I HAVE BEEN ATTEMPTING PROJECT LIFE FOR A FEW YEARS NOW - I GET A FEW PAGES DONE, BUT THEN LOOSE THE MOMENTUM - ALL EXCEPT FOR THIS YEAR, I AM STILL GOING STRONG AND I AM IN JUNE!! WHAT CHANGED? WHAT WORKS?
HERE IS MY PROCESS.... AND THIS IS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS, SOME HAVE EVEN MORPHED FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, THIS IS WHAT IS WORKING NOW (FOR ME)....
THINGS TO NOTE:
- I USE BORDERS ALMOST ALWAYS
- I USE PHOTO TEMPLATES I HAVE CREATED (I HAVE SHARED THEM BELOW)
- I USE 1 DIGITAL KIT PRIMARILY EACH MONTH
I KEEP A NOTEBOOK BY MY BED. I JOT DOWN DAILY SOMETHING I WANT TO REMEMBER ABOUT MY DAY. IT COULD BE A NOTE ABOUT A PHOTO THAT I TOOK, OR WHAT THE KIDS WERE DOING, OR SOMETHING SPECIAL. ANYTHING THAT WILL HELP ME REMEMBER IN A NUTSHELL WHAT WE DID THAT WEEK. THEN SUNDAY WHEN I SIT DOWN TO DO MY WEEK, (OR MORE IMPT, IF I GET BEHIND), I PULL OUT THE NOTEBOOK, REVIEW MY WEEK, AND START MY JOURNAL CARD FOR THE WEEK. I CHOOSE ONE FROM THIS MONTH'S STORYTELLER KIT, I PULL IT INTO PS, ADD A LAYER FOR MY JOURNALING, AND THEN I PRINT THAT OUT ON MY CANNON MATTE PHOTO 4X6 PAPER.
NEXT I GRAB MY PHOTOS. (I HAVE 2 KINDS)
- PHONE PHOTOS: I HAVE EVERYTHING UPLOAD TO DROPBOX, AND THEN I SEARCH MY CAMERA UPLOADS BY DATE..IE. "2014-06" JUST GIVES ME ALL MY JUNE PICS.
- SPECIAL LAYOUTS USING MY BIG CAMERA
WITH PS OPEN, I SEARCH DROPBOX FOR MY CAMERA SHOTS. (NOTE THROUGH-OUT THE WEEK, IF MY CHILD POSTS SOMETHING I LIKE ON INSTAGRAM, OR A TEXT CONVERSATION, I SCREENSHOT - THESE ALL GET AUTOMATICALLY UPLOADED TO DROP BOX). IF WE DID SOMETHING SPECIAL - OR I AM ACTUALLY WORKING ON MY CY365 THAT WEEK, I WILL ALSO OPEN THE FOLDER FOR MY RECENT CAMERA SHOTS AND HAVE ALL PHOTOS IN FRONT OF ME.
TYPICALLY I DO A WEEK PER PAGE - NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH A WEEK PER 2-PAGE SPREAD. IT WILL ALL DEPEND ON THE PHOTOS I HAVE.
I USE WHITE BORDERS FOR EVERYTHING, (TO ME IT KEEP THINGS CLEAN AND ORGANIZED) SO I HAVE THESE TEMPLATES I CREATED IN PS. I CLIP MY PHOTOS TO THE SQUARES.
THIS STARTED MOSTLY TO SAVE MONEY IN PRINTING, BECAUSE I WILL CLIP 2 PHOTOS OR A JOURNAL CARD & PHOTO TO THE 6X4 2_BOXES_1 TEMPLATE. CUT THEM INTO 2 3X4 SIZES AND PUT INTO THE 2 POCKETS.
I PRINT AS I GO, AND STICK IN POCKETS AS I GO. IF I HAVE EMPTY SPACES IF THE WEEK IS COMPLETE I WILL PULL OUT SOME OF MY FILLER CARDS, CREATE FILLER CARDS, OR JUST PLAY WITH MY SUPPLIES TO ADD SOMETHING. EVERY WEEK IS DIFFERENT, THAT'S WHAT I LOVE. AND IF I HAVE 3 PHOTOS FOR ONE DAY - THAT IS FINE, AND SOME DAYS HAVE NONE. NO WORRIES.
BELOW IS ANOTHER WEEK IN OUR LIFE. I STARTED WITH MY JC. - USED MY MIDDLE ROW ALL FOR MY DAUGHTER'S 6TH GRADE GRADUATION <TIP> SCAN THE BIG THINGS THAT DONT FIT, OR THAT YOU WILL WANT TO USE LATER IN A FULL LAYOUT. THE ACTUAL DOCUMENT WILL GO IN SAMMY'S ALBUM. (THE TEMPLATES WERE A HUGE HELP IN ALLOWING ME TO ADD EXTRA PHOTOS OF HER FRIENDS. <TIP> I HAVE HEARD OF THE POCKET PAGE FLIPS THAT ALSO ALLOW EXTRA PHOTOS TO BE ADDED I DO NOT HAVE THEM YET - BUT BE SURE YOU WILL BE SEEING SOME SOON.
I HAVE A PHOTO AND A LITTLE NOTE TO MY HUBBY FOR FATHERS DAY... I DONT CARE THAT I JOURNALED OVER ME - IT IS ALL ABOUT HIM...AND THE LAST ROW IS JUST ABOUT SUNDAY AND THE MISHAPS OF THE DAY. (NO WHITE BORDERS ON THE FIRST PIC, I PRINTED THAT RIGHT FROM MY IPHONE). EASY PEASY WEEK, ANYTHING ELSE I WANTED TO SAY I CAPTURED IN THE JOURNAL CARD.
(AND NO WORRIES, MY STEP SON WAS FINE - JUST PRECAUTIONARY AFTER HE HIT A TREE WHILE RIDING HIS DIRT BIKE)