AE : 365 : Project Life
For the last few weeks I have been quietly playing along and figuring out a strategy for myself related to doing one of these year long projects where you document life by taking a photo a day.
Some of you might remember back in January 2008 when I started off on a 365 Self Portrait project. I made it into the second month and then decided to move on to other things. I ended up using those photos for this digital layout that appeared in Creating Keepsakes last year:
The photo calendar layered template I used for that page are available for 2009 and for 2010 (each package includes all the months with the dates included).
Fast forward to this year.
I decided to tackle this project again. This time I am not doing strictly photos of myself, instead I'm focusing on our daily lives as a family. I'm looking at this project as a chance to tell small stories (the small stories that are essentially the big ones when you see them all together). I want to capture little details, conversations, memories. It feels like a perfect compliment to my focus on story for the year.
Photos & words & the stuff of life is what I am looking to collect and place inside this album.
I am not stressing about taking a photo everyday. If I don't do it, no big deal. From looking back at
years past I almost take a photo a day already. I am cool with, and
looking forward to, adding in other pieces of life: notes, lists, mail,
email, etc. Some weeks will be all photos and other weeks will be a
mixture of the two.
The base for my album is Project Life by Becky Higgins
Here's a look at what I have been doing so far:
1. Uploading my photos (if I have taken one for the day) to my Flickr page. In the description for each photo I am adding some words. I am then taking those little notes/stories and transferring them into my album (see image example below). This daily activity, or every few days, is simple for me because I am on the already on the computer just about everyday (and I am in the habit of uploading photos every couple of days).
2. Printing my photos weekly. We have a brand new Walgreens down the street and I sent 13 prints as a test last Friday. They came back looking just fine and I think that will work well for these 4x6 photos. I am sure I will end up printing some of them here at home, but I like knowing that they did a respectable job (from feedback I got on Twitter it sounds like their service really varies from location to location).
3. Taking those words I am writing on Flickr and copying & pasting them into a file I created in Illustrator. This super simple file includes the date, a dotted line, and then a space for me to input my text. These are being printed onto white cardstock and slipped into the pockets.
4. Taking advantage of the page protectors. The photo above shows how I placed Maya Road's acrylic people inside the four middle pockets of the intro page and then stitched the top edge closed to secure them in each pocket. I am hoping to play around a bit more over the course of the year with the page protectors - I've long been a fan of creating spaces that allow you to see through to the next page.
5. Using the cards that come with the kit and not using the cards that come with the kit. I like some of the designs that came with the kit better than others and will definitely be using them along the way. I have run some of them through my typewriter and some I have written little notes by hand. I am keeping one of the packs of cards out on my desk to use for notes, conversations, etc. I also really like that I can simply turn them over and use the white side as a base for stamping and journaling.
6. Adding 8.5x11 page protectors. One of the things that I loved in a previous version of Week In The Life was adding in one of these page 8.5x11 protectors between the 12x12's. I'm not planning on having one in there every week, but when there is something special it's a nice way to include it in the album (and give it a home). I also have a vision of adding in 8.5x11 photo enlargements if there are ones that are really, really special.
7. Envisioning adding in lots of those little bits of scrapbook stuff I have sitting in a basket on my work table.
Here's a look at the title page and the last three weeks all together:
INTRO PAGE
I used my "the year of story" piece that I scanned in for making my blog header as one of the cards for the first page in the album. As you read about above, the Maya Road's acrylic people were each placed inside one of the middle row of pockets and the entire row was stitched closed. The 365/2010 edwards' card was created using my Outline Days, Months, Years, and Numbers Value Pack from Designer Digitals.
I'm including things such as pages from magazines and tags from clothing. I'm using the 4x6 weekly cards that came with the kit (and placing them in the top left corner) and the great little date stamp to label the week.
WEEK TWO
The little white cards with the journaling are what I showed above (created in Illustrator/copied and pasted from what I wrote in Flickr). I love having a place to keep some of those random bits of life.
The "love" card is from a Paper Source catalog. Other things you see here include folded up receipts, ticket stubs, email print outs, etc.
WEEK THREE
I'm in the middle of working on last week (week three) but here's a look at it in progress. A grocery list, one journaling card, two photos, and the backs of the other spaces along the middle.
I think the thing that I am really appreciating about this project right now is that it feels laid back. It feels possible and fun.
I am not trying to document every little thing. I am trying to capture the essence of the ways in which we live our lives from day to day. Our normal.
If you aren't already playing along with this project it's never to
late to begin. There's no rule that says you need to begin in January.
In reading Becky's blog lately I found her post about her evolving views on scrapbooking and memory keeping to be a really interesting read. I think this system can definitely work for some people as the way they document and celebrate their lives. For me, I am going to continue doing a mish-mish of things and play along with this project and see if I can't get a few more stories told over the course of the year.
In addition to checking out Project Life as your foundation you might want to check out Memory Works new Simple Stories system. Simple Stories also uses divided page protectors as their base (they use We Are Memory Keepers 12x12 leather albums and their awesome divided page protectors that come with a variety of different pocket sizes on a 12x12) and offer a full range of accents and designs in their Life Documented kit. The visual style of this kit is very different from the look of Becky's - it's a much more weathered/distressed. I think a lot of your decision will depend on your personal style and what you hope to accomplish with the project.
I know many of you out there are already on your way with your own 365 project. How's it going? If you did it last year did you learn anything that could help someone who is just starting out?
Want to hear me talk a bit about how I've been inspired by the concept of story? Check out last week's Paperclipping Roundtable.
I'm doing a P365 and really enjoying it. It's fun capturing all the little things. I've found that on the few days where I leave the picture until the last minute, I get a bit more creative and capture something about our lives rather than a run down of the day sort of photo. :)
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So inspiring Ali! I love how you're incorporating little bits of life (receipts and such) into your pages. I always save those things but never really incorporate them. I can't wait to see more.
I actually did a reflection of Project 365 (which I completed in 2009) on my blog recently. I enjoyed writing the reflection almost as much as I enjoyed the project. :-) http://www.allsamsidea.com/2010/01/project-365-2009.html
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Love how you are doing this album, capturing your "normal". Love it. TFS
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this is my first year doing project 365. I typically take photos every day but I think 365 will help me document the little things that make life so speical.
Your book is beautiful!! I'm afraid that I will fall behind if I have a book so I am going mine digitally through Shuttercal.
I have started to post and document my 365 on my blog.
http://iamahoneybee.wordpress.com/2010/01/21/project-365/
I also have a link to shuttercal on there.
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I'm so glad you posted this today, Ali! My kit is on its way and I've been looking for ways to best utilize it. I love that you've included clothing tags and tickets and receipts -- just seeing that makes me feel freer to do it myself.
I'm not really going to start mine until my bday in February, I've decided.
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Hi Kendra - you are correct. 2, 4x6 pockets on the top and bottom and 4 pockets in the middle.
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I started a project 365 last year but gave it up within a few weeks, in large part due to the fact that I got pregnant with twins (while also trying to manage my then-3 year old.) I'd love to give it another shot... but I don't know if I'd go with a kit. I think I could do it on my own. Not sure if I'll do it this year though.
As for Walgreens, I was not happy with the photos I got printed at one in Wilmington DE. The colours were bleached, and they botched the borders (I had placed two photos on one 4x6 to crop them for my page). When I re-sent the photos with even bigger borders they still botched them.
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I am doing a digital Project 365 called Everyday Life from dscrappro.com. I am finding it hard to get a picture in everyday. Thanks for the inspiration! I think I am going to need it to make it through 52 full weeks.
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Thank you for posting this. I am doing the 365 photo thing to improve my skills. I bought the Project 365 from CK last year and was wondering how I was going to make it work. Fantastic idea about taking your Flickr notes as the journaling. Don't know why that didn't occur to me. ;-> Adding in other bits of "life" to the pockets will help me with having a week on each spread. Thanks again for all of the inspiration you provide!
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Jessica, don't know if you saw above in my comment, but I mentioned getting the idea of using Ali's digi date stamps from your blog and that has helped make it so easy to put the pages together when I get them printed. Thanks so much for the inspiration!
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I completed Project 365 last year too. I enjoyed the experience, but am not sure I will do it again this year (although I am still taking the photos...). Mine looks quite a bit like yours, with bits of things and photos in the small pockets as well as the big. I quickly figured out to keep my sanity I would need some way of keeping track of which photo went with each day. I just took a cheap spiral notebook and divided each page into columns--one for the date, one for the photo to use for that day, and one for any commentary on the photo, snippets of conversation, etc. Quick, easy and helped tremendously. I highly recommend it.
One downside of doing 365--my 14yo son now takes cover (literally) every time he sees a camera. I think it may take at least until summertime before I can get him to look at a lens (at least I have 3 other kids and a dog....). I also noticed that if I had a little time to scrap, that time went to 365 and as a result, I didn't do much other scrapping last year (I have yet to finish Yesterday and Today, for instance!). You may not have that problem as it is your job, but for a mom trying to fit it in amongst everything else, that can be a challenge.
I hope you keep posting your pages from time to time--they are very inspiring!
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I did Project 365 last year and loved it. I love your idea of mixing things up. I just kept the first year simple--I put photos in the photo pockets and journaling cards in the small pockets. I kept the cards on my nightstand and wrote them out each night. I took stacks on vacation to keep up there. I made a note on the back of each card about which photo I was using if I took a bunch. I did not use the tri-fold cards because I wanted to keep it simple. I just wrote the basics for each day and figured if I needed to say more, I would scrap a separate page for another album. I just did the minimum to stay caught up, and I never missed a day! I look forward to seeing yours as you progress through it. You always have such great ideas!
Christine
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I can't speak for Ali, but I've had a need for adding my signature to photos - kind of like a watermark for images I want to sell (or an artist's signature) & to do that I've written out my name a ton of times to create one that I loved, then scanned it into my computer & turned it into a photoshop brush - then I can stamp it onto the images I need signed, resize it, change the color etc. (whoa, there's a run-on-sentence...). If you'd like more info about this technique you can email me & I'll break it down into how I do it :). Probably more complicated than what you might need, if you're just planning to add journaling to your digital page...but maybe for a title you might use more than once?
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I love to see your process on how you actually accomplish projects. thanks for always sharing. It's too late this year, but I'm thinking I'll try to be prepared for next year. I wish I had done something like this when my children were all little (instead of all grown ups). What a great idea to document the everyday. Love it!
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I tried to do 365 last year and made it through week 12. I went digital this year. Using Weeds and Wildflowers Simple Stories templates - love this! Has totally made this do-able for me. I did buy Becky's Life 365 as well, but plan to use this for my back-log of photos that are printed, never scrapped. Love the ideas you shared. Thanks so much!!
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I completed Project 365 last year, and am so thankful I did. I love how it REALLY captured the essence of our EVERYDAY lives, along with the big moments (vacations, birthdays, etc.). How cool is it going to be to look back on that album in 5, 10, 20 years and see this snapshot of our lives in 2009?!
The one thing I learned that was SUPER useful was to create a spreadsheet (I used Excel) for my journaling. I wanted to hand write all my journaling, but find that it is much more time consuming than typing it out on the computer. Also, I didn't always have time, or feel like it frankly, to fill out the journaling cards every day. At the same time, I didn't want to forget what I wanted to say about each picture/day. So, early on I made up a spreadsheet for the entire year. About once every week or two (usually when I got my pictures back from being printed) I would sit at the computer and nail out my journaling for the past couple of weeks on the spreadsheet. Then, when I had the time to sit and hand write the cards I would print the spreadsheet for reference. This worked great when I wanted to do journaling when I wasn't at home too (waiting for the kids at dance class, etc.). In fact, I am still not done with writing out my journaling cards for last year, but I am totally not stressed about it because everything I want to say is printed on my spreadsheet.
Good luck to everyone doing P365 this year. Don't give up if you start to feel burnt out....you will be so glad with the finished product.
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I literally just said the other day how I wished I had bought the Becky Higgins kit when it came out because it would have been an easy way to get back into scrapbooking when I have lots of other stuff going on, and now this timely blog post with a way to get Becky's kit!! Mine is on my way, thanks Ali!
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Thank you for sharing your approach to Project Life :) I did 365 last year and managed to keep up with the pictures. I still have some journaling that I need to get caught up with, but I am sure it will come with time. I am trying 365 again this year, I hope I can do it again! I love the idea of using Flicker.
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I have done this for our 2 year old for his whole life (I've missed 2 days) and just put the photos together for each month as 2x2's on a 12x12 digital page.
I did this last year digitally about our family using a digital template by Janet Phillips from theDailyDigi.com I had a double 12x12 spread and had a relatively large space for journaling each day.I got the members of my family to write the journaling for the week that their birthday fell in. And I set myself a Sunday deadline to finish the set of pages for a week that ended on a Wednesday. By the end of the year I was pretty much over it but now that it is done I am happy that I did it. (Though not sure how I am going to print it over here in New Zealand).
This year I am going digital again just one 12x12 a template by Cathy Zielske. It also has a LOT less room to journal which makes me happy from a time perspective and frustrated when I want to say more.
The other difference is that this year my pics are landscape rectangles which is nicer than last years circles.
For me digital means I will get it done and I'm a big fan of having finished projects!
You can see the pages on my blog using the '365' tag or the monthly tag for Will's pages.
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So glad to see your approach using this kit. I've been eyeing it for weeks now, and couldn't wrap my mind around how to make it "mine". I like your approach. Very *you*. Gives me hope that I can figure out what will work for me soon too! :)
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Ali, I love this idea. In years past I have been overwhelmed with the thought of taking a picture a day. But I like this idea along with project life. For your page protectors it seems like the middle row is actually divided into 4 parts, is that correct or are you stiching them to divide them? What page protectors are you using. Thanks. And thank you for sharing your process, it is actually making me think I can do this.
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ENABLER!!!!
before leaving the house this morning for 9 a.m. playgroup, i spent $30 (including shipping) - mostly on different W R Memory Keeper divided page protectors (with VERTICAL 6x4 photo slots)! i'm not doing project life or P365, but i HAVE to do something with my photos from Kenya (2006) and started collecting things (including an album and page protectors) but i got frustrated b/c there was no place for my 6x4 photos.... so i guess i should say THANK YOU for enabling me.... i might actually start AND finish the project from "The Trip of a Lifetime" now!!!
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So fun that you are using the brushes too!
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i did a SP 365 in 2008, it was hard! This year I am doing excatly the same as you, a photo a day of life in general,using Flickr as well. I have the AC page dividers which i will use for my 365 :)
i havnt missed a day yet
Anna x
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Ali your ability to turn the everyday into art is so inspiring, i love these layouts so much!
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