If you’re gathering quite the collection of “plastics” (Page Protectors, Photo Pocket Pages), you’re probably ready to get them in some sort of order. That’s me for sure. I was starting to feel like if my plastics were better organized and therefore more accessible, it’s just a more convenient and smarter system. Right? So this is what I did … and perhaps what some of you have done as well.
The Classic Faux Leather Album, as seen in our CHA-Winter catalog (found on the sidebar of our Products page), will be available in May. The Scrapbook Dividers are currently available on Amazon, and also coming to stores in May. The package of 15 dividers comes with the label stickers. You can see that I organized the plastics by having each size/design in its own labeled section.
That’s it. Easy-peasy. Simple. Organized. I took these pictures half-way through my organizing, so you’re just seeing the different sizes of Page Protectors. I will fill a second album with all the Photo Pocket Pages and the labels will be labeled with A, B, C …
PS – The Project Life Slick Writer pen? That shows up in May too. : )
Anyone else have an organizational tip for storing plastics before they’re filled and placed in a scrapbook?
2. I have a baby and want to document their life along the way.
3. I’m going to have a baby soon and this would be perfect for me.
4. I have a baby (or babies) … that are now much, much older (not a baby at all) but I’d still love to go back and get those photos + memories into an album.
5. I am interested in getting my own baby pictures into an album.
That said, I want to share with you my own personal experience of putting together a baby Project Life album as a GIFT. I did this whole thing in less than 2 hours and it’s completely ready to slip those pictures into the album, start to finish, without having to do anything other than jot down the notes and memories and stories about Baby’s First Year.
Before I dive in, I want to emphasize that the Baby Edition – just like every other edition of Project Life – is designed with flexibility. This means that once the product is in your hands, it’s yours to do whatever you want. Leave it simple or get creative. Do what motivates you to actually do it. That’s the key.
When I designed the organization + content + functionality of the Baby Edition there was a great deal of thought and several revisions that went into that process before I even had our wonderful designer Lili Niclass work on the graphic designs and color palettes. I’ll spare you the details of that process, but I think you’ll LOVE that there are so many details in the Baby Edition of Project Life that will HELP you recall those baby memories you want to record. Particularly the journaling prompts sprinkled throughout the cards.
step by step process of how I recommend setting up the album
As with any other Project Life album, there are 3 components you need – and nothing else (unless you WANT to add more): Album + Project Life Core Kit + Big Pack of Photo Pocket Pages (which comes with 60 pages, a perfect fit for 1 album). I do personally think the Month Dividers for a baby album are just so fun and so perfect so while you don’t “need” them … you’d love them.
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Step 1: Place all the Photo Pocket Pages in the album and open your Core Kit.
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In every Project Life Core Kit you’ll find a list of contents so that you’ll have an overview of what’s there.
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Step 2: Place all the First Page cards + Last Page cards in the respective pockets. There are (8) 4×6 cards and (8) 3×4 cards on the top of the stacks that are designed for the First Page and Last Page of the album. You’ll know because they’re indicated as such on the back of each of those cards and therefore look different than all the other cards in the box.
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Step 3: If you have a place to spread out (remember – it’s temporary if you want to knock this out in one sitting) … spread out all the cards that are specific Prompt Cards. These are different than typical Journaling Cards because instead of just having lines and designs, they actually include a prompt on the card.
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Step 4: As for the rest of those cards that are “just” Journaling Cards (no prompts) … go ahead and get those out too. Because there are several of each of those designs, I like putting them out in little stacks so I can have an overview of all that is available to me at any given time, while I’m slipping cards into pockets. You may notice that I even flipped over most of those to see a glimpse of what the back of the card is, since I always have the option with each and every card.
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Step 5: Place the rest of the cards in pockets. The following layouts show you what I had in mind for the entire album, layout by layout. Like I said, you don’t have do follow this, but for those of you who appreciate some guidance … this is for you. ; ) NOTE: Every space that is WHITE represents where a photo goes.
Title Page
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Your Heritage. This layout gives an overview of those who came before Baby, so Baby has a little background on his or her ancestors. Obviously the Baby Edition is just as popular for adopted children as well. This can be applicable as you see fit. Include pictures of grandparents and beyond, if you want.
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Story of Us. This layout is dedicated to Baby’s parents and gives you the chance to add pictures and anecdotes about Mom and Dad. They’re a pretty important part of Baby’s story too, after all.
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Our Family. Whoever Baby’s family is … that’s what this layout is for. Think cousins and other extended family … of course siblings and immediate family.
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Expecting You. Those months leading up to Baby’s arrival, including of course the pregnancy.
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Being Showered. If there was a baby shower or celebration in honor of mom-to-be, great. Even if there wasn’t, this is a great place to include any service that was rendered to the family during those weeks and months leading up to Baby’s arrival.
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Gifts. You know … like the stuff people gave to Baby and the parents-to-be – before or after the arrival.
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Birth Day. Speaking of arrival … this layout is for the big day. I think it’s a great place to “set the scene” of that day before getting to the pictures of Baby actually showing up.
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Your Arrival. NOW Baby actually appears in his or her Baby Album! You see, everything to this point tells the story of the people and circumstances that led to this beautiful little person coming into the world. Now we’re focusing the majority of our attention in the album on Baby.
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The Day You Were Born. A little more on the details about that very special occasion.
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Your Very First Days of Life. Bringing Baby home from the hospital, or in some cases for some babies – perhaps an extended period of time at the hospital.
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First Home. About Baby’s first home, first town, first surroundings.
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Your Bedroom. Maybe Baby had a decked-out nursery or maybe they slept in Mom & Dad’s closet for several months. Plus, we are now getting to the Time Capsule. All the little details of when Baby was born and what the world was like at that time. If you’re going back to past years … no problem. Just google that year and there are lots of sites that are literally time capsules of main events, headline news, popular people, books, movies, and fashion, cost of living, etc.
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Your Bedroom. Maybe Baby had a decked-out nursery or maybe they slept in Mom & Dad’s closet for several months. Whatever. Plus, we are now getting to the Time Capsule (right side). All the little details of when Baby was born and what the world was like at that time. If you’re going back to past years … no problem. Just google that year and there are lots of sites that are literally time capsules of main events, headline news, popular people, books, movies, and fashion, cost of living, etc. – from ANY year.
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Blessing/Christening. If this is a religious practice in your family and part of Baby’s life, we have a card for each occasion. Take your pick, or just don’t use these 2 cards.
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Miscellaneous. The Baby Core Kit comes with plenty of Title Cards that are generic – not specific. Same with some of the prompts, that are not necessarily “time specific” or pertinent to any sort of “chronology” of the story. Use those however you want to fill in details of Baby’s story.
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Month 1. Now we head into the month-by-month layouts for Baby’s First Year. If you’re going back to your own babyhood, chances are you don’t have pictures for every month of your first year … or at least they’re not likely labeled accordingly. No problem. Just don’t use the month cards. But if you’re setting this up for your baby (or a friend’s), You can plan to just have a single layout per month which would be an overview of the highlights, memories, milestones, etc. from that month. Or – of course you can add additional layouts. NOTE: “Month 1″ can mean the first month or at the month one mark or whatever makes the most sense to you. I like to use these cards as “this is the first month in your life, this is the 2nd month in your life…”
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This is an example of extending beyond just one layout. You’d simply have pictures and journaling cards as needed.
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Month 2. I’m just repeating the same idea here. Title Card in the upper left, the “Highlights & Milestones” card in the bottom right (there’s one for each month), and all the pictures and journaling cards in the other pockets.
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Again – this is just “another” layout that doesn’t need a title because it’s part of “Month 2″.
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Month 3. Same thing. Repeat, repeat, repeat until you get through Month 12. Then any other “filler” layouts you want. There will be special occasions that might warrant a full layout, for example. Whatever you want to do.
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Last Page. This is it. The end to the album – but not the story, of course.
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You truly can summarize Baby’s First Year in one album. I know some of you have hundreds of darling pictures of your baby that are just so cute … and how can you possibly narrow down!? You can. Begin with the end in mind. It’s just the first year. Baby will undoubtedly be so grateful that he or she has an album FULL of their pictures and stories. You can totally narrow down. And if you just can’t … well then, spill into a second album and that’s okay too! It’s YOUR Project Life.
If you’re interested to see how I personally used Baby Project Life with actual pictures (for our son Crew), you can catch that on our Videos page.
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Where do you find the Project Life Baby products?
Same place you find ALL of our products – on the Products page! Under THE EDITIONS you’ll see BABY EDITIONS and there you’ll find one For Him, one For Her, and one that’s neutral enough to use for either. Everything links to where the products are sold on Amazon.
We love stories like this. Cathy in Florida has experienced something that so many others have. In fact, when Brandi from our team first saw this email she immediately perked up because this was so similar to her own experience of mass catching-up with the scrapbooking she tackled not too long ago.
In Cathy’s own words, this is her experience:
I was a traditional scrapbooker for over 10 years, but the I had to quit scrapbooking for 5 years due to life circumstances. When I came back to it last year, I had reconciled that I would never get caught up and I would just have to scrap my favorite photos. Then I found Project Life.
Last September, I purchased the Turquoise Edition and started sorting and printing photos. I am happy to tell you that in just five months, I completed nine years’ worth of albums that include almost 6,000 photos in between their covers and all those photos are off my computer and in those albums (2004-2012). I accomplished this using the Turquoise, Clementine, and Cherry physical editions along with the Seafoam and Wellington digital journaling cards.
I have four children and while my two older daughters (21 & 17) were so impressed that they both wanted Project Life albums of their own, I was most excited in watching my two younger sons (9 & 7) pour over the albums because they can finally look at all the photos of their lives that they haven’t really seen before!
I am now working in real time on 2013. I love this method of scrapbooking that is really more like a visual diary. Even my husband loves Project Life! Soon I will put all of his childhood photos in an album and he will journal the stories. Thank you so much for such a “do-able” system. It was the exact solution I was looking for to creatively and beautifully put my photos in albums without having to do full size layouts for every set of photos! My family and I could not be happier.
A few more notes from Cathy on how she did it:
I already had all of my photos in chronological order on my computer. I set up a separate Project Life folder to prevent any losses or permanent changes to my original photos. Within the Project Life folder, I created a folder for each year and within each of these folders, I created numbered folders for each Project Life spread. I chose photos from my chronological folders and copied them into my Project Life folders by groups of 10-14. Each Project Life spread has 16 pockets (8-4×6 & 8-3×4) If I did want more than 14 photos because it was a large event or something, I would add inserts. If I needed more journaling space, I chose fewer photos.
I determined which Photo Pocket Page styles were best for each spread and used Photoshop Elements to prepare the photos for printing by cropping them to the size they would be in the album. I kept in mind the second page of the prior spread because that would be the first page of the current spread. For the 3×4 photos, I would open a new 4×6 document in photoshop and place two 3×4 photos on one document, saving me money in the printing process by receiving two 3×4 prints for the price of one 4×6 print.
Everything was saved in the appropriate Project Life folder because I would order hundreds of photos at a time. I was then never confused about where a particular photo belonged when I received and sorted them. After sorting my pictures, I would then cut the prints with the two 3×4′s in half, corner punch all my photos and then place them in my photo pocket pages. I was then ready to add journaling and title cards.
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!
Once upon a time there was a mom who had piles of pictures, memorabilia, papers, artwork, report cards, and other bits and pieces of her child’s life. This woman felt so guilty that she hadn’t done anything with the little treasures. She wanted so badly for her child to have an album full of their memories but she just didn’t know where to start. She was overwhelmed, confused, and really didn’t know how she could possibly tackle the project. And yeah, there’s more than one kid in this scenario.
Does this sound like a tale about you!?
I’ll tell you what. This is ME. And this is why the Childhood Editions of Project Life exist – because I am that mom. If you missed the video and all the images from when I introduced the Childhood Mini Kits, be sure to check that out. Best thing since sliced bread.
And now … we are just around the corner from those Childhood Mini Kits finally being here. Being available. Being used in our albums!
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timing update
As we receive updates, I share them with you. The latest update tells me that the Childhood Mini Kits, the Mini Albums, the Big Packs of Photo Pocket Pages that recently sold out, the Olive Edition, and the Seafoam Edition of Project Life will all be showing up on Amazon by the end of next week. Sooooo soon. And yes, we ordered loads so you won’t have have to stalk Amazon the second they show up. Just be sure to follow me on either facebook, twitter, or instagram and you’ll always have up-to-date information.
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childhood pages
I’m pleased to share with you some sample Childhood pages by a few of our brand-new Creative Team members. You will love the inspiration, and you’ll notice how versatile the cards are. You can write on them, or your child can write on them – or both! Just click below to be directed to their respective blog posts.
Today we launched the DIGITAL version of all these Childhood products on ACDigitials.com! So if you just can’t wait until next week, they’re yours. If you aren’t interested in digital but want a closer look at the products, you can check it all out there. Happy Digital Shopping!
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fairy tale endings
Every mom who relates to the picture I painted at the beginning of this post can have HOPE. Project Life is designed to be a solution. But of course I understand that there seems to be a process that needs to happen before you can just throw pictures and journaling cards in the Photo Pocket Pages. Let’s be honest – that’s the easy part. I totally get it.
So here’s the deal: I made a 30-minute video that outlines my master plan for documenting my family’s life and documenting my kids’ life. I walk you step-by-step through what I’ve done to get a grip on it all. So if you missed that, grab yourself a snack, cuddle up with your lap top, and watch the video.
I am so ready to get those Childhood Mini Kits here. I know 2013 RESOLUTIONS are on a lot of our minds. I know I’m in good company with so many who are resolving to be better about documenting life this year. I know I’m in good company with so many who are resolving to catch up on their kids’ albums.
We are tickled pink (… and blue … and yellow …)to announce that all 3 Baby Editions of Project Life have arrived at Amazon! FINALLY. Thousands of us are going to get those baby albums DONE. I know I’m not alone here. It doesn’t matter if your baby’s still a baby or a teenager or 24 years old or …
It works. It’s a solution. It’s simple. Gorgeous. Easy to use. Loaded with prompts so you know what to write about. Loaded with insanely cute filler designs when you don’t want to say anything at all. The Baby Editions are flexible enough that it works for twins (or other multiples), for adopted babies, for pretty much any situation surrounding the start of a new life. It’s really geared to everything that happens in that first year. One year in an album. And yet – flexible to be more or less than it was designed to be. Versatility, baby.
The Baby Editions are seriously awesome. I’m soooo excited for this. I developed these products for my own needs – and yours. Everybody wins!
Okay – enough chit-chat. Here are the links on Amazon. Just click on the product you like and it takes you straight there. We are finding that when you do a search from scratch on Amazon, they’re not as easy to find because they just showed up in the system.
As for the coordinating pieces …
The 12×12 Designer Paper that coordinates with each edition is about a week out from arriving at Amazon.
The Designer Dividers that coordinate with each edition are IN STOCK now [ Neutral | For Him | For Her ]
Little boxes of Textured Cards? We don’t have those for the Baby Editions, sorry.
As for Binders? There are no matchy-matchy Project Life baby-specific designs. I personally think our White Signature Binder would be lovely with all 3 editions. And … here are some 12×12 3-ring albums from American Crafts that I think will work awesome as well. Some link to Amazon, some to American Crafts … but you can also do a quick google search to find competitive prices, or see if your local craft/scrapbooking shop carries them. Or you can use another binder that you love.
The other day we shared sample pages with the Baby Edition for HIM – created by Amanda Caves. Here are some sample “neutral” pages created by Catherine Davis – using cards from the Baby Edition (neutral). Of course we’ll also be sharing sample pages using the Baby Edition for Her soon as well.
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A note for customers Down Under
For those of you in Australia, New Zealand, and surrounding areas … I just wanted to pass along that our fabulous distributor/stockist Craft House is supplying a free set of physical cards with alternative spelling for the Baby Core Kits for all orders that have been placed or will be placed before Christmas! (We updated the art on a few of the cards so that it says Mum instead of Mom and favourite instead of favorite, etc.) They will send these to customers in probably a couple weeks from now.
In case you missed it – we do offer these as digital FREEBIES for anyone, anywhere in the world who wants those cards with alternative spelling. They are specifically from/for the Baby Editions of Project Life.
And one more note for those Down Under: The expected ship date to customers on the Seafoam and Olive Core Kits is the first week of January.
Anyone anywhere in the world with further questions – please be sure to contact your local distributor directly.
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Happy Shopping!
As for everyone in the U.S. … head over to Amazon and grab what you want! Baby Editions are in stock!
Hi! My name’s Amy Cornwell. I have my own business where I make jewelry to celebrate all of life’s events and I also have a small lifestyle blog where I talk about crafts, family, jewelry and traveling. I’m so honored to be talking to you all today about my Project Life experience.
I’ve been scrapbooking since middle school, using paper & embellishments to make my pages. When I fell away from scrapbooking after having two kids, I knew I needed something different. I still loved capturing memories with my camera, but the thought of scrapbooking it all was daunting. Enter Project Life. I saw the simplicity of it and it intrigued me. I knew I had to have it.
The first year doing Project Life I did the picture a day. It was hard for me, because as a working mother I felt like my pictures were all the same – in the evenings of my kids playing or taking baths. The second year (2011) I did things differently. I scrapbooked events, not putting pressure on myself to take a picture to put in the album every day. I loved doing it this way and easily kept up with my book in 2011. (notice below that sometimes I don’t even journal, I let the pictures tell the story)
Enter 2012. We started the year with our 10th anniversary trip to Mexico and then it was back to real life. I had a conference to attend in April and shortly after that summer hit. As of a week ago, my 2012 book was stuck at March. I have had no desire to work on my album this summer because of general busy-ness and the fact that my pictures were piling up. I felt a little bit like a scrapbooking failure and very overwhelmed. I had done well in 2011 and now I was getting way behind for 2012.
Finally I had my chance to catch up. My husband went out of town for a work trip last weekend, so I organized and edited the pictures I wanted to print (about 200 in all). Once the kids went to bed one night, I got to work! I started at 8pm with 200 pictures and over 5 months to complete. I’m all about simplicity. I love seeing people like Ali Edwards create beautiful spreads for their Project Life albums and wish mine would look like that. But I’m realistic and know my own personal limits. So I do very easy spreads with just a little bit of journaling and sometimes stickers.
For my massive catch-up session I used just a few items: my core kit, various plastics, a black pen and some letter stickers. That’s it. I didn’t use any other embellishments on these pages. In 2011 I rounded the corners of each picture, but for 2012 I’ve left them as-is. I like that look because it fills up every bit of available space in the plastics. My favorite plastics to use are the classic Design A (I think because I’ve been using that for the past three years) and Design C. Design C is great for me because I take mostly landscape portraits, so I just slip them in with one journaling card (or not!) and that page is done!
Here’s the exciting part: By midnight I was DONE. Completely. Journaling. Pictures in. Done. I ended up using about 150+ pictures and 13 page protectors. This is the exact reason why I love Project Life so much – you can keep up with it weekly or you can slack off (like me) and get a massive amount done in one night. My kids love going through the books, laughing at memories and flipping back and forth to see pictures of themselves. That in itself is all worth it to me.
Oh, for the love. Can this week be more exciting? I am guaranteeing myself a nap this weekend.
But first – I have more huge, exciting product reveals for today! You’ve all been anticipating the Childhood products and the video explains everything (because I KNOW most of you are skipping past the video and looking at the pictures and thinking – huh?) … and there’s even another surprise at the end. So – yes. You for sure need to watch this video. : )
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Our very own lead designer Lori Whitlock is the graphic design talent behind everything you see in these Childhood products. We love Lori, and I couldn’t be happier with the results of all her hard work.
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Childhood Mini Kit: Wellington Edition
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Childhood Mini Kit: Bridgeport Edition
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Childhood Mini Kit: Mayfield Edition
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Here’s a layout that Lori created for her daughter’s album. She’s in my same situation … not enough time in this whirlwind week to complete the journaling in time for today … but you get the idea of how amazing these cards look paired with photos.
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Speaking of Lori, you’ll definitely want to pop over to her blog because she’s actually giving away one of the Childhood Mini Kits! (Of course delivery of the prize to the winner happens later this year when the products become available).
{ timing } As of now, we’re hoping Childhood Mini Kits arrive before the end of the year … but we’ll update you if we find out anything different on our production timing.
{ versatility } Once again, we aim to keep our products versatile. Not only in the whole vertical/horizontal orientation of all the card designs and the double-sided nature of every single card, but also in the product offering. I touched on this a little in the video, but just in case there is anyone feeling bummed that I didn’t just put the whole 9 yards (18 years worth of childhood memories) in one box? It just doesn’t make sense as a product when one person might want to just do a couple years’ worth like this … and someone else might want to do several years with these products.
Having the Mini Kit system with 100 cards in a box to document a full year in a child’s life just makes sense, and allows for total flexibility for you, the customer, to decide if you want to just try one out … or if you want to pick up a whole bunch of these Mini Kits. Obviously the price point (not completely finalized yet) is way lower than a full Project Life Core Kit.
Also speaking of versatility, you’ll find that our Childhood cards work for any child, living anywhere, attending public school, charter school, private school, home school … doesn’t matter. Nothing says “1st grade” or “Grade 1″ or “Year 1″. You can totally make these cards work for your child’s life. And … I really hope you’re even inspired to go back and get your own childhood documented now that it’s easier than ever!
{ expanding the mini kit line } I mentioned this in the video, and briefly shared our vision of these products “exploding to be a much larger line of Mini Kits”. Just to explain that a little further … we want to offer an expanded offering of different colors and styles (…and themes …and designers!) so that year after year after year, you’ll have the option to mix it up if you’d like. See what I mean? This is a long-term big picture idea for the Mini Kits. For right now, we are super thrilled with the Wellington, Bridgeport, and Mayfield Editions – and we sure hope you’re pleased as well.
Yay for the Big Week of Reveals.
Yay for simplifying memory-keeping for everyone!
Seriously – Thank you times a million for your enthusiasm + support. It’s been an absolute thrill to finally share all of this with you this week. Our designers feel the love too, and it just motivates all of us to keep doing what we’re doing. : )
I just had to do a video for this next big reveal because instead of just showing you the product, I’m taking you on a tour – page by page – of the actual baby album I’m working on for our son Crew (who is nearly 4 now) – using the cards from the Baby Edition for Him. I’m going to let the video do all the talking now.
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{ worth noting }
1. Designer. The amazing (and holy beautiful) Lili Niclass is the graphic designer behind all 3 Baby Editions. Recognize her name? She designed the wildly popular Clementine Edition of Project Life also. We adore Lili and collaborating with her on projects is a joy. I asked Lili to skip any temptation to add cutesy baby bottles and diaper pins into the designs, keeping the designs very fresh and modern – and yet classic. She nailed it.
2. Versatility. As with everything else we do, this product is designed with flexibility and versatility in mind. Every single card is double-sided. Perhaps a title card with horizontal orientation doesn’t fit well with an occasional layout (or all of the layouts!) because you’re using something other than Design A Photo Pocket Pages. No problem. Flip it over for the Vertical art. Perhaps you just don’t have much to say on a particular layout so you’re not interested in filling all the 3×4 pockets with Journaling Cards? No problem. Flip those over once in a while for gorgeous “filler” art that will complete your page.
3. Adoption, etc. The Baby Edition Core Kit works well for documenting Baby’s first year (or the earliest part of their life). In the context of the Project Life Core Kit, babies are babies are babies. In other words, whether they come to you via birth or adoption, whether they were welcomed into a traditional family or not, whether you’re working on a more recent baby album or you going back and getting this done for your “baby” that’s now in college, or maybe even doing your own baby book … the product is versatile. Even if there are a few cards that you feel don’t “apply” to the story you’re telling, there are plenty extras to make up for the un-used cards. You won’t run out of cards.
4. Plenty to spare. Because you will undoubtedly have extra cards, even after completing a full album for Baby, you will love having these on hand as little notes for baby gifts or other baby projects.
5. Best gift ever. Speaking of gifts, there truly was never a better baby gift available until now. (Okay, so I’m biased.) I mean, seriously – think of it. Any mother who welcomes a new child into her family is undoubtedly going to be taking loads of pictures and she is going to want to do something with them. Let’s help new moms NOT feel guilty, or feel like she has to do elaborate, time-consuming, “creative” scrapbooks. This is the easiest system ever for getting a scrapbook done – and seriously, so fun. So truly fun to slip photos + Title Cards + Journaling Cards into pockets with ever touching a pair of scissors or adhesive. Best thing since sliced bread.
6. We thought of everything. I can’t possibly show every card design in this blog post, but know this: There are designated First Page + Last Page cards, as with all other Project Life Core Kits. The Baby Edition includes 25 unique 4×6 Pre-labeled Title Cards with topics I recommend you include in Baby’s album, as well as 35 additional Blank Title Cards for whatever topics you want to include. There are 40 4×6 Prompt Cards and 80 3×4 Prompt Cards, offering suggested things to write about. Bi-fold cards for longer journaling? Check. Blank Journaling cards with ample room to write about anything and add captions to your pictures? Check. There are 400 of those. Half of them offer the horizontal version on the back of the card and half of them simply have a filler design, as mentioned earlier.
All of this to say … this is not not NOT your average cutesy baby-themed scrapbooking product. The amount of time, thought, design work, conceptual work (all with a heavy emphasis on organization) that went into the Baby Editions will be clear as day as you flip through the cards and see how solution-based this is. Plus, the actual graphic designs and color palettes are just so stinking cool – no matter if you’re doing this For Him, For Her, or going with the neutral set.
How about I stop writing, and just fill the rest of this post with pictures?
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Right now we anticipate these baby products by the end of this year – hopefully November. As with all of our products, you will always see the most updated timing on individual items as they’re listed on our Products page. And yes – we’re working on loading ALL of this week’s newly-revealed products to that page right now. Coming very soon.
I am too tired to try to comprehend how on earth this happened. Within hours of blogging about the delays and how it would be next Friday before we see the plastics arrive, they start showing up on Amazon tonight! I completely do not understand what is going on this week but I am sooooo happy – as I am sure many of you are – to have these hot items available now!
This just in: Amazon has just received truckloads FULL of our newest plastics! If you are outside the U.S., please be sure to check with your local distributor (listed by country/region HERE) – because they either already have these items in stock, or will be shipping very soon.
As you browse through this blog post, simply click on the product name wherever it’s listed and that will link you directly to that specific listing on Amazon. All links are also being updated on our Products page right now.
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Our Big Envelope Pages were already in stock but the Tall Envelope Pages + Small Envelope Pages are brand new – and will make the perfect little home to store memorabilia in your scrapbooks. The flap tucks flat + neat – so no bulk from a snap. All 3 sizes have a clear pocket on the front to label contents – Big holds a 4×6 card; Tall + Small hold a 3×4 card. Yep – we think of the little things.
Finally – FINALLY – You have a place to put those portraits, certificates, documents, works of art, and other important items – without having to create a whole scrapbook page around them. These are our new Page Protectors (same awesome quality of our Photo Pocket Pages – but no divided pockets).
Instagram has us all taking square pictures these days, but let’s not forget old Polaroids and other square format pictures from years past. You’ll love these smaller sized pages that are perfect for adding a few extra pictures between layouts.
Yes – Unfortunately all of the Design G Photo Pocket Pages in these Variety Packs were found to be … not perfect. They still “work” and they’re still totally functional. But the pocket sizes are slightly incorrect (in the whole batch – *sigh*) which means that our 3×4 and 4×6 cards aren’t a PERFECT fit in the pockets.
{ good news }
On the bright side, we have automatically discounted this Small Variety Pack 1 on Amazon. The pack of 12 has been reduced $2.00 – so it’s $4.99 instead of $6.99 because of the 3 “defective” pages that are in the package. This would absolutely be a FANTASTIC time to pick up the sampling of new Photo Pocket Pages. And besides – Design G (in perfect condition) – is available in its own pack of 12, if you are sad to miss out of those in the Variety Pack.
We are very sorry for the inconvenience (trust me) and yes – new packs are being produced now (with the correction) and I’ll keep you updated when I have an estimated arrival date.
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It’s amazing how some plastic pages can make some of us very, very giddy. I know without a doubt that so many of those feelings come from a place of relief knowing that there are all these excellent products that help us get our memory-keeping done without all the fuss, without all the time, without the overwhelming feeling that scrapbooks have to be utterly time-consuming to put together.
We are happy to deliver solution-based products, and I sincerely hope you enjoy your new goodies.
If you have questions about any of these products please remember that the Amazon listing shows several pictures per item – and also has a list of product features that will likely answer your questions. However, feel free to leave a question in the Comments if you’re still unsure about something. I’ll do my very best to respond.
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.
