This winter has been harsh.  As a matter of fact, it is the worst winter I can cognitively remember in Indiana.  In Indiana, we have snow and we have cold, but I don’t recall it every being constant for the duration of winter.  Typically we will have a few days of “bad” weather, then it is in the 40’s again.  This year I am done with this weather.  I have become sluggish and unproductive the last few months.  Which is rather disappointing since I have been in the house more and our schedule has been less hectic.  Although I’ve accomplished something I’ve never accomplished before.

Today I did seven weeks in my Project Life album (see above to explain why I got “behind” so quickly).  What I’ve never done before is I have documented our life through March 1, 2014.  I’ve captured the details of our life, and for once in my scrapbooks, I exist.  I would make a guest appearance now and then in my scrapbooks of years past, but now my son will have something to remember me by when I am gone.  I am able to look on this year and recall my thoughts and feelings as I live each day and I feel that even though I’ve been less productive, I will be able to remember my life, not just events or moments, but the mundane, daily activities and how much my daily life means to me.

Project Life is new to me this year.  Last year I read, looked at ideas on Pinterest, and bought the Cinnamon edition by Becky Higgins.  What I love about having coordinated pieces is when I have a blank spot, I have coordinating thoughts and cards to quickly fill blank spaces.  I can make the blank spaces “white” space, journaling, or include a thought about the page.  All the colors match and coordinate, no thinking on my part.  Someday I may go back and add a few personal details, but if someday never comes, I have a pretty cool album documenting our life in 2014.

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.