AE Approach | Project Life 2011
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My Project Life kit arrived on my doorstep last week.
As I was opening up the box I was thinking about how I want to approach my album this year. I peeked in at the Project Life Community at Big Picture (it's free) to see what people were chatting about and was inspired by all the different ways people have approached this album.
I love how people are liberating themselves from thinking this has to be a 365 project (which it totally doesn't and it totally can be) and making it work for them.
What I've decided is that I'd love for this album to be a family effort. I loved how someone recently mentioned that they kept their album in their kitchen/dining room and printed photos as they went along. I'm thinking that this might be just what I want to do. I want to encourage Simon and Anna and Chris to be participants in the documenting of our lives - even little things will go a long way in making it "our" project.
In this house I actually have some extra counter space in our kitchen that might be the perfect home for this project. I purchased a new little 4x6 printer that could have a home on the counter and will simplify the process even more. Hook up camera, pick a photo, print. Grab a card, write a few words. This means less time spent messing with the photos in Photoshop. Once I get everything set up there I'll share some photos and more details.
Having the album out in the open, in my experience, is really one of the keys to making it happen (even if it's only to stuff random things in the pockets like I did most of last year).
Here's some things I'm thinking about and ways to include my family in the process:
I'd love to include cards of gratitude from each of us at least one week a month. This might be a nice Sunday activity for us.
Maybe a family photo per month a laTara Whitney's family photo project which I just love, love, love.
I'm keeping it simpler this year and plan to just hand-write or use my typewriter on all the journal cards. No reason for me not too and I love that I can hand one over to Simon or Chris and ask them to jot down a couple things.
I'm not married to making this a 365 project. I anticipate (from my past experience) that some weeks I'll take a photo a day and other weeks I won't. My album will be a combination of photos and what I like to call the stuff of life (papers, drawings, receipts, etc). What I love most about my 2010 album is how I really did collect things throughout the year even when I had zero focus on daily photo-taking and journaling.
A family journal, compiled by our family. It makes my heart beat just a bit faster thinking about it.
I'll let you know how it goes.
And for those of you wondering, my 2010 album is still in process.
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111 comments
Love your idea of keeping the album out so everyone can add to it. I was thinging about how to do something similar. Problem is there is no "extra" surface space in my house at the moment so I need to work that out first. Good goal for January.
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I am wondering if you have any ideas as to how I could go about covering the Project Life binder? I love all of the page protectors and many of the cards, but I would like to make the binder itself look a bit more simple. Any thoughts?
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Hi Stacy - I put mine for 2011 into a black We Are Memory Keepers 12x12 album: http://bit.ly/hmTfv7
I didn't love the design of the cover last year but ended up getting over it throughout the year as it was always open. This year though I know that she made the binder a bit smaller so I'm hoping that this will work.
I like plain albums :).
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I am loving your dec daily and hope you will post your project life frequently.
Thanks for the inspiration.
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I'm always in awe of your inspiration. Hope you have a wonderful 2011!!
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Is the Project Life and the Sun.-Sat. a png file; if so; did you do it or can it be bought somewhere? I love it!! Thank you so much! I love the first page!!! :)
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That's a part of the kit :).
I met to say Documenting Life not project life!! Sorry!
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by gluestickgirl, Mandy Robek, blissmamaof3, sportscardcollector, kelly mc willette and others. kelly mc willette said: love reading how Ali Edwards Design is doing her project life album this year....cannot wait for mine to be... http://fb.me/OGN2lYf7 [...]
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Are all the papers you used on the opening page part of the kit or do you use your own? I'm torn between the paper version and the digital version....
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The top right paper and the bottom two spaces are all my own stuff. The top left paper is from the kit. I will definitely be using the journal cards that are included in the kit - they are all the same style as that top right paper.
this is my question as well. I'm so on the verge of ordering this but wonder how easily I could just do this on my own. How much of that first page of yours is from the kit?
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Ali, A few months ago, I saw where someone put the days of the week on each of their photos for PL and I'm pretty sure it was your handwriting. Do you have any digital elements with the days of the week for a 4x6 photo?
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Hi! I also have a set of 365 overlays available here: http://www.designerdigitals.com/digital-scrapbooking/supplies/product_info.php/products_id/8895
That's perfect. Thank you!!
Hello, Not sure if this will help you or not but you can download Ali's handwriting font for free at Creating Keepsakes. You can even get Becky Higgins handwriting font too.
http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/articles/CK_free_fonts
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Cool. I wondered what your approach to this was going to be, and I was wondering if this was something I should pursue. Thanks for the insight, friend.
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a friend and i purchased the kit and plan to split it. neither one of us plan to do the whole year so this way we can save a little $ and free ourselves from feeling pressured to document every.single.day.
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I was thinking of doing the exact same thing Ali! As I toyed with the idea of doing one for each of my kids I realized that what I love about our 2010 PL is that it is OUR story. Our families history of one year of our lives and I put pictures in that are screaming for narration from the 5 & 10 year old that made those pictures happen. Now, my goal for this year is to collect more of the paper of our lives. We have a lot of it, I just didn't collect it this past year.
P.S. My 2010 is still meandering along too!;)
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wonderful opening page ali! i think this may push me over into doing this too:)
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Your cover page is great!! Think I may do the same thing:) I love the idea of having a station for it. This will be my second year doing PL and I was upset with myself when I looked back and saw how many days I don't have a picture for. I was planning on taking pictures to fill in for all the ones I don't have anything, but I recently changed my mind. I'm just going to let it go, I'll try harder this year hopefully, to take a picture or save something from each day. I think I'm going to try and get my family involved too! Thanks for the great ideas!
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Ali, I love your work! Can you direct me to your post on how you make little photos in Photoshop?
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I love the phrase that you wrote on one of your photos... "Horray for the everday!" What a fantastic album that would make. May give this idea a try!!
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Hi Joni - that's actually the front of an Ikea catalog :)
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Stuff of Life...that is exactly what my album is!!!!
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Hi Ali,
Just had to say hooray for today my kit came today, the same as yours. It is so awesome with all the letters, words, sayings. Fun colors, except a tad bit too much red for me but I still love love it. Now I have to set it up, thinking of doing something cool on the cover page as you did. Here's to another year full of everday memories.
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[...] *i am also participating in Becky Higgins’ Project 365. a photo a day for the whole year! can i do it? so far, i am 3 for 3! i plan to recap the past week’s photos on my blog. at the end of the day i am emailing myself a little blurb about the day so when i have the time to print out the photos and put my album together, i will have my journaling already done. could you imaging having to remember it all? i am thinking of ways to make it more personal. maybe get the family involved like Ali Edwards suggests. [...]
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[...] that Project Life is now on my kitchen counter. I’ll give an update in a post next [...]
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I LOVE this scrapbook style. Thank you so much for posting!
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