Project Life // An Introduction

There are tons of information out there on Project Life, but I wanted to do a brief introduction/walkthrough on my process and explain why so many people are doing it.

My 12x12 Project Life Album

Design A Photo Sleeve

First things first, the main 4 things you need is: an album, pocket pages (also known as photo sleeve protectors), project life cards, and photos.

I've been doing project life (PL) for almost 10 weeks now, and just finally I feel like I've found my groove. I do PL weekly and usually a 2 page spread, but many others do it monthly, or as often as they like. Let me show you my process.

Choosing cards first

First thing I do is choose what PL cards I want to use. Some people start off with their photos first, but that's the beauty with Project Life, you find out what works best for you! And for me, I realized that if I didn't choose what PL cards I wanted to use for my spread from the get-go, it takes me much longer to get things finished.

Studio Calico Office Hours Project Life Kit

This is the perfect time for me to introduce Studio Calico. Studio Calico offers a subscription program for different types of crafting such as project life, scrapbooking, or card-making. You can subscribe to one of these kits and every month you get whatever kit you sign up for automatically sent to you. You can find more about this here. I subscribe to their Project Life kit, and it makes it easier for me to pick out PL cards because they provide cards that already go together. I also have some core kits and mini kits in my stash that I can use in conjunction with the Studio Calico cards.If you are interested, I might start blogging/reviewing the kits I get so others can see if it's something that would work for them!

I say, if you're starting out, get a good core kit. I have the Midnight Edition Core Kit, and I love it because it's gender neutral and goes with a lot of other kinds of styles.

Laying out the cards

My next step is getting 2 pocket pages out so I can start laying out my cards. I've only been using Design A which has worked for me so far. Also, it saves time for me since I know what card/photo sizes are needed. The "white boxes" that my cards are laid in is just the lids/container that came with the large pack of photo sleeves. I like using these lids to lay my cards out because if I need to, I can always put them aside or move them somewhere else if I need better lighting.

Printed Photos pre-trimmed

Then I go through my phone, pick out what pictures I want to get printed from that week, photo edit with VSCO cam, email it to myself, then lay it out on Illustrator on how I want them to get printed. Then I print them out at home with my HP (I love this printer).

Trimming down photos

After my photos are all printed, I trim them down to the sizes I want. Trimming down is totally optional too, You can print out photos 3x4 and 4x6 sizes and just pop them in the sleeves and be done!

Laying out photos

After I trim my photos, I figure out where I want my pictures on my layout. Once I'm happy with it, I usually use a glue runner to stick them down to the cards.

Embellishing

Then this is where you can have some fun. You can journal, add some notes, and embellish. OR you can leave it just how it is. I'll have a blog post about embellishments soon since there are so many new things out there since the last time I've done any type of scrapbooking! You can make it as simple or as embellished as you want, which is another great thing about project life, the flexibility of it all.

Details

The biggest reason why many people are now doing project life is to have something tangible to document their lives. In our more modern, digital world, its easy just to live through our computer/phone screen. I love the idea of having something I can look back on and remember all the little things, and especially since now I have my first child, it's a great way of documenting all of his milestones! To see this finished week 10 spread, you can check it out here!

I'll be updating the blog with more project life basics and weekly spreads, so stay tuned! :)

Big Hug,

Jez

Note: I do not get paid or endorsed to use these products. I'm just posting up what I have used and loved!