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Joy and Lessons in Project Life


Exactly one year ago, I discovered this amazing way of scrapbooking called Project Life by Becky Higgins. It was this simple way of scrapbooking using a variety of cards and pocket page protectors. It was made to be easy, and the end result was to have an amazing book of everyday memories. It was made to be less intimidating than regular scrapbooking layouts (you know the ole 12x12), but still fun to do. It sounded way too amazing to be true!

So I made the decision to start my first Project Life Album. It was kind of a weird place to start. I mean, it was the end of February. I was already "behind" 2 months. But you know what? I was okay with that. I was okay with my Project Life album not being "perfect" because c'mon people, life is not perfect ;) So I just started with whatever week I was in and filled in the beginning of the year with anything that I could remember. In fact, I decided that I wasn't going to take the "weekly" approach. Because honestly, life gets to crazy sometimes and this was meant to be a hobby, something that I enjoy doing. It was designed to be SIMPLE!

Thus began my journey into the world of Project Life - a world full of crazy, amazing scrapbookers. "Wood veneers", "tiny attacher", "washi tape" became a part of my daily vocabulary. I started a YouTube channel to share what I made and made some amazing friends along the way.

Now I'm in my 2nd year of Project Life. My love for it is stronger than ever. I think it's mainly because I just love looking through my 2013 album. It's so fun to flip through and remember all the cool things we did last year. It gets me excited for what's in store for us this year. I learned so much from that first album. So here I am sharing with you what I learned and hopefully it will help the newbies and veterans in someway or another :)

Before I start, I just want to warn you that I don't do Project Life the way Becky Higgins intended. She designed it so that all you would need is a core kit, a pen, and pictures. But since I use it as my creative outlet (and I love scrapbooking supplies in general LOL), I like to add a teensy bit more ;)


Lesson 1 - Story is King
One of my favorite companies and one that I still hope to work for someday is Pixar. Pixar's motto is Story is King. Before anything else, they always make sure that the storyline is solid. I'm guessing that's why their movies are so memorable. Looking through my album and watching my old Project Life share videos, I realize that it's not about how you decorate your pages but how you tell your story through Project Life. The embellishments and the cards are supposed to enhance your story. Just like CGI enhances the stories in movies. You didn't love Toy Story because the graphics looked so good, you loved Toy Story because of the characters and their adventures.

Lesson 2 - Photography
One thing that I made a goal to improve is my photography. It just makes all the difference both visually and in storytelling. My favorite layouts from last year was not based off of the cute cards but of the pretty pictures I took. I will not care in 5 years from now that I didn't pick the right card, but I will wish that I had a better picture of a special place, person, or moment.

Lesson 3 - Simpler is better
Some of my layouts last year were so intricate. I used to sew on every single pocket. It was super time consuming. I have stopped doing that and am now saving that for special occassions. I also had so much cards and supplies that each layout would take forever because I would go through my entire stash trying to find the perfect embelllishment or card. I have since cut down my card stash to my favorites and have organized them by color and one of the three categories - patterned, filler, and journaling. It has made it soooo much faster and easier. I have also stopped going through my entire stash and instead pull out certain embellishments and telling myself to only use those. It feels almost like a challenge that way. It helps me to work with what I have and to use them creatively.

Lesson 4 - Don't feel forced
I always have this perfectionist in me telling me that things have to be done a certain way. That I have to include every single picture I take or every single memento that I collect. I had to learn to let go of things last year. It was tough at first, but now it feels freeing. It has pushed me to take better pictures and only collect things that I think would enhance the story. If I didn't get to tell certain stories in my album, I just wrote it in my journal, and was okay with that. At least the memory is documented somewhere.

and lastly, Lesson 5 - Have fun
If you're not having fun with this project then you're doing it wrong! LOL This definitely should not feel like "work" and should not make you stressed. You're supposed to enjoy the process. When I do my layouts, I like to think about "future Joy" and how much she will enjoy looking at the album regardless of anything else.

So if you're looking for a way to get those pictures off the digital world and back to the dark side of analog (LOL), please try out Project Life. It's an awesome way of preserving memories. And if you're like me and like to get more crafty with it, it has that flexibility too :) With that said, I'm ending this post with my Project Life process video. It's my first time doing such a long video with voice overs and boy was it rough LOL. I don't think I could make a video like this every week. Hopefully you will get the gist of what goes on when I'm putting together my layouts. Enjoy!


4 comments:

  1. Great tips Joy! I have been piling up on supplies, all I need to do now is print those darn pictures!!

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    1. Thank you, Teresa :D OMG I am so behind! I've been so busy that I haven't seen your comment til now LOL. Hope you're doing well!

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  2. I think you need a first comment lol.
    Didn't knew you had a blog too. I love this one :)

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    Replies
    1. so sorry for the late reply! But yes I have a blog. I rarely post unfortunately LOL. Hope you're doing well!

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