesn’t sell them.
U.S. customers: All of our products will be on sale from midnight to midnight – all day Friday November 25 (Pacific Time).
1. Sorry for the confusion about the start time. We thought we could specify the time zone on Amazon and as it turns out, we can’t.
2. All discounts are automatically applied; no need to enter any special code while shopping on Amazon.
3. The Project Life Core Kits will be 20% off, as promised. The price that is shown is $22.50, which is 10% off. But when you add products to your shopping cart you’ll notice you’re getting 10% off EVERYthing we sell on Amazon. So you’ll save a total of 20% on the Core Kit only. Bottom line: You will get 20% off the Core Kits and 10% off everything else.
4. We are expecting* all 4 of our Project Life Binders (Amber, Turquoise, Cobalt, Clementine) to become available on Amazon by December 3.
5. We are expecting* the following products will become available on Amazon by December 10:
Project Life Core Kit – Cobalt Edition
Project Life Cardstock – Cobalt Collection
Project Life Core Kit – Clementine Edition
Project Life Cardstock – Clementine Collection
6. We are expecting* our Signature Binders (Black, White) to become available mid to late December. I know that’s vague but we just don’t have that date yet.
I just wanted to let you know that YES – We will be having a sale this Friday. Black Friday. 24 hours of Project Life goodness … for less. Project Life Core Kits (Amber Edition + Turquoise Edition) will be 20% off. Everything else in stock is 10% off. All Becky Higgins products are available on Amazon and the prices will be automatically reduced for the 24 hours on Black Friday, starting at 12 midnight EST. (U.S. only.)
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{ meet our team }
We are so grateful for every partnership and alliance that we have here at Becky Higgins LLC. As our little company continues to grow – with abundant opportunities to grow even more, we have recently added a couple more people to help us with our endeavors. I really feel like we have an actual company “team” now. We are small, but we work hard. Every one of us is very dedicated to our families, first and foremost. We are also dedicated to doing our very best to carry out our mission, which is to help simplify the process of memory-keeping and to inspire you to cultivate a good life. I would love to introduce you those key people behind the scenes. Say hello to the team, and you can get to know them a little too!
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{ welcome our newest creative team members }
We are so pleased to announce that Ali Edwards + Loni Stevens are now a part of our 2012 Creative Team! We are thrilled that they’re both on-board with regularly sharing their Project Life pages throughout the coming year. I know many of you have already been inspired by what Ali has been sharing on a weekly basis in 2011. I am forever grateful for the influence that she has had – and continues to have – on spreading the Project Life love. You’re going to love Loni’s style too! She’s a talented photographer and great documenter of life. Get to know them both here.
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{ digi winners }
The excitement over our Project Life designs becoming available on JessicaSprague.com is so much fun! We are pleased to tell two of you that you have been randomly selected to win the full collection of any Project Life edition that you choose. Congratulations to Sarah W. in Colorado Springs, Colorado and Karen in Whitburn, Scotland. You ladies can email kari@jessicasprague.com and let her know which collection you’d prefer – Original, Amber, Turquoise, Cobalt, or Clementine.
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{ holiday cards }
Just in case you missed it earlier, I just wanted to throw out a little reminder that we have free (and adorable!) holiday card templates. Tis the season to be thinking about this.
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{ video contest }
Speaking of reminders, there are only 5 days left until the deadline! We have a little twist on this years’ 12 Videos of Christmas. We invite you to be a part of this year’s video series and this holiday weekend seems to be a great time to pull together a video submission, doesn’t it?
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{ gift guide }
Our friends at The TomKat Studio have put together a very fun Holiday Gift Guide loaded with great gift ideas for your best girlfriend, the guy in your life, teens, pet lovers, organizers, etc. They even included me as one of their featured product recommenders (is that a word?).
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{ thanksgiving }
My parents are in town visiting us this week (which means we’re eating a lot of Mom’s chocolate chip cookies). We are very grateful to be spending time with family and friends. We are also so very grateful to you, our devoted friends/readers/customers. Thank you for your enthusiasm and loyalty.
Most of all, I’m so thankful that most of you are committed to documenting life and recording your story. That’s just the coolest thing ever and I love you for it.
First, a super quick announcement about winners from the camera strap giveaway: Congratulations to the following (you ladies can email brandi@beckyhiggins.com with your shipping information):
1. Lisa W. in Petersburg, Michigan
2. Sheree C. in Syracuse, Utah
3. Mechelle in Scott Depot, West Virgina
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Hooray!
Big-time happy dance going on for a lot of you in front of your computers. Go ahead. It’s okay to be super excited. This has been a long-awaited day for many of us.
Today is the day that all – and I mean ALL – Project Life designs are available on JessicaSprague.com. Even the Original Edition, and of course the other 4 editions that have since joined the Project Life family over the past couple years – Amber, Turquoise, Cobalt, and Clementine.
This is just a sampling of a few of the items from a few of the editions. Some of you might already be 100% digital scrapbookers/crafters. Some of you are totally hybrid and you want to mix in a little digital love with the physical product. Some of you have never explored the digital side of things and perhaps you want to just try it out. That’s awesome!
For the newbies: You should know that Jessica has a strong passion for helping others learn digital skills, like I have a strong passion for helping others document everyday life. She has very helpful online classes that you can take in the convenience of your own home. If you’re interested in taking those first steps (or increasing the skills you already have), you should definitely consider taking a class.
A few other notes:
1. All versions of Project Life are offered as a full kit or individual parts. Yay for options!
2. Be sure to stop by the forums to join in the conversation and ask any questions.
3. People are inspired by seeing how other people are documenting their lives, so feel free to share your layouts in the Project Life Gallery.
The following examples were created by JessicaSprague.com creative team members, using the Project Life elements. A huge thank-you to the awesome designers – real-life scrapbookers – who created these. You can see more awesome inspiration in the Project Life Gallery.
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Oh, you didn’t think I was going to tell you all about the digital elements and not do a giveaway, did you? We are all over that! Leave your first name, city, and state or country for a chance to win a free FULL Digital Project Life kit – any edition you’d like! We’ll randomly select 2 winners here on my blog, and so will Jessica. Double your chances!
It’s not called Project Kids or Project Mama or Project I’m-a-Parent or Project These-are-my-Offspring.
It’s called Project LIFE because it’s about YOUR LIFE. Whatever your life is. Whatever your stage of life. Whatever your family circumstances. Whatever your lifestyle. Project Life is designed to help anyone + everyone get their pictures into a book.
There are many of you without kids. Maybe you’re a single adult, or married without kids, or empty-nesters, or maybe you’re still a kid yourself!
Project Life is for you too.
Here is a little inspiration to get your wheels turning.
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Amanda + her husband Landen live in Ohio, have been married for 4 years, and are expecting their first child. Amanda made a video of her Project Life album here. Amanda said, When I decided to take the plunge in November of last year and order your kit I had no idea what changes my life would bring about to document. In June we sold our house, in July we found out we are expecting our first child, and in August I lost my grandma and my cousin within two weeks of each other. It is all documented in my album and I am so grateful that I took the time and the energy to start and continue this album. Some parts of it has been challenging, and some parts have been hysterical, but is is ALL our life and I love it. I love that we started the album as just a normal couple without kids, and now the album is becoming a “family” album as I include ultrasound pictures, belly pics, etc.
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Wendy Copley of Northern California is a wife + mother and does plenty of family documentation. But this year she is embarking on a new project that isn’t about the kids. It’s about … (gasp!) … HER! That’s right. Wendy is turning 40 next year and has decided to devote an entire album to who she is and what she’s about. You can see more about her project here.
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Taunia in Estevan, SK Canada said, I started Project Life the first year you released it and have been doing it ever since I got engaged and married in my first Project Life, which makes for a very special book. This year I have focused on taking pictures of everyday things:
What we made for supper Books I was reading Crafts and seasonal decor I did around the house Online clothing purchases My desk at work Oprah’s Finale Show!
I did a whole layout about the TV shows we watch from week to week. It will be nice for our kids to look back on and see what we watched back in 2011! I also did a layout on blogs I read.
Project Life has changed the way I take pictures. I have hooked several of my friends on Project Life and we never miss taking a POTD. Thank you Becky for this wonderful way to document life.
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Janet White + her husband live in the Pikes Peak Region, Colorado. She says, I might write, blog or sketch. I may wander outside and record the life I find in my field journal. I might spend time documenting this amazing life I lead. I might wander back through the geysers of Yellowstone through research and the photos I’ve taken – they are ever on my mind and in my heart. I might cook or bake or nurture our home life. I believe life is savored more deeply when creating. Creating leaves little room for drama, whining or complaining, but opens the door to deep gratitude for a life lived fully.
Molly Doolan in Smithville, Missouri says, I am single in the sense that I’m not married and don’t have any children, but I do have a boyfriend of 5 years who lives 4 hours away and a pretty cute dog that is featured heavily in my album. Also, my mom has been battling melanoma for awhile now, so without meaning to, I’ve been tracking her progress via my album for the past 10 months. It’s amazing to see the difference in her appearance in January (when she was just beginning to regrow her hair) and now (she looks perfectly healthy, and is on her way to being completely in remission)! I’m so glad I decided to buy an album to record what I thought were mundane things in life, because I’m beginning to realize it’s the little things that matter the most.
A typical week for me includes photographing something for school (I started a 1 year accelerated nursing program in May), a picture of my dog Bella, something that captures the season, a craft project I’m working on, a picture of someone in my family, some sort of meal we’ve made, and then pictures of whatever my boyfriend and I find to do together on the weekends. I also stick in current events within the week. The invitation I received to an Oscar Party and my ballot for the night, an article from CNN about some big event – Prince William & Catherine’s wedding, the death of Osama bin Laden, the Casey Anthony trial, etc. That’s one of my favorite aspects of Project Life!
Thank you so much for creating a product that is so easy to use! With my hectic school schedule I thought for sure I wouldn’t be able to keep it up, but just a few minutes a day means that I’ll be able to remember those “little” details for years to come!
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Jocelyn in Calgary, Alberta, Canada is a mother but is using Project Life go back and get the “good ol’ days into a book. She says, I originally started Project Life-ing as a way to capture the first year of my son’s life without the hassle of scrapbooking layouts. I enjoyed the ease and simplicity of what I was creating so much that I decided to back-track in our lives to when my husband and I first met. I realised there were so many moments in our lives before our son was born that were sitting on the backup hard drive in our safe in the basement. They weren’t in albums, or my scrapbooks, or even on our current computer. I had to do some serious digging, but now have created our Family Book – straight from the beginning of our family – when my husband and I met!
This is one of my favourite layouts. Our lives pre-baby included a lot of camping and hiking trips in the mountains, engagements, weddings, and buying our first home together. So many memories which would’ve gotten lost if I didn’t back-track with Project Life. I am now into my second album and celebrating our little moments together – not just remembering the big ones. We are due with our second bebe in 12 weeks, and will have many more moments together – all to be documented in our Family’s LifeBook.
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Casey von Stein in Minneapolis, Minnesota has been documenting her life this year and loves every bit of it. She chose the digital version of Project Life (shown above) and kept it very simple – just adding her pictures and journaling to the already-designed photo book. ***As a reminder, this simple digital photobook format will continue, but now we have partnered up with Shutterfly, which will be available by the end of this year. What you see above was created in the Ziblio format, which is no longer available for new projects.
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Shannon Troester in Connecticut is devoted to documenting her life and all the little bits + pieces that come with life. She shares her perspective: I want my kids to be able to look back and see what life was like for mommy and daddy before they even got here. I would love to be able to look into my mom’s life before she had kids!
This, my friends, is a perspective I know many of us have. Think about what you would love to see from your parents’ younger years (or your grandparents, etc.). That’s the kind of stuff you want to be sure you document.
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You can find oodles of inspiration from Christine Newman in San Diego, California. She says, I started Project Life in April this year and I absolutely love it! I’ve been telling all my friends how much I love this process of documenting life. I’ve been married to my super-awesome husband for 17 years and we don’t have children. We live a very full life and I love documenting it in my Project Life album. Thanks for creating this wonderful product for such a reasonable price. Everyone who has seen my album love that the photos are printed out and life is documented. They all love looking through it.
Check out all of Christine’s Project Life layouts on her blog – List Girl.
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Leanne Butler in Canada has such a neat story: My husband and I do not have children. He, like your husband, is very supportive of me and my career. He shows up quite often in the pages of my Project Life and usually is quick to say when we go somewhere “Better get your photo now!”
I always knew growing up that I wanted to be a Royal Canadian Mounted Police Officer and I achieved that goal at 19 and have so far served 23 years as a Police Officer. I use my Project Life to document the various things I have gotten to do in my community. I have an awesome career and what a way to remember it forever. I am one of 4 women on a 80 person riot team so shots of our last training are in my pages. Boy I wish I had Project Life for the last 19 years! I keep my Project Life up to date all the time and share it with all my friends and family who are tickled pink when they find themselves in the pages!
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I so love that my mom is a devoted Project Lifer. My parents are in their sixties and “doing their thing” in this retired stage of life – serving a second mission right now, grandchildren, travels, community service, etc. They are so good about taking pictures and my mom has become an excellent daily journaler. I am super proud of them, and thankful for the stories they are recording. This was taken while they were serving a mission in Finland, where my mom faithfully kept up with their Project Life book. There are remarkable things recorded in this album. And yes, she is still keeping up with it.
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Okay, I’ll stop here for now. I hope this is super inspirational for anyone reading this that may have doubts about the worth of documenting life … or who are unsure about what to document.
On a personal note, I was 17 years old and single when I started scrapbooking. I was young and single and had plenty to document. I went on to college, married David, and continued to scrapbook. A lot. My work, college, our friends, our newlywed life and extended family and travels and cars and bills and everyday life. In fact, we were married for more than 7 years before Porter joined our family. All those years I had a lot to photograph, a lot to write about, a lot to document. I have tons of scrapbooks from those years and I am so grateful.
Documenting life is not for just one group of people or one generation or one lifestyle.
Way cute, isn’t it? Three of you will win one of these reversible camera straps. Cotton Candy by Natalie has oodles of designs to choose from. I’m currently sporting the Orange Wallpaper and Stripes design on my own dSLR and I’m really happy with the quality.
Leave your first name, city + state. We’ll announce the 3 randomly-selected winners later this week.
You are likely familiar with our Project Life binders. They’re coming soon – by the end of this month I hope?
I have mentioned that we are also working on our Signature Binders. The development and sampling stages of these items have taken longer, but we are pleased to let you know that production is rocking + rolling over at We R Memory Keepers.
Here’s a first look at the new Black Signature Binder and White Signature Binder – hopefully available next month – December!
These are especially lovely for those of you who love a more classic/neutral look. They’re simple enough for family life, classic enough for more mature themes, pretty enough for more formal occasions (such as wedding), and versatile enough for literally anything else. And they are sporting a familiar pattern that you might recognize from the background of our website. Hence, our Signature Binder.
I have to say – photographing a very subtle spot UV pattern isn’t easy. These are so gorgeous in person. (Spot UV is just an exact spot where you have an area of Ultra-Violet Gloss Coating.) But hopefully this will give you an idea of the product. I will share more details as we get closer to having these available but wanted to at least share a glimpse of what’s coming.
For the most current information + timing + updates – be sure you follow me on facebook or twitter.
On that note, I do realize that my blog is heavily about Project Life these days. There is so much going on right now with new products, new partnerships, big announcements, etc. and naturally, I want to be sure that you are well-informed. I appreciate that most of you love the updates. If you’re hoping for more variety, it’ll eventually come back around on the blog. : )
We have put together our first-ever Project Life Creative Team – hooray! In the Products section you will now see a new tab for the Creative Team. This is where you can learn more about each team member and find links to their respective blogs, etc.
Why a Creative Team? Our products are designed to simplify the process of memory-keeping. They are quite self-explanatory and solution-based. However, most of us are “visual”. Once we see something in action, it all clicks. When we see someone else putting their pictures in the Photo Pocket Pages and writing on the Journaling Cards and adding their flair, we naturally become more motivated and inspired to do it our own way.
How did we go about choosing our team members? Since the beginning of Project Life, we have been aware of and very grateful for so many who have shared Project Life with their friends, on their blogs, in galleries and online forums, etc. For the past several months, we have been “watching” online activity to find a handful of Project Lifers whose work inspires us and others. We have a very strong belief that no one’s style is better than the next person’s. When it comes to preserving memories, there is no right or wrong.
Our goal with this Creative Team is to share a variety of styles that will inspire in different ways. A couple of our Creative Team members are very, very minimalist – using just the basics. A couple of them are quite creative with the use of product and often add lots of other products and embellishments and ephemera. And everyone else is somewhere in between. What they have in common is not only a love for using Project Life in their personal life, but they also have a knack for documenting life. They each have their own style of taking pictures and writing memories and this is the core of how we hope they inspire you.
How and when will we get to see their work? In the next month or two you will begin seeing layouts and projects from our Creative Team on a regular basis. We’ll share here on the blog and elsewhere on the website. Stay tuned.
Are we all set with our 2012 team? We feel really good about this group of Project Life artists, and we are so very pleased that they each accepted the invitation with enthusiasm. While we are quite comfortable with this team size, we are certainly open-minded about possibly adding another member or two. We realize that there is amazing inspiration out there, not necessarily shared all over the Internet. Should you feel strongly that you should share your layouts with us (or turn in your friend) … you are welcome to email a few pictures to submissions@beckyhiggins.com. I repeat: We’re not necessarily looking to make the Creative Team larger, but we just don’t want to shut that door and lock it when we know there could be someone else that would be a good fit to add balance + inspiration.
Moving forward. Speaking of being open-minded … as a young company, we’re constantly learning and growing and experimenting. This is our first time trying a Creative Team. We have no idea how this will go but we certainly are grateful for each of these ladies being so willing to share their personal layouts and projects. We sincerely hope that what they/we share will be nothing short of inspirational for you. We anticipate that they’ll carry on with this for 2012. We plan to revise + update the team members toward the end of each year, and keep this up year after year.
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{ PS }
Thank you again and again to so many of you who love sharing Project Life with others. We are grateful that it is a solution for you – an easy + enjoyable way to get pictures off the computer and out of drawers and into books that can be enjoyed. We have updated our Project Life button/graphic. Should you be interested in having this on your own blog, you are welcome to use it. You can snag it here. We are very grateful for the Project Life community, and for you.
Happy Veterans Day. I am so very grateful to all of you who have served and are serving our country, as well as those of you who are supporting your loved ones in doing so.
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{ winners }
Congratulations to the following 5 winners who were randomly selected to receive a copy of the Autumn issue of Somerset Memories! And what sweet, sweet sentiments and messages you left on that post. That means a lot to Ali – and to me. Thank you.
1. Ziska in Johannesburg, South Africa
2. Judi in White Bear Lake, Minnesota
3. Carolin R. in Martheidenfeld, Germany
4. Lynn in Old Lyme, Connecticut
5. Lisa Johnson in Allen, Texas
Ladies, please email brandi@beckyhiggins.com with your shipping address + phone number and we’ll be sure to have Stampington send you a copy of the magazine.
I’m always fascinated to see/hear/learn about what happens behind the scenes of just about anything. With regards to what we do and the products we make, I thought I’d share a little behind-the-scenes look at what happens before the product shows up at your door.
The initial stages naturally include lots of brainstorming. David and I figure out what products we want to create – based on where we feel there is a need, listening to your feedback, definitely our “gut feeling”, and a million other factors that we also have to consider.
Then come the scribbles and the sketches and the notes. We share all of this with our graphic designers – particularly Lori, who is our main go-to designer – and she works her magic. Then she shares those files with us and we go back + forth and back + forth and tweak and edit and adjust until everything is just right. Then we send all the files to the factory and they work their magic. It’s such a neat process!
Let’s have a look at the factory side of things. As you may know, our newest manufacturing partnership is with We R Memory Keepers who is making our spectacular binders. Here are some self-explanatory photos that our friends there at We R snapped for us. It’s probably not very often that their customers ask for behind-the-scenes pictures. Leave it to me to ask. : )
Once everything is produced, packaged, labeled, boxed, palletized, and ready to ship – the products go straight to Amazon here in the U.S. as well as to our international distributors. It just so happens that with all the Amazon locations in the U.S., our products happen to be located at the facility here in Arizona where we live. One day we would love to tour the inside and watch our products be fulfilled. Talk about fascinating! Amazon is a machine.
Anyway – let’s take you to a couple of those international locations I mentioned. Our two biggest international partners are Craft House in New Zealand and Scrapbooker’s Inner Circle in Canada. We love our international partners! This is what it looks like when David + Mary Roberts (Craft House) receive the shipment at their location in New Zealand:
Their team spends countless hours fulfilling orders. We find a similar scene and similar dedicated work happening in Canada …
Finally – after you have placed your order the product then shows up at your front door and … we can all scrapbook happily ever after.
Obviously this is a very condensed version of a behind-the-scenes look, but you get the idea. David and I are deeply grateful for everyone that we have partnered with to make our mere ideas become something real and tangible. Everyone from the graphic designers to those that work in the factories to our international distributors. And of course you. Without you, obviously we wouldn’t be doing this at all.
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{ notes }
1. If you live outside the U.S. please contact your international distributor directly for questions about product availability and timing, etc.
2. If you are in the U.S., here is the latest update on timing. We hope to see all the Binders (all 4 editions) show up by Nov. 21. We hope to see the brand-new Core Kits (Cobalt Edition + Clementine Edition) and brand-new Cardstock (Cobalt Collection + Clementine Collection) show up by mid-December. We had a few little set-backs on the timing but it’s on the way! (And yes, we’ll get the dates updated on our Products page ASAP.)
3. All other products are in the house and available for purchase. You can see everything here. For more detailed images of the Project Life Core Kits, this post + this post have loads of pictures.
4. Anyone + everyone who would like to submit their own “glamour shot” (you with your Project Life products) is more than welcome to email those pictures to projectlife@beckyhiggins.com. We would love to update our little “page of fame” with your pictures!
5. Just a little side note about the new + improved binders: Along with the other improvements outlined here, they are also a little bit wider so that the page protectors/Photo Pocket Pages don’t come quite so close to the outside.
I’m talking specifically about the cover width which now measures 15″.
Somerset Memories is a publication devoted to the artistic display of memories. I’m kind of blown away by the artistic talent that is featured in the pages of this magazine. I never thought I’d see Project Life in such a publication, only because Project Life is so simple. Sure enough, the editors at Somerset Memories saw what Ali Edwards was doing with her own personal Project Life and they invited her to write a feature story on the project.
I know I’ve said it before but I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Ali. I am so thankful that she has – without solicitation – adopted Project Life as one of the key ways she collects, organizes, displays, and celebrates the everyday in her own family’s life. She willingly shares her weekly layouts on her blog. She is a huge supporter and I love her for that. If you are new to Project Life or are seeking inspiration on how you want to preserve your pictures + memories, I would definitely suggest this: Curl up with your laptop and your favorite blanket and check out Ali’s series of Project Life blog posts.
Far more importantly, I love Ali for the woman that she is. Like most of us, she works hard to maintain a healthy balance in life. She struggles through difficult times like everyone else. And yet – she carves out time to offer inspiration. She shares so much of herself which in turn has been a huge blessing to so many people in so many ways – including myself and many of you.
So thank you Ali. For being you. For being amazing. We all love you.
Dang it. I’m not supposed to get choked up while writing a giveaway blog post. That’s ridiculousness. Onward! Okay, so the wonderful people at Somerset Memories would like to giveaway a copy of this Autumn issue to FIVE of my readers. All you need to do is leave your first name + city + state/country. Should you feel inclined to include a little shout-out to Ali, expressing thanks for perhaps how she has inspired you, go right ahead. I would love for her to read through the comments and feel a big giant hug from us today.
We will select 5 random comments and announce those winners later this week.
2. Of course we continue offering our physical product (all the stuff you see here). In fact, we’re re-ordering more soon!
3. We are still super stoked about our recently-announced partnership with JessicaSprague.com to bring you Project Life designs in the form of digital components. Everyone’s working hard to make that available by the end of this month.
4. That’s THREE ways of making Project Life work to fit your personal style. You’re welcome. : )
5. We express an immense amount of gratitude to Ziblio, who has been the platform for digital Project Life the past couple of years. They are seriously the nicest people and truly a terrific company. With our new Shutterfly partnership we hope to make the user experience (your experience) even better.
6. If you currently have a personal project in the works at Ziblio (I have a few myself!), please know that your project is safe + sound and you can complete it at your leisure. You’re just not able to start any NEW Project Life books there now.
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Announcement #2:
In the form of a video …
NOTE: IF you are sending us a video submission, be sure to email your YouTube link to submissions@beckyhiggins.com. Don’t forget to tell us your name(s) and where you live! This is going to be sooo fun, you guys! Don’t be shy.
The 12 Videos of Christmas from 2010 are in the Videos section.
We have some very special friends - the Fuchs ("fewks") family - that are adjusting to a "new normal" with their special-needs daughter who had a terrible accident and is now confined to a wheelchair. You can read all about it HERE
For the benefit of Claire's family - and also for the benefit of many generous sponsors - I opened my blog for advertising for one month only! This is temporary + the ads will run February 1 - 29, 2012. 100% of the ad fees have gone directly to Claire's family.
Because of the nature of this fundraiser and the need to keep the entire process very, very simple - we are not taking any more sponsors at this time. Anyone who wants to reach out to the Fuchs family with a note of encouragement, or a letter in the mail, or even a cash donation, can find that information HERE
