Happy New Year! Oh wait, it’s mid-February. Oops! I meant to share about my new years resolutions last month but time got away from me with a newborn to care for cuddle. When I started really thinking about what I wanted to share I realized that my goals for the year look a lot different than in years past. There’s a list of things I always strive for, such as kindness, compassion, patience, sharing, honing my listening skills, choosing happiness, and taking care of my body and soul, among other things, but I usually have a long list of more tangible goals as well. I decided to scrap that this year and just focus on one tangible project as well as the bigger picture experience it represents.
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Enter Project Life! Late last year I purchased an album and the Baby Girl Edition Core Kit after hearing so many of you rave about it as a baby book option. I’m hoping to start working on it now that life as a new mommy is starting to settle down a bit. Flipping through the cards and poking around online for inspiration led me to discover Ali Edwards. I started reading her blog over the past month and decided to really take the Project Life plunge, not just for my daughter, CC’s baby book, but also as a way to dive back into scrapbooking.
I used to love memory keeping and put together many scrapbooks throughout high school, college, and my early twenties. The hobby got away from me when I started my YouTube channel in 2010 and then my blog in late 2012 as I dedicated most all of my free time to creating online content. I thought my scrapbooking days were behind me, even as recently as last spring when I did a major purge and donated a huge chunk of my supplies to charity.
I knew I would put together a baby book documenting the first year of CC’s life, but it never crossed my mind that I’d be interested in memory keeping again. It’s not that I no longer enjoy the hobby, but I figured that between taking care of a baby and trying to keep up with posting I simply wouldn’t have time. Well, that all changed once CC was born. I knew within the first week just from scrolling through the photo gallery on my phone that I wanted to document way more than any baby book would be able to hold.
I need something that will fit into my busy life without feeling overwhelming. Project Life (or pocket scrapbooking) seems like a much more approachable way to get back into my old hobby without being too time consuming. I joined Ali Edwards’ Storytelling with Project Life class and watched the first series of videos over the course of last week while feeding CC (multi-tasking for the win!). Ali’s class has given me the push I needed to feel confident embarking on a year long project. Her week-by-week format suits my desire to document this new chapter in my life.
What I like most about this way of scrapbooking using Ali’s methods for guidance is that it’s not about the craft, although I can certainly get crafty with it if I want to. In the past I’ve let the crafty side and accumulating all of the stuff (read: product overwhelm) to get the best of me. This ended up being a barrier for me to continue memory keeping as it got too time consuming to keep up with and follow other pursuits as well. The Project Life method focuses on the story mainly through photos and journaling. Embellishments are a nice extra touch, but not necessary to make for a complete project.
With Project Life you really only need a few products, including an album, page protectors, and some cards for journaling. I’m actually really glad I purged as much of my craft stash as I did last year, because it leaves less choices to overwhelm me with when I want to embellish a bit in this project.
Here are the main supplies I purchased:
❊ Project Life Kiwi Edition Designer Album
❊ Project Life Strawberry Edition Core Kit
❊ Project Life Photo Pocket Pages (Big Pack of Design A)
And a few fun extras:
❊ Project Life Strawberry Edition Textured Cardstock for Scrapbooking (4 by 6-Inch and 3 by 4-Inch)
❊ Project Life Inspire Edition Overlays
❊ Project Life Photo Overlays (Set 2)
I also decided to try the monthly subscription embellishment kit by Freckled Fawn in the hopes that it is the right amount of product to add whimsy to my album with some continuity without falling down the rabbit hole of going crazy at the craft store as in years past. I’m going to share an open box post about the February kit soon.
Thanks to a timely 20% off entire purchase coupon for Michael’s I was able to keep my project supply budget in a reasonable range. I think I have the right amount of product to tackle this year long project without feeling overwhelmed by stuff. This allows me to focus on sharing the story as opposed to showcasing the craft. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with others who choose to focus on the craft and I’m sure I will from time to time too, but the main purpose of this project for me is about story telling.
I was able to put together my first spread (from last week) during two one-hour baby naps. That seems like a doable amount of time for the long haul for me. I expect some weeks will be quicker and some may take longer. Here’s a look at my first ever Project Life spread:
I’m following Ali’s method of using Design A page protectors with the 4″x6″ slots dedicated to each day of the week. The left hand side of the spread (pictured above) includes a date card then goes in order from top and diagonally to bottom from Monday through Wednesday.
The righthand side (above) has Thursday and Friday in the top two slots and the weekend in the bottom two. The 3″x4″ cards that span across the center of the spread are mostly for journaling, although I see myself using them for photos as well, as I have already done so in this spread.
What I like most about this project is that after completing just one spread I can already see the story take shape. The bigger picture behind my project goal is about experiencing and relishing the moments of life, both big and small. For me it’s a focus on living in the moment especially as I watch CC grow and blossom every single day. It’s about the extraordinary and the mundane and how it is all an important part of the journey. Cherishing each moment and truly experiencing the time I am given feeds my soul and makes me feel whole. This project is a reminder of that for me and I look forward to seeing how it unfolds with time.
I’d love to know if you scrapbook and what you like most about it if you care to share!
Here’s to making memories in 2016!
* Post contains affiliate links. This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are genuinely my own. *
