AE : 365 : Project Life

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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: 


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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 (which is now available through Amazon.com). It's a big 12x12 album with divided page protects and other coordinated supplies. Most of you know I am a big fan of divided page protectors. I like how Becky's product is organized and I like that it is totally open to my own interpretation.


Here's a look at what I have been doing so far:


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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). 

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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.


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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.

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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.


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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

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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.

WEEK ONE

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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.

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WEEK TWO

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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.

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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

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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?


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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.

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134 thoughts

  1. Jane says…
    01/25/2010

    Thanks for the inspiration Ali. I wanted to do Project Life but hadn't started so I decided that I CAN start now and I'm going to.

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. Nicole says…
    01/25/2010

    This is my first year doing Project Life. I have been blogging every day with the stories for that day and include the pictures. Then I upload the pictures to shutterfly once a week and will have them printed once a month. I have a Project Life folder on my desktop that I add the pictures to and a Project life folder on shutterfly as well. Having the pics on my blog helps me recognize which pictures go on which days once I get the pictures printed. I also use memorabilia in my album and even though I bought the kit I have altered most elements to fit how I want each week to look. I can't say that I'm using much that hasn't been altered except for the page protectors. It was really important for me to make this kit fit for me. So far it's been easy to keep up with and even before starting this project I usually took at least a few pictures every day. I find that this kit is helping me keep track of the stories I want to tell in my regular scrapbooks too and it keeps everything in chronological order which is a scrapbooker's dream come true. I hope you enjoy this project!

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  3. Afusomax says…
    01/25/2010

    For the past several years, I have been giving "Our Family This Year" books as Christmas Presents to our parents. I am from Chicago, DH is from LA & we live in TX. Our families crave photos of our boys, but sending loose snaps is inconsistent, and there is no story.
    For me, doing a simple, web-based book works the best. I use walgreens.com, but shutterfly has them, as does pretty much any photo developer.
    When I digi, I go very simple -- no embellishments, just photos & text. I buy 3 books. One for my folks, one for the inlaws and one for us. This year I had the kids sign the books so we'll have a record of their handwriting.
    I find that this process completly frees me to do other projects in my books. I can now work on different techniques, perspectives, and themes without feeling like I'm not "caught up".
    And like all good scrappbookers, i have recruited my friends to begin projects of their own. Even "non-scrapbookers".

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  4. Sheryl says…
    01/25/2010

    I completed Project 365 last year. I just finished it up this weekend. I fell behind in journalling and it took me several hours this weekend to do Oct.-Dec., but it's done now and I feel so proud. I've started Project Life as well. I am so happy to see your post today. Last year I just took photos. This year I included my grocery receipt for one day and I took a picture of my movie ticket. I never thought to just put the ticket.
    To organize myself last year I kept a folder on my computer for photos called Project 365. Inside was a folder for each month. Once I decided which picture to use for that day I moved or copied it to that folder. I did my journalling in Word. I wrote the date and then I also wrote a brief description of my photo. I often wrote more than what I included on the journalling card. I still intend to do other layouts for specific things and I can refer to my notes for the journalling.
    This year, thanks to Jessica Turner's blog, I have added the day of the week brush on my photos and I'm actually using the Text tool to just type in the date. I really like the look. All of my week cards are in the page protectors and I've written the dates. I have also put the journalling cards in. I am trying to write on them every day or every couple of days. I intend to print photos at the end of each month. This year I hope to include more every day things. I like the idea of clothing tags and grocery lists.
    I hope you will continue to share your progress with your blog readers.

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. Leonie says…
    01/25/2010

    I did P365 last year and am so happy with my finished album. Lots of little stories in there I would never have got done on a traditional Scrapboook page. It's also a great memory jogger for when I'm doing a traditional page and have forgotten the date something happened etc I just refer back to my P365.
    The only time I found it hard going Ali is when I did your December Daily (which I love) for that month I found it hard not to double up on pictures or to tell different stories in each album. Awaiting my Project life to arrive and thinking I will use it a little differently this year

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  6. KazT says…
    01/25/2010

    Hi Ali,
    I haven't gone down the path of Project 365/Life. I find it all a bit too structured. I love the freedom of scrapbooking what I like when I like and the creativity that comes with doing a page. It's all just a bit tooooo anal for me!
    I love what you've done with yours, as usual you think outside the box and make the process simplified. As someone who loves to start projects but not finish them the thought of doing this for 365 days scares me!!
    KazT

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  7. Susan Sherrer says…
    01/25/2010

    Ali, I had already bought the Life Documented kit -- two actually yesterday before I read your blog post today simply because I *love* that weathered, distressed style. I can't wait to get started on it when it gets here!
    Thanks for sharing the 365 post--it was helpful to hear your perspective on 365; like you, I plan to do a mish-mash of things... :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. pidgen says…
    01/25/2010

    I was about to stress-to-death about how to do this ... when I jumped over to Shemelle's site ... wow. She's doing a documentation class that is like all Ali -- just condensed!! Totally the best of both worlds! I love it. I love how scrappers work together! (By the way, she said some cool things about your TT stamps!)

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. Jamie says…
    01/25/2010

    I literally just got my Project Life kit 20 minutes ago! I got online to get ideas on how to put it together and of course, you have great ways to make it you own. I love the 8 1/2 X 11 idea. I took a pic of the hall light on just because my daughter asks every night to leave it on. Still trying to find ways to get myself in more of the pics...

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  10. Barb M. says…
    01/25/2010

    Thanks for the inspiration. I ordered Project Life a bit ago, and have not gotten it yet. Then I was stressing about not having a pic a day for Jan. When I read, 'who says your year has to start in January,' it set me free. Thank you!

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. Lucia says…
    01/25/2010

    I did P365 last year and kept up with it in my blog (pictures and captions), updating it every week or so. Keeping up with journaling, either through a blog or flickr, is the second most important thing about the project; the most important thing is capturing an image/including a visual (be it a picture or some memorabilia). I can't imagine trying to go back and journal later.
    In my journaling I tried to provide a little bit of a backstory for each photo, so that years from now we'll understand more of who we were in 2009. I've seen many layouts/examples of others' P365 books with hardly any captions and I wonder about the opportunity they are missing in telling their story.
    I missed out in getting BH's Project 365 kit last year and am putting together a DIY version. I'm still working out the details of the look and feel of my album; I have an AC 12x12 album + photo protectors for 4x6 photos. I've printed about one third of my pics and I need to print my journaling cards, so I still have a bit to do!
    I wasn't up for being obligated to take a picture every single day again this year, so I'm focusing on each WEEK of the year instead of each DAY ("52 weeks in 2010" is what I'm calling my project). I'll still end up with at least 52 "layouts" but the pictures won't be from every day of the week. Some days won't be represented at all but other days will be with a couple of photos.
    I have BH's Project Life for my 2010 photos and love it so far. I love that I can focus on my photos and my journaling and not have to *think* about anything else. I haven't printed any of my photos thus far, but my journaling cards are current and already in the album (just waiting to get at least a month's worth of photos accumulated before I print). Again, I'm using my blog to post (weekly) and keep up with my photos and journaling (it's also nice since grandparents are out of state and gives them a way to keep up with us).
    I think your interpretation looks great... I know for me though, going that route would = burn out. I can't imagine trying to be that creative/specific/individual for every day of the year. My mind just doesn't work like that! Again, for me, I learned that it's more important to finish the project than to make sure it looks perfect.

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  12. Carla says…
    01/25/2010

    I love what you've done with your 365 album so far! I completed mine for last year. I started on a Sunday so I left the first page empty...then I got stuck on what to put in it. I have saved all the proof sheets from Costco so I cut those in strips and adhered them to the 4x6 filler cards. But I was so stuck on how to make it more creative...I was searching all over the internet looking for ideas.
    I got some tips for newbies...
    1. Print out a calendar....I'll tell you why in a sec.
    2. Make a desktop folder (or one in your back up drive) and name it 365. When you choose your pic, save as "01.01.jpg", and so forth.
    3. Choose one day a week to work on your pics (saving and ordering pics, etc). I chose Saturday night. On each day of the calendar I would write the subject of the pic, I marked the day also with an "S" after I saved it to the backup folder. And then I would upload my pics to my 365 folder at Costco. Then I would mark a "C" on that calendar date after I did that. After I ordered the pics, I put a line through that day. The reason why I use the calendar is because sometimes I wouldn't take a pic a day and maybe take 3 the next. That way I could mark the dates and not get confused.
    4. I also had recently thought about printing out my facebook status' and printing them out for the album. That would take a ton of time now but if you did it as you went along, that would be easy. I update my FB status a ton and its like a journaling system for me.
    5. Keep a point and shoot camera in your purse and don't forget pics of yourself (working, cleaning, SBing, etc).
    6. Take landscape and portrait pics. If there are two pics you like for one day, you can collage 2 pics on one 4x6 in PS or Picasa.
    7. I think if I had to do it again, I would type the day of the week on the pic through PS or Picasa (easier) instead of the stickers.

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  13. Kate says…
    01/25/2010

    I decided to do a hand written journal for each day this year, then I will have the journaling to go with the photos, I hope. I like your idea of doing the typed Flicker notes. But I have to admit I am enjoying doing the writing. I take 10-15 minutes every day at the end of the day to chronicle what I did that day, whatever it was. Feels good.

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  14. QSOgirl says…
    01/25/2010

    wow, you make everyday life look so good. i'm using the Project Life kit right out of the box, but i might start adding some other stuff in, because you have inspired me. thanks!

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  15. Michele McKenzie says…
    01/25/2010

    One of my friends likes the idea of a 365 project, but knows her life is too busy/crazy/hectic to devote that much time to it, so she has created her own "Project 52." Instead of focusing on a photo a day, she is selecting one picture from the week (because some days she takes pics and some she doesn't) and is documenting that story. Just another way to think about it and shows that you can do something similar, but mold it to fit your life/style.

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  16. ArtsyMama says…
    01/25/2010
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  17. Jessica says…
    01/25/2010

    I am so in love with what you are doing! I haven't jumped on the 365 train yet because it just seemed like such a HUGE task...this makes it seem do-able LOL...I'm doing a monthly book this year...maybe 365 next :)

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  18. Ursula Schneider says…
    01/25/2010

    Hey, this is really exciting to me. I'm gonna give it a try. I have a tendency not to finish things that I start, but this sounds more doable. I definatley am one who loves to take pictures but doesn't always get em printed. I'm already envisioning ways to accomplish this by sending in a print order once or twice a month but planning the pages complete with journaling as they happen.

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  19. Christina says…
    01/25/2010

    I considered using Becky's Project Life kit, but I find it a little overwhelming to actually PRINT all 365 photos :) Instead, I decided to use the American Crafts 6-4x6 divided page protectors. I bought a pkg of mat cardstock and used your "Outline" months to print directly onto the cardstock for each month. That leaves me with 5-4x6 blocks for the month. Or 4 if I decide to use one of your digital journaling cards as well to add some journalling. That way I can choose 4 of my favorite photos from the month, which is a much less daunting task for me. I love your album and all of your stories this year. {Especially the freebie template last week!}

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  20. Kathi says…
    01/25/2010

    Loved this concept - 365 Project - and the way you organize the materials along the way. I am just getting started - and love your site as well as all your wonderful postings. I can do this! Last week was great to help me get my feet wet.
    Thank you!

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  21. Linda says…
    01/25/2010

    I started doing project365 on my 30th birthday. I have just a few more months until days 365 rolls around. I have enjoyed it, especially now that I can look back and see a big chunk of the year completed.

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  22. ali says…
    01/25/2010

    I did the photo a day for about 2 months, and then stopped...I kept a manilla folder next to my bed and jotted the photo's meaning each night.
    Now since I haven't done anything with them...I plan on adding a "A Year Ago" page in my Project Life binder which I plan on starting on my birthday and documenting my life at age 33 and have certain various sized pages for the 33 Things I Want to Do this year - - via Elsie's ideas. Can't wait!!

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  23. jukeb0x says…
    01/25/2010

    As someone who is still working on her December Daily album, I don't want the distraction of working on a 365 album. But I am taking pictures daily and plan to burn all 365 photos on a cd at the end of the year and include the cd in a traditional scrapbook page.
    The only journaling I will be doing is with a sharpie on a post-it note which will be photographed with the subject. Of course not all photos will need a post-it explanation. I'm looking at this as an artistic paperless photo adventure!
    - Kathy

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  24. Karen W says…
    01/25/2010

    Kikki K (an Australian/scandanivian company) has a hard cover 365 notebook which I started new years eve http://www.kikki-k.com/shop/product/365-days/ .
    Very doable, each day I put in photo, a comic I like, clippings, recipts etc. I am really enjoying this as it is not too big, no decoration needed if I don't feel like it and my journalling is to the point. Anything bigger or more formal I would get tired of quickly.

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  25. Lana says…
    01/25/2010

    Thanks for sharing, Ali! I love how you have made the album your own already.
    This is my first year of doing P365. I'm hoping that it will improve my photography skills - practice makes perfect after all.
    Supplies:
    I am using an American Crafts 12x12 3 ring album with a mixture of 12x12 photo protectors and ordinary 12x12 page protectors (I ordered these from http://www.sarahscardsltd.com/shop/390/393/index.htm).
    To stuff in the pockets, I'm using Becky's P365 downloads that she gave away on her blog last year, and am mixing them with journaling cards that I have created myself in Word.
    Last week, I added your fabulous Outline Days, Months, Years, and Numbers Value Pack in white on top of my photos before printing and they look great, and add a bit of variety to the album.
    I have also created my own days of the week labels to stick on top of the photos using some Jill Bean Soup stamps and some simple graphics I made in Word, which I printed out onto white CS and then cut out with a circle punch.
    So it hasn't cost me much to get started.
    Process:
    My biggest challenge so far has been taking landscape photos - I nearly always take them the other way up! So I have had to try hard not to turn the camera, which has been both interesting amd frustrating.
    However this week I am going to change it up by adding in a normal 12x12 page protector, and I will stick my portrait photos/journaling cards in a grid to a sheet of 12x12 CS and then slip it inside.
    I am "caught up" so far, and I not stressing if I miss a day. On days when I haven't managed to take a photo - for example when there is not enough daylight - I just make a note of something that relates to the day and then take a photo of that subject some other time. Easy!
    And as others have said, I have passed the camera around so it's not just me taking all the photos.
    I write down what I think will be the photo for each day along with some notes in a pad before I go to bed. Then at the weekend, I print the photos out at home, transfer my notes to the journaling cards and then arrange everything into the album. That all takes me no more than 1 hour so it's very doable for me.
    I'm looking forward to seeing more of your album and other inspiring projects throughout 2010!
    Lana

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