Project Life

I get asked a lot about what Project Life is, how I do it digitally, what programs I use, how I bind the books, etc. So I’m going to answer all of those questions here because this process is really important to me and what I want my girls to value as they grow up and have families of their own.

I was passionate about this project since the day I started and being on the creative team gave me the ability to infect others with the same passion. I thought I’d post a little intro and a recap of what I’m doing with Project Life in case you’re new to the LTM Blog!

What is Project Life?

Here’s a 1-minute easy as pie explanation:

Why do I think you should do it?

Because your story is your legacy and it’s important. Someday, your kids and your family is going to want to know this stuff about you and themselves. I promise. Kids have a way of wondering how you did it when they start families of their own. This is the way to show them. One thing I would love more than anything is to ask my mom, “what did you do when we were this age?” or “how did you handle this situation?” or “how much did you drink every night?” If she had done scrapbooking for us, I would have known even though she’s not around anymore for me to ask her. Someday my kids are going to want to know what our everyday looked like as an adult. They will. This will show them.

How am I doing it?

I am doing my pages digitally. It saves me the counter space (which is limited with 3 little ones) and the hassle of cleaning up. I just put everything together on my computer and then I print the book out at the end of the year. Also, the majority of project life users do the project weekly (2 pages to recap your week, every week). I, however, am taking a different approach this year. I’m just putting our major events into the book. There’s too much stuff going on in my life to have the pressure of keeping up and we just don’t do all that much stuff yet because my girls are so little. I’ll probably start the weekly layout format next year. You can read more about what I’m doing and the pages I’ve completed by CLICKING HERE.

What are the options for you?

There are two options for you if you want to give Project Life a try:
Traditional Paper Version
Digital Version

I LOVE traditional paper scrapbooking but I don’t like having the stuff all around my house. Digital is the right option for me but there is a learning curve to doing it since I am using photoshop. Without some desire to learn clipping masks and photoshop, it may be best for you to just go paper kits and keep it in a little caddy that you can move around to keep out of the way. If I was able to have the space and time for traditional, I would absolutely have those cards in my house.

With the traditional version you only need 4 things (there are FAR more than 4 things you can purchase, of course but you only require 4):

1. Core Kit

Core Kits are loaded with enough beautifully-designed cards to fill an entire album.

 

 

 

 

 

2. Album

The Project Life snazzy Albums, designed to coordinate with our Core Kits, will safely house your Pocket Pages filled with your photos and journaling.

 

 

 

 

 

3. Pocket Pages

Pick up a pack of Photo Pocket Pages to slip in your treasured photos and the cards from your Core Kit.

 

 

 

 

 

4. Journaling Pens

My favorite pens in the world are the Zig Millennium Pens. They come in a pack with 5 sizes. Amazeballs.

With the digital version you need 4 things (there are FAR more than 4 things you can purchase, of course but you only require 4):

1. Computer

I use my Mac Pro and my laptop for Project Life. Either will work as long as you have enough space to run photoshop and save your work.

2. Photoshop

I use Photoshop Creative Cloud for mine but I know a lot of people that use Photoshop Elements and it works great for them (plus it’s less expensive and a bit easier).

3. Digital Kits

Someone I know has a real problem with buying digital items for her Project Life album. I won’t say who, but she can’t stop. They’re so pretty!

4. Printer to bind your book or Album with 12×12 Page Protectors

You can choose to bind your book and have it printed with a photo printer like i did at MPIX or you can have the pages printed individually and you can simply stick them into some 12×12 page protectors and a binder. Your call. I like the digital books because I can make copies of the book for the girls to take when they leave home.

Here’s a recent page I finished to give you an example of what your pages can look like:

This was a super simple and fast layout. Used our pictures that Melissa Koehler took of our family and threw a couple of cards and brushes over them. Boom! Done.

I hope you’ll consider giving Project Life a try this year. There’s not commitment, there are no requirements. I know your people sure would love you for it one day.