I started Project Life a few weeks into 2013 after seeing a friend's album and falling in love with the concept of it. It is hybrid scrapbooking for the busy lifestyle. It combines traditional cut and paste scrapbooking with photo album inserts and layouts. This allows for a quicker approach and the journal cards that accompany allow for telling your story in writing as updates as often as you please. The idea is a page per week based on what your family has done that week or if it was a fairly low-key week, perhaps a theme based on other things you enjoy or a photo challenge you seen somewhere, or your favorite food, restaurant, blog feature, fashion, interview, hobby, ect. Sky is the limit. Of course I have enough children, chaos and pictures that I can never fit one week into one page, let alone incorporate much else.
When I started I wanted to find a way to save cost, so I started looking for ways to do this such as printing my own photos (I have always done this with scrapbooking as you can use the size you choose, cheap paper and my Kodak printer does great prints on low ink cost) unless I hit a huge special on printing from somewhere, the math is in my favor to stick with this method.
I also decided that no particular theme pack of journaling cards jumped out at me, so I went on Pinterest and began following some free printable journaling card boards. This allows me so many themes and options that are updated constantly to include new themes, holiday cards, quotes and suggestions.
Once I had done this, I knew I needed a way to organize the cards I had printed. I wanted to have my journal cards printed and organized before my page sleeves arrived and before I absorbed myself in printing. So I went to WalMart, who had nothing for anything else I needed related to PL but I was able to pick up a nice file box in my favorite color and a couple packages of color coded hanging file packages. I used the forest colored 12 pack to label each month and then the brighter color pack I decided by season, then by label, most of which just ended up under "journal cards". There are a few that were nice to have elsewhere though, such as bday, holidays, even Father's Day and st pattys. I wanted to have a master set and be able to make copies. I kept a digital set as well, but being able to tangibly flip through them is nice, plus then once I pint a page of cards, if I only wanted one card from the page I can save the others for later. There you have it.
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| Organizing Journaling Cards for Project Life |
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| Sticker album sleeves in various sizes and layouts, scored on clearance at the local scrapbook store, so many project life possibilities! |
Next I went on the hunt for cheap sleeves. No such thing. Or so I thought. WalMart carried nothing to the sort, although I did score a package of 8.5x11 trading card sleeves for less than $2 that I will use for sticking wallets in of random photo shoots or niece and nephew school pics, or whatever I so choose when the mood strikes me to use them.
I decided to try the scrapbook store in spearfish ...called, The Knothole. They did have a leaves that contained 6 4x6s. I'll take it, for now. They had never heard of ProjectLife but did know what I meant by Hybrid Scrapbooking. Then, a little ways down on the same shelf as the 4x6s I spotted an entire section of sticker binder sleeves for 12x12 albums....score! So many combinations!!! And a sleeve is a sleeve if you ask me! I limited myself to 5 packages thinking they were sticker price at $10 each. I cringed at the checkout but wait! At the end she hit a sale button and they ended up around $2 each!!!!!!! For all but the 4x6s. I contemplated going back and clearing the shelves, but refrained as we are dirt poor at the moment. What. A. Deal!!!
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| Multipack Sleeves by the original Becky Higgins |
I did buy a package of Becky Higgins sleeves too and they are, by far, the nicest. I got them on amazon with my prime account, free 2 day shipping. They cost a little more than all of my others combined though. But very worth it, I find I use them most.
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| Album I intended to use, however it is post bound, not 3 ring...oops |
All this time I had plans to use one of the many scrapbooks I had empty in my craft "room" but when I went to grab one, they were all that 2 hole leather strap crap! Grrrr. So I was now on a mission to find a cheap album. I had had my eye on this one at Michaels for a while...
It opens like French doors and the pages are protected in a box underneath. It's a post bound album. I thought, oh that will work, I will just put the pages in a clasp and add them at once every month......ummm no! Way difficult. I still might transfer all of the pages at the end, but I'm thinking it will be too thick for that even. Eventually I will find a way to use this gorgeous album.
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| Album I am actually using that I bought for a Wrestling album. |
Good thing I had also grabbed a Bronc purple 3 ring leather album by We R Memory while at Miachaels. The albums were 40% off so I nearly got 2 for 1. I love the Bronc purple and after taking Luke to the bathroom for the second time in one store, I had convinced myself that we needed a separate album for Wrestling. I will grab another one next Rapid trip. Learned my lesson, use the right album.
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| My Pile at Work |
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| Hard at it |
I also have a few Project Life Galleries of Pages others have done and those who offer to share their printables. I saw these 2013 cards and fell in love for a cover page. The collage print of the boy was from our New Years (never try for Christmas anymore) Cards, which I think are still in my hutch. I decided I needed a brief update on life journal card and a picture of Wayne and I from Christmas just weeks before. Then I collaged my 2013 Bucketlist (I am a HUGE list maker, its my process) straight out of my "notes" on my iPhone, I just love how it looks like a legal pad. I hope to check them off as I go. I think it turned out great for a first page!!!
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| Cover Page |
Next I had to try to decide where o actually start Project Life 2013. We were in Nebraska for New Years. I could have easily put a brief message on one journal card about that and started with Our first days at home on Jan 2nd and 3rd. however, this was my chance to document those precious family moments, and afterall, it was how we started 2013, so I decided to start with our trip as a whole........
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| Week 1.1 |
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| Week 1.2 |
It is always an entirely different would with nearly two whole states between where live and where I'm from. We go through at least two climate shifts and multiple terrain changes, even societal and cultural changes. Its a unique road trip I love taking at every opportunity.
Some things we do and people we see when we are in Nebraska.....
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| Week 1.3 |
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| Week 1.4 |
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| Week 1.5 |
New Years Eve at Grandma Walker's with the Tonsager Boys, the Rupp cousins & Uncle Braden...
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| Week 1.6 |
Heading Home, On the Road Again.....
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| Week 1.7 |
We met up with a blizzard that had moved in since I had last checked the forecast. It had arrived earlier than previously anticipated and took us somewhat by surprise. It showed up around Sturgis of coarse!
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| Week 1.8 |
Each Boy's Current Interests here.....
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| Week 1.9 |
Home Sweet Home!!!
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| Week 1.10 |
I did decide I wanted to incorporate some of my screen shots I always take, such as current events.
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| Week 1.11 |
Gillette and the prospect of moving has always weighed on our minds as having family in town and the glorious pay scale are amazing.
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| Week 1.12 |
FINALLY Week 2!!!!!
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| Week 2.1 |
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| Week 2.2 |
4/13/13
I now find it creeping up on Mid April and I am still stuck at week 3. Even with this hybrid option, layouts, printing, supplies and go time are hard to come by. So many projects, so little time. I WILL CATCH UP!!!!!!
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