Designed by Becky Higgins a few years ago, Project Life is a system, or style, of scrapbooking that involves weekly layouts that chronicle your everyday life. Photos, journaling, and embellishments are placed in divided page protectors of varying styles and sizes. Although official Project Life products are available only through Becky Higgins and her affiliates, there are many companies that make products designed for use in Project Life systems.
When I first heard about Project Life, I knew that there was no way that I would be able to take a photo every day and create a layout with those photos every week. So I never even considered it, although I did admire some of the creative layouts that I was seeing in galleries and on blogs.
It wasn't until this past summer that Project Life became a realistic possibility for me. I realized that I didn't have to create a layout a week. I could make a layout a month. I didn't have to follow any rules. I could adapt this concept to work for me!
During the eleven years that I've been scrapbooking, I've come to realize that there are no hard and fast rules that scrapbookers have to follow. Realizing this made it so much easier to start Project Life, because, as we all know, starting a project is often the most difficult part. So deciding to begin my project in August, as opposed to January, was the first decision I had to make. The rest came easily.
I chose a 12 x 12 three-ring binder for my album. Then I decided on divided page protectors by We R Memory Keepers andAmerican Crafts; and I'm using the 4" x 6" landscape, portrait, and mixed orientation designs. My journaling will be typed, and my embellishments and titles will be simple (the month and year).
The most challenging part of this project for me was, surprisingly, the journaling - not in terms of what to write, but deciding from whose point of view the stories should be told. Even though I almost always write my journaling to my children, this time I'm writing to myself.
I finally decided to use a journal app on my iPhone, called "Day One," that allows me to write in journal form and add photos to my entries. This also enabled me to have all of my photos in one place, although I did include photos from my regular camera as well. It was so easy to keep my journaling in the same format and just print it out.
The most important thing to remember when doing Project Life is that you can change things around any time you like. The system is flexible, and there are lots of ideas and products to help you achieve your individual goals. Before you begin this project, however, you should answer these questions:
- Will you be creating a layout weekly, monthly, or randomly?
- What type of album will you use?
- In what size will you print your photos?
- Which style page protectors will you include?
- How will you approach the journaling?
- What types of embellishments and titles will you have?
I really enjoyed my first month with Project Life, and I hope you decide to give it a try too.
