AE : 365 : Project Life Updates

Ali, this is so awesome and SO inspiring!! Lately I've been feeling deflated in the realm of scrapbooking and not inspired by anything. This REALLY inspires me to get back to the CORE of scrapbooking and what it's all about. I've always thought that a project like this HAD to start in January. (crazy I know!) Thanks for always sharing your talent - so uplifting!!

Definitely enjoyed seeing an update on your 365 project, Ali. I really love how you "made it your own". I did a week in review album last year, and love having that whole snapshot of my year. This year I started out going the 365 route, but life has gotten in the way, and I just haven't felt like taking photos this month. Only rarely am I inspired to do so. After feeling guilty about it for awhile, I thought, why push it? I'll just work with what I have, format it a little differently, and have an album that more represents the type of year I'm having so far. Maybe next month will be different!

I really like the way you are doing your album. I tired one last year and gave up about half way through the year. Being single, having my Mom living iwth me and both of us disabled it seems like we didn't have enough going on in our lives to come up with enough to fill one. Now I'm seeing how I could have done it differently. Maybe next year I will do one again.

I've been having fun with my Project Life album as well. I make sure to fill out the little "diary" card at the end of the day and put them all in a pile. I have a small photo primter so I print all the photos at the end of the week and update the pages. I am taking pictures of our "Daily life" when nothing out of the ordinary happens.

Thanks for the update. I collect all kinds of stuff but never know quite what to do with it. Now I know!

I think I've always been intimidated by these year long, every day kind of projects, but I really like your approach! It would totally work for me to include things other than photos for several of the days and I like that you include larger bits as well. I think my plate is pretty full right at this moment, but this is definitely a way I would consider incorporating it into my family's memory keeping! :>

Do you think this is something you'll do yearly? Also, the album looks so big. Where do you plan to tuck it away when it's not on your office cabinet? It looks really neat BTW!

I LOVE the idea of designating a spot for the album to stay open. What a simple, obvious, but completely overlooked (by me) solution.
Wow.

This is wonderful Ali and it's great that you are doing this for Anna's young baby/toddler years...because it goes so darn fast! Also, it incorporates everyone in your family and not just the "baby" so that Simon doesn't feel left out. Sometimes people go crazy doing a baby album and the other siblings feel left out and not special anymore. This is a great "journal" place where you can have a reference to look back on the details when you are working on the individual albums for each child. But as you mention, it is a "good" habit to get into and having the portrait sleeves and pocket pages makes this easy to collect the memoriabilia and photos without having to feel like you have to pull out all the papers/ephemera like you do for traditional albums. This is a great place for people who are tradtional "journalers" to start "scrapbooking" and not feel limited and/or overwhelmed. Just delightful to see this process...thanks for sharing and updating us all. Fondly, Roberta

I noticed that all the photo pockets are for horizontal photos only. Are you feeling limited at all in not being able to include vertical shots more?

Fabulous! thanks for sharing again. i love your approach!

I don't know if anyone has mentioned it, but I thought I would give you an idea of how to get the page protectors through your sewing machine more easily ... Put a sheet of paper --like computer paper, or just notebook paper, or even newspaper or tissue paper-- underneath your page protector and run it through the machine together. The paper creates more stability for stitching and after you've sewn, you can tear away the paper with no damage to the page protector. Save the scraps for the next stitching!

Ali and everyone that has commented! Great ideas - especially the sewing technique! I have had a calendar posted in my daughters room since she was born (she is now 9!) and each day when I go in to say goodnight, I write a comment about something she did, or we did that day as a family. I intended to keep the calendar from her first year, but into her 2nd year she was doing the cutest things. Now I keep the calendars to help me document when I get behind in my scrappin' and its helping me with Project 365. I love the idea of leaving the album open on a table or desk... hhhmmm. now where should I keep it??
Thanks for the continued inspiration!

I was just thinking this morning, I wonder if Ali will post more of her 365 pages? Thanks for reading my mind! I'm doing it again this year, the same process as you--photos and ephemera from daily life (Top Ramen wrapper this week as my kids are sick and that's the only time they get ramen!). I love seeing your pages, and you are right--keeping the book out makes all the difference. I started doing that about March of last year and it was so much easier to keep it up. Thanks for sharing with us!

your album is looking great. i love the pic of anna with the pouty face, LOL.

Not me, mainly because I take almost 95% horizontal photos. I do have one in there so far and I just put it in sideways (whoever is looking at it can simply turn it to see).

It is huge - at least 3-inches at the spine. Not sure I will do this yearly - maybe every couple of years. I will know more how I am feeling about it towards the end of the year. I have a shelf-unit (metal kitchen shelves) that hold all my albums at this time. It will go there as well.

Ali, your album is looking crazy cool. Thanks for inspiring me add a few "extra" to the journaling card. My album is looking better already!

I am so in love with this.
and the ace hotel!

Beautiful -- I love the way it's coming together :-)
A question:
Ali, I was wondering if you felt limited at all by the horizontal-only option of the page protectors? Maybe it's a personal preference, but I find I take a ton of vertical shots and this album idea seems like it wouldn't work for me. Have you run into that yet?