Project Life: 2011

As you know, I love scrapbooking.  I have always been a paper/stationary kind of girl.  I love writing (bet you couldn't tell), and I love family photos.  So when I heard about scrapbooking many, many , many years ago, I knew it was the hobby for me!  Where else do you get to combine every one of the things I love so much!

However, there are times when as a scrapbooker, you feel like you get stuck in a rut, that there is never going to be a time when you catch up on your scrapbooking, or that you have captured all of the memories that you want to remember.  It can become frustrating, and then you (I) begin resenting this hobby that you (I) enjoy so much.

Enter Project Life by Becky Higgins.

I have long been a fan of Becky Higgins' scrapbooking designs and sketches.  So when she came up with the idea of Project Life/365 two years ago, I thought it was genius, although I did not get involved right away.  She also became overwhelmed with the idea of scrapbooking every picture, every memory, every event and decided to come up with a way to make it easier for herself.

The concept behind Project Life is that you take one picture a day, a picture that best describes life in that day or moment for you and your family, jot down a little memory, slip both into the divided page protectors, and move on to other things. 

Now obviously, there are going to be days when one picture is not going to be enough to capture a memory or event.  On those days, I will just make a scrapbook layout to cover what I want it to cover, enlarge a special photo, or create my own page protector to hold something special like a card, playbill, park map, etc. and keep on moving. 

Because I knew that this was what I wanted for Christmas, I put in my request early.  Then, a couple of weeks ago, I saw this video by a woman who had used Project Life last year and how she adjusted it to fit her needs for memory keeping, and it really made me excited!  (You will need to scroll down to see the video after clicking on the link)

Will I continue scrapbooking in the traditional way?  Absolutely!  I love my paper, photos, and playing with both too much to ever let it go.  Will I forget to scrapbook the important days, moments, and events like I have in the past?  Not anymore! It will be nice to look through and see up close which stories need to be told and elaborated on instantly. Will it be easy to keep up with?  I think so. As I take pictures, I intend to upload them, photoshop what needs to be touched up, resize, and send on to our local photo processing store. Then, I'll wait for a sale (or free offer from Shutterfly) to actually order my photos. When will I begin my Project Life?  January 1, 2011! 

I look forward to being able to look back at the end of next year and see a complete compilation of our lives as they unfolded throughout the year.  I look forward to sharing this project with you, too!