I am excited!  I just finished my first page for Project Life 2014.  It was easy, simple, and fun.  Now this is just one page, but I like having the pressure removed of having everything perfect.  I like the kit knowing that the colors match and I don’t have to think.

My Process: Planning

I used a variety of tools to make the page easy to complete.  My iPhone and iPad were my main tools.  I also had help from an awesome service called Oh Life! (https://ohlife.com).  If you haven’t tried it, once you register, they send you an email every day.  Recording daily memories are as simple as replying to the email.  I like the app Momento to gather memories for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram too.  Now that my memories are recorded, journaling my week is simple and mostly done.  The next app I use is Project 365.  Although my Project Life album isn’t Project 365, this app helps me keep my memories chronological so I can look at a glance.  Finally, I used Marcy Penner’s planner pages (http://www.marcypenner.com).  Using the app Over, I type pictures and journaling I want to incorporate into my layout.

My Process: Assembly

I used the app Pic Jointer to make chosen pictures 3×4 and printed them at home.  I then inserted pictures into my pocket page leaving a space to denote the week.  I know this will be stressful for some, but I am not dictating at this time if I use one page for a week or three.  I thought I would let life dictate how many pages I use each week.  I do like the week in review cards that I have seen many people do on Pinterest.  So my upper left pocket was devoted to the week.  My lower right pocket was devoted to my week in review.  This week I made a 6×4 card on my computer.  I copied my journaling from Oh Life! for that week and pasted it onto the card.  Voila! A little formatting, and now my journaling for the week is complete.

I don’t make resolutions.  It isn’t that I disagree with them, I just make change when I am ready to make change.  So why did I wait until January 1st to start a new project?  Well, it isn’t really a new project, it is an old project done in an new way.  I have scrapbooked since I was in high school in the early 90’s.  Since my son was born in 2002, I have done a yearly album.  I like traditional scrapbooking and I don’t think that will change.  However, I like the idea of a new way to document our everyday lives, not just the events of the year.

Project Life has been around several years, but 2014 will be my first Project Life album.  I like the idea of working on my album a week at a time.  I am not committing myself to recording a picture a day (though I have done Project 365 for three years).  I plan to look at my pictures taken for a week and select the ones that represent our lives.  I like the simplicity of Project Life.  It is just pictures and journaling when I am short on time.  I can add embellishments when I need to express my creativity.

My Erin Condren Life Planner will be my main tool for my Project Life album.  There are several apps I plan to use as tools as well, and I will probably write about those later.  I’ve used my planner for three weeks, and even if I wasn’t doing Project Life, I’m in love.  I used the calendar at the beginning of the month to write down our monthly schedule.  The weekly pages I use as a journal, meal planner, goal list.  Sundays I sit down and write out the meal plan for the week.  I am not strict about my meal plan.  Sometimes life gets busy, or my desire for a particular meal changes.  If this happens, I cross out the anticipated meal, and write in the actual meal.  The list to the side I use to write my goals for the week.  The the calendar section of the week I use to write down happenings of the day.

When I would scrapbook before, I had my Vera Bradley agenda at my side.  I kept the monthly calendar of each year in a larger binder.  When I scrapbook, I have the dates for the special events we attended.  I also journal and have for years, so my journal is also at my side to help refresh my memory on emotions and atmosphere.  I am excited about one book on my desk when I scrapbook.