Project Life 2020 (folders)
 

So does everyone have plans to PL in 2020 as well?

I am going to try at least. This year has gone even slower than usual, but most weeks are at least partially done and a lot are done, but missing text.

Anyways, I made myself folders for 2020 to organise my photos and don't mind sharing. Just let me know if you want them and I'll email them to you.

I just started on this year; I couldn't make up my mind what I wanted to do. I am using Erica's Stiched Grids, and I have January photos in templates & am almost finished scrapping November. I got started with Jan because it's the first month, but I needed to feel like I had accomplished something, so I scrapped November since it was fresh.

2020, though, is still up in the air for me. I'm leaning towards using the app and making it really simple, but I can't imagine doing it on my phone because of the small screen. Plus I want to use all the pretty kits!

I tried to simplify and just do it on the ipad, but no matter how "simple and clean" I try to keep my layouts, it turns out I always need this or that embellishment. Just stick with what you know and use all the pocket cards you can come across to fill the gaps. And in a pinch you can always use a pretty paper and layer one of the awesome stamps from the shop on top of it.

Hello,

Can you send me your folders? Doing a PL is on my bucket list and I wanted to try it for the first time.

Thanks!

latrisse

I was going to try it - I always try it the first few weeks of the year, but after reviewing my photos from last year, I just don't take enough photos or our family does anything "enjoyable" to document those everyday life. So once again, I'll sit on the sidelines and watch you all document your life! :wub:

Every year I start strong and fizzle out by March. This year I will try again. Still deciding on layouts and kits but I am taking photos.

Stil doing 2020 PL. I have some weeks that I need to clean up in 2019 PL and hoping, crossing all of my fingers on my hands and feet :p that I will finish it soon so I could print it.

Wendy! I KNOW you can do this! One benefit of the project is that it makes you think more intentionally about taking photos, about finding those little moments that would normally just breeze by, and celebrating the ordinary. Don't sit on the sidelines! Come on in, the water is fine!!

I give myself a full year to finish up any pages from the year before I print anything. So right now, I'm working on the holiday/last quarter of 2018. That way I can work on two years simultaneously, which I find more freeing and enjoyable. I also find "new" things to scrap when I wait a bit--sometimes time and distance clarifies what events/photos were truly memorable. (I do usually do my PL pages in a more timely manner--especially the journaling part. Sometimes I just put in my photos + words and wait to kit it out until the right thing comes along. I print my PL and regular pages together-it's those regular pages that slow me down, lol!)

Great job getting it almost done!

You can always do monthly layouts instead of weeklies, that way you don't need as many pictures for each layout.

I'm still working on finishing my pages with the right kit for about the last quarter of the year, then I have journaling for about 5 months, but I'm down to a handful of weeks now and will have my books ordered within the end of January.

Would you sen me a pm with your email
address and I'll send them to you.

Can we chat about how you keep your project life simple?

Do you use the same template every week, the same style of template (same designer) or do you switch them up?

How do you choose a kit for each spread?

How much journalling do you do? Do you journal for every single photo? Do you use journal cards or type on the photos?

These are the things I get hung up on every year and I really want to do it this year. I'm thinking of using Erica's templates and maybe using one themed kit for the whole month. Any suggestions and thoughts are appreciated.

I pretty much use Erica's templates every week. I have my favorites saved with my particular shadows, sizes, etc, and I use them over and over again.

For kits, I use whatever seems to work. I enjoy the challenge of making non-project life kits work for my weekly spreads, but there are plenty of kits that work perfectly without all the effort, lol!

I do not journal for every photo. I usually write up the "story" of the week and if my photos match it, that's great. Sometimes, they just act as background to fill in the gaps. I try to talk about how I was doing and feeling that week as well as what we did. Sometimes, when there isn't much to say, I'll add things about the weather, current events, or funny conversations we had.

When it gets overwhelming, I just start filling templates with photos and journaling. I use the same calendar cards for the whole year (Ru has a great set!) and I plug in what I do know I want. Sometimes the pages wait for weeks before the right kit comes along, or I figure out what I want to use.

I think the key to making it simple is to make it YOURS. Your PL doesn't have to be like anyone else's. Please your own sensibilities and tastes, and it will become clear what to do. It does get easier with practice--I've been doing this for 10 years now, about half of that digitally, and they are my easiest pages to make now.

Thanks Allyanne,

I think what I struggle with is that I love consistency but I also get bored very easily. I want the album to look coherent while still being able to change it up as I feel like it. I think I will just start today and see where I go.

I also use Erica's templates. Have done for all my years of PL. I use the ones saved with shadows like I want them and I have the same calendar cards I always use, the same weekly (numbers) cards I use and the same journaling cards I use for my journaling. Then when I need to change it up a little I'll add a frame or just use some pretty paper to that "slot".

As far as finding kits, I often end up using my favourites for years, but try to avoid the same for more than two spreads per year. A nice little trick I learned this year is to make the photos that doesn't have the right colour to match the kit or a colour that is horribly off against the kit, just make it black & white.

I start out great and then nothing. There are only so many photos of my dog and trails that one can put in an album without it all looking the same, lol.

I still have 2015 to finish, 2016 is done and printed. 2017 started, 2018 I think is started and 2019 I have Jan/Feb done.

My problem is I start one way and then decide I want a different style so redo and on the back burner it goes. Perfect example is my trip to Ireland in 2017, I have restarted it 3 times because I keep changing my mind on how I want it to look. :crying::cursing::o

Done is better than perfect! GO ahead and switch up your style mid-way through. That sort of thing documents how YOU are changing and growing, so it's totally legit!

Jaye, that is exactly what I do and then I stop taking the photos so I can't go back and do it later if I want to! Are you trying again? Let's keep each other going!

I'm going to try this year! I'm determined to finish it.

I'm starting 2020! I actually haven't finished a year since Teddy was born... but I LOVE looking back to all the years before that! Ha.

I'm going to do it this year!! But only one 12x12 layout a week. I'm not advanced enough for a two page spread!!! Maybe in 2021 :)

How are you all going with 2020? I'm still keeping up so that is a good start! This week was a bit light on for photos but we have a family BBQ this afternoon and I'll fill up my page with the kids.

I did all seven weeks this week so I'm current until Monday. :p

I tried so hard to be cool & original & different but I ended up going with Design A pocket pages with one kit per 2-page weekly spread & minimal elements. Whatever works, right?!

It's been more of a struggle this year, I ain't gonna lie. I changed up my format, and while I love the result, it takes much longer to make my layouts. Also, I haven't been able to get very interesting photos this year, which is disappointing. My son no longer does anything cute (and he makes wretched faces at me thinking he's hilarious) and we have had ugly weather. And we've been sick. I've scrapped some of that, but I'm looking forward to spring for sure! I am caught up through week 6.

I'm finished with weeks 1-7. Just sat down to get my week 8 photos & journaling done.
And I did finish all 52 weeks of photo placement & journaling from last year, now "just" need to catch up with papers & embellishments.

I'm totally just jumping in here bc I'm not sure where to ask this but I've been away from the scrapping scene for years and came back to discover PL and pocket scrapping, which I'm totally digging. I love the journal cards and simplicity, but like someone else mentioned, I can't seem to resist playing with it just a bit. :/

I'm curious, though - for one year, do you use one main kit to keep a consistent color scheme or do you switch it up? I was thinking of using one main kit (though I can't seem to stop myself from grabbing from other ones, which always takes more time) but then doing different individual kits for pages I'm elaborating on, such as holidays, trips, birthdays, fun hikes, etc.

Anyone have any thoughts or ideas on that? Or what's worked for you?

Also curious - what are some of the kits you've found to work really well for this style of scrapping?

I use a different kit each week of the year. Or at least most weeks of the year--sometimes I do repeat, but it seems that I usually pick a different grouping of cards & elements to use. My page layout is really almost the same through the whole book, so that's where it feels consistent...kits & colors are anything goes! That's what's working for me.

I love having lots of non-themed, general "happy life" kits to choose from. I save a separate copy of the pocket card previews in a folder all together so if I have very few photos in a week, I can easily choose a kit that has a lot of cards I'd like to use to fill all those empty spots ;)

I still haven't started scrapping 2020, but I am finished with Jan-April & Nov-Dec of 2019, so I'm patting myself on the back for that!

Of all the different pocket style albums I've ever made, my favorite is the year I did digital cards, printed them & put them in pocket protectors & added layouts in different sizes to go in between the pocket style page protectors.

My hold up in documenting my year pocket style is that I can't use all the new things, like Cindy & Crystal's templates and all the kits. It just limits what I can scrap if I'm not scrapping the events in my life traditionally. And that makes me sad. So I just keep avoiding making a decision.

For 2019, I'm using Erica's album & stitches and a different kit for each month, though I'll scrap a two page event with a different kit if the photos don't match the colors in the month kit.

What really frustrates me, though, is finding cards that are generic fillers. Most cards match the theme of the kit, and while that's great for using them in a layout that fits the theme, it makes it harder to fit them into a yearly album of pocket pages.