How to start a Project Life album?

WHAT IS PROJECT LIFE?

Project Life, a concept invented by American Becky Higgins, is a simple and creative way of highlighting your memories. Like a logbook or diary, it retraces your everyday life week by week, month by month.

The aim is to create one album a year, so you can keep a record of your life. You can include all the elements of your daily life in your Project Life album: a family outing, a weekend in a capital city, your child's first steps, a meal with friends, your creations... All the memories you wish to record will have their place in your Project Life album.

What sets Project Life apart from other methods, such as scrapbooking, is its simplicity: all you need is a binder, pockets, cards and your photos. Of course, there's nothing to stop you embellishing your album by adding decorative elements(badges, stickers, masking tape, ink stamps, etc.). It's up to you to let your imagination and creative juices flow!

So if you're wondering how to make a project life album, read our data sheet and this creative activity will hold no more secrets for you!

Here's a video that explains the Project Life concept in less than two minutes.

WHAT MATERIALS ARE NEEDED FOR PROJECT LIFE?

How do you choose your Project Life album?

There are several album formats. At Beads & Co, we offer a classic 30x30 cm format, ideal for mixing photos, text and other decorations.

How do I choose Project Life pockets?

The pockets you choose depend on the format of the binder.

There are a number of different designs for pockets: a greater or lesser number of compartments in different shapes and sizes. These sleeves can be mixed and matched, so it's up to you to decide how you want your album to look.

How do I choose my Project Life cards?

There is a wide variety of Project Life cards. There are sets with different themes. These are ideal for saving time and creating harmony as you build your album.

With the album, sleeves and cards, you've got everything you need to start your album. If you wish, you can personalize your project with embellishments.

HOW TO START A PROJECT LIFE?

Ready to embark on your Project Life adventure? Here are our 10 tips to get you started and keep you motivated throughout this creative challenge!

Tip 1 - Start with a simple project

To get started, it's essential to set reasonable objectives, such as starting with a Project Life about your next trip abroad or your next summer vacation.

Once you've tested the concept, you can embark on a Project Life that records your daily life.

Tip n°2 - Take photos every day and sort them every week

Your cell phone is your best ally in Project Life! Remember to save your photos on your computer each week, organizing them into folders. This will save you a lot of time.

Tip 3 - Write down and keep EVERYTHING!

Every day, write down an anecdote or a pleasant memory in a dedicated notebook, on your phone or in your diary.

All this writing will help you prepare the "journaling" part of your Project Life album. This is made up of photos and text. So, take note of your youngest's amusing phrase, the recipe for the cake you tried out, or a quote from a book you particularly enjoyed.

At the same time, to give your album a personal touch, remember to keep everyday papers: cinema or concert tickets, a transport ticket from a foreign city, a postcard you've received, and so on.

Tip 4 Plan a time each week dedicated to Project Life

This shouldn't be seen as a constraint - quite the contrary! It's a time for you, a ritual where you'll enjoy reliving the little moments of happiness of the past week.

Tip n°5 - Be assiduous and plan ahead!

Project Life requires a certain regularity if you've chosen to do one double-page spread per week. To avoid falling too far behind and getting discouraged, make sure you don't fall too far behind.

When you're on vacation or have time on your hands, you can prepare boxes in advance.

There are several events during the year that you can anticipate (birthdays, New Year's Eve, vacations, etc.).

Tip 6 - Give yourself a theme

You can also turn Project Life into a themed logbook.

• For cooks: showcase your recipes and photos of your dishes,
• For bead-makers: showcase your creations: images of your sources of inspiration, materials, photos of the different stages, the final result, your impressions, the difficulties you encountered, like a designer's logbook,
• For moms: tell us about your children's progress week after week,
• For knitters: keep track of all your knitting projects (your creations, your samples, the strips of balls you've used).

Tip 7 - Keep it simple

To avoid getting discouraged as the weeks go by, the best advice is to keep things simple and to the point! Use ready-made cards, write down a memory in a few lines, choose just a few embellishments...

Tip n°8 Choose a harmony

Your Project Life album needs to maintain a certain harmony throughout its pages. To achieve this, you can choose to use cards from the same collection throughout the album. This way, you're sure to maintain harmony of color and design - and it saves you time, too!

If you want to create your own cards, choose your own colors and limit yourself to a maximum of 3.

Tip 9 Print your own photos

Photos are the heart of Project Life, and the quickest and easiest way is to print them at home. That way, you save yourself the hassle of going to the photo store every week.

Tip n°10 Store your Project Life equipment in a box

In your workshop (if you're lucky enough to have one) create a storage space dedicated to Project Life. In this box or crate, you'll store all the necessary materials (card, embellishments, stamps, pens and markers). It'll make your work easier every week.

We hope this introduction to Project Life has inspired you to get started. It'll be so satisfying to look at your albums and recall all those lovely memories.

We love to see what you've been up to... So don't hesitate to send us photos of your albums on our Facebookpage or tag us on Instagram #perlesandco.