Project Life | The catch up game...

Hello Sassy Friends! Over the last few weeks I've noticed a little trend in the Project Life world.  It usually starts about now and then overwhelms us for the rest of the year.  Yes.  I am talking about playing catch up!  Generally, I think most of us start out really strong.  We are organised and keen to take photos and document our stories. Slowly, as life takes over, some of us, myself included, tend to put our Project Life on the back burner.  What harm will it do if we leave our creative process for a week or *ahem* several!    In theory, Project Life was designed to be the simplest form of documenting life as a scrapbooker. We take our photos and add our journaling to premade cards and then slip them all into the perfect size pockets.  How great is that!  Simplicity at it's best.  But then, somewhere along the line, again... if you are like me, we tend to want to pretty up our pockets and add extra details.  We like to add those few layers and let's be honest...  Can you really walk away from that perfect embellishment that just screams exactly what is going on in your photos? *grin*  It does get overwhelming and we want our pocket pages to have a consistent look.. don't we?   So what happens when you step away from PL for a few weeks? Absolutely nothing. We don't need to stress about catching up.  You can just continue on from right now.  After all, in my opinion, something is better than nothing.   There is an alternative though if you really don't want to have gaps in your album.  Let's get reorganised.  We can be enthusiastic about PL once more and for me, it all comes down to the photos.   Step one:  Digitally Reorganise Your Photos.   

  It is all too easy to upload your photos onto your desktop computer and then forget about them.  But... it really is worth your while to set some time aside to assign dated, weekly files in a Project Life folder.  It does sound like a lot of work. But trust me.. this will restore your sanity in the long term! *grin*   I have organised my photos into the following system.  Pictures > 2015 > Project Life Photos > 01 Jan > Week 1_Jan 1-11. I always label my months with a number first. For example: 01 Jan, 02 Feb, 03 Mar.  This way the folders will stay in consecutive order rather than alphabetical.   

  Step two: Print.   Once we have our photos in weekly files, it becomes very easy to print out photos to suit the PL spread you are planning on catching up with.  Another helpful tip is that this method is quite cost effective.  My home printer likes to use ink quickly.  It can be very frustrating for someone who has weekly projects to work on.  I find it much easier to download my photos to a USB and take them to a discount department store to have them printed.  It saves me using excess ink at home and my weekly photos for the spread have been already sorted out for each pocket size I require.  A wonderful time saver too!  

    Step three: Add the Photos to the Pockets.   Simple right? I add my photos straight into their allocated pocket page week before I even go looking for paper and embellishments.  Once I have established where I want to display my photos on the spread, I save time on the next step.   When assigning my photos to certain pockets, I lay out two pocket pages side by side and look at colour and white space of the photo placement to balance the overall look of the spread.   

 

I keep these incomplete pocket pages in my album, right next to the completed ones.  As I flip through them, I am aware of which weeks I am working on as they are always filed in consecutive order; Week 15, Week 16 and so on. The blank spaces show me where I need to add my journaling and title cards.

 



Step four: Memory Stimulation/Journaling.   Remember when I said that catching up with PL for me is all about the photos. Well, in essence, this step helps jog my journaling memory.  When I have the photos in front of me, I automatically recall most of the details from the event I have photographed.  Sometimes I cannot remember the exact date, but thanks to digital photography our photos now come with a time and date stamp attached to them.  

  Just by hovering the mouse/arrow over the photo in your folder or selecting the image, you will see when the photo was taken in the information strip below. Of course, this will only work to your advantage, if the time stamp has been correctly configured into your camera settings.   The blank spaces in the pocket page now lets me know exactly how much room I have for journaling and how many spaces I need to coordinate together with the photos. My journaling is typed/printed out in blocks or on those afore mentioned premade PL cards. They are then trimmed to fit the allocated pockets.  If you would like this process to be faster, forget trying to line up text boxes on the computer or typewriter.  Just grab a good journaling pen and jot down your notes directly to the filler cards or even on the photos.  

  Step five: Completing with Embellishments.   And this is where it all comes together for me very quickly. Photos. Check. Journaling. Check. Time to play with those pretty embellishments. Check.  

   Earlier this year, I shared here on the Sassy blog how I store and organise my bits and pieces. This has been a life changer in the catch up game. With my embellishments sorted and within easy access, the process of completing these weekly spreads becomes a snap!  Favourite embellishments include, stickers, labels, wood veneers and enamel dots.  Cut aparts from 12x12 patterned papers and diecut ephemera packs make coordination dreams come true. Products from the same collection are created to be matchy-matchy and leave the thinking to someone else. Perfect if you are time poor and don't want to source different products.   Here's my Project Life | Week 16, that came together in less than 20mins after getting myself organised with the steps mentioned above.   "Week 16"

The top pocket contains Amy Tangerine diecut ephemera and Crate Paper Poolside 12x12 cut apart patterned paper, layered on a Dear Lizzy Fine & Dandy gold foil specialty paper.

This journaling has been typed directly onto a pre-made Project Life journaling card .

Including my son's Prep artwork for ANZAC Day makes for quick and easy filler card details.

Time savers also include leaving two 3x4" photos next to each other in a 4x6" pocket...

... and journaling cards can be combined with patterned paper layers to create hidden journaling.

Finally, my favourite method of using wood veneers fills gaps on photos creating interest where there was previously none.

  Having photo stacks, journaling blocks, embellishment items and organisational principles in front of me, always helps me catch up in next to no time.  I hope these simple ideas can help you too. Thanks for joining me today..x  

Project Life | Week 14...

Hello Sassy Friends!  Welcome to Project Life Monday! Today I am sharing Week 14 | April 6 - 12.  The first week of our Easter school holiday's in Queensland and the week we decided to climb a mountain!  

  This week we had an awesome adventure.  Everything else was kind of mediocre but other than mention the main points of our daily grind in my journaling, my focus for this spread was all about the climb.

 

Mixing and matching, I've been playing with the gorgeous Crate Paper Poolside collection, Pink Paislee Atlas patterned paper, Elle's Studio alphas and Amy Tangerine Rise & Shine. Added to the mix are some Chic Tags wood veneer, Bella Blvd stickers and a lovely sheet of vellum.

 

 

Taking the vellum and trimming it and the Pink Paislee Altitude patterned paper to 3"x4", I've stitched them together to create a pocket for hidden journaling.

 



The pocket can then be embellished to suit your spread.

 

Another fun form of photo documentation when we go on bush walks such as this, is to include a landscape photo of our group in front of the landmark sign. It is an easy way to include extra details on your page, especially when it is a photo heavy spread.

 

 

Adding ephemera to pockets can help break up the monotony of too many photos.  I wanted to have a light hearted feel to this pocket with arrows pointing in many directions. It provides a subtle sense of adventure as well as serving the purpose of documenting my weekly title.

 

 

I used the wood veneers to link back to the outdoor/woodgrain style of the Elle's Studio alphas. The veneers also add a touch of dimension to the page without the extra bulk in the pockets.

 

 

On page two, journaling our adventure became priority. To me, there's no point in having lots of photos if the story isn't there to explain what happened! *grin*

 

 

I've kept it simple and to the point.  Next on the agenda were the pockets for my filler cards.

 

 

These spaces were also required to be simple. Colour coordination and premade/designed 3"x4" cards made this an easy task!

 

 

Finishing touches included Simple Stories I Am cardstock stickers, placed directly onto the photos.

 

 

Thanks for joining me here today.  I hope I have shared how easy it is to mix and match your supplies to create cohesive results...x

 

Sassy Supplies:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Project Life August Kit Reveal...

Hello Sassy Friends!  Today I am sharing with you some details from the new August Project Life Kit reveal.  It is a lovely mix of turquoise, soft green and fresh whites!  We've highlighted our colour palette with pops of vibrant gold and pink and then tied it all together with a neutral combination of black and beige.    

The Teresa Collins patterned papers have come to the party and added an extra oomph with the touches of gold glitter!!  I also love that the wood veneer embellishments, cork stars and gorgeous enamel dots, compliment the kit as a whole, allowing you to create layers of goodness on your PL spread.

Finally, the alpha sticker sheets gives you plenty of options when it comes to creating and designing your title pockets!  I love to mix & match sizes and fonts!  Don't you?

  If you would like to play along with me this month, head on over to the Sassy Shop now and grab your August kit!  Here ...August Project Life Kit.. But be quick... there are limited numbers.  Thanks for visiting today...x  

Project Life | Week 21...

Hello Everyone! Project Life Monday has come around again!! Welcome to Week 21 | May 19 - 25.     This week I have continued to play with the June Sassy Scrapper Project Life kit (now sold out).  

On my spread today, I have used lots of 'strip layers', inspired by the Crate Paper | Styleboard Inspiration paper piece.  I wanted to overlap and create subtle layers to add interest to my pages without having the extra bulk.

 Some of these layers were added directly to my photos...

 

 

...While other strips were layered directly to 4"x6" patterned paper.  This method on filler cards, is also partly due to the lack of photos I had available for Week 21.  *grin*  Even with this problem, I still wanted some interest in the pockets where I was promoting my 'white space'.

 

On the first page, I also trimmed a tag from the whole Crate Paper sheet and typed some of our story.  I then added it a 3"x4" project life card. 

 

This week I have also focused on the wood flourishes.  These little details can add a touch of fun or even drama(!) to the spread.

 

 

  The wooden flourish frame highlights the PL week without overwhelming the pocket.  

 And they can also help convey the humour in the photos/story.  This speech bubble embellishment is so cute!

 

  I've teamed a lot of the paper strips with the Teresa Collins sticker labels and a few enamel dots.  I also love that these embellishment clusters can hide unwanted details that show up in photos!!  

    This week, it's simple.  Add interest with paper strips to avoid bulk on your PL spreads.  Thanks for visiting..x