Embrace Life

PROJECT | Me: The Abridged Version

In one week I'll be back in the classroom - a virtual one, with one of my very favourite teachers! Cathy Zielske will be guiding the course Me: The Abridged Version for Project Life™ for 4-weeks starting on October 9th. With all of the changes in my life since I last tackled this project - and, whoot, finished it! - five YEARS ago, I thought it would be a good idea to sign up and complete this version. Fortunately, having taken plenty of Cathy Zielske guided workshops before, I knew this one would not disappoint!

The only thing I am struggling to decide: digital or paper? I ordered the kit from Studio Calico AND downloaded all of the digital art files at Big Picture Classes. I keep vascilating between the two equally inspiring options. Argh! No matter, one way or the other, the album will be completed - and it'll be awesome!

In the meantime, I'm collecting words that resonate in me. Words that speak to who I am today. I have not referenced my last project as I want to start fresh with this project. I started writing out words, and more words - filling up far more than the two pages originally alloted. I think about words in the car and call to leave a voice mail with more words. Then text words to myself as I'm at the grocery store. I've become obsessed with this project and my need to do it accurately and well.

With so many words collected, I've been moving them into a document to define them by how they speak to me. Each word represents just one very small part of me; all together they will only hint at the whole me, but I'll do my best! Once I have it all written out, I'll decide which words speak loudest and they'll be the ones I choose to include in the finished album.

Between creative writing classes and workshops, blog articles, my "One Little Word" grace making way for another guiding word in 2015, defining my core desired feelings via The Desire Map, you'd think I'd be worded out, but I'm finding it actually is the other way around: I'm more inspired and fired up to write and discover and find inspiration - and maybe provide some too!

Challenge | "I" Statements

Ages ago, Becky Higgins posted a list of "I" statements and challenged those who read her blog to do the same, so here it goes :)

I WAS … recently reveling in how much I enjoy my life, now. Even with all of the drama and chaos of raising four kids alone, it is challenging, rewarding and fulfilling. I am present and engaged, every day.

I AM … delighted to have learned how to put me on the list and discovered things I enjoy that keep me centred and challenged: meditation, pilates and new courses including writing and art.

I THINK … this summer is going to be greatly enjoyed after suffering so long through four solid months of ice and snow on the ground.

I WONDER … what's next. Because, as we all know, it won't be on any plan :)

I WISH … there was a permanent cure for eczema and psoriasis - and thyroid disease, too.

I SAVE … all of my errands and shopping to do all in one day. The idea of having to run around and shop more than once a week is too much for me to bear.

I ALWAYS … cringe when my kids make bad food choices: refined sugar is terrible. Sweet poison.

I CAN'T IMAGINE … not going to Cape Cod for at least a little bit of every summer. It is such an integral part of our family experience. I'm glad the tradition will continue in a few short months.

I BELIEVE … if you treat people the way you would like to be treated a lot of misunderstandings and unkind behaviour can be avoided. It is, for me, the key to a drama-reduced existence!

I PROMISE … to keep learning new things and stretch my understanding of concepts, ideas, opportunities and people around me.

I LOVE … my children, with all of my heart, every day. Even on those days when they drive me crazy.

I SCRAP … because I believe everyone has a story worth telling, mine is just a picture book rather than a novel, for now.

Becky even went so far as to have her children do the same. I loved that idea and hope to add "I" statements from each of my kids for our Project Life album.

What about you? What are your "I" statements?

Project Life | 2014

Last June I moved my Project Life to a private blog* which made a lot of sense, and continues to make sense. Now that I'm starting a new year of Project Life, I considered just putting it back here on the primary blog but was reminded that the process had become inauthentic as I was not comfortable sharing all of the people and intimate details of the lifes shared by me and my children.

For me, Project Life is exactly what it is - representative of my life. In fits and starts. Better than nothing and far from perfect. Sounds about right!

There are a few things I'll be updating this year:

A new private blog for 2014 pages is set up. If you're interested in reading it, send me a note at linarstudio dot lc at gmail dot com and I'll get the password off to you. Anyone interested will have access by clicking the navigation bar ^ above.

I've decided, after a few successful experiments though this past year, that I'll be printing my book at the end of the year via Blurb in a 12" x 12" format. No muss, no fuss. Even better? No glare of page protectors, no lumpy bumpy, no elements to organize. Less time wasted on stuff and more time focused on recording and creating!

After much flip-flopping, the format will continue to be 12" x 12" and I'll be using Cathy Zielske's new Life Basics Minimal templates as I prefer the straight edges for the photos and journaling.

I enjoyed Museo Slab as my font last year as I like the readability. I think I'll continue with it, in different weights, through the project this year. I'll have to figure out a script font - maybe - if I need it.

The big decision? I played around with the idea of changing the dates to have the weekends included from week to week, having the weeks run Monday through Sunday but the reality is my life runs from Sunday through Saturday. If there is a special event that takes place on a weekend there is absolutely nothing stopping the idea of putting it in between the weeks as a 2-page spread. Indeed, that might be fun keeping a few 12" x 12" spreads of non-Project Life ideas in the finished book. This seems to be the big internal argument each year.

A few years ago, in my wildest imaginings, I'd never have thought I'd go 100% digital - in anything memory-keeping related. At best I thought I'd be a hybrid scrapbooker. Things have changed so much and access is so much easier in Canada to digital product whereas traditional product is so much harder to find and the premium for shipping (and counter space) is becoming absurd.

I still have oodles of goodies and hope to use them in smaller projects - maybe A Week In The Life, Recipe Books and Gratitude projects. I can't forget to get my latest December Daily put together!

I love memory keeping. My kids enjoy it too. Over the years they have learned it's value. Even Claire, who used to give me such a terrible time about posing for photos, now returns home from university on occasion and is far less grumbly about having her photo taken. I love that they "get" it and also know that I'm not going to stop, so they smile nicely the first time and then we don't have to keep at it shot after shot!

Since I am an "everyday" scrapbooker, they have plenty of opportunity to smile nicely for the camera - and me, too!

* This decision had much to do with the divorce proceedings and my not wanting their long-absent father to portray himself as anything more than who he is. You can't parent via blog post at the same time acquaintances should not know more about what is going on than a parent. So awkward. By removing access, I had hoped I could have forced the concept of parenting by direct communication and engagement. It did not work. The second reason was to protect private extended-family things: big newsworthy events and proud moments, sad happenings, big group photos of people we love. I figured it was best to maintain the privacy of those who don't live here on the internet.

Project Life 2013 | Weeks 2 & 3

I am really enjoying this project - even more than last year.

I suppose I needed that time to work out the kinks and figure out what was important enough to be included. I am really getting a feel for how my "style" is evolving - and learning to be happy with it! I find there is a lot of pressure (self imposed!) when looking at the oodles of beautiful projects on blogs, forums and on the dreaded but lovely Pinterest. I've felt like I wasn't doing it right if I didn't do this project the way everyone else was doing it with cute pocket fillers and tons of ephemera. But that style doesn't reflect my life. There is just too much with all four of my kids going in all four directions at once to leave things out in order to make room to include lumpy-bumpy filler. I'll try to keep the pretty and consistent esthetic, but I've never been one for tons of ephemera or fill, for myself.

What appeals to me about Project Life is that I can get it done quickly. I've learned to use some organizational tools and scaled back my handling of pictures and stories to streamline my process. I spend an hour or two during the week making sure to record stories and take photos then put it all together on Sunday afternoon. I spend an hour choosing photos and mapping out my week. After those two hours of prep work, If it takes me more than an hour to get the spread finished - and photographed - then I've taken too much time. I want to live this life, not just record it.

WEEK TWO

WEEK 2 | LEFT SIDE

WEEK 2 | RIGHT SIDE

WEEK 2 | INSERTS

Wrapping up YEAR FIVE of 12 of 12 :) Best project ever because, for me, it was so do-able. I'm so glad to incorporate it into my Project Life last year and now this one, too!

I definitely needed this validation this week!

WEEK THREE

Week 3 | Left Side

Week 3 | Right Side

Week 3 | Inserts

There is a back side, but I've elected to keep it in the album, unshared :)

* * * * *

What is Project Life? Developed by Becky Higgins, Project Life is a memory-keeping system which I use to document, with words and photographs, our very full life, each week of the year! It is really flexible and has made it so much easier to save our stories.

Let's Try This Again | Project Life 2.0

Well, not really again, just a continuation of a wonderful project. After all, life doesn't really stop to start all over again. I have all of the components - photos and stories - to finish off 2012, I just haven't done it yet! I'm about a quarter (13 weeks) behind.

Alas, it has been put on the back burner, until I carve out some dedicated time.

Right now I'm fully engaged in keeping up with my life - and doing my best to record as much as I can to include in weekly layouts. Along the way, I've made a few tweaks to how I've approached this project. I'm hoping these changes will result in more finished weeks. I live forever in hope!

My cover page for 2013 is simple:

The best part of coming up with this opening page was going back through all of my "flagged" photos and finding my absolute favourite pics of my kids taken in 2012. My how they make me laugh and the photos bring back such wonderful memories of wonderful times: Claire snorts when she laughs, Cole kind of let me take "headshots", Chloé loses herself on stage and it is an amazing transformation and Caden, well, he's just a silly goofy pre-teen :)

The first week of 2013 looked like this:

WEEK 1 | LEFT SIDE

WEEK 1 | RIGHT SIDE

WEEK 1 | INSERTS

I wasn't sure if I was going to include inserts this year, but with my clear addiction to Pinterest, I don't know that it will be possible to avoid them! Plus, with so much going on around here all the time, inserts are inevitable.

To be honest, I have no clue where I got this (the link on Pinterest is broken), but it is bright and colourful and in keeping with my attitude toward the upcoming year :)

I've saved this quote a number of times. Perfect for any time of the year, but it is certainly fitting for the first week of the year. The colour is in keeping with my current mood and the font is Museo Slab which I'm using in the project this year.

And with that, my Opening Page and Week 1 is complete. Whoot! Well, complete and shared. I'm actually all up to date. Not bad for 3 full weeks in ;)

Are you participating in Project Life? What lessons have you learned? What are you looking for this project to bring to your life?

and ...

Help!

If anyone knows what lens to use, or settings on a point-and-shoot, to get less curve when taking photos of a 12x12 page for sharing, your advice would be greatly appreciated!

Project Life | 2.0

Or the "lets start this again" version.

Which isn't to say that I've given up on finishing the 2012 version, it's just that I don't want to get so far behind on 2013 that I'm sunk before I start.

This time I've better prepared myself for success taking with me the lessons learned from my first attempt. Instead of getting bogged down on all of the "great ideas" and "must do's" floating around out there in Pinterest-land and elsewhere, I've spent the last week or so being really mindful of what will make this work by really knowing what didn't work last time.

My hang up? Photos - and their development time. I would have to wait to accumulate enough photos to make it worth the effort to sit down on the computer and place an order. There was that wait time combined with the wait time to actually receive the order, then the making time to get them in the album. That made for a lot of wasted time that needed refinement.

My other hang up? Not having a concrete plan. Each week you have to be open enough to go with the flow but at the same time I forgot about keeping a consistent framework. I had no framework. I need framework.

I don't need the stars to align to make a project work, but I couldn't seem to find the time to focus on what was wrong and how to make it right. The easy change would be for me to go 100% digital and be done with it. As appealing as that option is, I don't want to - this is the very last project I have that is tactile: paper and glue and all of those fun things that I love about all things scrapbooky. I love the photos. I love the stories. I miss the chipboard, glitter and the glue.

This is what I've done, so far:

PHOTOS

Even though Fortino's has closed their photo lab and has left only those awful Kodak kiosks, I love that it's so convenient - just across the street. I signed up for photolab.ca and all of my 4x6, 5x7 and 8x10 photos will be ordered from there. It takes a maximum of 5 business days for them to be delivered to the store. Better than waiting a month! I will continue to order all 8.5x11 and 12x12 prints from Persnickety Prints. (For sharing online purposes the prints aren't necessary, right?)

FRAMEWORK

By way of my brilliant and organized friend, Monica McNeill, I discovered the perfect Journal/Planner designed by Marcy Penner and available in her shop - for free! I have printed off 52 weeks and expect to use it every day to keep me on track. Since I use only the "A" page protectors for each week of my Project Life that does make things easier. Oh, and I'm a calendar person - a numbered calendar. I made mine, complete with Canadian holidays, over at calendarlabs.com. Combining the planner and the calendar in a binder, and corresponding files on my desktop and in iPhoto, I have everything ready to go.

ACCOUNTABILITY

I'm starting to think "accountable" is going to be my sub-one little word this year! My plan is to publish my Project Life progress here on the blog every other week. I'm not a designer, I am not on any design team nor am I auditioning for one, so there is no reason to put any false pressure on myself. It'll get done as it gets done and shared as it gets shared, but there is a plan and that's what I need. (I am ever so grateful for those who are designers and on design teams as I'm learning a ton and am incredibly inspired!!)

So, what about you? Do you participate in Project Life? What structure have you created to make it successful for you? How do you stay accountable?

Project Life | 25 & 26

PROJECT LIFE | 25

17 June - 23 June, 2012
Big Events: Sunny skies, closing ceremonies and a job interview :)

LEFT:

RIGHT:

PROJECT LIFE | 26

24 June - 30 June, 2012
Big Events: Prom (and drama), more dentist, time to lounge!

LEFT:

RIGHT:

INSERTS:

And with that, ALBUM TWO IS COMPLETE!

I am amazed I managed to make it through the first month ... let alone these 26 weeks.

And there is more to come. I just have to find the time to photo, edit and upload. Look for them soon :) In the meantime, how is your project coming along?

Project Life | 22, 23 & 24

PROJECT LIFE | 22

27 May - 02 June, 2012
Big Events: Football, baseball, dragonboat, dentist, production, meetings ...

LEFT:

RIGHT:

INSERTS:

 

PROJECT LIFE | 23

03 June - 09 June, 2012
Big Events: Activities are winding up and down! LOTS of studying for exams.

LEFT:

 

RIGHT:

INSERTS:

PROJECT LIFE | 24

10 June - 16 June, 2012
Big Events: Exam week, birthday celebrations

LEFT:

 

RIGHT:

 

INSERT:

It's so nice to look back! I know I keep saying that but it's so true. Confirmation that this is a wonderful project.

I am waffling. I started this project as it would be the last year that the kids would all be together as a family - even with Claire in boarding starting in September. I wanted it all documented. The more I look back the more I want to do it again next year. But it is a lot of work and I don't know if I'm dedicated or disciplined enough to do it again.

Pondering ...

Project Life | 19, 20 & 21

PROJECT LIFE | 19

06 May - 12 May, 2012
Big Events: Softball, baseball, softball, baseball!

LEFT:

RIGHT:

INSERTS:

 

PROJECT LIFE | 20

13 May - 19 May, 2012
Big Events: Field trips for Caden - Salmon Release and War Plane museums

LEFT:

RIGHT:

INSERTS:

 

PROJECT LIFE | 21

20 May - 26 May, 2012
Big Events: iPhones for everyone!

LEFT:

RIGHT:

INSERTS:

Whew!

It is so much fun going back and seeing what we were doing just a few short - warm - months ago :)

Project Life | 16, 17 & 18

PROJECT LIFE | 16

15 April - 21 April, 2012
Big Events: Bags packed and ready to go - Arizona here I come!

LEFT:

RIGHT:

INSERTS:

 

PROJECT LIFE | 17

22 April - 28 April, 2012
Big Events: A Week in the Life!

LEFT:

RIGHT:

INSERTS:

If you need more, check out my Week In The Life. It's awesome!

PROJECT LIFE | 18

29 April - 05 May, 2012
Big Events: Softball, baseball, softball, baseball! The season is here :)

LEFT:

RIGHT:

INSERTS:

I'm working on more catch-up.

In the meantime, what was your favourite part of your own Project Life? Was there something you did week to week, or something you discovered along the way?

Project Life | 14 & 15

We're on to ALBUM TWO! Whoot :)

PROJECT LIFE | WEEK 14

01 April - 07 April, 2012
Big Events: Met with Katrina Samson at school. Lots of new beginnings, lots of endings and lots up in the air.

LEFT:

RIGHT:

INSERTS:

PROJECT LIFE | WEEK 15

08 - 14 April, 2012
Big Events: The Masters and Easter dinner with the McCarley's. Actually, looking back it was pretty full!

INSERTS:

Though I wish I had been more timely sharing my Project Life updates, it's kind of fun to see what was going on in my life last April! Often, my life feels like it's going at warp speed and I like this opportunity to look back and see what was going on.

Do you go back in your year and check your progress? Re-live the good and the bad?

More updates soon!

Project Life | Keeping Up & Plans

I have not posted much of my Project Life lately. It's not that I'm not cultivating a good life and recording it in photos and stories, it's just that the process of sharing it all can be pretty overwhelming.

That is completely MY FAULT.

The system, as designed by Becky Higgins, is pretty simple but I've chosen to make it complicated and more full than necessary. Going forward I have to learn to scale back and realize that Project Life IS NOT A PERPETUAL WEEK IN THE LIFE, it is a simple glimpse of our lives with a few stories, not every story!

I will continue the project through the end of the year so as to have a complete 2012 chapter. And boy, is it ever complete! I have just started my FOURTH album. Sometimes I can't shake some habits, one of which is thinking of my life in quarters - just like when I would be doing profit & loss analysis and merchandising plans. I just can't to split the year into thirds :)

There are a few things that take, to my mind, far too much time:

1. I don't like using the Kodak photo printing kiosk at the store. I send my photos to Persnickety Prints. The quality is FANTASTIC - the timing, and the duties charged, not so fabulous. I'd love to find something local that a) wouldn't cost me buckets of money, b) would print 8.5 x 11 photos, and c) wouldn't take oodles of time to process.

To compound this problem, in order to make the photo processing cost effective - mostly shipping charges, I send in a few weeks worth of photos at a time. The problem with that is I get out of the rhythm of doing the project and I have to admit I've been caught WEEKS behind from time to time! 

2. Taking and editing (aka cropping and straightening) photos to upload here on the blog. There really has to be a faster way.

3. Ordering the "extra" page protectors is expensive and cumbersome. Amazon.com does not ship to Canada so I order them to be shipped to my sister in the States, she in turn ships them to me. Sometimes I'm lucky and get a personal delivery!

If I'm to do this project next year, I'll definitely have to make a few changes.

1. Do not over-think and just get it done. Done is better than perfect, right?

2. Do "Week in Review" updates a la Cathy Zielske

3. Incorporate more words and fewer photos.

I will also have to figure out how best to feature Project Life here on the blog.

What about you? How is Project Life going?

* * * * *

The last couple of weeks in Album One:

PROJECT LIFE | WEEK 12

18 March - 24 March, 2012
Big Events: All my kids are home! LOTS of stories to share.

LEFT:

RIGHT:

INSERTS:

PROJECT LIFE | WEEK 13

25 March - 31 March, 2012
Big Events: Baseball evaluations in a new league for Claire and Cole has an adventure at the ultrasound clinic.

 

LEFT:

RIGHT:

INSERTS:

 

EXTRAS:

First quarter done and shared! I'll have to figure out the best way to share the other two completed albums without overwhelming everyone :)

Project Life | 11

PROJECT LIFE | 11
11 March - 17 March, 2012
Big Events: March Break!

INSERTS | I had to include my 12of12 layout for March! I also printed out a blog post that needed to be included as part of where we are now.

Still behind, but steadily catching up!

How are you enjoying your Project Life, so far?

Project Life | 10

 

PROJECT LIFE | 10
04 March - 10 March, 2012
Big Events: Holiday Preparations and Cole interviews for an exchange trip.

Close Up:

INSERT ONE: I really enjoyed this post. It really resonated in me and I wanted to have a place where it could be easily found and read - when I need it!

And with that, my catch-up has ended at week 10! I have not been too pleased with the Kodak photo developing kiosk at the store, so I'm now sending all of my photos off to Persnickety Prints. It is time consuming (prints take about 10 business days to be delivered), but I believe it will be worth it.

Upon receipt of the next batch of photos I hope to be posting my Project Life regularly - or as regularly as possible - on Tuesdays. If you've been following along, you'll realize things are in a constant state of flux around here!

Project Life | 09

PROJECT LIFE | 09
26 February - 03 March, 2012
Big Events: New truck, Cole is in the Appleby production of GREASE!

INSERT ONE: What We're Watching NOW

INSERT TWO: Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Totally exciting week. I'm still working on the "Grease" pages and will insert them once they're done. It was such a wonderful event and Cole ROCKED his part as "Teen Angel".

My catch-up continues tomorrow with Week 10.

Project Life | 08

PROJECT LIFE | 08
19 February - 25 February, 2012
Big Events: New truck, Harvey's (FINALLY) Opens and Claire goes to Semi.

Close Up:

INSERT ONE:

INSERT TWO:

I am so loving this project! THIS is what scrapbooking is to me - easy memory keeping. The big moments, the little moments and every moment in between. Wonderful.

How about you? What have you discovered in your Project Life journey?

Back tomorrow with Week 9!

Project Life | 07

PROJECT LIFE | 07
12 February - 18 February, 2012
Big Event: Caden gets a social life! Claire has THREE volleyball games. Oh, and Valentine's Day. And potential resolution.

Close Up:

INSERT ONE: "I love you"

 Printible can be found here on Landy See, Landee Do.

INSERT TWO: "Motherhood"

Can't for the life of me find the original. The frustration of Pinterest!

INSERT THREE: Chick Flicks

INSERT FOUR: They'll work it out

I've also figured the best place to keep my 12of12's each month is right in my Project Life albums.

What about you? How was your Week 7?

Look for my Week 8 to be posted next Tuesday. In the meantime, I'm busy keeping on top of A Week in the Life. Are you participating?

Project Life | 06

PROJECT LIFE | 06
05 February - 11 February, 2012
Big Events: A Day in the Life is highlighted and we get a new water heater!

A DAY IN THE LIFE: An Ali Edwards Inspiration

INSERT ONE: Just One Little Hour


Whew! THAT was a very full week. How about yours? 

I'll be back again tomorrow with Week 7 :)

Project Life | 05

PROJECT LIFE | 05
29 January - 04 February, 2012
Big Events: Cole turns 15 | Caden has a tournament

Close Up:

INSERT ONE: Birthday Note from Mama

Template: Cathy Zielske | Digital Papers: Karla Dudley

INSERT TWO: Q&A

(A quick note: I thought I had misplaced Cole's original answers and asked him answer the same questions - in March. He was in such a different head space later. Winter for Cole was really quite brutal on many levels. I'll post the more Cole-like responses with some insight, later.)

 

Template: Cathy Zielske | Digital Papers: Karen Lewis

And with that, Week 5 is complete!

Come back tomorrow to see what Week 6 looked like :)

Project Life | Process

I seem to live my life in my vehicle. Kids here, kids there, even with schedules changing, time in the truck stays constant. In short, we have incredibly full schedules and I have to admit that often that gets in the way of my doing things I enjoy, but I'm good at keeping up with those things I love most. One of those things happens to be my Project Life.

Last week, I bemoaned the fact I was not keeping up with Project Life. To be specific, it's not that I'm not keeping up with the project, it's that I'm not keeping up with things HERE. Nicole was right in her observation, it takes a lot to produce, photograph, edit and upload each week. It really does.

Nicole then asked about my process. I am always curious about the process of others - but often oblivious to my own. Her question made me think about what it is I do each week to keep up with my Project Life. So, here it is:

ONE DAY |  I decided early on that I would only work one day a week on the actual production of my pages and that would be SUNDAY as that is the day that, at the time, had the least amount on my schedule.

Well, my one day plan is still working, but it may just end up being Saturday. Until football season starts and then it'll have to change again! If I let it be more than one specific time I'd let it take over, so I'm very clear with myself that there is only a specific time carved out for this project. That way I can fit in everything else I want to do.

ONE PLACE |  I decided early on that I would keep all of the photos and ephemera for the project in one place. Then I got caught a bit behind. You know, life got in the way. My one place (the end of my kitchen counter) got a bit, well, overwhelmed.

My one place has morphed. After a couple of false starts - file folders, manilla envelopes, binders and envelopes combined - I decided to simplify and use what I've got on hand. A long time ago I was a Creative Memories consultant. That combined with my purchasing background made for a decidedly huge amount of "stale" inventory. I figured I'd put it to use!

This is my "final"system, and it works GREAT! For now.

It started with these old plastic envelopes from Creative Memories:

Then this old tin from Ikea:

Then some labels cut from Project Life Digital Papers (Turquoise Edition):

To which I added dates on leftover Staples brand return address labels:

This is what it looks like with the envelopes filling up. The labels are January - June going in one direction and July - December in the other direction.

This part is KEY:

This template is from Marcy Penner and I could not do this project without it. I map out my photos and ephemera and slip it in the front of the envelope. As I'm playing a bit of catch up it really helps me maximize my time. You know, I don't have to rethink things already thought!

Click on the template above and it will take you to Marcy's blog and ALL of the brilliant Project Life templates she has so generously made available.

A few more things:

I have kept my project selection LIMITED. It does two things: keeps me from focusing on stuff and more on the project AND it forces me to be innovative with reduced choices.

Elements:

• Computer & Printer
• Project Life Turquoise Edition (Both traditional and digi)
• Bazzill Orange Peel Paper
• Basic Grey Basics Label Stickers (I think I have all of the stock left!)
• Tonic Trimmer and Scissors
• Basic Stapler
• Zig (0.5 and 1.2) and Copic .03 Black Pens

Favourite Go-To Digital Templates:

• Ali Edwards' Words and Photos Layered Templates indeed, almost anything by Ali Edwards with her simple and elegant esthetic will work.

• And I tried to pick a few from Cathy Zielske and am left at a loss to pick just one! So head over and see all of the goodness she has available.

I'll be sure to link-up to the right template each week when they're used.

Photos:

For quick photo development I've been running across the street to our local Fortino's. I loved the place when it had a full sized photo finishing lab, but now it's just those Kodak kiosks. Time to look elsewhere.

I am thrilled with the quality and service for 8.5x11 and 12x12 prints sent to Persnickety Prints. It takes 10+ days to get the photos back, but it's been worth it.

It is because of this extra time inserts take to print that I'll always be a few weeks behind when posting my Project Life pages.

ONE STORY |  I am doing my very best to focus each week on one specific story. I'm trying to strike a balance between children, between light and heavy, between happy and sad. One week there are 10 stories and the next there are none! I know it's hard to believe, but really, it happens, even when you're playing close attention.

ONE VIEW |  The story I'm telling is ours, from my point of view. I thought about including input from everyone through the weeks but it is becoming increasingly clear that would be an unsustainable goal. This is a BIG year. Not only am I going through the challenge of separation - which is, in my case, just a year of purgatory before I can file for divorce (the Canadian system really is ridiculous); the kids (sadly) do not see their dad, at all, his choice; Claire leaves for boarding at school in September, further changing the dynamic of our family.

And there you have it. My process. Hope it helps, Nicole!

What about you? Have you found a system that works?

Project Life | Update 1

I know.

What the heck happened after Week 4?

I got stuck in panic mode. Stars were not in perfect alignment. There were a few hiccups.

• My order from Persnickety Prints got hung up because I didn't place the order properly - completely my fault. (The order arrived and it is, as always, perfect.)
• My beautiful Orange We R Memory Keepers Album broke and had to be replaced - not easy to do here in the Great White North with almost no actual scrapbook stores that carry useful scrapbook product. I replaced on line. (The order arrived and I got smart and ordered extras.)
• My Sunday assemble rhythm was totally interrupted and I was stuck for a decent place to take a decent photo! Frustrating. (Still looking for a good photo-taking time and place.)
• I over-committed my time and was unable to carve out some time to dedicate to what I actually wanted to do between driving kids all over town, running my own errands and making plans for Spring Break. (Time is still at a premium, but the flow is improving.)

Did I quit? Nope. I'm moving right along capturing photos and stories. I'm on track and completed Week 14 on Sunday! I've actually perfected a system that is working really well, with the exception of the photo taking and uploading to share here. THAT will be my goal for this week. Catch up on all of my weekly layout photos and post them here.

How are you doing with your Project Life? Any hiccups of your own?

Project Life | 04

PROJECT LIFE | 04
22 January - 28 January, 2012
Big Event: Cole goes on a school music trip & Chinese New Year

I am really enjoying this project - even when there are challenging stories to add, it is all within the context and flow of our lives. A true representation of our life week to week.

REFLECTION | My album is, surprisingly, photo-heavy. I really expected it to be far more story based, but I've realized I'm making more of a picture book - barely touching the cards that came with the kit. I'm happy it's simple: photos, stories, stickers and stapler!

How has your Project Life surprised you?

Project Life | 03

In spite of not being around here, I've kept up with my commitment to Project Life. I'm a bit behind sharing the events of our lives, but here we go ...

PROJECT LIFE | 03
15 January - 21 January, 2012
It feels so long ago!

[2-page spread inserts removed]

[Left side]

[Right side]

INSERT ONE:

This was my "Lifting: Naming Your Petals" post from 18 January. Petals on front, article on back.

INSERT TWO:

I'm still waiting for my prints to come back from Persnickety Prints. That's where I send anything over a 6x8 size since around here any bigger is a) hard to find or b) exceedingly expensive or c) complicated. In the meantime, the .jpg files are here. Templates used: Ali Edwards Words and Photos 6x12 Templates (top) and Cathy Zielske 6x12 Photo Templates (modified).

INSERT THREE:

Old Timers Program & Hockey Photo

Our lives are full and I can't imagine having any less than a 2-page spread per week. It also helps my effort for somewhat-equal representation, I need the space!

REFLECTION | I like being a bit "behind". It gives me a chance to get the ephemera organized (if not printed and returned) and longer insert stories written out properly, with a bit of perspective that comes with time.

How are you coming along with your Project Life?

Project Life | 02

I was commenting on my friend Katrina's blog yesterday "I finished my pages today and cried. THIS is the type of album I want to make. All the stuff that fits and doesn't quite fit. The mess of it all makes it perfect." I am also really surprised, since I'm not a fan of messy or cluttered, that this feels so right. So happy I started!

LEFT SIDE:

INSERTS (6" x 12" and 8.5" x 11"):

Template: CZ Weekly Wrap Ups Vol. 01

12 of 12 page based on this post.

RIGHT SIDE:

And with that, Week 2 has been completed. I'm now taking photos and recording stories for Week 3 and coming up with oodles of ideas for other projects. It's amazing how just a bit of creativity can spark a whole lot of creativity with just a little thought and bit of effort.

I'm still developing a process that works. A few tweaks and I'll be able to share.

How are you coming with your Project Life? Are you participating? Are you not? Let me know :)

Project Life | 01

Reading the multitude of fabulous articles on the topic, I have been infused with enthusiasm over Project Life. For the last couple of years I've looked, with longing, at all of the projects being completed and thought it was just too big a commitment for me to handle.

In reality it is perfect! It can be as big or as small as I choose for it to be.

I have a thing for "order" and "control". I know, surprised you, eh? The problem is that particular trait often wars with my desire to be interesting and creative.

I'm planning (er, hoping?) that this project will help me keep control of our ephemera and photos as well as provide order in my story telling. Every once in awhile - STOP, who am I kidding? - ALWAYS, our life is going at such a break-neck pace I'm hoping it will help me easily recognize the flow of our lives, identify routine stories and the extraordinary stories, and all of the stories in between. I love how the ladies on the creative team are so very different and how they've approached the project to work best in their lives.

This is something I can do.

I'm happy to know I can have order and control and be interesting and creative. All in one box :)

Okay.

So, I've finished my first week and I'm pleased (can you tell?) with how things are going:

LEFT SIDE

INSERT (6"x12")

RIGHT SIDE

Now, I have to admit apologise for my photos. In this new house I have yet to find a good place to take a glare-free photo. Not as easy as one might think! Bare with me, it will get better over time, I hope.

Oh, and a quick shout out to Marcy Penner who posted these wonderful printables which greatly helped me, the spacially unaware, figure out how I wanted to organize my first pages. I know these will come in handy for future weeks!

Remember thosearticles I've been reading? Well this one has me convinced to write a letter to my children each week, or, as is the case this week, a quick list of observations:

And, over here? I love the idea of taking a photo of all four of my kids - together - once a week. This is our first installment:

Yes! Got them! With eyes rolling, all four have agreed to pose for one photo a week - together - for 52 weeks. I was brutally honest with the ENORMITY of their commitment and they've decided it's not a fight worth having. Yay!

With all of that, I have to caution myself to pace myself. I don't want to set some crazy precedence nor do I want to have multiple albums by the end of the year. This, for me, is to be simple and do-able.

As I promised myself at the outset, I've included a couple of inserts. This week these are inspirational things I've found on-line over the last little while. There has been an EXPLOSION of ideas and I wanted to narrow it down to two things that resonated with me, now.

Over on Be More With Less, Courtney Carver posted "How to Make a Love List" and it really appealed to me. As much as my Project Life is about my kids and our life here and now, it's also about me. I want to include some snippets of things that interest me within the book. In this case, I quickly printed out my own Love List on a 6"x12" insert:

and while I was cleaning out my computer I came across a Steve Jobs quote printable - I can't attribute it because I have no idea where I found it (probably life pre-Pinterest) - I didn't want it "lost" in the computer, and it's so brilliant, I had to include it. With my kids being teenagers and well-on-their-way to their own lives THIS is the message I want them go get:

Smart, eh?

Yeah, the quote and the project.

525,600 minutes + 1,440 more

Are you familiar with the song from Rent?

As the chorus goes:

525,600 minutes, 525,600 moments so dear.
525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee.
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.
In 525,600 minutes - how do you measure a year in the life?
How about love? How about love? How about love?
Measure in love. Seasons of love.

Well, this year is filled with 527,040 minutes given that it's a leap year. One more day of daylight, sunsets, midnight and plenty more coffee! No inches or miles around here (we prefer centimeters and meters) but I expect plenty of laughter and I hope strife stays in it's place - back in 2011! No matter, it will always be measured in love. Seasons of love.

In order to celebrate each and every one of those 527,040 moments, I've elected to participate in Project Life. The older and more independent my kids become, I find it more difficult to find the time to scrapbook in any traditional way. This knowledge has filled me with fear: I am afraid of losing our stories. Our everyday memories and traditions. So many have been recorded, but there is so much more now that we are all making full and rich lives for ourselves.

THIS project will be the keeper of our life stories for this year. In addition to the ever changing photos and stories, it will hold:

• Mileage (since I spend so much time in my truck)
• Weather (hey, I'm Canadian, it's all about the weather)
• BBM Conversations (a source of much joy and poor grammar)
• Facebook/Twitter Updates
• Blog Articles/Comments
• Gas Prices
• New Recipes/Kitchen Experiments
• Receipts
• New Discoveries: songs, books, blogs, stores, foods, quotes, ideas

I'm hoping to format each week with a Left Page, Insert, Right Page

Inserts will include:

Long journalers for bigger stories, 4 Simple Goals, 10 Things Project, The Current, TGIF, Wishcasting Wednesday, Reflections, and whatever else I discover through the year.

So far it's feeling a bit chaotic, but now that I have most of the elements understood and the opening page put together, things should be manageable. I always find things go more smoothly when it's been thoroughly prepared. Much like my Week in the Life or my December Daily projects, the more time spent in the preparation for success makes the result worth it! The theory also works with painting rooms and laundry :) I'm excited to get started - I'm even more excited to live the stories that will be recorded.

In addition to the Project Life kit (I purchased the older turquoise version), I supplemented with the coordinating digital elements and some Basic Grey stickers I've used in the past and LOVED. I even found a Canadian supplier for my We R Memory Keeper albums and got myself one in orange and aqua. I also got a LOT of cardstock. Oh, and PLENTY of post-it notes which will litter the pages as reminders for what to put where once photos are developed!

Yes, if your keeping track, this is a rather expensive undertaking BUT if this ends up, as planned, being the primary method to store most of my stories - in addition to a couple of other self-contained projects - it should turn out to be more cost-effective than just purchasing at random too much beautiful and addictive scrapbook supplies with some vague idea of purpose. It's about using, not collecting. Right?

What about you? How do you record your stories? Your photos? Your life?

Project Life | 2012

I have always found the Becky Higgins Project Life to be really appealing but didn't know how I could possibly:

1. Manage the ephemera
2. Find the time to keep up
3. Justify the cost - Canadian costs are always ginormous

Each week I've seen blog entries from Ali Edwards, Monica McNeill, Liz Tamanaha and Marcy Penner, all living full and active lives. I visit the Project Life community on occasion, also filled with people with active and full lives. The reality is, I have no excuses!

Recently I came to the realization that this is the perfect time to gear myself up and record our time, right now. We are on our journey to find our new normal and there is lot of change underway. I'll figure out how to manage the (lack of) ephemera, I'll find the time to take photos and record our stories and I'll rationalize the cost.

Last week, I signed onto amazon.com only to find out that the products couldn't be shipped to Canada. I then discovered via BeckyHiggins.com that I could order the materials from Scrapbookers Inner Circle located in Alberta. Bonus? Free shipping for orders over $80!

Any day now I expect to receive:

and I knew I'd need some of these, so I ordered two:

All of these cards, filled with stories, combined with photos and the (dreaded) ephemera, will go into these pages:

and these pages:

and these, too:

I have a ton of other protectors, so I can always supplement with more if I need more. I got enough to get me started.

For those familiar with the program you'll notice that no, I did not buy the "new" offerings for this year. Two reasons: they weren't available on the site at the time I ordered and, more important, I've never been sucked into the theory that new = better, it's just newer :)

There is a new digital option, and Becky Higgins announced other big news yesterday, but I really want this to be a tactile experience for me. I miss that part of scrapbooking and this may be the way to keep me engaged - in an orderly manner now that I no longer have a huge craft room to contain my creative messes!

What about you? Do you participate in a Project Life project? What have you learned from it?