Project Life

Many people take a 365 approach to Project Life. They take one picture every day for a year and document their everyday life. I think this is a great idea particularly if you have small children at home with you, so much goes on, they grow so fast, there are so many little moments: breakfast, playing, reading together, sleepy moments, snuggly moments. I would love to have pictures of all those moments; to have captured our little everyday cocoon of a life for a whole year. It's a little different now. I still feel like we have a warm cocoon at home but since Parker is gone all day and Bailey is in Missouri the days kind of look the same. Dean works in his office upstairs. Dean cooks dinner. I work in my office downstairs, I eat dinner!! Parker works at his computer at the kitchen table, Parker eats dinner. Three hundred and sixty-five pictures of three people at work on computers or eating dinner would not be very exciting. So I abandoned the 365 approach and am just using project life as I would any other scrapbook: for any pictures I happen to take.

Most people (that I have stumbled upon) who blog about Project Life do not go back and play catch up with old photos. I decided that since I own all the scrapbooking papers and stickers and some Creative Memories supplies I should go back and use those things in a Project Life scrapbook so that:

1) I can get caught up - I am years behind with my pictures and
2) I can use all those supplies that mock me from the craft closet.

I look at the scrapbooking supplies, I see all the money I spent on those supplies and I am overcome with guilt. My kids childhood memories are sitting there waiting to be made visible but I feel too overwhelmed to tackle the job. Well, no more!! I have begun to go back, gather pictures by category (example: Fall/ Halloween, Thanksgiving) then gather paper, stickers, embellishments by the same category and finally put them in the Project Life album. It makes me happy to get started on this. and the best part is that there is very little gluing involved. The pictures slip into the pockets! Here are the results so far:

This is the opening page to the scrapbook. Normally, you would use the cards provided in the Project Life core kit. Instead I used scrapbook paper and embellishments that I bought years ago.

 In this layout the small vertical squares across the middle are pockets that can be filled with Project Life journaling cards. Because I have forgotten which Halloweens and Thanksgivings these pictures originated I cut up a pretty fall leaf paper and skipped the journaling step. I could have trimmed pictures to fit in there and I will be trying that next when I tackle some Christmas pictures.

 For several years we went to the same Pumpkin Patch. We went with friends and we went two years with Parker's pre-school, the Prosper United Methodist Preschool. Parker's teacher's were Miss Penny and
Miss Cary.

 These are napkin rings the kids and I made for Thanksgiving.

 One of my favorite costumes!

 These are pictures of Thanksgiving with Grandma and Granddad.

 Again, here I used scrapbook paper, cut it to fit the small journal card pockets and just slipped it in.

 The picture on the far right is of my friend, Susan and her daughter Hannah. Parker and Hannah have known each other since they were in preschool, they are now Juniors in High School. I think we should ask them to return to the pumpkin patch next year as Seniors for encore pictures.

 We made these Fall leaf costumes by hot gluing leaves to old sweatshirts and to floral rings.

 

 Bailey loved this pointy hat - it was from the Wizard's apprentice and had Mickey Mouse ears attached to it.

Pirate Parker!

It is good to get started on those stacks of pictures. I have lots of photo albums that I completed when the kids were little but at some point I fell behind! This is a way for me to catch up and be able to share the memories with our family. I am a big fan of Project Life for this reason. Happy scrapbooking!