Project 365

I am a huge fan of Project 365 and feel the need to share it with those of you who aren't familiar with it. I first caught wind of it on Flickr a few years ago. The idea was to take a self-portrait a day for a year. You had to take it yourself and include some part of you. Heaps of Flickr groups popped up and the photo-a-day concept spread.

Last year it infiltrated the scrapbooking world. Kits and digital templates became available to document the ordinary and extraordinary of our everyday lives. In 2009 I made my own kit based on a Becky Higgins concept. It took me all my free time in January to design, print, punch, trim, and glue, but fortunately I had help. Well, at least company.

Here is a sample layout from a random week in May...

(These are 12x12 page protectors that hold six 4x6 photos on each side. I bought them from Hobby Lobby in the US. Each journaling card is 3x4, so there are two cards per pocket. I used a 12x12 American Crafts binder.)

Based on demand last year, Becky Higgins started a company called Project Life and now sells kits (a paper version and a digital one that results in a printed photo book). In NZ they are available for a limited time at KiwiScraps and elsewhere they can be purchased through Amazon early next week. Thankfully this is what I am using this year. A few of the colors and designs aren't my style, but it's a lot cheaper and a heck of a lot faster using the kit. The whole point is for it to be a low stress way to tell your story, so fast is good.

Here is my title page for this year. I chose to add a bit of chipboard, a few brads, a metal clock, and my trusty Dymo to the kit contents, but it's not necessary. For the weekly layouts, however, the only additional thing required is a pen, an ink pad, and an optional corner rounder. You don't even need glue or a pair of scissors! Now that's easy!

I must say I am sold on this way of memory keeping. It takes so much pressure off while allowing you to document those stories that would otherwise get lost. It encourages you to get pictures off your computer and into an album. Your photos can actually be enjoyed.

It makes you focus more on your photography and really think about what photos you want to take in order to tell the stories you want to remember. I think it also helps you to live more in the moment and to find beauty in the everyday.

This format can be adapted in many ways. A photo each day might seem daunting at first. One photo a week might seem more manageable for some people or doing one two-page spread per month. Another idea would be to just do one week each month. You can always add 12x12 page protectors here and there if you want to include layouts. If you go on vacation or have heaps of photos from one event like Christmas, you can just add an extra page of favorite photos and extra journaling, if necessary.

Some people might think they don't have something photo-worthy each day. How wrong they are. We all have so many stories to tell, most of them might seem mundane. Some involve important events. Some call to mind the character traits of loved ones. Some of them are funny, while some are downright depressing. They are all worth telling, and even brief little snippets speak volumes about our lives right now. What a treasure that will be in the future. Family members, friends, and pets are obvious subjects, but there are so many other details of our day-to-day lives that, if included, would be valued years down the track. A photo of the gas pump showing current prices, a new pair of shoes, the view out of your office, current events, food photos, photos of the places you regularly visit, a photo and receipt from the supermarket, a picture of the book you are reading, your computer screen, your ipod playlist, other current technology, your alarm clock, daily routines, home decor, an heirloom, a care package, movie ticket stubs, to do lists, weekly meal plans, bills... The list goes on. If on a particular day you are thinking about something that happened in the past, you could even use an older photo from that time. I had two aunts pass away in 2009, so on those days I used old photos I had of them. Those of you who have older children can get them involved with the photography and the stories too. Send a disposable camera to school or on a playdate. The accompanying journaling could be a short blurb, a list, a funny related story, a quotation, whatever. There are no rules.

I continue to scrapbook traditionally, well for me, that's digitally at the moment. I definitely still enjoy getting the creative juices flowing while working on a layout, but now I have the freedom to be more selective in what I choose to scrapbook in this way.

I am in no way affiliated with Becky Higgins or Project Life, I just want to share a concept that I really believe in with others.