Project Life and a Class Review

Project Life has always intrigued me, but I never thought it would be something that would prove useful to me now that my kids are grown and out of the house. After all, some of my weeks are pretty dry—paper crafting, volunteer work, a couple of social engagements. On the other hand, the last scrapbook layouts I made were in February when I finished 29 layouts in one month for LOAD. There’s been a layout on my desk waiting to be finished for over six weeks now. 

Then in August I read a blog post on Write, Click, Scrapbook that suggested a monthly Project Life might work better for some people. Aha, I thought! That would work for me. I already had divided page protectors, and lots of small journaling cards from Simple Stories. Some months, we really do have a full and exciting life. August was one. So I decided to dive in. I enrolled in BPS’s class “Project Life Lessons,” and got started. By the end of the second week of class, I had seven pages of photos and memories in a book!

Toward the end of the course I was in Michaels looking for a circle punch, and discovered the Project Life kits. Since I had a generous coupon I picked up the Midnight Edition which, combined with the rest of my stash, should keep me going for months. I decided I’d be happy with a mix of handwritten and typed journaling depending on the page, and after purchasing the Midnight Edition decided to go with rounded corners. I’ve seen some spread recently that combine both rounded and non-rounded corners, and despite my compulsive nature, I think I could go with that as well.

Most of the journaling cards I used for August were created from my stash or a digital kit, but you’ll see more of the Midnight Edition as I move forward. 

A digital card from Sahlin Studios

On a scale of 1-10, I’d give the “Project Life Lessons” at BPC an 8. There were great handouts, a couple of downloads and nine videos. The only reason I don’t give it a 10 is that the content was very uneven among the three instructors. My favorite was Annette Haring. Her videos were jam-packed with information and examples, and her handouts were equally meaty. Her last lesson on organizing for Project Life was especially helpful.

All in all, I think this will work for me. I can work on it little by little, and I’m thrilled to have all these family photos scrapped. Some months there’ll be lots to scrap. We’ve had a pretty interesting September, and October will be loaded. In November there may just be a one page spread for Thanksgiving. I’m going to include my Christmas Journal here this year as well. I did a smaller sized Simple Stories album last year. The only thing I’m not sure about is including it in a big album. I do love having my basket of Christmas Journals out every holiday. But for now, this is feeling like just the right thing!

Thanks to all of you who “do” Project Life. It’s the inspiration I’ve gotten from you that prompted me to even consider it.