Project Life 2012

In June 2011, I started a Project Life scrapbook, mainly to document my summer break.  

(You can click HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE if you want to view those scrapbook pages.)

Fast forward to January 2012...I decided to purchase another Project Life binder and kit to document our first year as a family of three.

By June, my Project Life binder was so full of pictures and journaling and ephemera that I had to buy a second album.

Recently, I finished that second album and I'd love to share a sampling of my pages from both albums.

I chose these particular layouts with the following intentions in mind:
1) To share pictures and stories with family and friends.
and 
2) To share documentation ideas for those of you who are currently creating a Project Life album or are thinking about doing so.

So, let's get started...

All of these pictures were taken in January--in the first two weeks of Noah's life.
I used Design A photo pocket pages, so I could include both pictures and journaling.  
You'll notice I placed white mailing labels on a few of the pictures.  On them, I wrote a few details in an attempt to add some more context.

I used an American Crafts photo protector like this one when I wanted to showcase just pictures.  And boy, oh boy, did I take A LOT of photos in the first few months of Noah's life.

The photo in the top right corner has an Ali Edwards' overlay on it. 

Another page from January.

Sometimes, it seems like these pictures were taken just yesterday and other times, it seems like it was so, so long ago.  

On the "Real Life" journaling card, I listed the January highlights.  A good friend of mine recommended jotting down important events and milestones on a wall calendar throughout the year.  I did so, and then transferred the information to cards in my album.

My fourth grade students wrote letters to me after I left my teaching position.  This one, in particular, made my heart hurt--especially when Ariel wrote, "I really miss you, so does the class.  Why can't you just take Noah to day care and come teach us?"

I really hated having to leave my class mid-year--especially without any notice.  But once the long-term substitute was in place, the guilt I'd once felt subsided and I knew "my kids" would be okay.      

In February, I documented one day (it happened to be Brian's first day back to work after being home with us for six weeks) with photos and words using Ali Edwards' Day in the Life templates.  Looking forward to doing Day in the Life again this year!

Also in February, I started using a mini calendar pocket (which I found at Target) each month to document our days and hold any cards we received.  As you might notice, I used a regular sheet protector, but I sliced off the excess on the right hand side and stitched it closed with my sewing machine.  (That was about the extent of my sewing last year!)  


In August, I wanted to include a photo booth strip, so I just stitched between the calendar and the photos, creating a pocket for each.   

I also added Noah's baby wellness check-up handouts to my album. 

On this page from June, I chose to number some of the photos and then write a short description about each on a journaling card.

I also added in a gratitude list (available here from Cathy Zielske).

As the months rolled by, I noticed I was pretty good about printing photos from my DSLR, but I often neglected my iPhone photos.

To get some of my iPhone photos off my phone and into my album, I used this FREE squared template.

Each month, I simply chose 16 of my favorite iPhone pics, placed them into the template (using Photoshop Elements), changed the canvas size to 8x8, and then sent it to Costco for printing (Cost: $1.49).

The photo collage above is from June.  

And here's a look at the one from August:

This page is from October. 

Even though Noah has a separate baby book, I wanted to include some tidbits about him in my PL albums--such as this list of Noah's "nicknames."  I also slipped a thank you note from a dear friend into one of the pockets on this page.  

This Design C Photo Pocket Page contains photos and journaling from November. 

This is a card from the Clementine Project Life edition.  Originally, the text on the card was part of an iPhone note.  When we returned from our trip, I emailed the note to myself and copied it into a Word document.  Next, I taped the card to a piece of copy paper, ran it through the printer, and then gently pulled it off the copy paper, and slid it into this pocket.   

There are two more Project Life products I used and would highly recommend.

First up, these big envelope pages are great, not only for storing greeting cards, but also for collecting ephemera each month.  Oftentimes, I'd collect pictures, little notes, and other ephemera for a whole month in one of these envelope pages.  Then weeks later (sometimes months later), when I had time to put my pages together, I'd whip it out and sort through it all, deciding what to keep and what to toss.  


Secondly, I loved these Project Life scrapbook dividers to organize my pages by month.  (They come with a variety of sticker labels--days of the week, school years, etc.) 


I really enjoy flipping through the pages in these albums, gazing at the photos and remembering what life was like with a 2-month-old, a 6-month-old, an 8-month-old.  And I know as the years go by, I will cherish them all the more.  

P.S. You might be wondering if I'm going to be doing Project Life again this year.  The short answer: I don't think so.  Memory keeping is important to me, though.  This year, I'm planning to share pictures and stories here on my blog as well as use photo collage templates (such as these) to document my favorite memories. And who knows, perhaps I'll even create a traditional scrapbook layout one of these days!