Monday, February 24, 2014

Project Life: Then and Now


I wanted to share a little backstory today on my Project Life hobby - when I started, why I love it, how my style has evolved since I first started.

I've been scrapbooking since high school, trying everything from traditional layouts to mini albums made out of paper bags. It was such a fun creative outlet, but for all the albums I started, I never really finished any. I think I got overwhelmed with having to start from scratch on a brand-new layout each time I wanted to document a picture. There simply wasn't enough structure to the whole process to keep me interested.

I had never heard of Project Life until I was scrolling through some blogs one day not longer after I had gotten married and happened to find a blogger who used PL. I was so in awe of the whole process that I went straight to Amazon and ordered some page protectors. Luckily for me, this was only a few months into my marriage, so I will be able to have an album for each year from the beginning.

When I first set to work on my album, I was still in that scrapbook-y mindset where I thought I had to throw on stickers and patterned papers and ribbon, etc. I liked the idea of the core kits but, honestly, none of the ones available at the time appealed to me.

I finished the 2012 album, but wasn't totally pleased with how it looked. My photography was straight up awful, edited with an Instagram filter if anything. The pages themselves looked cluttered and complicated. I was ready for a fresh start with my 2013 album.

Again, I started with no core kit and, though I made it a point to simplify my pages, it still wasn't all that fun to put together. I had too many random patterned papers and embellishments to choose from, and the whole process of putting pages together grew tiring.

Enter the Midnight Edition. I ordered this with some birthday money half-way through the year, not sure if I'd be crazy about it, but willing to give it a try. The package came and I fell in love. The kit is so simple and clean and modern, all the things my album was not.

This year I'm using the Midnight and Sunshine Editions, as well as a few mini kits, just to work in a little more color to my pages. I'm continuing to work on my photography skills (which are currently limited to my point-and-shoot) as well as a more consistent overall look. (The date cards in my 2013 album, for example, were totally random and different every week. Not my favorite.)

All that to say, it's okay if your pages don't always turn out perfectly. Your style will constantly evolve as you try new things and find new products you love. That, to me, is one of the most exciting parts of the process.

And, just for fun, the title pages from all three of my albums:

2012


2013


2014












10 comments:

  1. Love hearing your story. Your pages were in part why I decided to try PL. I was a "traditional" scrapbooker before, too, and knew I couldn't keep up at the same page and energy level as before. Not sure if I'll do PL next year or not, but I love it for now :)

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  2. Love this. 2013 was my first year of doing PL and let me tell you: some of those pages I cringe at... But I won't change them because they just show how far I've come! And goodness, what would we do if midnight edition didn't exist?? I'm seriously thinkng of buying another one because my current one is getting too low :)

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  3. i've been a project life stalker for awhile via a bunch of my favorite blogs and i've finally started putting together a 2013 album. nothing like trying to catch up on a year! but you're so right that the structure that PL gives is freeing to not mess around with a bunch of busy embellishments and stuff. i'm a new reader and i love your blog! :)

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  4. Oh I love this! It's so interesting to see how our styles evolve over time.

    I have been collecting my PL items {slowly to get them on sale!} and can't wait to start putting the album together. I love the simplicity of the albums - especially with the midnight kit! Your pages are always so inspiring!

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  5. Wow, you can really see the changes in style in these (all cool) title pages! I know that my style changed massively over the course of 2013, my first year doing Project Life. I had no idea what I was doing when I started; but I finished the year with a pretty good understanding of my style. Wonder how all our pages will look this time next year? :)

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  6. i love this, heather! it's so fun to see how your style has changed over the past couple of years :) i've never done project life, but you sure do make it look like something i'd love to do!

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  7. Great to hear about your "evolution". :)

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  8. Loved you sharing your story! I started this year with a travel vintage for a travel album, and sometimes I feel I'm.... too simple, you know? When I saw Midnight I felt in love, hard, and now I'm waiting for page protectors to start using it (here in Brazil are not so easy to get). I feel the same way about this kit, is clean and perfect. I really love your pages from this year, I'll follow as an inspiration source for my new album!

    ( darkvanille.tumblr.com )

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  9. Love this! You truly inspired me to do PL as well! Unfortunately I am 3 years in my marriage, so not an album for every year, so I guess I'll have to start this year;) I order the Midnight edition as well, Love the look of it! Keep posting!

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