INIMATIC: Project Life by Becky Higgins

2010/03/06

Project Life by Becky Higgins

Becky Higgins's Project Life for this week is going to be all about prescriptions, medications, and doctor's visits. An ear infection for Anna and strep throat for me and a cold for Simon and lots of work for Chris (who somehow managed to miss this super-fun being sick experience).

Using 6x12 Divided Page Protectors In Scrapbooking

Last week I shared a few Today You 4x6 photos with digital journaling and wanted to show how I am incorporating these into my albums.

Sometimes when I use my computer to journal on my photos in Photoshop I will then use the photo on a layout with embellishments, etc. Other times it's just nice to journal, print, slip-in, and be done.

It's no secret that I am a fan of divided page protectors in my 12x12 albums. These new6x12 page protectors from American Crafts are great for adding photos or journal cards or embellished 4x6 cards or ephemera directly into 3-ring albums.

I also think this is one of the things I like about digital scrapbook products - they can easily and simply be added to a photo, printed, and placed inside a page protector such as this one above (or in a 12x12 divided page protector). The story gets told.

You can also achieve this same look without using digital products. After printing photos grab some journal blocks (made by lots of different companies such as these from October Afternoon or you can always just use a piece of cardstock from your scrap box), write your story, adhere it to your photo, and slip into the pockets.

This is scrapbooking.

On the backside of these photos I am planning to use the same Toady You theme with three photos + journaling for a day in Simon's life.

You can read more about my overall album organization process here.

Mark Your Calendar: Week In The Life 2010

Just wanted to let you know in advance that I am planning to do another round of myWEEK IN THE LIFE project this year from April 19th through the 25th. Much more info to come as the date gets closer.

For more information on this project in the past go here: Week In The Life.

My 365 : Project Life by Becky Higgins album is coming right along.

You can read my more details about how I am approaching this project in my original post here.

So how do I feel about this project and my approach after almost two months? The biggest thing I love about this album is that it really shows the progression of time. I am excited to see what it looks like at the end of the year. I am excited to start at the beginning and have in my hands a snapshot of 365 days in our lives.

I like that it is very low-pressure. If I don't happen to take a photo on a particular day I am just grabbing a piece of paper collected from the mail, printed from online, etc., or substituting in a photo from the same time period (within two or three days is my limit).

Repeats? Some of the photos I used here will be used in other layouts to tell more complete stories (such as a photo from Anna's birthday). In the case of her birthday, because I know I will be doing a more detailed layout with a variety of photos, I just put a small handwritten "happy birthday" onto one of my journaling cards.

Process? I find that if I keep up with posting a daily photo and journaling on my Flickr page that it makes it a ton easier when I have time to print photos and assemble into the page protectors. There is nothing to try to remember and the photo has already been chosen. It works best when I am in my regular daily routine...but, as with many other things, it becomes more challenging when other activities/vacations/houseguests make life more interesting.

Yesterday I uploaded all my photos, printed my journal cards, rounded corners, and assembled everything from the last few weeks (again, being able to cut and paste the journaling from Flickr makes a big difference for me). The one-hour-photo I used yesterday (Walgreens) wasn't great so I ordered the same batch fromscrapbookpictures.com. For some reason I have grown too accustomed to instant gratification.

Here's a shot of a week in-progress. Post-it notes are working well as a general reminder of the date and the assigned photo. The "stuff" is tucked in over the course of the week or simply laid on top of the pages until I am ready to either crop to fit in the pockets or fold.

One of the things that has been keeping me motivated is that I have designated a spot for this album to sit open. It's current home is on a cabinet in my office (sharing space with my sewing machine). I have found if the album is out and open I am much more likely to grab some bits of paper and just stick them in the pockets. It also serves as a great reminder that this is something I am wanting to keep-up with in 2010.

SAMPLE SPREAD

If there is something larger I want to include, but it's not large enough to fill a full 12x12, I stitch and crop the page protector. I first did this for my Disney album that appeared in my Life Artist book to create page protectors for each of the park maps. I don't try to make these perfect and I often have to force the page protector through the machine. I trim off the excess page protector after stitching the pocket to size (I stitch with the paper inside the protector as a guide).

The back side of the penguin is blank for now. Most likely I will add something from Simon's school basket.

SAMPLE SPREAD

I cut a piece from the Lost DVD packaging and added a cough-drop wrapper. More backpack gems have been included here (see more on my post Scrapbooking Stuff That Comes Home In His Backpack).

On the back I slipped in something Simon had printed out from the computer (a fried rice recipe from Ni Hao Kai-Lan). Instead of just slipping it into the page protector I added a little bit of hand-journaling on a piece of cardstock to actually get more of the story told (it is attached with a mini paper clip).