Project Life

[MarieS]

Has anyone done the Project Life album from Becky Higgins? I see that the 2011 version is out. I spend so much time on my disney books that all my other pictures seem to get left out. I was thinking this might be a faster way of creating some memories from the rest of the year.

http://www.beckyhiggins.com/products/

 

[JESW]

I don't use Becky's kits but I have taken a picture a day for 2009 and will be finishing up 2010 soon. I am not caught up with printing pictures and putting them in the albums, but I keep a record of what I take a picture of each day. I have really enjoyed it and it makes me think about what is important and what I want to remember. I do "cheat" some times and use filler pictures on days when I am not sure what I want to take a picture of. I use a 3-ring binder and photo sheets (six 4x6 pictures on a page) and I use three of the the twelve available slots for the week to journal and use the remaining nine for pictures - so some days can have more than one picture. For the end of the year I usually add another page or two for more holiday shots.

I take pictures of things we are doing, but also of things I want to remember - my parents hands, the ceramic statue my Grandmother made my parents in the 1940's, the way my Mom decorated their small tree this year, my Dad's signature when he could still write, the way the kids rooms look, books I have read, things we got at yard sales, stuff I bought at the scrapbook store, etc. I love looking back on the books. It is nice to see such a variety of shots in one place. My kids are 11 and 16 and their friends know what I do and there is a bit of a competition to see who can get their picture in the most.

I hope you like it if you do decide to give it a try.

Jill

 

[MarieS]

Great ideas Jill! I want to record some of the day to day stuff so I think this type of project would help. Thanks for the encouragement!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

I did the picture of the day in 2009 too. I think other then my Disney albums that's my favorite. And the whole year is complete, which is the only year that's fully done.
I used the Creative Memories picfolio album for that too, and it went so fast.
I think the farthest behind I was, was a month but I caught up in a weekend. I was even able to pull it out and work on it while on an airplane.

Sometimes I struggled with pictures because some weeks we didn't do much but I managed at least 3 pics a week so I just filled in the rest with journalling.

 

[MarieS]

This is sounding better and better! I think I'm going to try it. I was hesitating because I didn't know if it would be too much pressure to commit to a daily photo. But a couple a week sounds more doable.

 

[jacksmomma]

I did not got the picture a day, but I am planning on doing the Project 12 for 2010. I have the LOs printed and will be taking them when I go to my next crop.

 

[wdwmickey]

Ooooh, I like this idea I think this will be a perfect project for me to tackle for 2011. I only seem to scrap Disney anymore. Daily/yearly life, the pictures get taken and loaded into the computer, but, not printed or into a book. Thanks for the heads up and great ways to document everyday stuff

 

[MarieS]

I did not got the picture a day, but I am planning on doing the Project 12 for 2010. I have the LOs printed and will be taking them when I go to my next crop.

Can you tell me more about Project 12? Thanks!

 

[JESW]

Hmmmm....maybe I can incorporate Project 12 into Project Life??? Do the weekly pictures but then be able to have a 2-page layout for an end of month summary of what we had done....I like it!

Jill...who needs to find reasons to use all the pictures she takes....

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Now remember the point of Project 365/Project 52/Project 12 is to take less photos of each individual event and take photos more often.

Part of the reason Becky started this was because she would have 8000 photos of an event and then nothing until the next big event.

I'll dig out my album in a bit and snap some photos. We are going to be snowed in here soon so I need to run out and get snow shoes for the kids but I'll be back.

 

[New England Eeyore]

I did Project 365 in 2009. While it was a huge undertaking to try to take a picture a day, it will be a nice thing to look back on in years to come. I did like how it got me to take photos of things that I wouldn't normally take photos of so I ended up doing a modified "Project 12" for 2010 - I still scrap birthdays and holidays and trips, but I also make an effort to take more "everyday" photos and I do a 1-2 page layout of those for each month. I use smaller photos (2x3 or 4x3) and also include a bullet point list of things I want to remember about that month. I've scrapped through August that way - I just need to go through and see what I've got for the fall. It may be a multi-month layout as life got crazy and the pictures got very sparse!

Oh, and I did use the Becky Higgins kit for the 365 - that made it super easy to put together. I bought one of her Project Life kits to leave on the shelf for doing a project like this again some day (back to back years was too much for me but I could see myself doing it again in 5-10 years.) For Project 12 I just did traditional pages.

 

[MarieS]

You are giving me some great ideas! I'm getting psyched up for this project. I do tend to have a ton of birthday and holiday photos, but I think this will be good inspiration to take more day to day pix. Not sure I can keep it up for a whole year, but we'll see.

 

[JESW]

Marie - if you start and then have a hard time with ideas then just ask! As I said, I am finishing up my second year - many thought I would never last the first - - and while it was tough some days I did come up with many ideas and I love looking back at the books. I am sure there are others here on the board who would love to help too!

Jill

 

[chiefdragon]

I just ordered mine and can not wait to get it. I have the same problem as others, tons of vacation, holiday, and birthday pictures, but nothing of everday. Talked with DH last night about it and we decided that we would do it as a team and each take a picture a day and give our DD (5 years old) a camera and see what we can do for the year. We are all excited.

 

[MarieS]

Marie - if you start and then have a hard time with ideas then just ask! As I said, I am finishing up my second year - many thought I would never last the first - - and while it was tough some days I did come up with many ideas and I love looking back at the books. I am sure there are others here on the board who would love to help too!

Jill

Thanks Jill! I ordered the kit so I would be ready to go on Jan 1

 

[Disneyland_emily]

I also did 365 in 2009, a slight twist in 2010 (and no physical scrapbook yet) and getting ready to go on year 3 in 2011 but with a little more tweaking than 2009's 1 picture per day

It's fun and its fun even 2 years later to see what I thought was important that day

-em

 

[jacksmomma]

Can you tell me more about Project 12? Thanks!

Project 12 is a layout challenge of sorts. There is a 2 page layout for each month of the year. You pick what photos from that month to include. I am going to pick the more common, day to day life photos, so that the pages will give a real look at what life in our house in 2010 was like.

Here is a link. If you scroll through this whole page you will find all 12 sketches.

http://scrapbookandcardstodaymag.typepad.com/scrapbook_cards_today_blo/project-12/

 

[123SA]

I did project 365 in 2009. At times, it felt like a chore. At times, I struggled for a photo. Some photos I thought were pointless and a waste of space. However, it was worth the struggle. We love going through this album. The photos that I thought were lame at the time, now are some of our favorites. My DS lost 4 teeth in seven days -- the photos are priceless. I would not have them if it weren't for this project. I took 2010 off entriely, but I am excited to do it again this coming year. I bought Becky Higgins project life kit for 2010 but didn't use it. I will use it for 2011.

Good luck!

 

[MarieS]

Thanks for the info jacksmomma.

I recieved the Amber kit today. I like all the journaling cards and the slip in pockets. The album is pretty though I hope the spine can stand up to all the handling. Can't wait to start this project!

 

[wdwmickey]

I got mine today too! I'm so excited to get started