Project Life® 2014 | Week Seventeen & The Long Haul Memory Keeping Attitude

Happy Thursday!

Today I'm sharing a look at Project Life® 2014 | Week Seventeen.

Here's what was on my mind as I was working on this spread: I'm in this for the long haul.

That's my memory keeping attitude.

Not because it's my job, but because it's what I love.

A long haul attitude helps keep things in perspective. Here's what it means to me:

• For Project Life® it means that some weeks have a lot of content and some have less. There's an ebb and a flow. I think sometimes I've "felt bad" (it's all relative people) that I used "filler cards" (cards with designs on them and no room for journaling/adding more than a few words) vs. a story or antidote or something personal. That's just silly (and evidence of another time I set up rules for myself). I'm over it now because I'm focusing on the bigger picture. The bigger picture is that it's not any single week or spread that means the most to me - to me it's being able to flip through and watch the progression of time and celebrate the whole of it.
• For photography it means that sometimes I'm obsessed with capturing life through a lens and other times I just let it go. The common denominator though, is a general consistency in photo taking as a lifestyle. Taking pictures has really simply become a part of my life and I'm okay with the ebb and the flow. It's habit and routine. Sometimes I get out of the habit for a week or so and that's totally cool too because I'm in it for the long haul. This became super apparent to me the other day when I was looking for photos for the If This Table Could Talk post. Even when I had a whole lot less photos in one month or another, there was still something there. Those photos are memory triggers, story threads and I'm so thankful I have anything at all.
• It's not about keeping up, it's about recording the stories that matter most. A long haul attitude means that those stories that matter most often bubble up to the surface. I've noticed as I work through Project Life® it actually helps me identify the longer stories I want to tell (either in those albums or in my traditional albums). From there I usually start a post on my blog, get that long story recorded and then make a layout from it when I have a chance.
• As mentioned above, I'm on the lookout for stories - a single event, a conversation, a pattern, an experience, a perspective. I'm on the lookout for the things that make my life mine - some of those stories are common life experiences and some of them are very unique to my own life experience.

A long haul attitude helps me let go of the pressure to "keep up" and allows me to enjoy telling the stories, enjoy taking the photographs and then enjoy the process of bringing them all together.

I'm excited for the stories I still have to share from the past and for the stories I'll experience in the time still to come and for the stories that bring the two together.

#scrapbookingmatters

Here's a look at Week Seventeen:

This spread includes product from the main Studio Calico Penny Arcade Project Life® kit, the High Striker kit and the July 4th Card Set (gold heart - love this one particularly).

As you'll notice I used a few more "filler cards" (these things need a new name - I think it's the word "filler" that makes me feel like it's "less than" or "fluff" vs. actually contributing to the overall story) this week which is part of what spurred my thoughts about the long haul above.

Okay so, Copic Markers. There's lots of people out there who do really fancy things with them but I am really enjoying them for just writing out words. The set I'm currently using is a Ciao 12-pack with basic colors.

I created a layered journal card with a black and white printed background + white cardstock stitched on top with pink thread.

I don't always change my thread. Pink worked here.

I'm letting it go that there aren't more words here.

Those so much I could say. At the very least for me is adding a bit of writing on the photos. I wrote more about that in my post for Week Ten.

Those gold embellishments are puffy stickers and they are so cool. I used them on almost every card/photo this week.

ACTION ITEMS/IDEAS

• Be in it for the long haul. There is so much good that comes from documenting our lives whether you are writing out a long story or playing with paper and pretty embellishments as you jot down a note or two about your day.
• Let it go. What memory keeping hang up can you let go of this week that will help you move forward and tell a more complete story?
• Include different visual perspectives. Don't forget to take photos from both a close up and a far away point of view. I love seeing the combination of the two in this spread.

SUPPLIES | 2014 | WEEK SEVENTEEN

Click on the images to link to the products.

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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. View all my posts about Project Life® here.