Raise your hand if you feel like you have some “catching up” to do with your scrapbooking.
I totally get it. And so does Kelli, a customer who recently shared her experience with us. She uses Project Life for documenting the here & now and is keeping up with that, but she has been sitting on pictures from a long travel experience that still needed to get into an album. In her own words …
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My Need. I wanted to create a scrapbook of my study abroad experience in Europe. I wanted to actually print pictures (taken in 2004!), use journaling I had done during the trip and eliminate a box of stuff I had kept. I have been too overwhelmed by this project to complete it for 8 years! I recently realized I could use Project Life page protectors and envelopes to capture this experience. Project Life gave me the versatility to bring everything together without it taking years and costing a lot of money. I truly think this is memory keeping at its best – a mix of everything worth saving in one cohesive, easy-to-do album.
My Approach. I began this project by pulling together all of the pieces related to my travel experience, including:
Photographs
Journaling
Memorabilia – coins, postcards, etc
Letters – cards and notes I received while abroad
Emails – those I wrote and those I received (I did not blog at this time, but if I did, I would have also pulled material from my blog)
I set up an iPhoto library dedicated to the study abroad event. I organized my photos by event. Then, on paper using a sketch book, I began to “marry” the photos and all of the other pieces with Project Life page protectors by event (essentially as I would have for traditional scrapbooking layouts). This approach was possible because of the many different options of plastics now available. For example, on my title page, I knew I wanted to include a photo of me on the day I left for London and my airplane tickets. I also had a long piece of journaling to include. I figured out that a 6×12 page protector was best for the journaling, given its length. I thought that Design A of the Project Life plastics worked because of the tickets. Where I had extra spots to fill, I worked in a digital elements and patterned paper, or memorabilia that would fit anywhere.
For other events, I had more vertical photos than horizontal photos, so I would go with Design B. I had a newspaper article I had saved in one instance and it perfectly fit within Design E. This was the longest piece of the process because of the many things I wanted to include and because I needed to match the page projectors between multiple layouts (if I used Design A for the right side of one layout, I had to use it for the left side of the next layout).
After I had the design completed, I ordered my photos, and printed off the digital elements I wanted to use. I cut up the tickets I wanted to use and printed the emails and other items on the computer. Finally, I slipped everything into the page projectors by following my design sketches.
My Supplies. I completed this album using primarily what I already had on hand. I have to admit, I was tempted to go buy all new papers and kits. I was so glad I did not do this in the end, because so few supplies were actually needed to complete this album. Paper - Becky Higgins (Project Life Turquoise Edition – it happened to match!), Digital Elements - Ali Edwards via DesignerDigitals.com, Photoshop Elements, 3×4 Grid Cards – Becky Higgins (I used these up from previous kits).
Two other notes.
1. I decided to use my handwriting rather than printing out journaling cards, simply because it was faster and I knew I could spend a lot of time in making sure the printing was perfect.
2. I used Photoshop Elements to combine all of the non-standard photos into 4×6 or 12×12 print sizes. This allowed me to more easily order the prints, which I did via Persnickety Prints and Shutterfly.
I truly think this is memory keeping at its best – a mix of everything worth saving in one cohesive, easy-to-do album. – Kelli
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Do you have a Project Life success story to share? We would LOVE to see what you’ve been able to do with your pictures and memories using this system. Email submissions@beckyhiggins.com and tell us all about it. Be sure to include pictures of your pages – and even parts of the process if you have pictures of that too!
It’s an online class. By Kerri Bradford. Who is passionate about documenting your life story. And she wants to help others. And I love her for doing this.
Check out the class and her intro video HERE. And HERE is a follow-up blog post that explains a little more since the class started.
If you’ve been thinking about writing your story, this could be exactly what you need. Kerri’s giving away a seat to one of my readers so leave your first name, city, and state/country. We’ll randomly select and announce a winner tomorrow at the bottom of this post, so check back!
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updated 1.31.13
Congratulations to Ann – Glendale, AZ. Please email kerribradford@msn.com to claim your seat in her class!
I just wanted to pass along something that one of my Project Real Life students shared with us. Apparently this is a poem that was found written on the wall in Mother Teresa’s home for children in Calcutta or something. I haven’t done the research to know more about the details, but it doesn’t really matter. The message is powerful and a great reminder to all of us.
People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.
Thank you Marie for sharing this.
Part of cultivating a good life is forgiving, being kind, honest, and sincere, doing good, and giving your best. Yes. Good stuff.
If you follow me on facebook or twitter you know that I regularly share PHOTO ideas. Ideas for documenting ordinary moments. Ideas for capturing everyday happenings. Ideas that I hope will inspire you to take pictures that maybe you wouldn’t have thought to take. But we should. Because all the little things are part of our story, make us who we are, and remind us of how blessed we are.
Anyone and everyone is invited to submit their best everyday photography to us. It’s not a contest. There are no rules or prizes. There is not a deadline. This is on-going, and we’ve been doing this for a couple years now. We just want to continue sharing everyday photo inspiration, and I know many of you didn’t realize that we are open to submissions, so I’m putting it out there again. : )
This is how it works: You send a favorite “everyday” photo (or a few) that you took to submissions@beckyhiggins.com. Be sure to tell us your first name + the state/country that you live in. We add your ideas to our collection. Almost every day we choose someone’s picture to feature. I share that { PHOTO idea } with my 48,000 followers on facebook + twitter and of course your name is included for credit.
That’s it. Simple stuff. You can submit just 1 photo or a handful of photos. They can be taken with your big fancy camera – or your camera phone. There are no rules.
I’m happy to explain what will attract our attention. Your kids are cute. I know that. A snapshot of your child smiling at the camera is CUTE – but it isn’t necessarily going to inspire the next person in a way that makes them think “Oooooh. I should do that. Great photo idea!” But there are ordinary moments and little details in our everyday life that when captured beautifully, really do tell a story and shed so much light on what life is like. What’s inside the family junk drawer? Snap a picture of the spot you always choose to sit inside the cafe. Photograph your mom’s hands busily sewing something. Take a picture how you organize the little things around your desk. When’s the last time you captured the inside of your car?
Obviously the other aspect that will attract our attention are the photos that are really good. Good lighting, good composition, good angle, good focus.
There is no right or wrong – good or bad – to taking pictures. We just want to collect and then share pictures that we think will truly inspire others to document the everyday. Thank you for all the submissions that have been pouring in already! It’s so fun to see snippets of how you are cultivating a good life and recording it.
I love that there are so many approaches to using Project Life – and documenting life in general. I know many of you have really settled into a rhythm with how you use the product and we are so pleased to see and hear about little bits and pieces from you every day. Emails, testimonials, comments on facebook, pictures we see on instagram, a smorgasboard of ideas floating around on pinterest.
I am keenly aware that there are always newbies who want to start Project Life and they’re not exactly sure how to get started. For those of you who are thinking, yep – that’s me, you might be seeing a lot of fun examples online. There is a LOT, and it’s super inspiring – but I totally know it can feel overwhelming seeing all the different ways people are using Project Life.
1. Please be sure to check out our Getting Started slideshow that I made just for YOU. It’s like I’m holding your hand, step-by-step, in getting your album set up. AND … it really shows how I designed the product to work. Which is, no nonsense. No techniques or scissors or adhesive or tools. Simple. Simple, simple, simple.
2. Just in case you’re not already aware, ALL of the items have arrived to Amazon for the Olive Edition and Seafoam Edition. Core Kits, Binders, Month Dividers, 12×12 Designer Paper. It’s all there (after being separated in transit, unfortunately)! As usual, you can get direct links to Amazon from our Products page.
3. Yesterday I was on the Paperclipping Roundtable and the entire show is about Project Life. Elise Blaha Cripe and Catherine Davis, both brand-new to our Creative Team this year, also joined the discussion and we had a lot of great discussion about different approaches to using Project Life, as well as the benefits of keeping it really simple. If you’re interested in listening, it’s right HERE. I even talk about how I documented life on a weekly basis last year … until June. And then life took on some unexpected twists, and the whole last half of my 2012 book is still unfinished. However, as you listen you’ll gain insight as to WHY I’m not stressed, and HOW I am planning to easily and quickly wrap up the remaining 6 months of my 2012 book.
4. We asked a handful of our Creative Team alumni (2012) to share their advice as many of you are getting started with Project Life. Here are their thoughts, in their own words.
I am happy to be starting my fourth year of documenting the everyday with Project Life. I started this project in 2010 using the photo a day approach. I have gradually changed to a weekly summary which is less pressure and so much easier for me. I use my iPhone for my photos a lot! It’s so convenient because it’s always with me. There were weeks in 2012 when I was so busy I didn’t take a lot of photos. When that happened I would just combine two weeks into one two-page spread. Even if you have an off week and take no photos, just keep going! If your album is missing a few weeks here and there, that’s okay! You will still be thrilled with your big album of memories at the end of the year! In 2013, I’m sticking with the same plan – weekly summaries, lots of iPhone photos, and combined weeks when necessary. I truly love doing this project and what I love even more is looking back through all the memories that I surely would have forgotten, had I not documented them with Project Life!
Including as many or as little photos as I wanted! In the past, I would only include one photo per day, but always felt like I had so many more photos I wanted to include to tell the story of that week. This year, I let go and incorporated as many or as little as I wanted! It felt great!
What didn’t work?
Trying to stay current! I was doing pretty good, but eventually got behind. We use the word “behind” like it’s a bad thing. It really isn’t! As long as you’re still documenting life, it’s all good. Just because you don’t have a weekly layout completed doesn’t mean it didn’t happen! If you stay caught up, that’s great, but if you don’t, just remember to continue to take pictures and write down the stories you want to share. Then when you have time, you have everything you need!
What will you do differently in 2013?
Right now, I don’t see me doing a whole lot differently this year than I have done in the past. I will be using a few new Project Life kits to document with. For instance, right now I am really enjoying using the Childhood Mini Kit – Mayfield Edition in my weekly layouts. I have two girls in school, so it’s perfect! I don’t stick to just one kit, I use almost all of them! The joy of doing it digitally! As far as my process goes, I am going to do a better job of putting things in place now that will make things easier later on. For instance, I am going to set up all my monthly folders on my computer to save my layouts to.
What do you wish you had done in 2012?
I honestly don’t think I would change a thing! This wasn’t my first time, so I think that helped me, as I learned a few things the first two times. I did get a lot of inspiration from others, so there were things I wasn’t doing at the beginning of the project that I am now incorporating into my layouts. One that comes to mind is including those amazing QR codes to be able to scan and watch videos I’ve posted on YouTube. Love this idea, especially for those short in-the-moment videos that I often take of my girls.
What would your number one piece of advice be for someone starting Project Life?
Pick a few items that you want to be consistent with from week-to-week. Because I do Project Life digitally, things like the font I use for my journaling and how I date my photos I kept the same each week. That way I didn’t have to think about it. The number one advice I have is to stay true to yourself and remember this is all about documenting everyday life through photos and words! Everything else is just extra … fun and creative extra, but not necessary to make this project work! You’ll see so many different ways that others are doing Project Life. View these are inspiration for yourself, but don’t compare or think you have to do it like someone else. Enjoy the journey, because it truly is life-changing.
I am so glad that I decided to start Project Life in 2012. It was my first venture into digital scrapbooking and I’m getting ready to sell ALL of my paper supplies, if that tells you how well it went! I love the lack of products around the house! This year, I’m going to print a 12 x 12 book of my layouts (including the week in the life series and the 31 things series I did). I’m then going to print additional 8×8 copies for my 3 girls to keep. I’ll be able to send these yearly books with them when they leave the house and start their own adventures. How cool is that? No extra products to buy, just a few clicks. Last year, because my children were so small and we really didn’t venture out much, I only captured the events that we took part in. This year, however I’m going to do the weekly layouts. I’m nervous and excited about doing it this way. I wish I had stayed up to date with my 2012 pages toward the end of the year, but we went through some HUGE life changes (new career for my husband and a move to a new state) and I’m happy that I can go back and do them now without feeling like I forgot what happened. Whew! My best advice for anyone that wants to start Project Life is a) go digital, I love it; and b) start simple — just the cards, photos and journaling. You can add your flare once you get a hang of the routine of putting the pages together.
What really worked for me in 2012 was staying organized and having a set routine that I followed: 1) editing weekly photos; 2) posting photos on my blog with journaling; 3) sketching out my PL layout for the week; and 4) printing photos + journaling cards and putting my pages together. Sometimes I got a little behind, but sticking to these steps and knowing exactly what I needed to accomplish helped me not to feel too overwhelmed. My biggest downfall when it came to Project Life this past year was staying caught up during busy times (vacations and holidays). Those were the times I tended to fall behind and I found it difficult to find the time to catch up. I still haven’t figured out exactly how to avoid this. My biggest advice to anyone starting Project Life is to KEEP IT SIMPLE. Try not to get too distracted by what everyone else is doing or all the “extras” out there. Stick with the basics and remember that documenting memories is what matters most.
My biggest piece of advice for someone starting to use Project Life would be to be kind to yourself if you fall behind. I remind myself to not lose sight of the longevity of this project. I began using Project Life because I was overwhelmed with fitting in traditional scrapbooking in my limited free time. So, even if I only complete 50%, 60%, 75% of my weeks I am still telling more of family’s stories that I was before and that is a win! So even if you never go back and complete all the missing weeks the project as a whole is complete.
The biggest thing I’m doing differently in 2013 is that I purchased a Moleskin weekly journal to keep notes on my weeks. I loved this journal because on the left I can keep notes daily and on the right there is a note page for me to jot down funny things the kids say. The last two years my Project Life has been picture-driven. This year I want to capture more of the stories of our life that don’t necessarily have a picture to go with them. This will also be a great memory trigger when I work on weeks that aren’t fresh in my mind.
Okay, this is a sweet gift idea and you don’t need a special occasion. I tried it myself. Darling website. You only need to know the receiver’s email. The receiver will get an email that directs them to the website where they choose their candy and fill in their shipping information. Each Sugarwish is filled with 4 – 1/4lb. bags of candy (choosing is the fun part). All shipping + handling prices are included in the order price. Seriously so fun.
Sugarwish is giving away 4 petite Sugarwish’s to my readers. Leave your first name + city + state (U.S. only because of shipping) and we’ll announce the 4 randomly selected winners at the bottom of this post tomorrow – Thursday. Be sure to check back to see if you won! We don’t want you missing out on the sweet opportunity. ; )
This is the first official Project Life Creative Team inspiration post from our brand-new 2013 team.
As usual with the monthly offering of inspiration, I will share just one glimpse from each of their respective Project Life albums. And then – whenever and wherever you want to see more – just click on the person’s name and it will take you to their blog where they each share more details, more information, more pages, more examples of how they’re using Project Life as a memory-keeping system. If someone’s style “speaks” to you, you’ll want to check out the additional pictures and explanations on her blog.
We completely adore how each person’s style is so unique – in photography, with their journaling, and how they bring it all together in their albums. As you see how others are doing Project Life, our hope is that you will feel an increased desire to document life, and that you’ll be more in tune with what your own personal style is. No matter how you slice it, it’s all good. It’s your story. This post is loaded with eye candy. We don’t mean to overwhelm you. We simply want you to be inspired in your own memory-keeping efforts.
Please remember that while many of the Creative Team members use various products to embellish, keep in mind that you really can create an entire scrapbook with the 3 core Project Life components and nothing else. Album + Project Life Core Kit + Big Pack of Photo Pocket Pages. That’s it. I love and celebrate all sorts of memory-keeping styles, but I personally strive to promote simplicity, especially to those of you who are like me and need to keep it simple or it won’t get done.
Remember Monica from our 12 videos of Christmas? She is offering one free seat in her online class called Your life…Inspired. Class begins today and runs through the end of this month.
Your life…Inspiredis an interactive class where you will receive 2 weeks of daily inspirational emails, 5 actionable prompts to inspire you, and 5 original layouts with process videos. Plus a bonus instagram project.
This giveaway is open to anyone & everyone! Just leave your name + state/country to enter. Winner will be posted later tonight at the bottom of this post.
Pssst. Monica is offering 25% off today only, for all of our readers. Enter PROJECTLIFE at checkout.
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Winner Added January 18
Congratulations to the randomly selected winner Ramie from Branston, England! Email monica@scrapinspired.com so she can get you set up in class.
As you know, we have offered 3×4 and 4×6 Textured Cardstock packs for all of our already-existing Project Life editions. If you’re not sure why they’re awesome, check out this blog post. Some are sold out and some are still in stock. We do not have plans to make more of any of those, especially with so many more editions coming. If you have your eye on Textured Cards for Cherry, Turquoise, Amber, Cobalt, or Clementine Edition … pick them up while you can. You can see what’s left on our Products page.
Since we are not offering Textured Cardstock packs for all the newly-released editions, I wanted to share with you a guide for specific American Crafts cardstock colors that go with each edition. As for actually purchasing the cardstock, their direct online store is here or their store finder is here.
And yes – we are offering the little boxes of coordinating cardstock to go with each of our coming-in-May editions (including Mini Kits) that we just introduced at CHA.
We even have cardstock colors hand-selected from American Crafts’ stock for our 3 Childhood Mini Kits!
We just had a pretty remarkable experience at the CHA (Craft & Hobby Association) trade show in Anaheim, California. So many of you followed our adventures via social media (facebook, twitter, instagram) but if you’re not on any of those … you don’t have to miss out. Just click on any of those links for some glimpses of the past week in our little Project Life world.
As a quick re-cap of what led to CHA … David and I started our company in 2009. We were very small in numbers, and very inexperienced in the business and manufacturing world. But we were completely determined to get this memory-keeping system in the hands of anyone who wanted it. For the past few years, we’ve been able to sell direct-to-consumer and the demand has exploded. During that time, as much as I wanted to make Project Life available to retailers, we weren’t capable. We didn’t have the infrastructure that really needs to be in place in order to do it right.
Hence the recent partnership with American Crafts, a long-time industry favorite (personally and worldwide). They have opened up the wholesale division of our company and they are responsible for making Project Life available in the retail scene now. It’s a beautiful thing. Everyone wins. And now we have a reason to exhibit at a trade show such as CHA.
Everyone that had anything to do with this effort worked their tails off the past 2-3 months. I worked with several talented designers to bust out 7 brand-new and gorgeous editions of Project life, including several new Mini Kits as well. American Crafts pulled together the booth design, catalogs, prototypes, and everything necessary to make our presence at CHA possible in such a short time. I can not even begin to express how grateful we are for this partnership, our own little team (who seriously rocked it at the show), everyone who stopped by our booth to learn more.
Would you like a tour through our booth, and a closer look at each of the new editions that are coming in May? Are you brand-new to Project Life and curious about what it even is, and why so much buzz? Thanks to Paperclipping Roundtable, here’s a full look at the experience.
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And some pictures. Of course.
Seriously could not have done this without David, Laurie, Kari, and Brandi.
I truly loved talking to retailers about Project Life. Never got tired of it.
Our first-ever catalog. You can see the whole thing in this post.
Jeff, Dave, and Wayne Mitchell from American Crafts. Don’t let the suits fool you. They’re the coolest, nicest guys – and we love working with them.
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A million, trillion thanks to everyone who was cheering us on during this adventure. To everyone who encouraged their local store to come by our booth at CHA. To every retailer who made a point to stop by and listen to my story (and place an order). To American Crafts (giant shout-out to Grant Madsen who orchestrated many miracles to make this happen). To our own little team. And to each of you for your continued support and enthusiasm. I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed in the very best way, and I can’t believe that our products will actually be sitting on store shelves across the world come May.
The following are notes from individuals and families who have generously donated to my brother's family. There are many others who donated beyond the notes you see below and the ads you see on my blog. We can not thank you enough for your kindness and generosity during this very difficult time. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Jonathan -- May god give you strength and courage in the coming months. Enjoy your family. Love you wife and hug your kids. Lean on Him. He can handle it. God Bless.
- Tricia Shelton
May you be surrounded by love, friendship and family in this difficult time.
- The Gourlay Family
Dear Jonathan, Tina and family: Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Although we have never met, we felt compelled to reach out to you. We hope that through these well wishes you feel loved and cared for. Life is about our families, communities and sharing love with each other. Through Becky's blog, I know that you have a wonderful family. We hope you know that through Becky's web community, you now have many new friends thinking of you. May you find strength in God and from all the prayers said on your behalf.
- anonymous
I wish you all love, peace, courage, and strength for the days ahead. I'll be praying. Be blessed!
- Sandra
You and your family are in our prayers. God Bless!
- Angie Murray
Thank you, Jonathan, for being there to support Becky while she shared her gifts and talents with me through the years, albeit remotely. This small gift is the least I can do to say thank you. God bless you and your family.
- With loving thoughts, Terri C
Although I've never met Jonathan, I have been following Becky's articles, books, and blog for years—even met her once at CKU Orlando. Like so many that Becky has touched, I've always admired the love, unity, and values of your large and beautiful family. I wish you all love, peace, courage, and strength for the days ahead. I'll be praying. Be blessed!
- anonymous
All I can say is that I believe God has heard your call because He certainly placed it on my heart to respond. It was loud and clear. And when He's involved, great things far beyond what you and I can comprehend will occur and I pray that gives you peace today and the days to come.
- Peggy Krantz
May you continue to find peace and comfort knowing you are surrounded by loving family and friends.
- anonymous
My heart is filled with love and pain and gratitude for eternal families as I have read about the challenge your family faces. Please accept my donation as a small token to help ease the significant, and often devastating, monetary burdens that come with this challenge. Thank you for a fine example of strength during the darkest times we face in life - an example that gives courage to others struggling with trials in their lives.
- anonymous
To Jonathan and family - I am keeping all of you in my thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time.
- God bless all of you, Leslie Schmitt
"Praying for you and your family." 1 Peter 5:7
- Kristina Proffitt
I'm praying for you throughout each day and asking God to give each of you the strength, comfort, and peace to get through this enormous trial. May God bless all of you in ways you never could've imagined and may His mighty and healing hand be especially upon you Jonathan.
- Much love, Lisa in Florida
May you continue to find peace and comfort knowing you are surrounded by loving family and friends.
- anonymous
Dear Jonathan and family, Our heartfelt prayers are with you and your family. May you know in your hearts that there will always be someone, whether here or above, who will always be with each one of you.
- Maria
Jonathan, his family, friends, and coworkers are all in my prayers during this difficult time. Thank you for sharing your story with all of us- it's very inspiring to see Jonathan's strength through this battle.
- Kristen
"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is that small voice at the end of the day that says 'I will try again tomorrow' " - Mary Anne Radmacher - The last year has been really difficult for me, but this quote always seems to help. I hope it helps you and your family, as well. Don't forget, miracles really do happen. Hang in there and keep your chin up.
- Love and prayers from NM, Stephanie Taylor
To Jonathan, Tina and your entire family: I wish there were more that I could do to help you. Becky's books have been my favorites since I first read them. Because she shared family photos and stories, I feel like you are all old friends. Good luck and I am sending happy thoughts and sparkly wishes your way!
- Jacki Samolsky
Big hugs and lots of prayers of healing and peace to your whole family.
