Project Life - A Fabulous way to keep your memories

Project Life... Have you heard of it?
No it's not a weight loss solution for the new year....But the word I'm about to say strikes just as much fear into a Woman's heart.....

Scrapbooking...

Although this is the easiest scrapbook you've ever seen... and even easier to keep up with. Plus it answers some very weighty questions that you might have..
 1.  What do I do with Random Pictures that don't necessarily make the baby books?

2.  What do I do with all these pictures on my phone?

3. What do I do with all the old Christmas cards?

I started this method 3 years ago and believe it or not I"m current..... ( I say this only to encourage you to try this out)

History:  Many years ago I started scrapbooking....I've done it since we were cutting shapes out of wrapping paper.  Then I moved to Creative Memories when my friend became a consultant....Next came embellishments- brads, staples, ribbon, chipboard ( don't know what chipboard is? Don't worry I'm not a big fan either)
But somewhere along the way it went WAY overboard.  People were making $10 pages for ONE picture.   A mom of 6 cannot afford that....and plus I like a lot of photos.  I take a lot of photos.

I could make all those pages.  I do enjoy the crafting but I'm fully aware that when my sons get married their wives are not going to want to haul 25 albums of him into their new home.  3 or 4 she will probably be OK with.

So I got bogged down....How to stay trendy and how to keep it stream lined....That was the issue...I never stopped scrapbooking but I knew I was missing the boat with the everyday stuff.



Then a friend introduced me to Project Life by Becky Higgins.....In this method you do one album a year,
http://beckyhiggins.com/project-life/

She suggests about 10 pictures a week.  I tried it like that the first year.  It's nice to look at but it's a little much.  Some weeks I'm lucky to get one pic...
So for the last 2 years I've been doing about 20 (double sided)pages for a full year.  This way one album will hold 2 - 3 years of pics.

Here's what you do:

Print out your pictures
Slip them into photo pockets
Write a little blurb about the event if it's not evident...
 THAT's IT!!!!
You can certainly do more. They sell little color coordinated packs to help you make it look cutesy..If you like to be creative you still certainly can add some stickers or cut outs in one of your 4x6 spaces.

 So What about Christmas Cards?

Just trim them to 4x6 either UP and Down or Across and slide them in at the end of your album each year.  There is nothing easier. I will want to see my friends and family as they change and grow over the years.  ( Do you get the whole card? NO.  Do you need the whole card? NO)
What you really want to see is their pic. Right?

And guess what else?  Graduation cards and Wedding Pics

You can even put journaling right on your pics in a free program called Picasa by Google or iphoto and then your journaling is done when you print the photos out.

One last thing.. You can also do Project LIfe on Shutterfly and at the end of the year have a bound book printed and mailed to you.  

So if you give it a try let me know.....I'd love to hear your tips and tricks too.

Decorating

It's that time of year when everything comes down from the attic. A few years ago David & I started taking a hands off approach and letting the kids go for it. 

This year the pranksters decorated. I am loving their creativity. However inappropriate it may be. 

 

Johanna's 2 year old pics

Trent's 5th Grade Graduation

I got a new laptop and it has taken me a couple of months to get everything organized again. I didn't want to get a new computer but my other one met an untimely death with the concrete driveway.
 I hate Windows 8 BTW!!!
Ok, Hate is a strong word....I strongly dislike Windows 8 and may never get another Windows Machine.

Anyhow, Last weekend some of my scrapbook buddies got together for a little impromptu crop day.  I took the new laptop and thought I'd do a little digital scrappin.  After I sat down I realized  I had failed to move an entire folder full of my digital stuff.  So there I sat unable to do a thing.  But really the scrapbooking is more about the friends and catching up with everyone's life. That's my favorite part anyway.
But since then I've had the bug and so yesterday I worked on this cute page for Trent.  The 5th grade Graduation is always a big deal and last year the decorations were just great.  It was such a fun morning.

Pumpkin carving

I think I've been hearing about pumpkin carving since October 1st.

So today we went to the pumpkin patch. (Aka grocery store) and everyone selected their own pumpkin from the patch (cardboard box)

But they were happy. Especially because no one had to share this year.

Out of the 5 we had a spiderweb, batman, cat face, tigger, and scary face.

As the sun went down everyone got closer and closer to the porch light.

Lots of creativity, sensory fun, and another family memory! 

Scrapbook Time

This is Mia. 

Today me and mommy made this scrapbook paper.

Mommy taught me some cool things.

I had a lot of fun today. 

Gotcha Day - One year ago

What a year!  I think it passed by in a mixture of firsts and fog.  Johanna has met so many milestones in the past year.  She has gotten 17 teeth (which means more than one a month!)
She has learned to crawl and then walk.  She has gone from only taking a bottle to eating and feeding herself independently.  She can run and jump.  She knows all the kids names and can identify what clothing or shoes belongs to each person.  She loves the swimming pool and would rather be wearing nothing( hee, hee) Keeping clothes on her is quite a task.
Johanna is a truly remarkable gift from God and we are so blessed to be able to watch her grow and change over the past year. I can't wait to see what will happen next year.