Project Life 2013 | Week Fourteen

Welcome to Project Life 2013 | Week Fourteen (April 1 - April 7).

Am I still doing Project Life? Absolutely.

Am I behind? A little. I've got a bunch of weeks in progress and will be sharing them over the next week. This week and week fifteen have been "almost done" for weeks and photos are printed for the other weeks.

A couple things I need to do:


  1. Order another black 12x12 album for the next four months (I've been doing three albums per year, four months in each album). Right now they are all still in the first one for 2013 and it's getting tight.

  2. Find a new routine that will gel with the work I'm doing for Hello Story (my new class at Big Picture that starts in July). I think it's totally possible to do both Project Life and traditional pages, I'm just working on finding my own groove between the two.


  3. SIMPLIFY. At least for the next couple of months I think I need to keep this project simple while I'm in the middle of content development for this workshop. I think getting the album back down on my kitchen counter with a stack of cards will help me with this.


How are things going for you? Are you new to Project Life? Are you a veteran? Still loving it?

Here's Week Fourteen:

Here's a closer look:

The "listen, believe, trust" card is from my Everyday Love Journal Cards that was printed on photo paper.

"Yo April" are Cream Thickers from American Crafts that I ran through my sewing machine with red thread.

"Heart this boy" word art on the photo of Simon making cookies is from Love You Boy.

I'd love to do a week where I fill out one of those Best/Worst cards everyday. The one above was printed on some leftover paper that I had used as an over-spray catch under whatever it was that I was actually misting with paint.

Here's a look at the right side:

The star card is from Kelly Purkey's kit for Simon Says Stamp.

Little pink word stickers are from My Mind's Eye.

Still loving cutting up journal cards and adding them to my pictures. I like not re-inventing the wheel each week and adding a bit more context to my photos.

The journal card here was included in Studio Calico's Project Life add-on kit (May 2013).

SUPPLIES | 2013 | WEEK FOURTEEN


Click on the images to link to the products.






























































Project Life is a product and a system and a lifestyle created by Becky Higgins. It can be anything you want it to be. The core pieces used in my album are available here. If you live outside the US check Becky’s site for more information on sources. You can check out all my posts (I started in 2010) about Project Life here.

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40 thoughts

  1. alida says…
    05/15/2013

    Oh Ali, you just know how! Love the impact of that flower, and the photo of you is beautiful (vellum w/ wording over is a great idea). Totally worth the wait!

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. Barb says…
    05/15/2013

    My Project Life is in bad shape. I think it is now going to turn into a "100 Days of Summer" album. I think I am having trouble finding everyday content in my new life as a divorced empty nest Mom. I know my little life is worth it and it would do me good to recognize the good things, but it's hard. Now that my youngest is home from college, I am really going to try to keep up with my Project Life for 3 1/2 months of summer. All a part of ACCEPTing the change and moving on.

    Reply 2 Replies
    1. Sue C says…
      05/15/2013

      Just a few words of encouragement for you -- I am a younger widow with no kids (although love kids and was a long time teacher). I had a hard time in the beginning with PL, thought my life was completely boring, but now it is a part of my everyday. I focus on the little things in my daily life that make me smile (flowers in my yard, new glasses, reactions to current events) and quotes that inspire me. Focus on your life and do not compare to what others are including in their PL. Keep at it and you'll find what works for you.

    2. M says…
      05/16/2013

      Barb, My youngest went off to college this year too, so all 3 of my dd are out of the house. I know what you mean. I make a effort to get them to send me photos (so easy with email or attaching to a text message- kids take phone photos all the time). Then I print up pics from them to use in my album. I still view my scrapbooking (including PL) as including the whole family.

  3. Karen d. says…
    05/15/2013

    Waaaaay behind. Still love the idea. Hope to catch up once my house remold is done!

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. Shanon Gibson says…
    05/15/2013

    I was behind but decided to do one side for each week in April and start back to a full weekly spread in May. So lots of photos and not many words for April but it is in the book and I am ready to get back to daily documentation of our lives.

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. laura g. says…
    05/15/2013

    I am the Queen of Being Behind! i had breast cancer, did chemo for 4 months, and now on the mend...i was dreading doing my Nov/Dec PL as this is when i found the lump, got the diagnosis, the surgery etc., but got over that hurdle...now i am hoping to get Dec 12 finished in the next couple of days and get caught up with the next..oh my gosh...4 1/2 months...will have to document about my chemo starting in January, but think that will be ok...this is a great way to get my pics off the computer and into an album!!

    Reply 2 Replies
    1. laura g. says…
      05/15/2013

      thanks Therese! am finding great joy in the mending process! i am extremely lucky in that my cancer was caught in an early stage...i may wait to scrap about chemo...yuck..i have the pics and will print them up and stick them in the pages..journal later...
      so very sorry about your Mother and Sister and the pain of missing them...my Mom passed away 7 years ago and i miss her...but time does heal and make it bearable...hugs to you as YOU mend...l.

    2. Therese says…
      05/15/2013

      So glad that you are mending from your breast cancer. I hate reading that you are "dreading" doing your PL. Maybe you have had enough of the cancer and should just skip that time period until such time that you can reflect on it from a different place. I would not force myself to scrap something that made me feel so overwhelmed.

      I have yet to scrap my Mother and Sister's lives because their deaths still hurt and cause me to miss them terribly. I will eventually put albums together so that my children have those memories, but I have given myself permission to do it later when I can find joy in it and not hurt so much.

      Scrapbooking is about preserving our memories of course, but sometimes I think we can wait until the right time to do this.

      Best of luck with however you choose to catch up!

  6. stacyk says…
    05/15/2013

    I'm still loving and enjoying PL. I've been doing it for a year and half now, and I love it for being a creative outlet for me. It can be simple or complicated depending on how creative I want to get. Thank you for sharing your ideas with us. Seeing your ideas helps me to think of even more ideas to build upon.

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. Jessica @The Mom Creative says…
    05/15/2013

    Love the Planning for Paris card and the way you chopped it. :) You always inspire!

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      05/15/2013

      Thanks Jessica!

  8. Sue says…
    05/15/2013

    Oh Ali I am new to PL this year and I am totally in love with it. There are times that I question "why am I doing this-will anyone really care? " But when I look back at my completed weeks, filled with probably way too many pictures, I always smile and feel such a sense of happiness! Since I am not computer savy, my pages are pretty traditional but they are mine and I love them! Thank you for sharing your pages- you give me something to aspire too!

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. Sue says…
    05/15/2013

    Does anyone else struggle with way too many pictures?? Some weeks I use 3 or more pages-18 or more picures? I guess there is really no right or wrong but I sometime just can't bare not to use a picture, even though they really are nothing special!

    Reply 2 Replies
    1. laura g. says…
      05/15/2013

      Use them all! My PL is about using the pics i love and getting them into an album for everyone to look at and enjoy. make your PL the way you like it...sometimes i do a traditional scrapbook page because i miss not doing them..and slip it into my PL...

    2. Megan Anderson says…
      05/15/2013

      I'm squeezing in almost 50 for the past week! I go a little crazy with it, but I get it all in there with photo collages and inserts.

  10. Megan Anderson says…
    05/15/2013

    I love your Project Life so much! There are so many neat little creative touches, but it feels simple and story focused overall. That's amazing.

    I do both traditional and Project Life, and everything goes into one album. This year, I'm mostly planning ahead and making a 12x12 layout half of a spread (which I did this week: http://thenerdnest.com/2013/05/project-life-2013-week-14-2.html ) or I'll do smaller layouts as inserts: 6x12, 8.5x11, or 11x12. Last year, I did a monthly review / intro pocketed pages and put traditional layouts in between them. Or you could always put traditional layouts at the end of your PL albums. I could go on and on about this, but here's a bit more on the BPC blog: http://www.bigpictureclasses.com/blog/project-life-challenge-2-make-it-work.html#.UZOtFytVQzQ

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. Sarah says…
    05/15/2013

    Ali, have you ever toyed with the idea of using an app to add some of your brushes to your pics right in your phone? Since I am using the Selphy printer to print MOST of my pictures directly from my iPhone, I would really love to do this....but haven't found an app that I know will work.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Debbie says…
      05/15/2013

      Hi Sarah, I too use my iphone and selphy. I would love Ali to do an app too, but in the mean time check out these options:
      PicLab,#beautifulmess has a new awesome app!

  12. Debbie says…
    05/15/2013

    Ali,
    so glad to see your pages today. I have been uninspired for a couple weeks and have pictures but little journaling. I love the Paris idea and the simplicity of Anna in your office and the little sticker words. Thank you for being the best PL inspiration out there!

    Reply 0 Replies
  13. alexandra says…
    05/15/2013

    I'd love to know more about how you simplify the process...
    I over-think it and before you know it I'm kinda bogged down.

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. leslie cannon says…
    05/15/2013

    I am behind as well, but I am NOT AFRAID!! I had to pack up my PL while our house was on the market, and now that we have moved I am joyfully unpacking it and looking forward to catching up. It is amazing, however, how quickly I got out of the habit of taking photos of the everyday without a weekly "appointment" to use them!! THe best think about PL is knowing that whatever and however I catch up will still be ok!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. Denise says…
    05/15/2013

    I'm on the same week! Too funny. First year doing it, only one page per week. Really loving it, and also trying to figure out how to get "traditional" scrapping in there, too.

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. Tracey says…
    05/15/2013

    I'm behind too. But like many of you i'm not worried.
    Managed to finish 3 weeks last week and another (week 17) tonight - yehhh.
    Its been handy for me to keep a little book and record highlights and words for each day. I keep a folder on my PC where I upload that weeks photo, Sort them out and then draw in my book where the photos are going to appear in which space of the album. It helps with the process and makes printing out the photos a lot easier!! I'm determined to keep PL alive this year.

    Reply 0 Replies
  17. Valerie says…
    05/15/2013

    There is nothing wrong with simple, it's all about the words + photos right? I think a wise woman has blogged that over and over....

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      05/15/2013

      HA! Yep.

  18. lindsey says…
    05/15/2013

    adore the pic of all the paris books. so cool to represent something you are about to do! and paris how exciting.

    Reply 0 Replies
  19. Elisabeth Costa says…
    05/15/2013

    Yes I am behind..but I still enjoy the project. I'm still further ahead than when I stopped PL last year LOL I will catch up and find that I do take more pics or "look" for things more to include on my weekly layouts. My phone has come in real handy for pictures and I do want to take my real camera out more often:)

    Reply 0 Replies
  20. amy bosma says…
    05/15/2013

    Yes, I am so so so behind. I'm not even done with 2012 ... which honestly overwhelms me when I think about it too long. It really encourages me to see that you also struggle a bit with being behind. I feel more normal now :) I will keep plugging away at it. Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply 0 Replies
  21. Lexie says…
    05/15/2013

    Not actually behind hence I´m taking photos during the week and print them every 4 weeks(once a month) and make the LO´s in a weekend. I keep a ´one-line-a-day´ dairy so I still know what has happened in the past month/4 weeks. It seems to work for me. The difficult days to take photos are Mon/Tue/Wed when I am at work. So most of the time I am taking pictures on Thursday(parttime day) or in weekends. Although I live alone and have no kids or pets, there is still a lot to take photos of. It´s all in the details ;-) Still love and enjoying it. Thanks Ali for all your inspiration!

    Reply 0 Replies
  22. KarynS says…
    05/15/2013

    Ali I cant wait to see/hear how you manage to balance PL with an increase in making traditional layouts. I've had an absolute burst of inspiration over the last month and have made about a dozen traditional layouts (more than I've made in the last few years...combined!!). I've absolutely loved it and am keen to keep the inspiration and ball rolling but PL has definitely suffered during this time. I managed to get photos printed & mostly inserted in the page protectors last week bring that side up to date to week 18 but there are no journal/filler cards or journalling. I know it has to be possible to do both at once but I'm wondering just how to manage & balance it.

    Reply 0 Replies
  23. J3SS1C4 says…
    05/15/2013

    I'm an extra 2 weeks behinds you at the moment, but I love what I've done so far, and I have no problem catching up since it's so quick and easy. I love what you've done with the travel guides... I have a stack of travel books, so I might use this idea at some stage when I'm planning my next trip!

    Reply 0 Replies
  24. lee says…
    05/15/2013

    In Project Life, I am currently working about a week behind...not including a three-week span in March that got skipped when Project Real Life took precedence. =) But overall, I've found a good rhythm in my schedule that balances working with my photos, compiling Project Life, and writing a similar weekly blog post.

    Look forward to seeing more of your weeks as they're ready! =)

    Reply 0 Replies
  25. Suzanne says…
    05/15/2013

    Further to the photo of the Paris guide books, check out Paris: An Inspiring Tour of the City's Creative Heart by Janelle McCulloch. A wonderful guide book which I used to help plan a family trip to Paris in March. Absolutely beautiful pictures and great descriptions of places not to miss! Also, try to make time for a visit to the store "Merci".

    Reply 0 Replies

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