I first started thinking about Project Life in 2010. Actually I could just stop right after this first sentence, and the story would have already been told – or I could sum it up with this second title all on its own: “Thinking about Project Life”.
Thinking being the key word here. But thinking is not what this project is about: it is about creating. Project Life is a concept and product created by Becky Higgins to simply document your life – using divided page protectors to hold journaling cards, photos and those little bits and pieces of everyday life you want to keep and remember. Sounds easy, right?
So this is what happens: Discovering it via a blog I read. Loving the concept of collecting and storing little bits to tell my story. Pondering wether to jump in or not. Wanting to try it out. Agonizing about the shipping cost to Germany. Starting to collect little snippets anyway. Talking myself out of ordering the kit. Deciding to whip up the basics myself. Starting to let things slip and not preparing anything to make things easier. Continue collecting and writing down stories for a while anyway. Not choosing photos. Hence not printing or ordering any. And then, ten months later: Sorting through a big stack of what feels like junk, throwing away lots of memories-turned-meaningless packaging snippets, pulling together three random pages of notes and clippings. Still no photos. Deciding to do it “right” this time around. Seeing all these perfect examples of neat title pages and up-to-date week spreads on my favorite blogs. Thinking I can do this, too. (I am a designer! I love paper! I have a life!) Feeling giddy to make it happen this time around. Agonizing about not being able to order the page protectors from amazon.co.uk yet. (Laughing about their perfect name, “Type A”.) Deciding to whip up the basics myself. Letting it slip. You get the idea.
Right now on my desk: two American Crafts page protectors standing in for the “real thing”, a stack of upcycled journaling cards, some with rounded corners, some still waiting to be punched, three cards bearing content, at least a handfull of “things I want to include” that still have to be cut down, the beginning of what might or might not turn into an opening page, random pieces of paper and the feeling that this, again, will probably not turn into anything I had in mind, although I think I love this project. I really do.
This can’t only be me. Any other un-updates out there?
4 comments
Hello Johanna! Oh, can I ever relate! I have 300+ Disney pictures to put in an album! I’ve dragged my feet for more than a year, wanting to „do right“ by these anniversary photos. Finally, when I decided to use Project Life, the items I wanted were not in stock. So, now, I find myself sitting here with all kinds of inspiration, and I can’t do anything yet (waiting on page protectors, and the core kit).
My story is a little different than yours, but I am STUCK just like you!! Hope you figure it out. =) ~Sally
Thanks for sharing your story, Sally! I guess a huge stack of photos waiting to be worked with is not much unlike no photos at all. Here’s to getting over whatever is holding us back and getting it on already. Ah!
Loved reading this post of yours – thanks for your honesty. I finally bit the bullet and ordered Project Life kit from the US and had it shipped all the way to Australia a month or so ago. Over the last few days, I FINALLY finished my first spread! Woohoo! I’m so excited, and looking forward to share it on the blog. I find I need to break things down into bits that are achievable. I figured I will just do a week from now on going forward. Once I have a bit of momentum, I will then do one additional week from the beginning of the year (retrospectively). Theoretically, by June, I would have caught up. That’s something I can see myself achieving rather than doing it all in one go. Hope you can get over the hump too. Ronnie xo p.s. Found your blog via Elise’s blog!
Ronnie – the breaking things down into achievable bits part is where I am stumped, every time. I find it incredibly hard to commit to the concept of „milestones“ and taking one. step. at. a. time. But your approach sounds great! I must admit at first I thought – yeah, sounds great, but with a babe? Uh, not so sure about that. Then I found out you have an entire house full of boys running around, so … I am impressed! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts (and pointing me out to your blog – which I love).
Now if only I could decide to order the dang stuff already (or move on and stop thinking about it. There, thinking again!).
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