Project Life - My Way

I decided to start Project Life this year.  I had done pocketed scrapping before for a Camping album and fell in love with the process and how fast I could pull pages together.  We lead a busy life and this solution was perfect for me.

"It's called Project LIFE because it's about YOUR LIFE. Whatever your life is." 

(Taken from the Project Life About page)

So, it's different for everybody.  This is my approach.

1. Take photos

I almost exclusively take photos with my iPhone.  It is so convenient because I always have it with me. 

I do not set out to take a photo every day or a set number of photos every week.  And, I certainly do not think about the orientation of the photo as I am taking it.  I just take photos, that's it, plain and simple.

After the week is over, mine runs Monday through Sunday, I sit down and write down the photos I want to use.  If I have ephemera I take note of that as well.

I only use Becky Higgins Design A page protectors to keep things simple.  I may add in an insert if I have a huge amount of photos from an event to include.

2. Sketch / Template

At the beginning of the year I made a template to use, but honestly, I usually just use a scrap piece of paper and sketch it all out these days.  It works for me.  I usually transfer the sketch to my planner just for future reference.

3. Edit Photos

I made a 4x6 template in Photoshop and add the weekly photos into one document. I size them down to two 3x4 photos in the template as needed. 

I went through a phase of adding journaling directly onto the photos. That was taking a lot of time so I have switched back to handwriting right now.  This process is always evolving.

I do use some photo apps as well.  I will outline these in a separate post.

4. Print Photos

I do not print at home.  I use either Costco or Walmart.

5. Stuff Those Pockets aka The FUN Stuff

I sort the photos, round all corners and place in the predetermined pockets.

6. Embellish

Some weeks I add a lot of embellishments, other weeks I keep it simple.  My favourite embellishments are enamel dots, wood veneer, stickers, washi tape and lots of letter stickers.  

7. Have Fun

Do not try to match what your favourite designer is doing.  Do your own thing. Keep it simple.  Your kids will not care which trendy techniques you used on your pages, they will only care about the memories you captured.

That's not to say I don't play around with some trendy stuff that is fun.  I just do not stress over making my pages look like designer x or designer y.  JUST HAVE FUN and enjoy the process.