Project Life- My Way

 

Ok, Sharin Memories in Olympia is hosting a freestyle crop next Friday night from 6-10pm. Store owner Jodie there calls it "Project Life- My Way," and it's meant to be sort of a, free-for-all work time for crafties. Who may be bringing snacks :-) My friend DF and I have gone once before. The store has beautiful displays on show to inspire, and lots of table space to share.

Project Life, if you aren't familiar with the phrase, is a term used to describe a style of scrapbooking which captures the everyday details of life. It used to be that generally, only the "important" photos would get the fancy paper treatment, but about 5-7 years ago there was a shift in the industry to include the more everyday photo as well. Probably a direct correlation to iPhone's release! Next came a concept called the Smash Book, which was basically an artsy journal to place all of your saved ticket stubs, airplane tickets, fortune cookie strips, and brochures you might be saving, all mixed in with photos.

There have always been embellishments like die cuts and pockets to include with your memory preserving, but now these are available in standard sized kits and pocketed page protectors. Simple Stories might be a company who deserves credit for introducing a time saving way of preserving which appealed to newbies and old-timers like myself alike. Many companies have fallen suit and Becky Higgins presented a program of scrapbooking called, Project Life.

Available in any theme you can think of, a project life kit can contains as many as hundreds of 3x4 and 4x6 die cut cards, printed with cute phrases or just pretty patterns, to go along side your photos in the pocketed page protectors. Some people (like me) mix these in with their standard full sheet pages, and others devote entire albums to this style, capturing a week in photos in each "spread." Friday, Shimelle posted how she and three of her friends are approaching Project Life, and it got me considering my own style, and Jodie's phrase, and how I really DO do this my way.

I include the pocketed pages right next to my full size 12x12 pages. Sometimes I include a group of photos that all speak to the same theme, and sometimes, it is all about one day, or moment. My photos may be turned the "wrong" way, and that doesn't bother me, I just turn the album to see better and keep flipping!

There are times when I have a full sized page and a pocket page next to each other and they are all about the same event, but most often they are not. Usually I am creating just one "side" of the page at a time. One of the conundrums I've encountered in my learning process is that these pages almost have to be worked on consequentially, and that's not particularly my style- I tend to jump around in my memories quite a bit.

So how do I go about making this style work for me? You can watch one of my first attempts here, or join me at the Gig Harbor Michael's for a Project Life class! Each class is only $15, which is one of the least expensive classes the store offers. Email me if you are interested, and we will find an upcoming class time that fits in your calendar.

Interested in peeking over the shoulders of some other scrappers? There's that Project Life- My Way event next Friday at Sharin' Memories in Olympia, and next month, a Scrap-In on September 13th from 2:30-6:30, again in the Michael's classroom. Sign up for only $5 online, bring some pictures and basic supplies, and we'll get you figuring out how to work these products, Your Way!