Project Life/365 is a long-term documentary project in which you take pictures or ephemera from everyday life and you organize into a 52 week format. The idea is to shed some light and get a glimpse of the day-to-day happenings of your life.
Before I launch into a oratory about my approach to Project Life for 2012, I would be amiss if I wasn't forthright with the following confession . . .
I am a Project 365/Life dropout.
Not once.
Not twice.
But thrice.
I have started the project at the beginning of each year, starting back in 2009 and each year, I found myself fizzling out halfway through the year because simply life gets busy or I end up getting overwhelmed or I forget to document a few days because I did not have a camera with me.
According to Chase Jarvis, a photographer,
"the best camera is the one you've got with you"
and so since I always have my phone with me, I have vowed to document something even if it is just with my phone camera.
2011 was my best year yet and I did managed to complete 8 months ending with the month of August. Yes, I did quit the project, but I am determined to finish the 8 months I did complete. I still have the daunting task of printing all the photos and filling in all the journaling cards, but in time, I WILL get it done. Last year, I did Project Life with the Becky Higgins project kit. As soon as I get it complete (which is looking more like maybe the end of February - you have no idea how many projects I need to get caught up on!), I will share some excerpts from it.
With 2012, I wanted to take a little bit of a simpler approach to Project LIfe. I have always been a fan of coffee table albums and books. I have made some for clients and I think they look quite stunning. And so, this year I decided to do Project Life designing each page digitally and building the book using the Booksmart software from Blurb. I have had several friends make family histories, blog books, and photography books using Blurb. The books have high-quality printing and binding. and they look like a book you would purchase from a bookstore. They are beautiful.
Reasons for going this route are:
- it simplifies the process, I do not need to print and cut pictures, I do not need to worry about adhesive or writing journaling cards, or where to store all the stuff I need to complete the project
- I love the look and feel of a coffee table book better
- I can change the layout of the book as I please, arranging the images in various different ways and the way I document
Some of the items that I am using for the book are:
- templates I have created on my own for clients
- Cathy Zielske's 52 Weeks
- Cathy Zielske's Layered Template 87
- AE SImple Series Layered Template No. 1
- Words and Photos 6x12 Layered Templates
- Week In the Life Daily Tabs
- Turquoise Edition Title and Filler Cards
- Epic Kit by Paislee Press and One Little Bird Designs
- Photobooth Kit By Paislee Press
Here is a look at what the cover will look like:
It will be a hardcover, image wrapped book with a matte finish.
Here is a look at the title page:
The title page will be followed by interview pages which will feature a current photo of each individual family member and answers to interview questions based on this found at 30 Handmade Days:
I haven't had a moment to interview my individual family members but will add these pages when I get a moment.
After the interview pages, the documentation of each week will begin.
Here is week 1:
and here is week 2:
Hopefully with this new approach, I will make amends for my Project Life dropout history and actually become a Project Life graduate, completing a book for 2012 which will be treasured by Ryan and myself, my kids, and future generations.
