How Project Life Rocked My World

Besides being a sewist and a knitter I’m also a scrapbooker.  I’ve actually been scrapbooking about as long as I’ve been sewing – 20+ years now.  I remember impatiently waiting for my copies of Memory Makers and Creating Keepsakes magazines to arrive in the mail each month.  I even entered Memory Makers big scrapbook layout contest one year.  (Do any of you even remember Memory Makers?)  I had high hopes for myself but sadly I  didn’t win and the magazine closed down in 2009.  (unrelated incidences)

Even though I loved it; scrapbooking got so complicated I just didn’t have time for it anymore.  There were so many tools and techniques and embellishments and…well…just and.  The list goes on forever.  Scrapbook layouts became so elaborate and costly and…BIG.  It became more about the embellishments than the photos.  So…I took a break from it.

But then Project Life rocked my world.

I didn’t think Project Life was for me at first.  I was a traditional scrapbooker who really enjoyed the design process.  A design process I didn’t have time for.  It was actually my daughter who first became interested in Project Life.  But I soon began to see just how fantastic Project Life really was.

So what is Project Life, you may be asking.  Well…Project Life is an amazing scrapbooking system developed by Becky Higgins (who was once the Creative Editor for Creating Keepsakes magazine).  Basically, it is “pocket” scrapbooking.

There are actually 3 ways to use Project Life:  physical kits, digital kits and the Project Life app.  (Yes, there is an app people.  Scrapbooking in the palm of your hand.)

The physical kits are made up of sheet protectors that are divided into “pockets” and card kits.  You simply just slip your photos and cards into the pockets and…wella…you have a scrapbook page…5 minutes and done.

The digital kits are downloaded onto your computer and used with photoshop.

But my favorite is the Project Life app.  You just install the app on your phone, IOS or Android, open the app, select your layout, add your photos, your cards and your journaling and you’re done.

And you can print your layouts straight from the app.  No downloading necessary.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

You can also save them to Dropbox or share them on social media.  All right from the app people.  Seriously…it’s amazing.  Aaaaand…they are working on an option to let you print photo books that should be available soon.

But you don’t have to just choose one form of Project Life.  Why limit yourself?  You can use all three.  Together.  In one album.  Why not?

It’s simple.  It’s easy.  It’s scrapbooking at it’s best.

If you’re interested in learning more or purchasing Project Life you can click here.  This is an affiliate link and I do get a small commision toward my own Project Life purchases.  But I would never recommend anything to you that I didn’t truly love myself.  And I really do LOVE it.

If you’re wanting to get those thousands of photos off your phone or computer and into scrapbooks I can’t suggest a better way to do it.

Here are some of the layouts I’ve created using Project Life (all personal information has been removed):

Secrets With Santa

A Visit With Santa

Thanksgiving 2016 (Page 1)

Thanksgiving 2016 (Page 2)

Little Hands

Life is Sweet

Pumpkin Patch #1

Pumpkin Patch #2

I’ve heard people say “this isn’t really scrapbooking”.  Well…here is the definition of scrapbooking according to Webster:

scrap·book

ˈskrapˌbo͝ok/

verb

noun: scrapbooking; gerund or present participle: scrapbooking

1. create scrapbooks as a hobby.

And what is a scrabbook?

scrap·book

ˈskrapˌbo͝ok/

noun

1. 1.

   a book of blank pages for sticking clippings, drawings, or pictures in.

 

Yeah, sooooo…this pretty much looks like a scrapbook to me.

Scrapbooking is an artform and who’s to say what the right way to do YOUR art is.  It’s YOUR art.  Do it the way YOU want.  And that’s the beauty of scrapbooking.  There IS no one way to do it.  So choose what works for you.

This is what’s working for me right now.  My photos are getting off my phone and into books that my family can enjoy.  And it’s been a long time since that has happened.

So, are you a scrapbooker…or maybe a Project Lifer?  I’d love to know your thoughts.  Please leave your comments below and let me know what you think.