New Blog!

Hello! Just making my way to a new home. Here's the link if you are interested!

http://www.annetteharing.com

Hope to see you there!

p.s. it's definitely a work in progress

Little Summer Joy | Introduction and Manifesto

Hello again!

I'm excited to announce I will be a contributor for a fun *free* little summer project called Little Summer Joy! I'm excited to be contributing online again. I had started a little mini book to document the little things that bring me happiness this summer and had even used the "little things" concept from Ali Edwards Story Kit for my title page (more on that below.) But as many of my projects go, I feared the title page would be about all that I finished! :)

So when I saw my Instagram friends Jen Lake and Julie Gagen create a new site called Little Paper Projects and launch the first project: Little Summer Joy, I knew this would be a great fit for me. Lucky for me they had a spot open for a contributor! Maybe it will give me the spark I need to actually do something more with my site. Or maybe I will just enjoy my summer, documenting what I can and enjoy sharing that. How about we just enjoy living, creating and sharing with one another? That's pretty exciting!

I really like the idea and philosophy behind Little Paper Projects as well. I love the idea of using memory keeping as a way to explore how we see and experience our world. That using little projects like this can create more self awareness and self love. I've been pretty much on board with that philosophy since I started memory keeping and I like how they are creating a community around it. Hooray for an awesome community of folks wanting to build each other up! It's awesome.

THE PLAN

Okay, so here's my plan for my Little Summer Joy book this year. I'm using a 4x4 mini album from Seven Paper, some of Ali Edwards "Little Things" Story Kit™ and a bunch of my stash. I am not looking to go super minimal with this project. You totally could and that would be awesome! Jen and Julie shared several options here. I've done simple journals before--for an example is my 30 Lists journal that I still adore. So, I might do a journal on the side with it. But right now I just want to PLAY with some of the cool stuff I've collected and make something with it. I've decided I need to make more stuff or I need to put the collecting on hold. And since I really like it, why not use it?! 

Also, I recently picked up the Fuse Tool and am really loving playing with it too! So you'll see some fun sequin pockets as well. Let me know if you would like to see a video "how to" on that. It's quite simple to use! Here's a look at my main title page. I just added some confetti I had plus some sequins. You start from the bottom pocket and just build up. Love how it turned out!

The first lesson for Little Summer Joy is to create your summer bucket list / manifesto or whatever you want to call it. I really liked Tracy's idea to also include things that might be holding you back from joy. I primarily included things we want to do as a family, plus a few things I wanted to include on my own. 

Here's a look at my title page plus my manifesto. I kept it simple and just used the back of the 3x4 title cards to create a 4x6 canvas to write on. I stamped Summer Manifesto with this stamp set from Kellie Stamps. Wrapped the edges in some glitter washi tape from Target and just wrote my list. Simple and done!

The nice thing about including my summer manifesto here is that I can easily refer back to it, but I'm not creating a book solely on these items. Some of them while will be included and who knows, maybe all?! But one of the focus points for me for this book is to be documenting the little things that are making me happy. Things I want to do and how to inspire myself to actually DO them. Plus, a reflection component of noticing things that brought me joy just because and not because they are on a list. Does that make sense? Plus, I want to include some of the prompts for the class. So I'm keeping a pretty open mind and heart here. It's summertime after all! Keep it easy!

I hope you will join us!! You can sign up at Little Paper Projects here + many will be sharing their projects on Instagram. #littlesummerJOY. p.s. did I mention it is free?!

And mostly I just hope you enjoy your summer or the season in which you live!

SUPPLIES: A few pics of my basic supplies:

1. Seven Paper Amelia 4x4 mini album
2. Seven Paper Number Transparencies
3. Seven Paper Transparent cards
4. Seven Paper gold foil letter stickers
5. Fuse Tool - This one is from Becky Higgins
6. Little Moments Kit from Ali Edwards (no longer available)
7. Lots of my stash! (note the Summer cards are an old set from Ali Edwards)

Check out the hashtag: #littlesummerJoy on Instagram to see the latest posts.

Week in the Life™ with Ali Edwards | a brief look back

I am thrilled to be a part of looking back and sharing our Week in the Life™ memories as part of gearing up to participate in it again with Ali Edwards this August. For more information on Week in the  Life™ click here. For more information on my own albums click here.

***note I have fully completed one album (2011) and the rest are a work in progress. I do have notes and photos and partially filled albums, which is fine. It was a busy period of my life and the last thing I want to do is berate myself for not finishing some project. But, they are on my list and will happily announce when I do finally finish them!! And just because life is busy doesn't mean you can't take some photos. Make the time. It will be worth it. Click on!!

Now back to the story. 

As part of the gearing up for Week in the Life this summer, I was asked to share one day for each day of the week (Monday through Friday) to be able to share on Instagram. Yes!! of course I would love to share! Happily most of these were already finished, just a few needed a bit of journaling and hoping I had not lost the little Thursday flair button! 

A little note for finishing up old projects: keep a "materials file" which is a gathering of the products, photos, notes that you want to use. Keep them in a plastic bin or folder of some sort. Makes it easier to pull together old projects. (or say goodbye to them if you are really uninspired…but hopefully you won't feel that way with this project! Re-work it or try something new to get your inspiration back.  I did that for my 2011 project and it worked out great. This project is worth it!)

Here are my five days I have shared on Instagram this week on AliEdwardsDesignInc. 

MONDAY

MONDAY | APRIL 23, 2012

"hello Monday | get to work day"

A little about me: I am a work outside the home mom and was working a pretty heavy schedule with long hours and a long commute for four years while my husband was in a PhD program. We all have different seasons of life and reasons we are busy. This just happened to be one of my busy work seasons. And even though the schedule was tough, I have found that capturing self portraits helps increase my self awareness, self compassion and decision making. I also know that I am part of this story and I want to make sure I am a part of these books as well!

On this particular Monday, I worked (as noted by the photo of my purse with my work tablet and other accessories) and then made it home before dark to do finish up work. I was driving a lot for work during this part of my life so the fact I made it home at a decent hour was a good thing. And I like that I captured my scrapbook desk / work desk that was actually in the bedroom of our apartment at that time. Making it work, right?


TUESDAY

TUESDAY | OCTOBER 21, 2014

"Remembering the little things"

Fast forward two years. My daughter is now four years old and is definitely growing up. Here's my journaling from the title page: "The story of this photo is her independent spirit at 4 years old. That she often gets her own milk and cereal, even when the jug is full and she boasts how strong she is since it is so heavy. That today I poured some in a measuring cup for her because I was stressed and didn't want to clean up a big mess, just in case. That one of her habits is pulling her hair back with her left hand because she refuses to wear anything in her hair and loves it long. That the yellow sunflower mix is still looking good after celebrating her grandma's birthday over the weekend. It was a good morning. Hello Tuesday."

The story of this photo is also that I am no longer driving the long distances I was. Still working but not to the extent I was in the prior 4 years. So thankful I had time to spend at home that morning to capture little moments like this.

I also love the daily schedule in Ali's kit last year but I had not filled it out during the week. I just finished up my journaling in time to share it with you now. Thankfully I had written notes on Ali's daily sheets so I had some great nuggets to add to the schedule. My favorite little nugget: 8 am: "Mom, you can't go to work in those pants can you?" Note to self: must do laundry!


WEDNESDAY

WEDNESDAY | JULY 27, 2011

imperfect stories + photos matter

I love to make sure I capture some photos of the characters of the story that is our life. That afternoon I came home from a busy day and because it was Week in the Life™ I grabbed my camera and got my daughter to cooperate with a few photos on the balcony. And while I'm super thankful to capture her cute face at 17 months, I'm also happy I captured the story behind our day with additional photos, like places I went that day. Lunch at Panera (so that's where my Panera card is!!) Clean bathrooms at Central Market (when you drive a lot in Austin traffic you are thankful for clean bathrooms!) And then the stories not told with photos. Here I added a note from her teacher at daycare and I love that I added those details.

Also remember the photos and stories don't need to be perfect. It is the collection of little photos and stories that make this project so great.


THURSDAY

THURSDAY | OCTOBER 17, 2013

the bedtime routine

In 2013 I started each day with a focus on a particular time of day or routine. So for each large photo on the left side and the smaller photos on the right side I have a focus on things like the morning routine, work routine, afternoon routine, bedtime routine and after school routine. You can break it down as you need for your routine. I liked that it gave me some focus to make sure I got a good photo for the enlargement each day. That took pressure off of me to not feel like I had to take a zillion photos each day. Again, my work routine was very busy during this time but taking the time to capture a bit of my life has been amazing to look back on. Instead of focusing on the negative, I was able to reflect on the beauty that is all around me and the stories that are present if I just look and reflect.

Here I captured how her room looked at the time, which is cool to look back on. I also captured her love of pajamas and blankets. Doing the the pajama dance and hiding under her blanket. So happy to have these little moments recorded!

The journaling: Evening routine: "You right now. Bedtime routine at 3. You really love your pajamas. Just like Mom, as soon as you get home it is PJ time! We like reading a few books like Sandra Boynton "Pajama Dance" and maybe watch a Curious George episode or two. And milk. Always milk. We love you."


FRIDAY

FRIDAY | JULY 29, 2011

observations

One of the things I love about Week in the Life™ is just simply to observe your life as it is right now. I like to capture the photos in a documentary style much of the time. And I like finding new points of view, such as placing the camera on the floor and then seeing what you get (as in the top right photo.)

I also love this project for easy comparisons between years. For instance, in Thursday's photo I notice the difference in her bed. Here she is 17 months old and still has the full crib. Two years later she has the rail off for a toddler bed. ***big sigh here as I reflect on how fast time flies

I also like that I captured my husband picking up my daughter from daycare. He is a very caring and involved father and he did this most days so I could focus on work. He was going through a rigorous PhD program and stressful internship at the time, which makes me even more thankful for all he does. Again, this time of our lives was busy. But I'm so very thankful I captured what I could.

And I'm so thankful for Ali for her inspiration with this project. It's amazing and I will happily be joining in again this year! Hope to see you there too! Below is a free graphic Ali created. It's in the Week in the Life Community. You can find that here!

And a few more thoughts:

- Looking back over several years at a time in such a compact view is amazing. To me it is like Project Life in a smaller time frame. Easy to compare previous years easily. Note changes, growth. Things you are proud of. Things you want to do better at. Things you are grateful for. As I looked back over these I  really think this is my favorite project. Unfinished albums and all. I'll get there.

- Have a plan. Using the digital templates and kit make it much easier. But you could go more simple or more elaborate. Do what's right for you.

- Be flexible with your plan.

- Plan for extra time during the week to take photos and notes. It does take a little more time than usual. If you need to, try to focus on a particular person, time of day or routine to make sure you get a good photo for that day's main photo. That has helped me.

- Take notes!! Definitely use a journal or notebook or Ali's Daily Sheets. Something. Jot down a few quotes or things overheard. Bits of life are what you are after. Things you may not remember if you are finishing it up later. A lot of the photos I take are just for triggers to help remind me of what we did that day. I don't include them all, but it helps with the journaling too.

- Like I said above, keep materials together in a materials file so you can put it together when you have time. Do what you can in the moment, but don't beat yourself up or let yourself feel down if you see others getting it done faster. "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." --Theodore Roosevelt.

- Relax and enjoy the week. Let it unfold as it happens.

You can do it!! I can do it!! One photo at a time, one journaling card at a time. Most of all, view your life through the lens of gratitude. When I do, I remember it's pretty awesome.

Thanks so much for letting me share some of my Week in the Life with you!

15 on the 15th in 2015 | February Edition

So I realize this post is actually happening in May. Yes, I'm a bit behind the curve. But if you have followed my posts on Instagram you may have seen I am tackling a personal project this year called 15 on the 15th in 2015. I also consider this to be my Day in the Life™ project each month.

The last time I participated in a project like this (as in a project for the whole year, besides project life) was in 2012. Ella Publishing (miss them!) ran a project called Take 12. And I kept up okay. Maybe finished about 1/3 of the project. For me, that's pretty good!

I've seen other folks that do similar projects:

•  Tracy Larsen: click here for her 15 on the 15th template. click here for her layouts.
• Ali Edwards: Day in the Life™ project: click here for more info. Also click here for info on when she is doing next (as of this post): which is May 12th.
• lots of other memory keepers do similar projects or just pick a random day each month for day in the life. Great example here from Megan Anderson.

So here's my plan:

Take at least fifteen photos on the 15th of each month and create a two page layout using the Project Life™ App and Letterglow. Print these out with Persnickety Prints and call it good!

For the left side I am using Design Q in the app. I also created a title card using Ali Edwards digital brush set and my tittle in Letterglow.

For the right side I am using Design V in the Project Life™app. I also used digital cards from Love | Day | Seed. These are from the Calendar Collection.Two of them simply added right to the app from Dropbox. Another one I added to Letterglow to add the journaling. 

I've been experimenting with different layout options since it is so easy to do with the app. One of the challenges for me with project life is to keep it fresh but still keep it do-able. I had found a process that worked fairly well for me using primarily Design F pages for the past several years. And while I am considering going back to that, it has been fun to play around with other layout options without worrying about having to print the photos to that size. More on that when I start sharing more of my app layouts.

Anyways, I hope you will join me for 15 on the 15th! Even if you can't get them on the actual day, maybe try 15 photos each month for 2015! It's still a fun collection of photos and these are so cool to me to see since we are no longer in that space.

You can also join in with Ali Edwards for her Day in the Life™ which she is doing next on May 12th.

Hello Again

Just a quick update to say hello…again! If you have stayed with me this long, I want to say thank you!

Life in 2015 has been anything but smooth. I knew it was going to be a bumpy ride, but I had hoped to be able to keep up with things better. But, some things including this blog had to go on the back burner for a while.

But hopefully that is behind me. Decisions have been made. Life goes on. And happy to say we are in a new space! Out of the apartment and into a really really real house! can't tell you how awesome it is to see how much Maggie loves it--especially the backyard. One of the things I'm working on is making this place our own and embracing being where we are. Grow where you are planted, right?

My plan is to start sharing some of the project life layouts I've made with the Project Life™ app. I'm in the process of getting those off my phone and into my album using Persnickety Prints. I had some layouts printed with them and have always been very happy with their quality. Plus I was able to visit their store this spring and got to see first hand their "persnickety process!"

Currently I have project life layouts finished through Week 7 as well as other layouts  and the 15 on the 15th project. See below for one of layouts I created on my phone.

Other things I've been up to (besides work):

I've also been working on layouts for my 6x8 personal album as well as various other layouts. I am subscribing to Ali Edwards Story Kits and Stamps and I love love love them! The education and inspiration plus the products are so worth it! I'm still working on getting going on actually making things.

And last month I started subscribing again to Studio Calico. This time to the scrapbook subscription. I had subscribed to the Project Life™ kit since the beginning but last December I cancelled it because I knew the first half of this year was looking to be tough. And honestly I just needed a change. With the recent move I saw how much stuff I had collected and went through a big purge. Since I'm wanting to create more layouts I decided to subscribe to the scrapbook kit and plan to purchase some Project Life kits when I want to. I've been purchasing the digital cards each month so I still get my fix that way for right now. And I can use those in the app! So it's a win.

Hoping to share more about my 15 on the 15th project soon too. I've really liked this project although in April I was away on business and am going to be "flexible" on the actual date to make April work.

So here's a look at one of the layouts I created on my phone using the Project Life™ app and Letterglow. These are cards from the Dazzle and Love Story editions in the app and Ali Edwards digital cards: Simple Lines 3x4 cards. Love that set.

This is a simple two page spread showing my daughter in her new room. She loves her new loft bed from IKEA. And yes, those boxes in the corner are still there…work in progress, work in progress. Big sigh. But she loves her room and it will get there in time. It's all good.

I've had quite a few questions about using Letterglow and am planning on making a video once the update is live. There will be fewer work-arounds and app-smashing together. It's going to be awesome!

So that's where I am right now! Considering upgrading to a new site but everything is a work in progress, right? 

Thanks for sticking around and for your support! Hope to be back soon!

One Little Word | Light | January 2015

I thought I would finally share some of my pages from the January prompt for One Little Word. This is a class taught by Ali Edwards. You can find information on it here.

I've participated with One Little Word since 2008 I think. Past words were simplify, savor, adventure, focus, awake, move, magic and now light. Some years I am intentional about it, other years I just listen and take note of the words that stand out. From my own experience, I am better with a word that is more broad. I'm a perfectionist and the all/none of a specific word really gets me down if I don't accomplish all my goals. Some years I have participated with the prompts and other years I just go with the flow and let the word be a part of my life. Either way has worked well for me. Last year there was no way I could keep up with the prompts. I just let "magic" work its magic and took note of how it worked out in my life. There were definitely tough times in 2014, but overall I hope I remember the magical times. The times when things worked out. When I noticed magic moments of our everyday life.  There were definitely some big things that changed as well. I'm still learning some lessons from my choices last year and I hope to keep them in mind as I move forward. Thank you Magic. You were much needed last year and I hope I can wrap up 2014 with embracing the good and the tough learning moments as well. To forgive myself of not so good choices made. To know that I needed to learn these lessons and that it is time to move forward.

Which brings me to 2015. 

I started noticing Light around the end of November. "Let Your Heart Be Light" was coming quite strongly to me. I picked up this print from Ali Edwards and I knew this would be my word this year. 

I knew this word was a complex one. There is light and there is dark in life. It's not all bokeh lights and shimmering twinkle lights. It's also the shadows. Learning how to find the light in dark places. Noticing the lights that are my loved ones and doing more to rekindle the flames of relationships and love. To LIGHTEN UP and give myself a break. Enjoy more laughter and silly moments. Not be so darn defensive and lighten up with my self talk. Embrace my imperfections and move on. Be patient with myself and be better with "living in the grey areas" as Ali calls it. So tough right now. I'm a planner. I want to know what I need to do and take action. Some things take time. I want to lighten my loads: take on fewer assignments that do not contribute to my family's and my own wellness and happiness. Lots of listening to my heart in this area: does it make my heart lighter or do I feel heaviness and stress? Making the deliberate decision toward choosing the light is making this year a happier one so far. Yes, it's fewer "big things" in the scrapbooking community, but it means more time to be with family and savor this time. To sink into being a working mom and my profession. I work to support my family. I work because I do love what I do. I just happen to have quite a few passions which can make it tough sometimes to focus on what matters most. I want to be lighter physically and do more to nourish my physical body. Let go of past failures and choose more healthy options. And to clear the clutter around me. Let go of overspending and clutter. Let the light of a simplified life lift me up. Travel lighter and let my true self shine.

Those are just a few of my random thoughts right now. It's definitely a work in progress. 

I've started with setting goals each month around a theme, but also being open to the other aspects of "light." January was lightening up the clutter around me and getting more organized. It was so helpful. The apartment is much cleaner and organized and I am liking how the other aspects of light are playing out in my life too. I'm also listening to the "Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin as well as reading "Embracing Imperfection" by Brene Brown. And I'm considering doing a 30 Day Minimalism challenge as well.

February is already here and my goals are to feel lighter physically and emotionally. I already feel like I need a restart for February! But I have some goals and I'm going to review them instead of getting down on myself and try again. Lighten up and embrace my imperfections, right?

So, finally I get to my pages. I guess I had a lot to say.

I am using a 9x12 white Handbook from Studio Calico for my One Little Word. I've purchased two so far and have already moved my past years into my other white album. You can find those here. I used my Silhouette to cut the word "light" from Ali's brush set Noel. You can find it here. The word cards are from Ali's One Little Word class and some of the filler cards: the quote cards / patterns are from Oh Snap! Boutique (find those here.) Stamps and word stickers are from Ali's First Story Stamp / Kit. You can find those here. (Please direct questions regarding the story kits/stamps to Ali's site for the most accurate information.)

The gold painted star page was created by me and my daughter having fun with some paints and a silkscreen from Studio Calico. (find similar ones here if they are available)

So there they are! I'm working on the February prompt and hope to finish that one up soon as it is quite messy!

How about you? Do you choose a One Little Word? If so I would love to hear your word and how it is going for you!

Project Life Hybrid Introduction Page

One of the things I like to do is have an intro page each year. In past years I have documented the details: where we live, what cars we drive, etc. Just the basic facts. I like having that record.

This year I wanted to do something more that still shared the state of where we are, but not specifics. We have worked hard these past five years getting my husband through school but now we are faced with some more decisions about our future. Working out the details and taking new leaps (for me) are challenging. I am a big believer in going for our dreams. Really, I am. But I'm no longer a 20 something college student. I have a family to support and those dreams sometimes take a side seat. But, new opportunities may exist and I hope to be open to them.

The thing is, I hope that no matter where we are location-wise that we embrace this idea: "life is full of adventure" and that we make lots of fun traditions and celebrate life.

So when I was looking at the word art package "Messy Daily Circles" from Ali Edwards, I knew I wanted to do a big page and focus on that "life is full of adventure" word art. (This was an assignment for the Digital Creative Team for Ali Edwards--for which I am super thankful and excited to be a part of.)

This two page spread is a pocket page on the left (the back of the title page) and then something for the back of the beginning of my weekly digital pages (from the Project Life app.) I went with a super simple enlargement mounted on white cardstock.

A closer look at the word art from the Messy Daily Circles word art set from Ali Edwards. I used the circles as they are on two of the photos. On the "hello awesome life" photo I traced around just the words and then copied/pasted those directly onto the photo. It worked great! Really fun and I love that this page just screams "embrace the awesome!"

The cards "on beginning" and "Hello new beginning" and "completely new direction" are from Ali Edwards Story Kit from the Firsts prompt. (if you subscribe to both the stamps and the kit so you get the digital set as well. I don't think these are available right now but please direct any questions directly to Ali's site to get the best information.)

Another look at the "hello awesome life" word art. The Observations chipboard and the "Life is good" chipboard pieces are from Ali's Week in the Life kit (currently available as of this post.) The awesome "start fresh" card is an old one from Lindsay Letters (from a Studio Calico Project Life kit.)

The word strip stickers are from Ali's Firsts Story kit. That cute hello stamp is from my friend and fellow Austinite Molly Frances. The yes wood veneer was from the Ashley Goldberg class at Studio Calico. I like that I just used it instead of keeping it for "that perfect" page. I sometimes hoard too much and using this plus the awesome Lindsay Letters card was an attempt to get over that perfectionism and just have fun with the products. And I love how they turned out.

And here is the full page 12x12 traditional layout. Super simple and fun. I printed it at 8.5x8.5 because that's the size of my printer. Initially I thought I would do a full 12x12 but that would entail waiting for said enlargement to come in the mail or piecing it together. I am always looking for ways to add white space in these albums and so just putting it on a 12x12 piece of white cardstock worked great!

I added the "Life is Full of Adventure" and the text directly onto the photo (print a test run first to ensure placing.) Then I added the chipboard "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone" and the "yes" burst (both from the Firsts story kit.) Simple. Fun. And DONE!

So there it is! A fun little introduction page setting up a theme for this year, giving a peek into where we are right now and the decisions we are making. And it makes me realize I want more of this: more big photos, more playing with the mix of digital and physical products. And more of the simple, do what works for me type of things. I can be working on a page like this and tinker around with things while cranking out a month of PL on the PL app. It's all good.

I'm also working on some tutorials to show more about Mobile Memory Keeping with the Project Life App, Letterglow, Collect and other apps I use. Is there something you would like to see? I have been wanting to work out my own workflow before I shared but I think I am ready to show some tips and techniques.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a great week!

Hello Project Life and Memory Keeping Plans for 2015

Hello twenty fifteen! I'm finally getting to the big "how I'm approaching Project Life this year" post. 

The truth is, I'm still tinkering and playing around but I'm confident enough now to say "this is it!" (at least for now) :)

The thing is, I've been doing Project Life or some version of it since around 2009 I think. And no, I haven't technically "finished" an album. But I have created many many pages and I have even been able to teach a few classes to share my different tips and approaches and encourage others to embrace where they are and take steps to tweak their own process. For which I am incredibly thankful. 

If you have read my recent posts or seen on Instagram, I am currently having fun playing with the Project Life App and my plan is to continue using the app for my main two page (left side + right side) layout each week. Yes, I'm tacking it weekly this year! Kinda digging that! (I can still imagine I will be flexible in my weeks if needed but I'm excited for the very simplified parameters this year.) 

My goals for Project Life:

• Weekly left + right side spreads using the Project Life App
• Print these at Persnickety Prints at 12x12
• Add to my 12x12 Project Life album (the one I am using is from Becky Higgins found here.)
• Sprinkle in other pocket pages and inserts as I have time / inspiration / motivation / space to do so
• Keep it simple but still add elements such as Ali Edwards word art. I just love those little touches.
• Enjoy more layouts finished and in an album and have fewer gaps this year. Look at Project Life more as just another album and not as an "epic end of all albums"; be okay with not including everything. Keep it light and simple. Use those photos and snippets of stories to spark longer stories and pages (which I add here or to other albums.)
• Hopefully have more time to work on filling in some gaps and finishing Week in the Life and December Daily projects of years past.

Additional projects:

• Day in the Life | 15 on the 15th: Each month on the 15th I am going to do the Day in the Life project with a goal of having at least 15 photos I love that capture our everyday life. I will use primarily the big camera on this day so sharing these pages may take me longer. I'm okay with that. My main goal is to practice with my big camera. I really want to get a wide angle lens this year. My kit lens died and so I shoot right now at around 75mm (with my crop sensor and 50mm lens.) We'll see. Here's to hoping, right? If not, I will try to rent one at least once or twice this year. I plan on creating an insert or additional page with these in my album and at the end of the year have them made into a photo book.
• One Little Word: I am taking Ali Edwards's class on her blog. It is so great. This year my goal is to participate more with the prompts. Last year my word was with me all year and definitely helped me, but this year I want to be more intentional with it. I think I will need the reminders this year more. (I hope to get a blog post up soon about it.)
• Week in the Life: will probably tackle this again if Ali does. I always love joining in. Finishing it is another story. Like I mentioned above, I hope to find more time to finish up my past projects.
• December Daily: can't help myself. I love it but every year my work seems to get crazy busy around this time. It's all I can do to live life during the month. But December Daily helps me to take time to capture things and live intentionally to create more memories. I love that project.
• Ali Edwards Story Kit / Stamps: So far I've been getting some great products and listened / watched a lot of inspirational content from Ali. I may make a goal of one layout a month, but as I look at everything I am hoping to do, reality is I am just going to enjoy getting them and using them here and there. If I do more then great. If not, no guilt because I really enjoy them and the content is wonderful. Who knows, maybe I'll get really inspired and do a bunch! I will add those to either Project Life or my Library of Memories albums. And I want to get my story journal going again. At least capture some ideas of layouts / stories I want t do.

Okay, just listing these took forever! Reality is…just enjoy life and do what I'm inspired to do!! Lighten up and live life with a light heart. Look for the good and enjoy it. That's my main goal this year.

And you thought I was joking when I said I just wanted to stop all my other projects and follow along with Ali! Seriously though, I am a huge fan of her life documentation processes and projects and feel very inspired when I follow along with her. And I am incredibly thankful to be on her Digital Creative Team this year. I'm excited to share how I use some of her products in my own projects.

So here we go!

Project Life 2015 Title Page

So I thought I would share my title page for 2015 Project Life and my week 1 spread to give more of an idea of my approach. This is a paper pocket page + overlay. On the back I will do an "about us" page -- left side pocket style and either an enlargement or a PL app page on the right.

The nice thing about the app: more time to play around with other pages and techniques!! Like breaking out the Silhouette Cameo to play with some Ali Edwards word art. Gold foil + Ali art = awesome. It took me a bit to remember how to use it, but once I found a few tutorials online I was good to go. I love these.

For my title page, I cut the "Hello Twenty Twelve" from the gold Silhouette foil sticker paper. It has adhesive on the back so you can just apply it to whatever. I used a 12x12 transparency / overlay from Studio Calico as a cover page over the title page. Love the see through effect. I simply lined up the transparency and cut holes using my Crop a Dile punch. I do two holes for each one to help it turn smoother.

These are from the Twenty Twelve set from Ali Edwards. 

It's kind of hard to see the transparency but I really love it. You can find it here (if it is in stock.)

And next here is my title page. Again, while I had the Silhouette out and cutting I added quite a few elements to be cut. I cut the "bring on twenty fifteen" and "hello 2015" as well as some other things from the same paper.

One thing for sure: I will definitely know which year this album is for! :)

I love repetition so it works for me. I used a bunch of gold foil cards from different Becky Higgins Project Life kits. (I picked up a bunch from her site on sale and quickly added a few favorites to my title page. So creating it didn't take "too" long. :)

I added some wood veneer elements to calm down the gold a bit. I like the neutral color and texture it adds. And I added a favorite photo from the holidays of me and Mags in bokeh lights. My word this year is "light" so it's a wonderful symbol and reminder for me.

I also saw another Project Lifer have some really fun family photos on her title page. I tried but..well at least I have a few silly ones. Trying to lighten up. Maybe I will add more of those silly ones on the next page.

Close up of the "bring on twenty fifteen" from Ali's set.

A close up of the wood veneer / gold foil card. I need that quote on my wall I love it so much.

And while I was playing around with the Silhouette I cut one of the boxes from Ali's set and added it to the page lifter. I really like it here. Similar to how Pam Baldwin used boxes from another to create dividers. This would be really fun if there were monthly boxes to cut and use on dividers for each month. 

Project Life Week 1

And here is a look at my Week 1!  This was created in the Project Life App + other apps. All of it was created on the phone  utilizing Dropbox and apps such as Collect and Letterglow. I am planning a bigger how to post to get into some details on this approach. So far I love it. I was already doing a lot of my creating the photos and journaling in Collect and now it allows me to just take it another step further to create pages. 

It does take longer to add elements like Ali's word art. The simplest way to use the app is just simply use the cards in the app. I have done that and I really like those pages too! There is nothing wrong with keeping it simple. 

And another tip is to keep decisions simple by repeating elements. I debated keeping a very simple title card this year and was going to make my own. Then I found this great set from Little Lamm Co. Her brush script is right on with the Oh Snap Boutique calendar cards (which I bought on an 80% off sale and tweaked to 3x4) I'm using this year so it was a no brainer! I love that another decision is just done!! (again, I can still use other title cards with my inserts, etc.)

The word art set I used for these pages is from the Enough set. Such a versatile set. I really loved just adding the word art right on my photos and journaling cards to enhance the storytelling about our first week. I couldn't help but keep adding more because I felt they really captured what what going on right now. A lot of clearing out / making space / embracing enough. 

The everyday love 3x4 card is from Ali's Everyday Stories set. I had created a background paper from some of the words and used them in a 6x8 layout for Week in the Life (blogged about it here.) So while I was creating the 6x8 I also had created a 3x4 card and had saved it in Dropbox for use on a future layout. 

Here is the right side of week 1. I continued to use the Enough set over my photos and filler cards. I also added "monthly goals" from the Hello Goals set from Ali. And the Jan 2015 is from Ali's Hello Life Boxes 2015. I love mixing her word art from different sets.

The week in review 4x6 was created by saving one of the Project Life cards from the app to my camera roll and then created the text and number in the app Letterglow. More on that process to come. I see a return of Mobile Memory Keeping Mondays as a goal for my blogging this year. I have saved that as a template so I can just tweak it each week. Seriously that is one powerful little app.

And there it is! My big plans for a big year! Let's see if I can fill up this album!!

Pocket Your Year Class for 2015

If you are looking for more inspiration on Project Life or pocket scrapbooking, I highly recommend checking out "Pocket Your Year" by Megan Anderson. I was lucky enough to teach past Project Life classes at Big Picture Classes with Megan and I know she is a wonderful teacher. I always learn from her and she helps me focus and get things going. Check it out if you are interested! It's awesome that it is a year long class!

About Project Life | Becky Higgins

Project Life is a simplified form of scrapbooking / memory keeping created by Becky Higgins. You can get more information on the products and process here. 

Silhouette products used (affiliate links)