Project Life

Project Life...capturing big stories, little moments, instagrams & tweets and everything in between...but more importantly...getting to play with washi tape :) Photos can be clicked on for more details if you're reading from the actual website...

I think somehow it's wired into my DNA to take a tonne of photos, and write about the stories behind them. It probably comes from losing someone very close to me, and now looking back I'm realising a lot of the stories behind their photos are gone...and there's very little I can do to piece them back together. I've also loved photography since I got my first camera...(in the Barbie show bag at the Bendigo Show!)...and I think I will always be trying in some way to learn how to take/edit better photos. It also doesn't hurt that I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to messing around with Photoshop and digital photography :) SO...all those things led me to two projects. One, starting this blog...and two...exploring Project Life.

Project Life is described here...on the official website, by Becky Higgins who invented the concept...which has taken off like crazy worldwide and is hugely popular. In a nutshell, you get plastic pages made up of little pockets in different configurations. If you want to keep it simple and do it the way it was designed, you buy or print the cards that slot into some pockets...slide your photos into the other pockets...grab a pen and write whatever you want to say on the cards...and you end up with a photo album that's more than just photos but doesn't involve scissors or glue or anything complicated at all. The official card kits come in a huge amount of different designs, they all co-ordinate and it looks sweet when you put everything together. You can do it 100% on `paper'...100% digital in a photo book...or a mash up of both.

(some things are blurred because I'm not sharing every story or photo online :)

However, it's described in a very scrapbooking/memory-keeping way...which is what it was designed for originally and that's great if that's your thing (you will seriously love it if this is what you do.) But, I also think the point needs to be made that it can really be anything you make it. If you're not into the idea of scrapbooking or the concept intimidates you...and you want to do it 100% your way...with indie designed cards...or you want to get creative with washi tape & a vintage typewriter....instagram photos....chevron/neon...black and white with pops of fuchsia...write heaps, write nothing...do it once a week...or only a few times a year...for an event like a trip or 50th birthday...or a month of your life...stop and start as much as you like, you can make it whatever you want.

I've tried it 100% digital (still working on that, from last year) and now I'm trying a bit of a mixture of both...let's be honest...because I just want an excuse to use my washi tape collection & stickers/glue/pens ;) There are pros and cons to both ways of doing it...and sometimes I get frustrated and hate my handwriting & can't be bothered rounding corners and I start to lean towards 100% digital designs printed on photo paper slid into every pocket....purposely making it really simple. On the flipside, I love the look of handwriting, the texture of staples & card (I'm printing onto the back of old calendars!) & tape...and when I look back it really feels more personal when I do it this way. I will always be too busy to keep up with capturing what I want from each month as it passes...this I just have to get used to...being `all caught up' can't ever be the goal. But, I love browsing all the new designs that get released...finding the indie ones...making my own...using business cards and random packaging that I pick up along the way...I'm just enjoying being creative in a way that's not just digital/Photoshop...and getting stories written down.

Most of all, I love just looking back on stuff I would've forgotten about had I not written about it. I use the Momento app to go back through old tweets, Luke's instagrams, stuff my sisters say on Facebook...just anything I feel like including. I love it when my family picks up the pages & start browsing and they remind me of things I've forgotten....the different perspectives & conversations it brings up. I just wish I'd done it sooner...

Shopping for Project Life by country here. Official digital store here. My favourite indie designers & different approaches to the concept etc on future posts :)

You might also like: Bizoo Zine & November Around Here.

Create, Life, Project LifePetit Pixel17 April 2013