Project Life | Week Ten

Welcome to Project Life | Week Ten.

One of the things I wanted to show this week was what my week looks like in-progress. I took this shot today before I brought the album upstairs to print a few more photos and crop/figure out what to do with the papers I had laid on top.

Some weeks it looks like this and some weeks I crop as I go (vs. waiting to crop at the end of the week). Since I was sick this past weekend I just decided to wait and do it all at once.

Not everything I set aside goes in to the album. Not all the instax photos make it in. Most of the papers are cropped or recycled. I don't take a lot of time choosing. I grab, crop and stick it in the album.

Here's what it ended up looking like for Week Ten (remember you can always click on an image to view larger):

The first page:

I flew to San Francisco for the day last week to visit Shutterfly (I've got a couple new photo books coming out) so I included my ticket here.

My 8.5x11 insert this week includes a painting from Anna on the front.

The back includes super cute invitations to my neice's second birthday that my sister sent.

My second page is mostly about our adventure to the art museum.

This week I used a couple cute cut-out elements from Elles Studio. Loving the whole Handmade Layers line.

As I was finishing up today, while Anna was napping and I was finally feeling a bit better, I was thinking that one of the things I'm thankful for is that this is a year-long album. Some weeks will be chock-full and others more sparse - a wonderful real-life look at our lives. Some weeks might have more words and others less. Some weeks will have more stuff and others less. Some weeks will have more photos and others less.

I think it's a good reminder that there's not right or wrong way for it to come together. I love it.


Project Life is a product created by Becky Higgins. It can be anything you want it to be. The album kit is available for purchase through Amazon. If you live outside the US check Becky’s site for more information on sources. View all my posts about Project Life here.

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48 thoughts

  1. Ruth says…
    03/15/2011

    Such cute photos this week! I can't wait to get started on my own version of PL ~ am waiting on it arriving from Canada. If you have any influence with Becky, would you mind asking her if she plans to have a UK distributor anytime soon, please? Thank you!

    Reply 5 Replies
    1. Alison says…
      03/16/2011

      I would love a UK distributor too....

    2. Song says…
      03/16/2011

      A UK distributor would be brilliant - I'm waiting for my album to come from New Zealand when my parents come home in May :( I'm still printing photos and saving all my notes etc but its going to be so busy all May putting it together.

    3. Debbie says…
      03/16/2011

      Me too! It cost me a fortune to have mine shipped from the US! But it is FAB ;0)

    4. Jane says…
      03/17/2011

      So where is the group buddying business woman amongst us?

    5. Angela says…
      03/18/2011

      Me too. I'm waiting for a friend to bring me my album from USA next month. Great to know I'm not the only one doing PL in the UK! Nobody I've spoken to about it has heard of it so far. It's such a great idea.

  2. Kristal says…
    03/15/2011

    Saturday night, I sat down with PL + pics sprawled all over the bedroom floor and I had the same thought. Funny how some weeks, there is sooo much going on & some weeks, I have no pics at all. I love that this album helps me to record the way things really are.

    I also love how Project Life makes me feel more energized about scrapbooking again and not overwhelmed. :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. Efrat K says…
    03/15/2011

    Wow, it looks *great*! I love it.
    Now I *really* want to make something like that for me. My 19th birthday is in two weeks, so I think it will be a great time to start! Thanks so much. I can't wait!

    Reply 2 Replies
    1. Jules says…
      03/15/2011

      Me too! And looking back it is often the `not so good' bits of life that I wish I had some record of. I love PL as it is for life as it really occurs. It is often tempting to scrap life as all bright and shiny and ignore the rest. Looking back I wish I had recorded my feeling and even daily routines (and coping mechanisms) during stressful and painful times. It would help me realise how far I have come and maybe have something to offer others going through a tough time.

    2. Holly says…
      03/15/2011

      Oh what I would give to have something like PL from when I was 19! Enjoy!

  4. dawn says…
    03/15/2011

    You had a great week of pictures Ali. I love seeing your updates. My process is different every week also, some weeks it's everyday other weeks I like sitting down on Sunday nights after kids go to bed and just relax and enjoy looking thru the week of goodies I have and playing with it all and filling in the pages. You said it perfectly how each week is different. I have tons of pictures this week and added extra PP to hold them and my biggest thought was should i include more snow pictures yet again and we had another snow day. But it is our real life, so I included it. Hoping it's the last of our snow though. Hope everyone is healthy today and feeling better, thanks again for making time to show this every week.

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. Teal says…
    03/15/2011

    Love getting this update on your PL every week.

    But, I gotta say, this week I'm more excited to hear about your upcoming photo books! I did a Celebrate Everyday Life as gifts for my family looking at my daughter's first year. Over the 2nd year my PSE skills got a little better so I was happy to "upgrade" to Today You. I was worried about what this year's Christmas gifts would be without your templates, so I'm super excited that you have something coming out soon!

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. georgeinci says…
    03/15/2011

    Oh, I am so loving project life too - I started a little later than the begining of January and am only 6 weeks in but already I adore looking back on what has been before. What I really enjoy (as I'm a digi scrapper) is being able to include knick-knacks like tickets and that everyone (esp my 4 year old son) can contribute with pictures and creations. I love being able to gather up a piece of child artwork and pop it in! I'm also finding bits and pieces from yesteryear that fit with the here and now and including those too. For instance my dad got a new motorbike the other week and so I found an 8 X 8 motorbike LO I had made 4 or 5 years ago and included it in my project life too- great for looking at how things have changed. I also adore how there's no recipe for this project - just as and when and how you like it!
    THANKYOU for such amazing inspiration!
    p.s I'm loving using Sharpie pens and the thick and thin pen tips looks fantastic! xxx Now we

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. noell says…
    03/15/2011

    I had a lightbulb moment with this post. Because you didn't do as much journaling this week it finally dawned on me that you're not doing a journaling card for every single day. I just hadn't thought about it before.

    I had noticed that you're not putting the daily stickers on everything, and I remember you've said over and over again that you have multiple things for some days and nothing for others. But it just finally occurred to me that your weekly pages are really just that -- weekly. Even though you're pulling at least something from each day for the most part, each spread is a picture of your week, not a strict day-by-day accounting.

    I got it now.

    That looks MUCH easier than when I was trying to photograph, journal, and label each and every single day!

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      03/15/2011

      LOL - I love you Noell. I have zero interest in a "daily" project...being able to focus on a week and just include whatever I have is much, much easier for me. And yes, no journaling for each and every day - just when I feel like I have something to say.

  8. Allison M. says…
    03/15/2011

    Loving seeing your PL updates. Those birthday invitations are so cute - what a great idea! I am a few weeks behind with photos/words, but have been keeping a notebook handy to keep up with the event of our everyday lives. Just wondering if you know when your books are being released by Shutterfly? I remembered you mentioning them on a Paperclipping Roundtable episode quite some time ago and have been waiting ever since.

    Reply 2 Replies
    1. Ali says…
      03/15/2011

      Hi Allison - between now and May is the timeline.

    2. Jan says…
      03/18/2011

      I am SO EXCITED to see what you have done for Shutterfly. Can you give us any type of hints?

  9. gretchen says…
    03/15/2011

    i completely agree with you. i love that there is no right way or wrong way to do it and i continue to forgive myself on the weeks when it looks so sparse. it's a really good lesson for me.

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. Alexandra says…
    03/15/2011

    Just when I was feeling behind and like my project life is slipping away you go and make me feel like I can do it again!! Thanks for showing your process. Thanks for keeping it simple and real. And thank you for always inspiring :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. Judy Webb says…
    03/15/2011

    I wish you would address the issue of printing photos at home. Over the years, I have been told that "at home" photos will fade and cost more than sending them off. I use Shutterfly, usually putting several or more photos on one 4x6. I sometimes save up for several projects or if I am impatient, I pay postage on just a few. I just cannot go to all the work, making layouts and albums, to have the photos fade.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Melissa says…
      03/15/2011

      I absolutely second what Judy said! Can you address this? I once attended a seminar taught by a photo technician who told us that at-home printing still has a long way to go. The ink used to print at home never completely dries, and if you insert those photos into page protectors, the page protectors (over time) will develop a thin cloudy film inside. I don't think this applies to the instant photos, but rather the photos we take with our fancy cameras, and then hook up to home printers. I've actually experienced the "cloudy film" on my page protectors. I'm getting ready to purchase my first at-home printer (to go along with my new MacBook and my new "fancy" camera), and I'm still hesitant, but I want to have faith as I finally start my own PL!

  12. amy says…
    03/15/2011

    ok, so i've been following along all these weeks...ordered mine and got started on it about 3 or 4 weeks ago...and just now looked at your date stamps and realized what i did! in some down time at work i sat with the calendar in front of me and totally went week by week, sunday thru saturday. why oh why did i do that?? that is not how we live. we live monday thru sunday. sigh. oh well...live and learn! guess if that's my biggest problem i'm doin' ok, huh? lol! so here's to a year of looking at each day of the weekend as if it's its own day...that could actually be pretty cool! thanks for showing us this each week...if i can get some photos in mine i'll show mine too! oh, and i set it up on the table behind the couch...perfect size for it and all the goodies and i walk by it all the time which is just what i wanted...yay! love this project! bye bye guilt! :~)

    Reply 0 Replies
  13. Jen V. says…
    03/15/2011

    Wow, Ali - thank you for putting PL in perspective for me! Ever since the beginning of this project (this is my first year), I've been concerned with making sure everything is "even" - taking the same amount of pictures from week to week, collecting the same amount of "stuff" to keep along with the pictures. But of course it can change from week to week - that's how real life is. Some weeks are busier, some are more laid back...it makes perfect sense.

    Thanks for always sharing your inspiring work! I've been a follower of yours for years, and I love that I'm still learning from you after all this time :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. Sarah R. says…
    03/15/2011

    Our family just returned from a week on vacation, and I just love coming home after being gone. Among the many comforts of returning home, one was checking your blog, Ali, and seeing what I missed. Thanks for the awesome inspiration! Sorry to hear that your family was ill, hope everyone is feeling better!

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. madeline St onge says…
    03/15/2011

    Love how you are doing this Ali.

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. Sally says…
    03/15/2011

    I LOVE Gabrielle's b-day invites. SO CUTE! Did your sister make those herself?

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      03/15/2011

      She did - using Photoshop :).

  17. Dawaila says…
    03/15/2011

    Your project looks great. I so admire the dedication. I also like what you said that there is no right way or wrong way, that is good to remember!

    Reply 0 Replies
  18. Diane says…
    03/15/2011

    I was "not so patiently" waiting for your weekly update...and it was so worth it! I love the style and attitude you bring to this. I hope everyone in your family is now recovered and healthy again, sorry you were sick! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply 0 Replies
  19. Alison says…
    03/15/2011

    Love seeing updates of your week.

    Question though... do you (or any of your readers) document the weeks that are not so great (I don't mean a major life crisis, rather the weeks when the little things all seem to accumulate and cause additional stress, leaving that frazzled and drained feeling?).

    Thanks for sharing your images, I love seeing them...

    Reply 3 Replies
    1. Alison says…
      03/16/2011

      Thanks Ali & Lacey - your feedback is appreciated! Glad that you are both feeling brighter now. Alison.

    2. Lacey says…
      03/15/2011

      I am definately including photos/stories in my PL (i go by monthly btw)that are about the not so fun things in life. For example, I was feeling really down a couple weeks ago, and it lasted a few days (when it usually lasts about a day or so- this was different this time)...I was confused about life and questioning my purpose, I took a self portrait of myself one day, and it definately showed. Or when my boyfriend and his son were having difficulties with homework and lying issues, it all goes into the album. Its all about real life...one of the reasons why I love this project :)

    3. Ali says…
      03/15/2011

      Sure! This past week was definitely not so great in terms of sick people, etc. That's included there in the journaling. I'm doing every week of the year and there are bound to be not so great weeks! I think that's another thing I love about scrapbooking though...it gives me the opportunity to pick out and celebrate the things that are good among the not so good.

  20. Leilani says…
    03/15/2011

    This post was exactly what I needed. I was having a tough time figuring out my weeks because I already do a picture almost every single day. I was trying to figure out how to fit in all the other 'stuff'. Almost gave up until I saw your process. This makes so much more sense to me. Thanks for the peek. It feels so much more customizable and achievable now. Glad you're better. May you have a fantastic week.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      03/15/2011

      Cool Leilani - I'm all about making it work for you.

  21. Jolynn says…
    03/15/2011

    I love the whole idea of this. There is so much that happens in a week, month, year. I really wish I had done this type of project when my kids were little.

    Reply 0 Replies
  22. Donna B says…
    03/16/2011

    Hi Ali,
    Thank you so much for posting your weekly PL updates. They are always so inspiring & sometimes enlightening!

    My favorite part this week was the "in process" photo which is also what mine can tend to look like in the middle of the week. So fun to see the beginning of the weekly process!

    This is my first year doing Project Life, so I may be a little gung-ho, but I am doing a daily photo with journaling. So far that is working for me, but I'll keep your weekly philosophy in mind for next year!

    Excited about the upcoming Shutterfly books and very much hope you are feeling better! Have a great week!

    Reply 0 Replies
  23. angi bustamante says…
    03/16/2011

    Hi Ali,

    You never cease to inspire me!! I started compiling all of my momentos in a similar fashion. It can be quite overwhleming and it is a matter of randomly choosing sometimes or else the project will never blossom! I love all of your ideas. Journaling and photos are they key to telling the story- love your philosphy!

    Reply 0 Replies
  24. Amber says…
    03/16/2011

    Seeing that little instant oatmeal packet broke me! I have to get one of these now. It's things like wrappers and doodles that I so easily forget. Thanks for the inspiration always Ali!

    Reply 0 Replies
  25. Teresa says…
    03/16/2011

    Hi Ali,
    I love your commitment to your project. Its turning out great.
    I was on my way to store all of the bday/anniversary/valentines etc cards my husband and I gave each other over the years. I bought an 8x8 album, but I am not sure how to insert them (don't just want to put them in the page protectors...looks ugly and some cards are bigger). Do you have a specific way of storing/scrapping cards?

    Thanks so much.

    Reply 0 Replies

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