Once upon a time last year, I gave Project Life a half-hearted try. I have just over a month of 2013 documented, but a combination of my grandfather's death and a poor printing routine made me quickly lose my footing with the project. I tried to switch to 100% digital before giving up, but since I had to re-create five or six spreads on the computer, I just never made it a priority. I'm glad to have those few weeks documented, but I'm also not too sad I missed out on the rest of the year.
This time, a few things are going to be different, specifically so I can keep the momentum and ensure that I document more than January.
1) The timing is better. While I can't ever be sure that nothing bad is going to happen, my extended family is mostly healthy and happy at this point in time. After the trauma of last year, I also feel more capable of handling the down swings, and I know I'll eventually look back at the good and bad parts in the album and be glad I recorded both times. There are going to be some exciting things happening this year, including another possible international project for Mark at work (but sadly not in Ireland) and my family is planning a European trip to what will most likely be Germany in early December.
2) I have a suitable printer. The most challenging part of last year's attempt at Project Life was that I didn't have a printer at home. Well, I did, but it is a laser printer, which worked for graphic elements and journaling cards but not photos, so I outsourced my printing (through both a local drugstore and a cheap online service at different times). Since I am design-y by nature, I wanted to add text to many of my photos, but I found that many prints came back to me with the text cut off, requiring me to redo the photo with a larger margin and re-print. Another time, my CVS order went missing altogether and required me to make 3 separate return trips to get the photos (which only happened because I finally insisted they print them on the spot while I was standing there). After all this frustration, I decided to buy a Canon Selphy printer on Amazon when it randomly dropped in price by a third, and so far it's been great. I love that there's an app and WiFi functionality that allows me to print straight from my phone (though Wifi is not working with my computer at the moment). For me, having control over the prints is essential. I still plan to use my laser printer for text-heavy elements to conserve ink on the Selphy.
3) I'm embracing a hybrid approach. Like I said, I enjoy adding text on photos and playing around with other elements digitally (such as adding "stamps" or banners onto photos). But I didn't want an entirely digital approach because I feel like I'd lose steam if I don't have some sort physical evidence of my progress. Hybrid allows me to maintain a fairly minimal look to my album (I'm not into scrapbook-style doo dads) and I will still be able to see my progress since I'll be printing the photos every week or two. In a nutshell, I will spend some time laying out my photos and printable cards (ex - Elise's quote cards or Paislee Press' calendar cards) in a digital spread in Photoshop, leaving room for some cards from my Midnight Project Life Core Kit. Then it's a quick print of the photos and printable items, adding a 3x4" handwritten card, and I'm good to go.
4) I have a loose design scheme. In addition to a minimal hybrid approach, I'm sticking with a few specific elements-- Bodoni and Gotham as my main fonts, with handwritten script and Bebas Neue as secondary fonts. Most of the album will play off my Midnight kit and be black, white and kraft paper, and I'll add an additional color or two depending on the season and photo spread. On the title page, I've definitely embraced gold as my accent color and it makes me happy. Having a few basic rules to follow will make it easier to create spreads, and will give the album a more cohesive look in the end. You can see my PL inspiration on Pinterest here.
5) I don't have many expectations. I'm hoping to create weekly spreads, but sometimes life just isn't that exciting for me. I mean, how many times can I photograph us watching a Blackhawks hockey game in our living room? So it will happen how it happens and I can always alter it to fit my desires. I do admit I'm still slightly apprehensive about Project Life making me feel like I'm too busy documenting life and not really living it. I don't want to feel burdened or like I'm intruding on the present moment by interrupting it with a photo. However, I do like that this project is almost entirely for me, and not some way to seek validation and Likes (ahem, Instagram).
Most likely, I will do updates here twice a month, but I'm not sure of the exact schedule yet. Cheers to giving it another try!
Notes: I am using the Project Life Cinnamon album because I LOVE FONTS, and it totally matches the DIY subway art I made for Mark last year. Awesome! On my title page, I've included the following freebie downloads-- Caylee Gray / Celebrate overlay, Scrap Stacks / Cheers to 2014 cards, Holly McCaig / Holiday printable cards, Mye De Leon / Autumn Dream journal cards, Fabric Paper Glue / Printable 2014 photo card, and The Creative Index / Holiday Tags. The stars on my "Caiti" card are some multi-colored metallic sequins that I've had forever.
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