Project Life 2012 | Week Eleven

Welcome to Project Life 2012 | Week Eleven.

As I was writing some journaling this past week I was thinking about how this project is a great example of love made visible.

I'm able to show my kids that I notice things. That I'm paying attention, that I see them - the awesome, wonderful heart of them.

I make that happen with the photos I include and with the words I choose to write.

Which really is how I've always liked to think of scrapbooking in general. But there's something about this project - the capturing of those tiny little details that I might have missed when doing a whole layout - that just brings it all home once again.

Some weeks there's lots of stuff and some weeks a lot less.

I like that this project allows me to embrace that and let it be what it is (without having to try to over-think it or make every week either really busy or really mundane).

I started off the week thinking I might just go with a no-photo week (and use all packaging stuff) until I remembered that we were meeting my sister and her family and our parents in Portland on Sunday.

Getting together = photos. Especially in my family.

One insert this week (an 8.5x11 from American Crafts). It holds a great story that Simon wrote about wanting to get George (our cat) a kitten for his birthday. I also think this is the longest amount of writing he's done that is actually split into paragraphs.

On the back is some coloring Anna did at school for St. Patrick's Day (in Spanish no less) and an unfolded paper airplane that Simon brought home from school.

I didn't write much about our adventure to Portland on Sunday. I think I'm going to do a layout that captures more of the written details and maybe some sort of a timeline that emphasizes the day (up really early and home really late). I added just a bit of text to each of the photos and used my Memory Circles ("hello today") and Life Is Good Labels ("loving this"). Those Life Is Good Labels are also available as a clear-stamp set from Technique Tuesday: Favorite Story.

The "today" journaling card is something new that will be available at Designer Digitals this weekend (great for cutting with the Silhouette to get that fun see-through effect).

SUPPLIES | 2012 | WEEK 11


Click on the images to link to the products.





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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23 thoughts

  1. Sandi M says…
    03/20/2012

    I absolutely love your Project Life and the inspiration it provides me. Better yet - the motivation I get from it. Thank you!

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. Susan C says…
    03/20/2012

    Love the idea of no photos, all packaging (love your photos of your busy day too!). Love that it's okay if you have photos and okay if you don't. Thanks for sharing your PL.

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. A. Sanborn says…
    03/20/2012

    Enjoy your weekly -PL- updates with inspiring ideas {week of pkging}.

    This year I promised myself to follow through with -PL- for our family. Happy to say I've stayed true to my promise. Even the week I was sick... I kept calendar notes, took random photos, etc... worked out well for a mundane week.

    Each weekly spread consists of B&W photos with the exception of the IMPORTANT thing(s) printed in color! We decide what was important as a family! FOOD is always in color too!

    Appreciate the inspiration,
    Anne

    PS... SO wish you'd come out with a set of rubber stamps centered entirely around PROJECT LIFE to coordinate up with Becky Higgins concepts used within her core collections! Missed out on the Studio Calico ones last month. :(

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. Heather Crawford says…
    03/20/2012

    Hey Ali..wondering what that basic font is you use on your pictures...the one with the Hello Today stamp...thanks!

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      03/20/2012
  5. Dori says…
    03/20/2012

    I love the way you include your kids' school papers and the other bits of ephemera. Thanks for the inspiration. :-)

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. Miriam says…
    03/20/2012

    what a wonderful spread!!! I love that today card!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. Camilla Blue says…
    03/20/2012

    I like your idea of a week of no pictures, just packaging and various finds from the week. Don't know if I could actually do it.

    As always, your pages are inspiring.

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. Angela says…
    03/20/2012

    I love Oregon...only visited once, but loved every minute of it. The next time you're in Portland go have breakfast at Mother's Cafe in downtown. It's not too far from the food trucks. I had crunchy french toast that I still think about 4 years later. Serious yum factor!

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Sonu says…
      03/21/2012

      Angela-I work downtown Portland and have that same French Toast a few times a year. It is truly yum! :-)

  9. Helen says…
    03/20/2012

    love it, ali, as always, and i totally agree with your philosophy - PL is love made visible. every word i include, every photo, every comment, every one of my children's drawings, they're there because of my love for them, my dedication to them, my belief that their lives, what they, and we, do on a daily basis is important (crying now...!). i actually often cry as i'm putting the weekly spreads together, just thinking how beautiful they both are, how much they bring to my lives, what amazing people they are. PL, for me, is a daily exercise in gratitude and appreciation. i think that's why i love it so much.

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. anya says…
    03/20/2012

    Another inspiring week and - agreeing with one of the above posters - motivating, too! Love the journaling right on the photos.. did a little of that last week and loved it. Can't wait for the new DD release this weekend, the Today card looks like tons of fun!

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. Sue Bradley says…
    03/20/2012

    I do love this project for all the reasons you say. This is the 4th year I've done it and I am much more observant and thankful than ever before. And also when would you ever have just about 365 stories documented and remembered from any given year. It really is so nice.

    Reply 0 Replies
  12. Mary in IL says…
    03/20/2012

    So, will George be getting a kitten for his birthday? LOL

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      03/20/2012

      HA - the answer to that is no.

  13. Deiga says…
    03/20/2012

    I'll be in Portland next week to visit my family. Can't wait. (wish I could visit with you, too! I have so much to ask you.)

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. Catherine says…
    03/20/2012

    Oh, really loving how you worked in that packaging, so many fun possibilities.

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. dawn says…
    03/21/2012

    Great pages Ali, I agree with what you said on PL also. We just pulled out the last 3 of ours and read them during the weekend, it made me fall in love with PL again. So thankful for this way of documenting my family.

    HOORAY FOR FAMILY DAYS!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. Mandy says…
    03/21/2012

    Hey Ali! Thank you for sharing so much of your life with us. Love these PL posts. I just thought it was interesting that you were considering doing a picture less week. I've been wanting to do a week with just words. Kind of an art journal feel - although that is far from my strength. I am doing "Week in the Life" this week. Two of my scrappy girl friends and I do it together, so we settled on this week. Last year I wasn't thrilled with the repetition of WITL and PL - it wasn't as fun to work on because of the monotonous feeling. It seemed natural to make this my "words" week because all my pics will be in WITL! You may like the same combo.

    Thanks for all your inspiration!

    Reply 0 Replies
  17. KSW says…
    03/21/2012

    Fantastic - always a life well lived.

    Reply 0 Replies
  18. Airon says…
    03/22/2012

    Always love seeing what you come up with, Ali! I'm so glad you share your work with us - always provides lots of inspiration to me. A question for you . . . have you ever organized older (pre-digital age) photos in the PL system? If so, I was just wondering if you choose to scan in the old photos and then edit them (using the cute digital stamps, etc. for example), or if you just use the old photos themselves? I've been putting together a PL book from my childhood and have just been using the old photos so far (after all, the idea behind that was to get everything out of boxes and into albums, but my pages definitely aren't as cute as yours. Any ideas for sprucing up pages including the old school 35mm prints?

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Katie says…
      03/22/2012

      I second this request as I have the same plan and questions! Thanks!

  19. Digital Product Releases | 03.24.12 | Ali Edwards says…
    03/24/2012

    [...] Four new products available this weekend. First up: For The Love Of Life Journal Cards. These are fully customizable for any color you want and work well with the Silhouette. You can see how I used the today card in my Project Life last week. [...]

    Reply 0 Replies

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