Project Life 2012 | Week One + Video Tutorial For Working With The 6x12 Layered Templates

Welcome to Project Life 2012 | Week One.

In the comments of another post yesterday someone asked if I was using planning sheets for Project Life. I don't use any planning sheets but it did remind me of the Daily Sheets I made for Week In The Life last year and wanted to include that as a link today as something fun to add to Project Life from time to time. You can download those for free here.

HUGE NOTE | I don't treat Project Life the same as Week In The Life. Week In The Life is super detailed and intense in terms of documenting our life with photos and words for seven days in a row. I have no intention of bringing that sort of intensity to Project Life (and I didn't last year) - it's just not sustainable. SMALLER NOTE | I'm working on setting a date for Week In The Life 2012 (thinking late spring).

For me Project Life is an overview and a week-at-a-glance and a long-haul project (meaning it's necessary to pace myself). It's not a place for all the photos I take each week or for me to record every single detail of our lives. It is a place for me to jot down little bits of life, stick things in pockets, and tell stories. Some weeks those stories are super, super short and other weeks I'll add longer stories like you'll see included today.

Check out Monica's post about her perspective on Project Life. It's real and beautiful and encouraging.

Here's a look at our Week One:

I have to say that I love that the journaling cards are just a bit bigger in this collection vs. the ones I used last year. Super happy with the Clementine design.

This week I've included both a 6x12 and an 8.5x11 page protector as inserts.

Word art on the first page of the 6x12 comes from my Twenty Twelve and Your Love digital packages. The 6x12 Words And Photos Layered Template package is available here. I designed this set because last year I really liked including longer stories from time to time in my album. Most often those stories originated in posts from my blog. By creating a template I'm simplifying the process for myself and can simply copy and paste the text into the template and add a photo.

Here's a how-to video that will walk you through the steps of working with the 6x12 Words And Photos Layered Templates in Photoshop Elements:




6x12 Layered Template Tutorial from Ali Edwards on Vimeo.

The tutorial is about 27-mins long. It goes through all the steps and I spend a bit of time at the end talking about how I set up the files for printing.

The paper you see running through my printer is Epson 13x19 Ultra Premium Photo Paper. I put the two 6x12 pages onto one 12x12 canvas before printing (I show how to do this in the video tutorial above).

You can also set this up as a 12x12 JPG file and upload to a printer such as Persnickety Prints or Color Inc if you don't have an oversized printer at home.

Another great tip if you don't have an over-sized printer - you can run larger sizes through your regular-sized photo printer. You could get 11x14 photo paper and cut it down to 8.5x14 and run it through your printer (select Legal Size paper). I used to do that when printing larger sizes of journaling to put on 12x12 layouts before I got an over-sized printer.

Here you can see both 6x12's on the one page:

I trimmed them down to size and stuck them in the page protector. Loved including that longer story.

Digital word art on the back is from my Thank You Friend package.

The second insert this week is something I tweeted about right before New Year's. It's a great little interview sheet from teachmama.com and can be downloaded here.

I stuck this one in and the more I look at it the more I think Katie probably painted it and not Anna.

I'm using the monthly tab dividers (should be available in February). Love their simplicity.

Word art used on the photo above is from my Outline Love digital set.

SUPPLIES | 2012 | WEEK 1

Click on the images to link to the products.













































InLinkz.com



Project Life is a product and a system created by Becky Higgins. It can be anything you want it to be. The pieces used in my album are available here. If you live outside the US check Becky’s site for more information on sources. View all my posts about Project Life (including all the spreads from my completed 2011 album) here.

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92 thoughts

  1. dawn says…
    01/11/2012

    Happy first week of Project Life 2012, so love this first week. Love that it has stories of the kids and YOU!! Excited to see another year of your family and all the goodness that will happen.

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. Thea Monks says…
    01/11/2012

    Thank you for the tip on how to print the Long Journaller on a normal home printer. I have been wanting to include them in my album, but didn't know how to print them.

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. Lee Currie says…
    01/11/2012

    You're off to a great start. Thanks again - I look forward to your journey and inspiration through 2012 :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. dnobles says…
    01/11/2012

    is the reversed Hello 2012 the backside of the card from the week before? Cool idea...is that just using the reverse option in text?

    (you might want to get a cat pawprint from George for your book...I have prints from all my pets and they mean so much more as time moves on....I like to include my animal family as much as possible since they are a big part of my life)

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      01/11/2012

      Hi - it's actually just the backside of the die cut (I cut that word art using the Silhouette). The black you are seeing is the inside cover of the album. Love the idea of the paw-print.

  5. dawn says…
    01/11/2012

    I forgot to mention the Daily Sheets you made up and that I have already printed them and have them ready with my PL stuff, going to be neat to use these. I think the new PL readers will like those.

    I also like the idea above about a cat paw stamp or punch for your album.

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. Krystyn says…
    01/11/2012

    Ali - your PL looks awesome (as always)....I love your little card on getting back to school after the break...totally need to do that in mine too..it's such an adjustment.

    Is there a way to add your digital text files on pics if I don't have PS...like in Word maybe?

    Reply 3 Replies
    1. Krystyn says…
      01/11/2012

      Hey Ali - so sorry to bother you w/this again...I followed the recoloring directions exactly and tried a couple different PNG files, but they are not changing color...any thoughts?

    2. Krystyn says…
      01/11/2012

      Thank You Thank You Thank You!!

    3. Ali says…
      01/11/2012

      Yes - you can do it in Word - here's the steps:

      1. Open Word.

      2. Go to Insert/Picture/From File and find your photo.

      3. In the Formatting Palette under "Wrapping/Style" select "Through." This will make it so you can move it around on the page and allow you to place the PNG file on top.

      4. Click off the image.

      5. Go to Insert/Picture/From File and find the PNG file you downloaded from the classroom.

      6. In the Formatting Palette under "Wrapping/Style" select "Through."

      You should then be able to move the overlay on top of your photo.

      I've got information on how to re-color the word art or an overlay in Word here: http://aliedwards.com/2010/01/scrapbooking-with-your-computer-opening-recoloring-adding-to-a-photo-loading-brushes.html

  7. Michelle L says…
    01/11/2012

    I was wondering what you were going to do with the 'Hello 2012" from your title page! I like that you left it blank on the week one side!
    I am still working on putting my week one together and it's so much fun!

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      01/11/2012

      I like having it be see-through!

  8. Bethany says…
    01/11/2012

    Loving, loving, loving the tutorials and tips on the Epson printer - thank you!

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. Shelley says…
    01/11/2012

    Thank you for these templates! I bought them right away and have already used them for my first week of Project Life to tell a great story from Christmas break. Now I'll watch your tutorial and learn the right way to use them : )

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      01/11/2012

      Thanks Shelley - there's always lots of different ways to get the same end result :).

  10. Traci says…
    01/11/2012

    You inspire me!! I am wondering when the page protector Style A may be available again. I am having a hard time getting started because I don't have any page protectors to put my work in. Do you know anything about that? Amazon has been out for ever...

    Reply 5 Replies
    1. Emma says…
      01/11/2012

      I'm waiting for them too, but in the meantime I'm using 4x6 divided page protectors I have and just stuffing the 3x4 content into the bigger pockets. When I get the A style protectors it will be easy to transfer the to glue right spots.

    2. Ali says…
      01/11/2012

      I think I read on Becky's blog that the estimated date is February.

    3. laura g. says…
      01/12/2012

      you could set up your page like the page protector on a 12x12 paper then your pages would all be the same when you get them...i am running low too..sigh...

    4. TracyJ says…
      01/13/2012

      I just put all of the weeks stuff (pictures, ephemra, journaling)
      in a gallon ziploc plastic bag with the week # labeled on the outside. Easy to pop my "stuff" in when I have time.
      Just a suggestion. :)

    5. Johanna says…
      01/12/2012

      That's what I am doing over here in Germany, too - no idea how much the type A protectors might cost with shipping once they're available from Amazon UK, so I might just continue this way (and stich down the middle?). We'll see!

  11. Sandi says…
    01/11/2012

    I just went on to www.scrapbookpictures.com and saw they had closed.
    How depressing. I found about about them years ago through one of your posts. They had great prices. I bought a number of 12X12 prints last month for about $1.25 apiece. Do you or any of your readers know of any other printer like them that has the various sizes for a reasonable price?
    sandi

    Reply 3 Replies
    1. Amy L says…
      01/11/2012

      I don't know if you have a Costco near you, but they print 12x12s as well as 8x8s. I don't remember the price, but definitely reasonable!

    2. Ali says…
      01/11/2012

      Totally sad - great company with great service. My next recommendations are either Persnickety Prints (they are a company that understands scrapbookers and scrapbooking) and Color Pro Inc. (I love them specifically for their canvases).

    3. Julie says…
      01/12/2012

      Their closing is sad. I too use Persnickety Prints but Scrapping Simply is also very good with great prices. One savings tip is to sign up for a print companies newsletter and stockpile your completed pages or prints until they announce a sale. Totally worth the wait!

  12. Katie says…
    01/11/2012

    Anna helped me pick the colors for the painting --Fabulous isn't it? :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  13. Tina J. says…
    01/11/2012

    Duh! I had our boys fill out those interview sheets when you mentioned them a couple weeks ago. And the sheets have just been hanging out on my desk, waiting for me to decide where to put them... Duh! hehehe

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. JENNIFER OLSON says…
    01/11/2012

    jennifer olson said

    were do you getting the stuff project life do you go to scrapbook store

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      01/11/2012

      I get most of my supplies from either Scrapbook.com or Twopeasinabucket.com - all supplies used above are linked to those stores by clicking on the product images above.

  15. Suzanne says…
    01/11/2012

    Love your Project Life posts! Started Project Life this year because of you. Thanks for the tip on printing the 6x12 templates onto legal paper in a regular printer. Never thought of that!

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. Susie Leggett says…
    01/11/2012

    Love how this first week looks Ali. Especially that Hello 2012 from the back side. Just awesome. You are making the Cameo look so irresistable. Loved what you did with it in your DD album as well. Thanks so much for the continued inspiration.

    Reply 0 Replies
  17. Deb J says…
    01/11/2012

    SO excited to see your first week of this years Project Life. I love keeping up with you and the family. Your sharing of your Project Life last year is what convinced me to try again to do one myself this year. I have week one done and week two is coming along well. It's exciting. Thanks.

    Reply 0 Replies
  18. elise says…
    01/11/2012

    you are an inspiration, Ali! love this.

    Reply 0 Replies
  19. Christina says…
    01/11/2012

    The pages are awesome Ali, as usual. The best part? The Newmans package "94% Fat Free Butt" - my kids would love that! :D

    Reply 0 Replies
  20. megan says…
    01/11/2012

    looking forward to another weekly installment; you are so inspiring!

    Reply 0 Replies
  21. jennifer hamilton says…
    01/11/2012

    Thank you for sharing your perspective on what project life is for you. I was beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed with all the wonderful ideas out there and really needed confirmation that it is ok for it not to be all encompassing. Thank you also for the tutorial :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  22. mary says…
    01/11/2012

    ali - i've been looking forward to following along again this year - it's so fun to see your first week:) also - i'm wondering if your mom would ever share any of her pages?! i'd love to see them, but don't want to put any pressure on, since this is her first experience with PL...just a thought.

    mary

    Reply 0 Replies
  23. Tiffany says…
    01/11/2012

    Ali, I've been following you on and off for years. Last year was my first DD and this year is my first PL! Thanks for much for doing what you do! So admire and appreciate your design and style vibe. :)
    Do you just use an old-fashioned date stamper for the weekly dates? I didn't see one listed in your supplies list.
    So excited to do PL this year!

    Reply 0 Replies
  24. 7 points of interest for wednesday « Becky's Blog says…
    01/11/2012

    [...] Most of you know that Ali Edwards creates some of the best digital templates and many of them go so perfectly as an add-on to Project Life. She recently added templates specific for the 6×12 Page Protector (currently sold out but available again in a few weeks) and also shared a video tutorial for working with the layered templates. You’ll find all of that HERE. [...]

    Reply 0 Replies
  25. Christine says…
    01/11/2012

    Did you mean for the Newmans label to be folded to say Fat Free Butt? It's a secret new year wish, isn't it? I'd love my butt to be fat free! Sorry, it made me chuckle and I just couldn't resist!

    Reply 2 Replies
    1. Ali says…
      01/11/2012

      OMG that is hilarious. No I didn't mean that LOL -

    2. Gypsy Chaos says…
      01/14/2012

      YES! I was hoping someone else noticed and asked! I love the serendipity of the label text spacing relative to the pocket size!

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