my take on Project Life

 I admire other scrapbookers ability to keep up with a traditional version of Project Life. A weekly recording of their everyday life. But I find the idea overwhelming. I'm lucky if I get a few hours a week to do any scrapbooking. I have found that for me, if I have "deadlines," self-imposed or not, when it comes to my hobbies...I quickly lose motivation and interest.

I let go of the idea of being "caught up" years ago. What a GREAT feeling that was! Now I scrap at my own pace. Since my daughter was born in 2012 I have been able to keep up with one family album per year. The first being her baby album. And that works for me. I will never be "caught up" with the boxes and boxes of photos I have from previous years. With that said, I am loving using pocket pages in my own way. This year I have found myself doing 1-2 pocket page spreads each month. And occasionally I use the pocketed pages for those events where I have a lot of photos I want to share but can't fit them all on a traditional layout. This is where I can put those photos and little moments that I lived but don't need a whole 12x12 spread to share. (Though I will say, my favorite layouts (and those of my husband) are still my traditional 12x12's.)

January page 1

January page 2

February page 1

February page 2

March page 1

March page 2

I also have another way I've been using them...to document rooms in our home. I find that looking back at my parent's and grandparent's old photos I love seeing my childhood memories of their homes captured. A glimpse of a counter-top, carpet, or piece of furniture. These tell my childhood stories. I want to capture these things for my daughter. And for myself and my husband. Those everyday spaces that we take for granted now will be distant memories years from now. I am enjoying capturing them and their stories. I'll share these spreads in my next post!

Thanks for looking!