There was a part of me that was not fully engaged with beginning Project Life this year. Last year I found it nearly impossible to keep up and that was primarily because printing my photos at home became really problematic. My photo printer is not working and Mark's printer just doesn't do a great job with photos. What to do?
Then, while I was cleaning through some things in my studio I felt like I would miss the documentation, the recording of our little stories that has become so important to me over the past few years. I had bought a few Project Life supplies in the clearance department at Michael's way back in November and decided to give it a go this year.
I love my happy little album. I was able to get 2 on clearance and that made my day! I love the collection I picked for this year, also found on clearance. I think it may be Neopolitan by Dear Lizzy. The colors are soft and remind me of spring and summer!
Not that this is a grand event, but at this moment, weeks four and five, I am up to date with my journaling. But, that's about it. The photos I figure I will print in bulk and just add to the album once a month. I have also decided that I will include the work that I do with my "word" for this year, inside the same album thereby eliminating extra work and keeping everything that happens this year in one place.
While I am hoping to keep my approach simple this year, I think that adding an embellishment or two throughout the year will help to keep my creative side a bit giddy. Flowers, ribbons and buttons are always a good thing!
I had received flowers from my students on Friday so I placed them on my favorite little shelf in the hallway. They made me smile each time I walked by! Mark and I took a long walk on Monday, reminiscent of the walks we used to take when we first met. The carnival had arrived at the town center and it gave us plenty of opportunity for some great photos. Tuesday my hubby surprised me with roses and anniversary cards. I kept teasing him because our aniversary was spent in the emergency room of NYU. He is so cute sometimes!
I spent most of the evenings during Week 19 working on a school bag for Brittany. I really had a hard time with it and I never seem to realize how long projects really take. It turned out beautiful and was ready for gifting on Thursday. Wednesday Brittany and Carolyn surprised us with gifts. It was really hard to get used to being in school without them. Thursday was their last day and we took some really silly photos before the end of the day. Carolyn, Brittany and I ended up at happy hour over at On The Border - gotta love those $4, 18oz, margaritas!
All in all it was just another great week. The school year was winding down and there didn't seem to be as much stress in general. I am off to put the finishing touches on the next couple of weeks in Project Life. Catching up is hard to do!
It has been forever since I posted an update on Project Life. Here we are, September, and I am posting a spread that I should have finished back in May. That's right, Week 18 was the last week of April, first week of May.
The week began on the Sunday that our waffle iron bit the dust. It's a good thing I keep a back-up of waffle irons in the house! On Monday I was hopping. A visit to the Village Quilter in Mt. Holly! I survived Tuesday without my student teacher and I didn't think that was possible!
It was a week filled with wonderful moments and events. Wonderful moments included time to sew and time to scrap. A bridal shower for two of my grade level partners and then I hijacked my hubby and took him down to Quilting Possibilities in Forked River. It was a quick trip after a wonderful party!
Friday we hopped over to Haddonfield to visit The Little Shop and drop off my completed Shop Hop Passport! Dinner at the Bistro and then home to prepare for National Scrapbooking Day! We spent all day scrapping, that is my scrappy friends and I! It has become a tradition that we meet at my house on this day. This year even Bunkey joined us! Good fun!
Even though I did not do a good job staying on top of Project Life, that doesn't mean my interest is waning. Quite the contrary. I am so grateful for this type of memory keeping and so happy that I have a place to record the little moments of our everyday life. I think that I will have to rethink how I handle Project Life, now that I am back to work full time, but not doing it is not an option!
Week 17 is when I really fell far behind in Project Life. Looking back, I can see why.
The week started like any ordinary week. Sunday was Easter which, for us, meant a low key day at home. It was the last day of spring break and a day I finally put the finishing touches on my popsicle quilt, I just love that quilt! Tuesday we headed into New York to see John Stewart. Unfortunately, instead of seeing John Stewart, we saw the inside of the newly renovated and just opened, that day, NYU medical center's emergency room. A whirlwind couple of days passed with us trying to figure out what was wrong with Mark and how to help him heal. Non-stop busy-ness! I am so lucky that I had Jess there to keep me company while Mark was being wheeled every which way, through the cafeteria and up to MRI!
The insert shows by Shop Hop passport and photos of the shops that I visited on Saturday while Mark was busy recuperating at home.
Wednesday we signed Mark out of NYU at about 8:30am and made the 9:06 train back to NJ. From there is was heavy duty electrolyte consumption and lots of sleep. Thursday, I was home from work, feeling under the weather myself and on Friday I was back to work. Friday evening I headed over to Needles and Pins to start the shop hop!
Saturday I spent the entire day on the road! So cool to be hopping all over New Jersey. There were a couple of new shops on the hop this year and I had a great time exploring each shop, including a couple of my favorites from years past.
On my way home a shot a picture of the sky, through the windshield of my car, while I was driving along I-95. The sky was gorgeous and I was feeling accomplished!
Being able to finish this spread made me so happy this morning. I had all the elements of the spread completed but the insert with the photos and my passport was lost someplace on my crafting table. Clearing that off and making is functional again is on my agenda for this week!
I spent some time this week seeking inspiration for Project Life and I found some really great stuff out there in the scrapbooking world! To begin, I love Ali Edwards! She often explains her choices and talks you through options avalable to document your unique story. She blogged about Week 14 here.
Elise Blaha Cripe has decided that this year she will complete her Project Life on a monthly basis, one page per month. I think that is such a cool idea, especially because completing it weekly can sometimes feel overwhelming. I love following her blog and I learn so much from her on so many levels. Project Life monthly, sounds like a great idea!
France, over at Bananfish Studio, does not do Project Life per se, she does pocket page scrapbooking. It is just about the same thing and I love how she does it. She is extremely creative and has a great eye for all kinds of things. I can absolutely not wait for her shop to open. Stop by her blog and take a look, I am sure you too will be enamored with her style!
In so many ways I believe that pocket scrapbooking can save so much time for those of us with thousands of photos in boxes. Just purchase a couple of three-ring scrapbooks, several pocket page protectors, set aside a few afternoons, and suddenly those photos are out of boxes and in a place where you can actually see and enjoy them. The beauty of doing that will be the stories you remember as you sort through the photos. Whenever I embark on such a project I keep a notebook nearby to jot down the stories I want to remember. I have the stories in one place and the photos organized. It is all just easy peasy!
Here's to remembering and sharing the stories of our lives!
Week Sixteen feels like forever ago. I actually think that is not an exaggeration! It was the week of my spring break. It was a delicious week filled with lots of productiveness and fun! Is productiveness a word?
Sunday we woke up with Jessica in the house! We had such a great time. I helped her to straighten her hair and then we packed up the car and headed back to Brooklyn. Jess drove the whole way up and what a chore that was! There was so much traffic on the turnpike it took us over 3 hours. By the time we got to Jess' we were all exhausted. We unloaded the car and drove home almost immediately. The drive home was easy compared with the drive up. I didn't mind it at all. It was so nice having her around for a few days!
On Monday I instituted block scheduling for myself. I organized my time for both crafting and working on some business ideas. I think it worked out well and I felt like I was accomplishing some goals.
Tuesday my mom joined me and we traveled into Philly by train to meet Jason for dinner. It was a lovely way to spend a really rainy evening. After dinner we attended a graduation recital at the Curtis. My mom loved that! We took the train home and mom stayed the night. We stayed up late reminiscing about the '64 World's Fair and other adventures that we'd taken as a family.
Wednesday I met Bunkey at the Little Shop for a weekday Sew What. We used the time to cut the finishing fabric for my popsicle wallhanging. We had lunch out and then we went our separate ways. I continued my block scheduling for nearly the entire week. It felt good to check some things off my to-do list!
Thursday brought projects and the mailing of some suprises to a few unsuspecting friends. I love to do that! Friday I scheduled in a trip to the Green Top Market. Time allowed for a quick stop at the Evergreen, my first vanilla custard of the year.
Saturday I began to feel really anxious about heading back to school. I decided to spend the entire day sewing. I did have a babysitting gig that evening with a precious little angel! We had such fun! You can't see how cute she is (she's not on facebook yet) so you'll just have to trust me!
There it is, Week 16 in a nutshell. I am hoping to catch up on my posts later this week. This is a busy time of year at school and I am looking forward to a little down time before starting a summer job. We'll see how that goes!
I encourage you to look into Project Life if you love to record your family stories but need to streamline the process. Check out Becky Higgins' site and take a look at all of the inspiration! Ali Edwards' posted about her Week Seven this week. Here spread was really simple this week. There are so many ways of approaching Project Life, it is truly whatever you chose to make of it! I am linking up over at The Mom Creative, check out all of the other links and the pages posted by Jessica. It is a wealth of inspiration!
This was a very full week by our standards. It all began very early on Sunday morning with the Hot Chocolate Run in Philly. It was a great race and they served great food afterwards, hot chocolate and chocolate fondue! Brittany did a great job for her first race and Jackie beat me to the finish line! Unfortunately the run was a bit much for my knees and I ended up in the medical tent! Monday brought free iced tea from Dunkin Donuts and on Tuesday I noticed that the daffodils had bloomed!
Since it was such a busy week, I included many inserts to the spread. First insert contains our race bibs and a photo of each of us from the race.
This shot shows the back of the first insert, Mark's bib and photo, as well as the menu from Jason's birthday party which was on Friday evening.
'The menu was added by placing it into a Flip-flap (from Close to My Heart) that I cut down and attached to the page with washi tape.
Beyond the menu is the 6"x12" insert with photos from the Friday night party and Jessie's celebration on Saturday.
The rest of the week really took a back seat to birthday celebrations! I did finish the t-shirt quilt before Jessie arrived home so I was able to put that on the bed in the guest room. On Wednesday I received a scrapbooking kit in the mail, getting ready for National Scrapbooking Day! Thursday was just a regular school day.
Friday began the birthday celebrations! Mark and I took the train into Philly. We met Amir at Woodcrest and traveled to Le Cherie together. It was such a wonderful evening and celebration. I was so happy that Jess was able to join us!
All week I had been dealing with the injury from the race on Sunday, by Thursday I was barely walking. I did go to physical therapy but was getting no relief. On Thursday I scheduled an appointment to see Dr. Plut during Spring Break!
I encourage you to look into Project Life if you love to record your family stories but need to streamline the process. Check out Becky Higgins' site and take a look at all of the inspiration! Ali Edwards' posted about her Week Six this week. I love the way she used the layered template for a longer story from the week. I need to figure that out! There are so many ways of approaching Project Life, it is truly whatever you chose to make of it!
I ventured out of the house on March 30th which was the Sunday of Week 14. That happens so rarely that I thought I should be sure to record the fact. The Little Shop was having their spring/summer class open house and Debi offered 25% off any class if you signed up during the event. Not one to miss I sale, I headed over first thing. I am itching to take the Santa pincushion class and couldn't wait to sign up. Once there I treated myself to a couple of peppered cottons for a quilt project I am designing, we will see how that goes.
Mondays are very difficult for me! This week I had my observation on Thursday so I spent a large part of my Monday uploading information for that. Mark and I went to the gym - needed to log in a run before the race on Sunday! Tuesday I was back to swimming, solo, my tri-buddy has been working a 2nd job evenings and that makes for a lonely swim. Wednesday was another day filled with completing paperwork at school, so ready for Spring Break!
Wednesday was the day before Bunkey's birthday so I left work straight away so that we could spend some time together getting her supplies ready for her quilting retreat. We had a great night organizing her stuff and then made a quick stop at Michael's for some additional supplies! Thursday was author day at school, Nick Bruell of Bad Kitty fame. It was my 3rd and final observation. We had our evening professional development until 6 and then Mark and I went over to On the Border for really cheap margaritas and appetizers! Yum. Friday a relatively easy school day. Worked a little late and then headed home. I had the house to myself - what a treat! Saturday I headed across the Commodore Barry Bridge to volunteer for the Hot Chocolate Run packet pickup! It was a great day - lots of fun. My knees were really sore by the time I finally headed home.
And that, my friends, is the whole story of week 14!
If you are the least bit interested in Project Life, I encourage you to stop over at Becky Higgins' site and check out all of the inspiration! Cathy Zielske posted her Weeks 14 and 15 this past week. I like how she uses a simplified journaling approach, some weeks just writing a "high" of the week or a "low" of the week. There are so many ways of approaching Project Life, it is truly whatever you chose to make of it!
Week thirteen seems so long ago, but truly, it wasn't! My weeks generally all begin the same, a stay at home Sunday with Sunday chores. I just love my Sundays!
This particular Sunday I also cut my fabric for our Springtime in Paris project. I just love the colors and could not wait to put it together. Monday we remembered our coupons for a free iced tea at Dunkin Donuts. They have offered this treat the past couple of years in March. This year I missed the first three weeks because I just forgot, I was bound and determined to get at least one free iced tea before the coupon expired! Tuesday was a regular school day and a "back to training" day although my tri-buddy has been busy working a 2nd job leaving me to swim alone. Not as much fun!
Wednesday we woke up to snow on the ground and no delayed opening. I think I was spoiled this winter with all of the opportunities to sleep late because of the snow. Thursday and Friday, regular work days. I have been trying to stay a little late a couple of days a week to clean out things and to organize. There is literally so much paper and paperwork that it makes my head spin. Having a student teacher has really helped this year. Brittany is such a hard worker and she is organized. We are very different that way!
Friday I stayed at work til 5:30 so that I was able to spend less time on school work over the weekend. We had our Springtime in Paris get together on Saturday which was great fun. We sewed our Springtime in Paris quilts, watched French themed movies and ate French themed foods. What a great day! I just love the quilts we made and spending a day with girlfriends is the best!
I used letter stickers on a few of my journaling cards this week and I like the way it looks. It makes it really easy to see the journaling that corresponds with each day. It also helps to use up older letter stickers! I sm trying to schedule my days a little differently so that I have time to create a little more. Allowing a little extra time also lets me see what I have to work with and put it to use! I think it also helps me to muddle through the activities that are not so inspiring knowing that I have a little "play" time coming. Oh these games I play with myself!
If you are the least bit interested in Project Life, I encourage you to stop over at Becky Higgins' site and check out all of the inspiration! Ali Edwards' posted a completed spread for her week 5 and Cathy Zielske posted her Week 13 and she explains how she stores photos on her computer, very interesting process.
I am thinking of using Project Life to help me to sort through the gazillion baby pictures of my kids. I am heading off to MIchael's this afternoon with a 40% off coupon in tow. Let's see what I discover!
It truly seems like forever ago that I posted a completed Project Life spread, but this has been done and photographed for over a week. That's what happens when I come home from work exhausted. I have no energy to accomplish anything!
Week 12 began on the Sunday after my junket to Lancaster with Bunkey. You can see her peeking through the page protector from the previous week! Sunday, March 16th, saw me out of the house. That never happens on a Sunday! Monday was Brittany's birthday and I needed to get some treats to celebrate her! Monday we woke up to snow and a delayed opening! What a great way to start the week! I made banana bread once I was home from school. Tuesday I had an appointment with my favorite doctor for my second knee injection. I am hoping that the injections will help my knee issues!
The second half of the week was much like the first. Brittany and I have been spending time after work trying to get report cards done so that I do not have to spend the weekend working on them. It is going so much quicker this marking period because I have Brittany helping me! The daffodils are coming up in the yard and I am busy trying to maintain a training schedule while working on school stuff. The small photo of the Flat Iron Building is from a post by Jess on Facebook. I just love the colors in the photo. The photo on the bottom left came from Jason's Facebook feed. On Saturday Mark and I went to The Ritz for You Can't Take it With You. We had dinner with Naya before over at Tarantella's in Medford, then drove over to Oaklyn for the show. It was a great night. It was a treat to see Naya and spend some time catching up.
Week 12 was one of those weeks. Half way between wanting spring and enjoying what is left of winter. Freezing on my way to work on Tuesday to being all kinds of warm on Saturday. It really was a fun and invigorating week!
I am going to try linking up with Jessica Turner over at The Mom Creative. On April 1st she posted about creating a baby album with Project Life. If you have baby photos laying around, this solution may work for you. If you are the least bit interested in Project Life, I encourage you to stop over at Becky Higgins' site and check out all of the inspiration! Ali Edwards' posted a completed spread today and Cathy Zielske posted her Week 12 spread here.
There is so much inspiration around. Recently I have begun to Pin Project Life spreads to a Pinterest board, as if I don't have enough ways to procrastinate already!