project life 2014 | March

I have been obsessively watching Project Life YouTube videos over the past year. And while I enjoy sharing my pages on the blog, I've fallen way behind. So I decided to video my March pages instead. One day I may do a voice over but baby steps for now. :)

finally Friday

The weather has been unusually cool this week - wasn't quite prepared for it, but don't mind it too much. I'm sure the heat will hit us soon!

James was unexpectedly in town this week so we had dinner with him on Wednesday night. Always good to see family. 

And the Kiwi edition may have come home with me on Tuesday as a reward for getting our taxes done. I've flipped through the cards and they are so freakin' cute! Can't wait to use them.

Happy Easter!

project life 2014 | week 12

{mar 16-22}

full spread

A quiet week. I am doing my best to pick out random moments from the week I want us to remember.

left side

Lots of people pictures and writing. Our life is full of boys :)

right side

Some highlights:

My sister actually took that adorable pic of DD - social media can be a good thing. I love being able pics of the boys when I am not there. 

Joe bought Kylie's new album and it has been on repeat in my car for the last 2 weeks. Definitely some gems in it - hope she comes on tour soon!

Cards used from Midnight core kit and Plus One mini kit.

project life 2014 | week 11

{Mar 9-15}

full spread, no inserts

Another week in the books. 

full spread, insert right side

Another insert for this week - we threw a "Moon Day" party on Saturday night in celebration of not having to wake up early to practice yoga on Sunday!

left side

I had fun picking coordinating cards and using circular photo templates as a change.

insert, front side

We also celebrated March birthday on Saturday night - we had 4 Marchies :)

insert back side

Our yoga peeps are definitely becoming more important people in our lives.

right side

My everyday life photos are all taken with my iPhone these days. As much as I love my Nikon, it's just SO BIG. Using it at a party or event is fine, but I have less inclination to drag it with me everywhere like I used to.

full spread, insert left side

I have recently reorganized my PL cards so I can see them all easily, which explains the appearance of all the fun bright colors this week. Stars make me happy.

Cards used from Studio Calico, Midnight and Honey Editions.

project life 2014 | week 10

{Mar 2-8}

full spread, no insert

This year I have made the conscious decision to "design" each weekly spread instead of put photos and cards in willy nilly. And I've really loved the result. I haven't been consciously taking less everyday photos but I don't take a photo of every single meal that we eat either ;)

full spread, inserts right side

We celebrated DD's 3rd birthday this week so naturally I had to include the party invite and extra photos.

left side

My title card was actually taken by JJ - it's a blurry photo but looked interesting to me. Our Amsel Adams in the making! And how could I not include Ellen's Oscars selfie - what a fun pop culture moment.

insert 1, back side

My sister's family is too beautiful to me. Love these guys so much.

insert 2, front side

DD loves watching Woody Woodpecker on YouTube with my mom, which is how the Woody theme originated. Super old school so my sis had to create her own decorations.

insert 2, back side

Collages are my friend when lots of photos from one event need to be included. Joe and I bought his first bike, like his brother, for this birthday. We love to be included in their lives like this.

right side

Not a ton of photos (besides party photos) this week, but that gives me an excuse to use the gazillion Project Life cards I have in my stash!

full spread, inserts left side

White space is making me happy. And I bought a bunch of new style page protectors, which are going to be fun to include this year.

Cards used are from Seafoam, Midnight, 5th and Frolic, and Vintage Travel Editions.

project life 2014 | weeks 8&9

{Feb 16-22}

left side, part one

I say this all the time, but this year is flying by. Been a while since I posted my layouts, although I have been keeping up fairly well with the project. I am still loving the minimal look with lots of white space. 

I am making an effort to include more of Joe's POV this year and more meaningful writing. Not always easy, but always worth it.

insert one, front and back

We went to Crested Butte to celebrate a friend's birthday as well as ski, this week. Our first trip of the year! Loved using an enlarged photo as an intro to the trip.

insert two, front and back

I had fun using different sized inserts to include more photos and cards from the Vintage Travel Edition for this week.

right side, part one

But instead of including every single photo I took from the trip, I chose my favorites from different moments that I wanted to remember. That cereal photos still cracks me up (notice the strategically placed vodka bottles, which the boys did NOT drink with their breakfast, thank goodness!).

left side, part two

Taking a trip, however, will always inevitably include tons of photos so I made this week a double spreader. I know I will never make a mini album I want to document as much as I can here. Maybe someday I will transfer all my trip pages from my PL albums into an exclusive travel album.

right side, part two

More favorites of lots of people from the trip. Our friend had over 40 people from childhood friends to new friends to help him celebrate. That's love for you!

{Feb 23 - Mar 1}

left side
Photos from the last couple days of our trip. I love all the blue in this layout.


right side
Coming home after a good vacation is always hard. A bit lacking of photos because no mountains around to inspire me!

finally Friday

DD just celebrated his official 3rd birthday on Monday. I can't believe my babies are 3 and 4 now! DD still has a bit of baby about him but JJ is all little boy these days. I still seriously adore these 2 little boys.

I broke down and bought these mini Project Life kits at -gasp- full price because I really want the Amy Tan kit and buying more would get me free shipping. 

Happy Spring! We are still adjusting to the time change, but are really enjoying the longer days. 

This week has felt especially long and I am super thankful for a long weekend. Enjoy yours!

project life 2014 | week 7

{Feb 8-15}

full spread, no inserts

Still keeping things simple and clean. I really love the look of lots of white space.

full spread, inserts right side

Valentine's day was this week, so I included the cards we gave each other, as well as ones we received in the mail.

full spread, insert right side (without cards)

V-day is such a contrived holiday, but we celebrate it insomuch as we give each other little gifts and go on a date. This year, I added fun photos of us from years past. I want to include more old photos in Project Life to give more depth to our everyday stories.

left side

My favorite photo from this page is actually the blurry one - "baby" J took it of my sister, mom, and me. I guess he's no longer a baby anymore! 

insert, front and back

For this Valentine's day I decided to pull out some favorite, already printed photos of us and put them in our album so they can be enjoyed, rather just in a drawer.

right side

This year I am also making an effort to include more things that are important in our life. Like, I want to remember that this year Joe has started Cross Fit and rediscovered his love for skateboarding.

full spread, inserts left side

Seriously still love this project.

Cards used are from Seafoam, Midnight, 5th&Frolic editions, Polka Dot Party mini edition and Studio Calico.

project life 2014 | week 6

{feb 2-8}

full spread, no insert

My goal for our February Project Life was to use all black and white photos but that didn't quite work out here. Some images, to me, just look better with some color (like the one of the hubs' skateboard). 

left side

The photos I have been using as my title cards this year are usually random ones from the week. This week I wanted to remember that I had to commute to the Woodlands (about 1 hour north of where I live) for work.

We took the boys to Chuck E. Cheese on morning because the zoo was rained out. My favorite 2 photos were 4x6, the rest I included in a collage. 

full spread, insert right side

The first insert of the year!

insert, front and back

We went to Oxheart for dinner with our dear friends E&R on Friday night. Reservations must be made one month in advance. Some of our friends don't see the value in paying $$ for vegetarian fare, but we thought it was delicious!

right side

The aforementioned photo of the hubs' skateboard was actually taken by the hubs and the writing was taken from his FB. I am definitely trying to get more of his POV into the album this year, as it is supposed to be about our life, not just mine ;)

And we've been spending lots of time with our yoga friends this year. I really love them all so much. Yogis are good peeps!

full spread, insert left side

I've been using a combination of computer and handwritten journaling. The computer print is much easier to read, but I'm working on my writing!

The cards used were from the Midnight, 5th and Frolic and Vintage Travel editions, with a random card from a Studio Calico kit (I don't subscribe but I buy them when I "need" something, usually a stamp, in that month's kit!).

project life 2014 | week 5

{jan 26-feb 1}

full spread

This year seems to be whizzing by. And I still totally adore this project. The immediacy of having our memories in a tangible place makes me so happy.

left side

Items of note from this week:

Joe's parents stayed with us most of the week. I didn't take as many photos as I normally do but luckily cell phones are easy to share pics!

The Grammys were on Sunday. Daft Punk won 4 awards for their amazing album and 33 couples got married on the show. Loved it. {Photos taken from Google}

right side

Other than the visit from the parental units, this was an ordinary week. I am still using lots of white space and minimal design.

Not seeing the boys as much as usual these days. J is in school 5 days/week and F 3 so I squeeze in time whenever I can!

project life 2014 | week 4

{jan 19-25}

full spread

I love the design of this week's spread. Lots of photos but lots of white space with a bit of color as well.

left side

Joe ran the half marathon this week and we practiced a lot of yoga. I've been taking less photos lately but being more deliberate in what I photograph. 

right side

Joe's parents arrived on Saturday this week. So good to see them. And I stole a photo of the boys' new haircuts from my sister's FB account. Love those cuties!

project life 2014 | weeks 2&3

{Jan 5-11}

week 2, full spread

This is my 3rd year of memory keeping with Project Life and I still adore it.

left side

This year I am making more of an effort to capture random moments and do more meaningful writing.

right side

I obsessively look at Project Life photos on Instagram and am always attracted to the layouts with white space and less stuff. So I am working on adding more white space to mine.

{Jan 12-18}

week 3, full spread

There is something about physically printing photos out that is so satisfying. Who wants to look a pictures on a computer screen?

left side

Also trying to take more photos of things in our life, not just people. Although I love people photos!

right side

I think almost all these photos were from a Saturday. And that's ok too.

project life 2014 | the beginning

January is seriously flying by! I guess life goes by quicker and quicker the older we get. -Sigh-

One of the reasons I love memory keeping and Project Life so much is that I want to REMEMBER all (or at least some) of the little things that made up our daily lives. I'm finding these days I am less motivated to take photos at big functions (or at least as many photos) and more wanting to take a picture of our farmer's market veggies. But it's all good.

title page

The only way for me to do this project is to keep it super simple. Print our my favorite photos, use some cute cards and add a few little embellishments here and there. Voila, it's all done!

Like clothes (or any hobby, really), it's easy to get caught up in all the new product available out there to buy. I've got enough stuff to make scrapbooks for me, my family and friends and still have left over. The goal this year to use up what I have and not buy buy buy.

week one, full spread

I also want to have more white space in my layouts this year. I obsessively look at Project Life photos on IG and the spreads I am most attracted to have lots and lots of white space.

week one, left side

Still doing this weekly, but using a full photo for the title card this year. I also would like to include more meaningful journaling, instead of just adding what happened in the photo. The writing is the most difficult part for me.

week one, right side

Since the first week of January was a shorter, I decided to dedicate this whole page to my friends' birthday night. So even though I said I won't be taking as many photos of big events, I happened to take quite a few this night. And that's ok too!

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!