{ winners }

Happy to announce some winners from the giveaway I announced on Tuesday. The randomly-selected customer to receive the American Crafts paper trimmer is Helen Yu! Helen – email elizabethg@americancrafts.com and she’ll hook you up.

The following (5) winners were also randomly selected to win some 6×12 Page Protectors and Design E Photo Pocket Pages, which I featured in my most recent video.

Tamara Hamilton

Gary Storer

Connie Cook

Emily Sweeney

Lisa Beavers

You guys can email your shipping information to kari@beckyhiggins.com and she’ll get the goods sent your way immediately. Congrats + Enjoy!

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{ your questions }

Love the sketch! What colored pencils do you use? The colors look so vibrant – I love them!

They’re called Prismacolor by Sanford, and you can find them HERE on Amazon. These are the colored pencils I’ve used since Mrs. Winkles introduced me to them in my High School art class. Prismacolors were also my sidekick for those beloved years of creative lettering. Anyone remember this little artifact? It’s my very first published book from 1999. Good times.

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Becky! You have GOT to do something for me. Well, for all of us. Please fix your blog so that when we click on one of your links it opens in a new tab and does NOT take us away from yours. Most of the time, when I’m reading along, I really want to click on that link and see what you’re referring to but I want to finish what I’m reading at your blog first. Or finish catching up on the last week’s worth of your posts. Or whatever. The point is – don’t make us leave you!

You know, I’ve been blogging for 5 years and I’m always learning something new. Thanks for pointing this out! I didn’t realize that my links were sometimes opening a new tab, and sometimes not. And now I know the trick and will definitely be aware of that moving forward. Go on. Test all the links in this post. I dare you.  ; )

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You mentioned in your Getting Organized with Kids’ Stuff video that you scan in a lot of their artwork and then print it. Can you share what you have for a scanner and printer? Thank you!

I answered this same question HERE a couple months ago and it’s a question that comes up once in a while. I certainly don’t expect that everyone reads everything I post … but here’s a little blog tip: If you ever wonder if I’ve shared about a product or topic or anything … just plug it in the search field at right and you’ll probably find out pretty quickly.

For your convenience, this short answer is … I use THIS ONE to scan most art, as well as pretty much any other papers & photos that need to be scanned.

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Why are 12×12 albums so popular? Isn’t it difficult to fit them on shelves? I love all the space and the square shape of the 12×12 albums but the 8.5 x 11 fit better. Am I missing something? If anyone can give me tips on where to display the bigger albums, I’d love to switch – thanks!

Great question, actually. I asked myself that for a long time, as I did 8.5×11 for the the first 7 years of my scrapbooking. I ended up switching to 12×12 because I loved fitting more onto a 2-page layout. But I’ve done about every other size scrapbook as well.

After 18 years in this hobby, trust me – I put a lot of thought into the size of the Project Life system before I jumped into developing an entire product line. The 12×12 page size makes perfect sense for the configuration of 4×6 prints. As you know, 4×6 is the ultimate standard size photo print. Simply put: It works. As for tips on displaying the larger 12×12 albums, I hear the IKEA Expedit shelving works well and I’ve also shared a picture of the Cropper Hopper cubes that I personally use (click HERE if you missed that post).

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Will Project Life ever be available in another size besides 12×12?

I’d like that very much.

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Any idea when the baby version of Project Life will be out?? First baby due in September and I absolutely want to start using Project Life right off the bat.

Congratulations on your pending arrival! I haven’t shared much about this yet, but believe me – behind the scenes, there has been a LOT of baby talk around here (not personally, mind you, but product-related). Soon I will be able to share SO much more, but I completely want you using Project Life for your baby. We have been working so hard to develop THE perfect kit for that first year album, and that’s what we’re going to deliver. Lucky for you, the Baby Editions should be delivered in time for your delivery! In other words, we definitely expect the arrival before September.

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Has anyone used more than one Core Kit in an album? Right now I am using Amber but I am loving the Clementine Edition, too. I am thinking about ordering Clementine when it becomes available and using it as well. Would it be crazy or seem unorganized to use both Amber and Clementine in the same album?

No rules. Make it yours. Do what feels right and keeps it fun for you!

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I am so confused how to do something for our family with everyone in it, yet how to make something for my kids individually too. I am at a position where I am procrastinating because I’m paralyzed from the ‘Where to begin’?

You’re in good company of folks who feel paralyzed in getting started with scrapbooking. Project Life is designed to simplify the process. We’ve taken so much of the guesswork out of it for you. As for getting started … if you’ve never done scrapbooking, I recommend just sticking with one album instead of feeling like you need to do one for each child. You might be inclined to do that later, but start with one for now. Perhaps it’s a family album with pictures that include all family members and various events.

Layout from Deb Duty‘s Project Life album.

My favorite part of this idea is getting the family involved in taking pictures and writing on the little Journaling Cards. Super easy. Anyone can do it. And what a fun collaborative project!

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How do you recommend I get started? Currently a CM Picfolio cropper and really want to get going with your great albums.

I have no idea what a “CM Picfolio cropper” is … but I’m thrilled to know that you’re interested in a simpler way to document life. This is what we recommend. Stick with the basics. Everything else is fun to add, but this really is all you need:

As you may know, all of the Core Kits are currently sold out but being reprinted and made available again soon. We were really hoping to make it possible by the end of this month but it will be sometime next month before we see these. Next week I should have a full update on why everyone should be pretty stoked about these reprinted Core Kits. Stay tuned.

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Will you be stocking the metal bookplates that are on the spines of the newest albums on their own, so that we can put them onto our older albums? Or is that maybe a We R Memory Keepers product?

No, we don’t have plans to offer that. They just come built into our Binders (as shown), identical to the other WRMK binders. I don’t believe WRMK offers that bookplate as a separate item.

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Will there be new core kit designs for 2013, like Cobalt and Clementine were released for 2012?

Absolutely. In fact, we have two new designers already in the early stages of this design work now. I can’t leak the information quite yet, but you know we aim to please. And I think you guys are going to be very, very pleased with the 2013 editions. But – it’s only May! Way too early to even think about that. In the meantime, we have PLENTY of products we’re releasing and re-releasing between now and then.

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I’m interested in doing a Project Life album dedicated to my wedding. Do you have any suggestions for me?

Encourage me to hurry up already with a Wedding Edition … like I don’t have much else going on.  ; )  In the meantime, choose the Project Life Edition that best suits your wedding style when those become available next month, and slip those pictures into an album – simple! Just like any other scrapbook, but it’s focused on this one event/occasion/theme.

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As I was taking my photo each day I found myself wondering if I needed to take a vertical or horizontal picture, because it wouldn’t work to take horizontal one day, vertical the next, and so on, because the sheet protectors aren’t like that. How is everyone dealing with this?

Short answer: We love Design G for getting horizontal + vertical pictures onto one page! Easy breezy.

Page in Jennifer Woodbury‘s Project Life album. Notice the page at right with both horizontal and vertical pictures. This is Design G and it’s 10×12 instead of the full 12×12 size.

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Are you still doing 12 x 12 albums for your kids or is your digital project life taking place of those albums now?

Yes, I am doing actual, physical, 12×12 albums for each of our 3 kids. I share more about this in the currently featured video on my Videos page.

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{ your feedback }

Lisa wrote: You know you’re onto something good when your husband says “Glad someone thought of a system for scrapbooking that is economical, organized, and really makes sense!”

Jen wrote: I love your home Becky, I love the style, the colors and the little touches you have done! Thank you for not only inspiring me to document our family’s story with PL, but thank you for inspiring me to paint my walls and getting house projects done!

Marcia wrote: Received my cardstock last night…ordered one of each package; LOVE IT!!! I have already made two layouts using the coordinating cardstock….LOVE IT…and it was soooooo inexpensive!!!

Becky wrote: And…….reason 5,242 that I adore Project Life. Was in tears as I got ready to throw away my toddler’s favorite footie pajamas. {they are worn to threads}. Then I thought….why not cut out his favorite dinosaur on the pj’s….stick it in a Photo Pocket Page and journal about them! Hurrray. Becky you saved me from a mini emotional meltdown this morning. Now I will keep a little piece of them preserved!

Britney wrote: In one week we are moving overseas for 6 months.  All I am taking with me is Project Life! I am very nervous about not having hoards of paper, stickers and embellishments around me. However, I am so thankful and happy that I do have Project Life and I can continue to record our history that way!