project life 2013 | the end

I lost steam sharing Project Life on the blog, but am still full steam ahead on the memory keeping. I can't believe we are through the 3rd week in January already!

NYE

New year's is always one of our favorite holidays to celebrate with our friends. Sometimes expectations can be high but we dancing the night away always works for us. I decided to simply print our a few of my favorites from the night and call it good.

I love creating title and end pages for my albums. For the end of 2013 I went super simple, with some favorite photos of us from the year and cards from the many core kits I own. 

Another one for the books!

project life | week 43

{Oct 20-26}

title card

full spread, part one

Another fun week full of family, friends, and fun!

left side

Joe went out of town to visit his parents and actually took some pics so I added those. I like having his point-of-view in the album, as it is supposed to be "our" project life, not just mine ;)

right side

We started our Halloween celebration on Friday of this week. And I absolutely adore that heart filler card.

full spread, part two

We continued our Halloween celebration on Saturday and I took so many photos that day, I decided to make just another full spread instead of limiting myself to an insert. If a photo doesn't make it into our Project Life album, it just stays on the computer so I don't mind having extra pages. But I think I am going to need to start making digital pages soon - otherwise we will have to add another room just for scrapbooks...

left side

Seeing the hubs and his new bestie dressed up as bananas is just about the funniest thing ever.

right side

Our friends threw a costume party and I helped set up the photobooth, so naturally wanted to include as many shots as possible. Using collages was a great way to add them all.

project life 2013 | weeks 41&42

{Oct 6-12}

title card

Um, how can we be already in the thick of December? I guess there will be a lot of PL sharing over the next few weeks!

full spread

This was a normal week. I am doing my best to use up all the stuff I have, instead of hoarding it for the "perfect" time. The perfect time is right now!

left side

One thing I noted - our life is full of friends and little boys. I adore those little boys.

right side

I'm doing my best to record random tidbits of life - the good as well as the bad.

{Oct 13-19}

title card

full spread

Much of our October was spent getting ready for Halloween. We love to dress up :)

left side

All photos taken with my phone.

right side

And I have been taking photos from my sister's IG feed to add more moments of the boys' life.

This project brings me so much joy - I can't really explain it. Taking time to stop and appreciate the little moments in your life makes you realize how much you have. Even when things are "bad," they really could be worse. Gotta love this life we've been given.
ox

project life 2013 | weeks 39&40

{Sept 22-28}

title card

full spread

Project Life is awesome because I now record random moments that would be otherwise forgotten.

left side

That said, I don't take as many photos as I used to. Not because I don't love photography, but I think I am getting a bit burnt out. Trying to be creative with how you take photos takes a lot of energy!

right side

And when I do take many photos at a single event, I try to include as many as possible in the album; otherwise they will be just left on the computer for no one to enjoy :)

{Sept 29 - Oct 5}

title card

full spread

I have also been keeping my pages VERY simple. Cards from either one of the many core kits I have (it's an addiction I can't seem to stop, especially now that I can use 40% off coupons to buy them!) or the random Studio Calico kits I have purchased. I add little stickers/labels here and there and stamps or digital brushes to liven things up but I want my pages as flat as possible so I can fit more in one album!

left side

The hubs will take random photos, which I try to include as much as possible, since the album is definitely more EE-centric.

right side

I also like to mix up full pocket-sized photos as well as photo collages. To me, that makes it easier on the eye to take everything in.

As we wrap up the year, I am thinking about how I want to document 2014. Got a few ideas brewing but nothing concrete yet. Will keep you posted!

project life | weeks 37&38

{Sept 8-14}

title card

I have been remiss about posting PL layouts, but as of yesterday, I am caught with with 2013! Go me!

full spread

This was the week that everyone and their mother (well, maybe not everyone, but anyone interested in reading this post!) participated in Ali Edwards' Week in the Life. I have a separate 8.5x11 album that houses the past 2 years, but this year, I just wasn't feeling it so I just used photo collages in Project Life instead.

To add continuity to the pages, I used striped filler cards from different core kits. Definitely love the way this looks.

left side

Ali's digital brushes came in handy to label the photos and the rest of the page was kept pretty simple.

right side

I did bust out the big camera everyday, which is something I also plan on doing in December. Said this before and I'm sure I'll say it again: the iPhone is great for convenience and ease of taking photos but nothing beats the quality of the good dSLR pic.

{Sept 15-21}

title card

full spread, no insert

This was a fun week, full of food, family and friends, just the way we like it!

Lots of the Blush edition and digital templates were used on this spread.

right side

Looks like I've been focusing on taking people photos these days instead of things/details photos. But aren't people the reason we do this memory keeping for?

full spread, insert right side

We drove up to Dallas this weekend with some friends to see Depeche Mode!

close up of front and back of insert

Our friend got us pretty good seats - the show was amazing. Dave Gahan sounded great and while they played a lot of new songs that we didn't know, they sang tons of old favorites as well.

full spread, insert left side

One of our favorite parts about our mini vacation was reconnecting with old friends.

right side

Two of said old friends have been busy making minis! Z is such a doll and I can't get over how much hair he has (unlike his daddy). Our friends make such beautiful people :)!

If you made it to the end, thank you! How are you doing with your PL?

Got more to come soon!

ox

project life 2013 | week 36

{Sept 1-7}

full spread

Keeping things simple makes keeping up with this project much easier.

left side

We were originally going to stay for the Temple burn at Burning Man on Sunday night but decided to leave that evening instead. BIG MISTAKE. Rain was in the forecast for Monday morning and everyone (at least it seems like) decided to leave the same time we did. We were basically stuck in line to leave for about 12.5 hours. And saw the Temple burn from afar anyways. Note to self: never leave Burning Man in the afternoon - always leave as early as possible, as most Burners like to sleep in ;)

{Side note: even though we were all a bit scarred from the exodus home, everyone in our camp is still planning on returning next year!}

right side

Decompressing from the playa is always the hardest the first week. No tutus or art cars or free drinks or music in the background everywhere you turn. It can be hard! The best thing to do is dive back into work (well, that's only ok, but at least it keeps your mind distracted) and see your "camp members" in the default world. We are so fortunate to have an amazing group of people we call friends and family here.

Products used: mostly cards from Vintage Travel core kit.

project life 2013 | weeks 34+35

Although blogging has been quiet around here, Project Life is almost up to date. I have completed through Sept 7th and just sent the last 2 weeks out for printing (taking advantage of 1cent prints on Snapfish) so I hope to be "caught up" in the next week (or two). But who's counting?

{Aug 18-24}

full spread, without inserts

The start of the week was an ordinary one; however on Saturday we left for our 2nd annual trip to Burning Man, where we spent 8 days in the desert! Because I document my weeks from Sunday to Saturday, I decided to keep the left side of the spread for the beginning of the week and the right side to Saturday, the start of our vacation.

full spread, insert right side

I thought I didn't take too many photos this week but still ended up needing an insert!

left side

My weekly title cards this year have been created digitally and include my Instagram photos-of-the-day from the week. I have been varying the color of the background and the little camera week to week but I love how it adds uniformity to the album. I also added a couple Instax photos I took - to make sure the camera was still functioning before bringing it to Burning Man.

insert, front

The main reason for the insert? We attended a 50th wedding anniversary and took a photobooth photo that ended up being the perfect size for the smaller page protector.

insert, back

I included an Instagram my sister took of JJ for his first day of pre-school. I can't believe how grown up he is!

right side

And all the photos on this page were taken with my iPhone on Saturday, when we landed in Reno. 

full spread, insert left side

Products used: old Love, Elsie paper from way back when, a bit of Seafoam Edition and new Vintage Travel Project Life edition.

{Aug 25-31}

full spread

Over the course of 8 days, my friends and took hundreds, if not thousands of photos. My plan is to create a digital mini album of our trip (hopefully by Christmas in order to give as gifts, but we'll see!) so for this album I simply picked a few of my favorite photos, added a few journaling and filler cards, and called it good.

left side

Because the desert has limited, if any, cell service, 95% of the photos came from real cameras. What a novel concept! So no normal weekly title card this time around.

right side

Burning Man is a life-changing, out-of-this-world experience and, one month later, my friends and I still can't stop talking/thinking about it. I miss being dirty and dusty and hot and wearing tutus and glitter platform boots. Looking at photos is the next best thing...until next year!

Products used for this spread: Vintage Travel Edition and 5th and Frolic Edition (yes, I may have a core kit addiction - can't help it, they are all so cute and irresistible at 40% off)

project life 2013 | week 33

{Aug 11-17}

full spread

Just another ordinary week. The sumer has just flown by. I can't believe we're almost to the end of September...

left side

We attended a fund raiser at the Louis Vuitton store this week. Getting dressed up is always fun. And these were the only photos not taking with the iPhone. I used my little point-and-shoot instead, because I hate the quality of the photos with the iPhone using the flash. So evenings are the only time I really don't use it to take pics.

right side

I didn't take a ton of photos this week.

flip pocket

But I did make an interactive card with the photos from our trip to the zoo. Zoo dates are quickly becoming Joe and my time with the boys. We love it!