Monday, February 27, 2012

Why I’m Blogging Less: Project Life

Last year, when my friend Katie told me about project life, I was SO apprehensive!
My thoughts were,
“Why would I need that when I have a blog?” …and…
”As much as I LOVE scrapbooking, I can’t imagine the stress of keeping up with that again!”
I felt that it just wasn’t for me.

But, when I did a little research, I realized it was EXACTLY for me. Seriously, I think Becky Higgins made it for Brittney Poe! It is my dream come true!!! Let me tell you why…

I have ALWAYS loved scrapbooking. From middle school, I’ve kept my own versions of scrapbooks…through high school…and into college. I even worked at a darling scrapbook store in Waco {Heart Tugs and Doodlebugs} and my creative outlet was taken to the next level. Then, when Matt and I met, I loved documenting our memories…and our first years of marriage. I never stopped loving it!

But, when Quinn was born, I quickly had a reality check. First of all, there was NO way I’d ever  be able to keep up with documenting the thousands of memories we were making as a new family of three. And, the mess that scrapbooking made was a whole other story! Lastly, the cost of all of the supplies was getting out of control…there was WAY too much cute stuff to be had! project-life-logoEnter Project Life! It was the perfect way for me to do everything I loved…
*a little scrapbooking
*a lot of memory keeping
*not a big expense
*AND, most importantly, the books {unlike the blog books I’ve been printing through blurb.com} were things that I WANTED my boys to flip through. I wasn't afraid they were going to rip the precious pages!

The best part is, you can use it however you’d like!!! You can do a pic a day, a pic a week…or just on an event by event basis.

First, let me show you the supplies that I use! >>>
*a 12x12 3-ring album
*page protectors (I prefer Design A)
*a Core Kit (includes all of the paper that you need for your album)
*matching 12x12 paper
*Envelope pages (for birthday cards, etc.)
*Dividers with labels
*A Date stamp (got at Office Depot)

And, for printing my pics, I wanted convenience so I’d actually keep up…When I did the math, it made the pics less than 10 cents more a print than printing through Kodak Gallery.
*Canon Selphy Printer (prints 4x6 prints with 1, 2, 4 or a shuffle of prints on a sheet)
*Ink and Paper for printer

 
 

Now, as far as the process goes, I pretty  much do a picture (or a few) a day. But, that’s normal for me! I always take pictures and I love documenting the little details of our days!

I haven’t bought ANYTHING extra to decorate my pages. At the beginning, I told myself that the point was to document memories…not to have coordinating embellishments with each and every picture. And, I never print my journaling…because that’s an extra step. I write EVERYTHING. (except for my date stamp) And, by the end of each night, I usually have that day documented!

Needless to say, I’m proud!!! I love having current memories at my fingertips…not on my computer! And, as much as I still love having my blog for longer stories and details and for sharing our memories with all of you, I feel that Project Life is what my family is really going to look at to relive our days and the millions of blessings we have! Actually, we already sit on the couch together and laugh at what has happened in just 2 months! It’s priceless and precious!
Dnow 2012 055 
Here’s a peek into a few of my pages. They’re nothing fancy and I don’t feel like the pictures of them really capture them completely!… But, OH MY GOODESS, I love them…
Feb 26-27 005
Feb 26-27 006
Feb 26-27 007
Feb 26-27 008
Feb 26-27 009
Feb 26-27 010
Feb 26-27 011If you want to know more, click here to go to Becky’s website. And, read this list if you need even more reason to start Project Life for your family, read this list that I found about Project Life…

5. Save time. Save stress.

The organization and design that is Project Life is already figured out for you. Different from traditional scrapbooking, there is no stress about where to place photos, which papers to use, techniques to incorporate, products to coordinate. The work is done. You just add your photos and journaling.

4. No more guilt.

Gone are the days that you feel bad about not doing something with your pictures or your kids' pictures. Now you can actually get those pictures off the computer and into a format that can be enjoyed. Project Life makes photo-displaying story-telling fun and easy.

3. Improve your skills.

Knowing that your pictures and memories are going to be preserved and enjoyed in Project Life, you will naturally improve your photography and writing skills.

2. Incredible value.

We love making scrapbooking not only simple, but affordable. You will have a hard time finding better prices for what you get, especially given the impeccable quality.

1. It's therapeutic.

Whether you add pictures and stories to your Project Life album on a daily, weekly, monthly, or even sporadic basis, you will inevitably find yourself more keenly aware of your blessings and priorities.

3 comments:

The Johnson Family 5 said...

i LOVE that you LOVE it so much!! I was the same way as you and my boys love to look at it all the time!

The Fokens Family said...

Oh, love this! Quick question....are you doing this from here in out....Or, going back to past years to include past memories?

Kendra @ Domestic Princess in Training said...

Every time I come to your blog I wonder if you know about PL. I always thought it would be a prefect fit for you...just the way you capture your family and your activities I thought you would love it too! This is my 3rd year using PL and I'm so happy I started. There are so many things that I snapped photos of that I probably wouldn't have if I wasn't using PL. It's so neat to look back and see what the year held and yes having something tangible is a huge plus! I still blog some of my photos and stories I use in my album and that's just because I have several friends and family members that like to follow along. That way I can share with them too. Sooooo did you finish out the year? Are you doing it again this year?