I think this is my fourth year of doing Project Life. For a couple of weeks I considered not doing it again, but then I asked my husband if I should continue the project. His answer was YES! He said it in a way that let me know that he really values the documentation that I do for our family. Sometimes when spending so much time on a project like this, it's easy for me to forget how important it is, especially when it gets a little tedious and boring. The first year I did this project I was OBSESSED. The second and third year I loved it, but by the end of last year it became a BIG CHORE. (I did finish 2014 though! I'm very proud of that.) Because of those feelings I wanted to hold off on starting a new year. But a few things reminded me to keep at it.
1. I am having a baby in May! Baby boy deserves to have his life documented just as much as his sister's.
2. The joy that comes with this project ebbs and flows, and even though I am in a slump right now, I keep reminding myself that I do LOVE IT. Especially the result.
3. My husband loves it. My kids will too. Already Lucy loves to thumb through the book from last year and point to pictures of herself or people she knows.
4. I am pregnant right now but I won't be pregnant forever. I have come to terms with the fact that growing a tiny human in my belly really stifles my creativity. But I remember how much I loved Project Life in the first few weeks of Lucy's life. I was crazy about it. I know I will be crazy about it in May when my son is born.
So there you go. Four reasons to keep working away on this project. And just so this whole post doesn't stay depressing, I think I should mention that working on these past few weeks from January was really, really fun. I kept it simple and easy and finished it all within one evening.
I have one big trick for keeping things easy. I am using iPhone photos almost exclusively, so I have been doing most of my photo editing and making collages using my phone! At the end of each week I go through my library, and I do the job of cropping several to 4 x 6 and lightening them up a bit in Afterlight. I use the ABeautifulMess app to make my collages. There are always several photos that I want printed smaller, so I make a collage of two photos in a 4 x 6 spread.
I've been sticking with my plan from last year to use just one or two colors on each week. This is another tip that keeps everything easy and fast. The first week I mostly used pink and red, and the second week I used blue and grey.
I love that this book gives me a place to keep track of Lucy milestones and bits of memorabilia such as the ultrasound photo of my son. I also like to add fun things like our "Crafternoon" invitation or the map to the local zoo.
On this last page I did not have enough photos to fill an entire spread, so I just cut the last 12 x 12 page protector in half. I love to alter page protectors to make them work for me.
Here's to another year of life documentation! I am excited that I've gotten a good start and now feel inspired to keep this going. Thanks for taking a look!
