a little project life

Warning: this is a very long, wordy, and detailed post.  And if you have no interest in Project Life, you will be bored to tears.  Feel free to skip right on through to the next post {or go make yourself a nice cup of tea}.

So it's no surprise that I'm hopelessly behind in Project Life.  

I think this is an inherent problem with this type, or any type for that matter, of scrapbooking.

Time passes, most of the time faster than we can keep up, faster than we want (except when we were kids and counting the days until Christmas, summer vacation, or the day we could get our driver's license.) Time doesn't stop so we can better appreciate those we love, so we can enjoy our baby's belly laughs, and certainly not so we can catch up with our memory keeping.

But the whole point of Project Life is to document the everyday, the fleeting, time-is-passing-too-quickly moments so that we can attempt to hold onto them forever, attempt to stop time, so to speak.

It's a trade-off I'm willing to make.  So I will trudge on, desperately (but not hopelessly) behind.

And along the way, I've learned a few things:

*I've learned to jump around with my weeks.  I don't have to go in order, and can just make sure I use the correct side of the page (I just do one week per single side, not double page spreads), and leave empty page protectors in my album

week 14

week 15

week 16

week 17

week 19

*I've learned to document, document, document.  Because even though you think you'll remember what day that happened, or the cute thing he said, you won't (or am I the only one with the horrible memory?)  I use a few tools to help me keep up with this:

1) PLANNER PAGES
 I created my own and added them to my Creative Chaos binder:

These are great for jotting down little notes about what happened that week and noting which photos need to be printed.

2) PHOTO FILE
I created a quick filing system for each week of the year.
Washi tape attaches an index card to the front of each divider so I can easily see the week's dates, jot notes, and keep track of what still needs to be done to complete that week's layout.

Printed photos and other ephemera can be tucked right in ready to be turned into a layout. And the dividers can be reused each year just by replacing the index card.

*I've learned to have everything in reach.  I like to keep all my Project Life supplies together and within easy reach while I'm working.  I organize PL cards in a sectioned box that I bought at Target several years ago:

I separate the Becky Higgins cards by color and or pattern.  This saves me tons of time shuffling through cards in their original packaging.  When I need a certain color or a quote card, I can easily find one to use.

 Oh and those little empty spots are being reserved for the Honey edition as soon as I can get my hot little hands on it!

I also organize all of my other supplies, pens, tools, etc in my Raskog cart from IKEA.  Man, do I love this pretty little thing.

 It holds so much and keeps it all organized thanks to the Antonius inserts.

I try to keep just the Project Life essentials in here, like roller date stamps

my favorite alpha stamps

and of course, some washi tape

{A huge 'thank you!' to Becky at One Scrappin Mama for sending me most of those gorgeous rolls of tape pictured above.  She sent me an absolutely ENORMOUSLY HUGE package of goodies last month when she was cleaning out her gorgeous stash of stuff.  I am one lucky girl!}

OK, back to some more stuff I've learned while doing Project Life this year (I'm so easily distracted).

*I've learned to use a few little digi tools to help me document our lives, specifically these apps:

 Collect

This app lets you "collect" your memories with a photo, some words, and lets you tag them for sorting.  It also lets you set up multiple albums.  The best part of this app is the little cards it makes:

They have lots of options for sharing, but I like to email them to myself for printing.  Project Life made easy!

PhotoCal

Love this app for sorting all my iPod/Phone photos by date.  Aside from the ads, it has a nice, easy to view format that lets you easily see when your photos were taken.

Gratitude Journal

Even if you're not a Project Lifer, this is a fabulous app for keeping track of the little moments in life.  It also lets you snap a picture to represent the day.

*And finally, I have learned that I am happiest when I focus on our Project Life album, when I set aside time each day to write notes, and each week to edit and print photos.  I love the actual creating of the pages, slipping just the right cards into the pages, and trying to create a pleasing and balanced visual representation of our lives for that week.  Project Life has helped me be more present in our daily lives, find the joys and happiness in the little things, and be more conscientious of documenting it all.

Whew!  So there you have it: my little Project Life learnings as I go through my year.  Now if I could just follow my own advice, maybe I wouldn't be so darn far behind!