Project Life 2012 | Getting started.

So... this really isn't my week one of project life. That share will be coming soon.

Instead this is how I started my album and I really only have 2 reasons for doing so:

1. The quote from my youngest son on the 29th.
2. The quote from my daughter on the 30th.

I pretty much decided that both of those had to be in my Project Life album. And since PL 2011 was a no-go I decided it didn't matter and I started a week early even though my "real" week one will be the first week of January. :) What I love about this system is that it doesn't matter when you "start" just that you do. You can start anytime you want to.

My Project Life focus for this year:

• documenting ME.
• documenting my husband
• documenting all those funny quotes and things my family says and does that get forgotten if they don't get written down right away!
• including memorabilia and bits of our life.

I am still doing "regular" scrapbooking so I don't feel obligated to make my PL my be all/end all scrapbook for the year. Instead, it's goal is to catch all those little bits and pieces that get lost between the day to day life and the actual completion of a scrapbook layout.

Here is my spread for the last week of 2011:

After a lot of consideration (and a couple of thrown away journaling cards), I have decided that the majority of my PL album will be handwritten journaling. For me, this is HUGE. I don't do handwritten journaling on my layouts, pretty much ever. I absolutely adore the look on other scrapper's pages but on mine, it always looks, well, wrong. But, after I computer printed a couple of the journaling cards for this spread (and it took forever to line up) I realized that I will be more likely to keep up with my album if I can journal quickly. Write it down and move on. Plus, this format seems more, informal, if you will. Bits and pieces in pockets. I actually like the look of my journaling (most of the time). ;)

I used one of Kerri Bradford's collage templates in the lower left corner of this page so that I could fit 4 photos in the 4x6 footprint.

Something you're going to be seeing a lot of in my PL album: Kerri Bradford die cuts. Love the instant title that adds interest, color and texture to my page. This spread's title will differ from the rest in that this is not my week one, like I mentioned above. I wanted to note that this was the last week of 2011 without it overwhelming the entire spread. Simple. Easy. Done.

Another thing I will be implementing throughout my album: stamping!

I can't get enough of my Ali Edwards stamps and this is the perfect forum for using a lot of her Studio AE stamps (as well as others!). Check out the journaling card I made on the far left of this side of the layout. Three stamps on one plain journaling card really added interest as well as a splash of color to the page.

Now, I didn't have a photo to go along with my journaling for 29th of December and that is OKAY.

Instead, I die cut one of Kerri's newest 4x6 designs, this gorgeous cheveron (kit linked below) and added some die cut layered butterflies in the center. Then, on next week's spread instead of backing this with a photo I'm going to leave it open (I cut the 4x6 design from cardstock) and I will layer another butterfly for the next week's spread. I love the peek-a-boo look and will be continuing this throughout my album when the situation calls for it... because let's face it, I will forget to take photos some days! 

PROJECT LIFE 2012 | Basic Supplies:

InLinkz.com

PROJECT LIFE (almost) 2012 | December 25-31, 2011 Supplies:

InLinkz.com

Additional Supplies:

• Handmade tag (Studio Calico Kit)
• Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type Stickers
• Studio Calico Alpha Stamps & "that's what she said" stamp
• Narratives Stickers
• 7Gypsies Sticker ("notes")
• Date Stamp (office supply store)

PROJECT LIFE 2012 | FULL LISTING

• Title Page