My Project Life Adventure Begins

My Project Life Adventure Begins

I’m pretty excited about this. As if you couldn’t tell.

For those of you on the Project Life train already, how do you like it? What’s your favorite part about it? Any hints for the newbies?

And for those of you like me, who are just starting to dabble, where you at with it? So happy we’re in it together. It makes it so much cooler!

And lastly, if you’re scratching your head thinking, “Wait, Tracey is scrapbooking? What is going on over here?” let me just say that I’m as surprised as you are. But hey, new adventures can be fun and I’m really looking forward to this one. I will be sharing my process as I go so if you want to join me, I would love that! Leave comments, leave links, share your story, your thoughts, your process. You can also join me in my class Picture Everyday where the last week will actually be about getting our lovely photos off of the computer and into Project Life pages. Woohoo! It’s going to be awesome.

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28 Comments
  • Katie {Sweet Rose Studio}
    Posted at 10:06h, 20 August Reply

    Tracey! You will love and adore Project Life. I just started my first PL album in April and I’m hooked already. I put together a series on my blog helping the newbies out, in case you’re looking for any direction. 🙂 Also, I can’t wait to hear you speak at Click Retreat!

    http://sweetrosestudio.com/project-life-for-beginners

    • Tracey
      Posted at 11:22h, 20 August Reply

      Thanks Katie! And yay, see you at Click!

  • Faye
    Posted at 10:13h, 20 August Reply

    I spent many years as a traditional scrapbooker and when I look back at my albums, I love every one of them, but I also see (and remember vividly) the stress I put myself under to make sure that I had just the right paper and just the right embellishment and all the painstakingly difficult layouts I did. They are works of art, no doubt about it – BUT when I look at my last three years of doing Project Life albums, I love them even more than my traditional albums. I don’t do a “picture a day” – I just use PL as our yearly recap album of everything we did that year. When we take a big vacation, I put a note in the yearly album that says “too many pictures of ____ trip, so a separate album was created”, and then I do a PL album of that vacation. (or now I am in the process of doing a PL album for my son’s wedding last year). Project Life (to me) – means that our life is documented, I had a blast doing it, yet the stress is gone. Which is good! 🙂

    • Tracey
      Posted at 11:24h, 20 August Reply

      What a great comment Faye. I love that you found a way to do it that’s stress free. Sometimes it takes a while to find a good strategy. Sounds like you found yours!

  • Sharon
    Posted at 10:41h, 20 August Reply

    Oh my word, I so enjoyed watching this video Tracey. I am also a newbie to PL and like yourself, squealed, oooh’d and aah’d when I received my first set of cards as a birthday gift from my daughter. Mine is the BLUSH card kit as I just love Pink! I am sitting with old albums of photographs taken over the years and they are a real mess, taking up way too much space on the shelf in my cupboard. I’ve been inspired by another blog friend in South Africa who is a regular Project Lifer…lol… to tackle this journey and methinks I’m gonna LIKE it!!!!! Good luck as you start your journey too, I’ll be popping around to see what you’ve created. I’ll be sharing some pics of my PL pages on my blog soon too. Take care, Sharon

    • Tracey
      Posted at 11:25h, 20 August Reply

      Sharon, so glad to have another newbie here. : ) Here’s to our adventure!

  • Elaine Clark
    Posted at 10:44h, 20 August Reply

    I am so excited too! I just got my first Project Life kit in the mail on Monday and I am so thrilled to start printing my photos and getting them documented! I, like so many, have been a traditional scrapbooker for years. However, I know have 4 children 7-12 years old and just don’t have the time to devote to it as I did before. New chapter is right! I can’t wait!

    • Tracey
      Posted at 11:26h, 20 August Reply

      Perfect timing Elaine. Glad we’re in it together!

  • Heather Johnson
    Posted at 11:10h, 20 August Reply

    So excited to see what happens for you! I absolutely ADORE Project Life, it was the thing that spurred me into getting all of my photos off of my computer–and when I look back on it now (I have managed to do it every week since Jan 2012) I can honestly say it’s the coolest thing I have ever done–and stuck to! In yesterday’s post on my blog I linked up to a couple of posts I have written where I talked about tips, feel free to check it out: http://hgjphotography.com/digital-project-life-2013-week-thirty-one/
    I do mine digitally, but a lot of what I said applies to either method, digital or traditional. Project Life really packs the one-two punch of creative time for mom and at the same time creates a wonderful keepsake for the family. I also have another post that talks about how you can mix digital and physical inserts (you will find soon enough that printing at a weekly pace, if that’s the route you go, can be overwhelming) here: http://hgjphotography.com/digital-project-life-2013-how-a-digital-girl-embraced-physical-inserts/
    If you have any questions at all, I am happy to help. I seriously have “converted” many a friend to this system!

    • Tracey
      Posted at 11:27h, 20 August Reply

      Heather, you’re a gem. Can’t wait to check out what you’re sharing on your blog. The idea of mixing digital with physical sounds awesome. Thanks for sharing!

  • Audrey
    Posted at 11:27h, 20 August Reply

    I quit scrapping somewhere in 2008/2009 in favor of quilting. I just didn’t have the time (or money) to devote to both hobbies and quilting just became front and center. I’ve been wanting to scrapbook again for a while but didn’t want to fuss with everything a traditional scrapbook entails. Enter Project Life. Since I dove in in the middle in of the year I just started then. I’m not doing anything in particular, just scrapping what feels right and the freedom that gives me is awesome. I love it!!

    • Tracey
      Posted at 11:28h, 20 August Reply

      Audrey, I totally relate and am drawn to the idea of “feeling” it and just letting it happen. Freedom is the key word! Thanks so much for your comment.

  • Suzanne O'Brien
    Posted at 11:52h, 20 August Reply

    Oh my gosh, you are too cute! Loved the video and when I saw you are working with the SeaFoam edition had to share this shot with you:

    http://www.suzanneobrienstudio.com/2013/01/january-just-us-twelve-times/

    Happy creating Tracey!

    • Tracey
      Posted at 13:08h, 24 August Reply

      Love that Suzanne! Thanks for sharing!

  • Therese
    Posted at 12:59h, 20 August Reply

    I am a seasoned Project Lifer and I love it! The best part for me is going back through the books – to check a date or to assure myself that indeed we do other things besides work and school 🙂 I also love when my teenagers go through the books and laugh at a random memory or ask me a question about a picture.
    So glad you are joining us in this wonderful memory making project.

    • Tracey
      Posted at 13:08h, 24 August Reply

      Thanks Therese!

  • Karen Schmidt
    Posted at 13:24h, 20 August Reply

    I order PL a couple back in 2011 in hopes it would jump start me scrapping again but I have not started it yet. I have all the photos printed and in a storage binder. I hate the fact its just sitting there doing nothing. I have 4 busy children ages 5,6,8 & 16. I really need to get started with it maybe this will be my jump start tagging along with you. Hope you don’t mind me tagging along. all the kids will be in school this year of I’m planning on taking days off of work just to finish up scrapbook projects I’ve started but never finished. Good luck with PL

    • Tracey
      Posted at 13:09h, 24 August Reply

      Karen, YES! Tag along! Please. : )

  • Libbi M.
    Posted at 13:57h, 20 August Reply

    Super excited for you. I have been doing project life for over 3 years and I absolutely love it. I am super happy you choose the seafoam kit. Just remember ‘keeping it simple’ is key. I love Elise Blaha Cripe’s style and I love that she keeps it simple. Can’t wait to see your pages. Have fun.

  • Robin Gibson
    Posted at 14:14h, 20 August Reply

    SOOOOO cute watching you open the boxes! That’s EXACTLY how I looked when I opened my first kit (uh, and every other one that’s followed, lol)!! I am soooo addicted to it! What do I love about it? (What’s not to love?) It is soooo super easy, and fast. I am accomplishing something! Rarely do I get to say that! I love that it’s beautifully designed. I am totally happy using it as it is. But if I have time or the inclination, I can add some more embellishment too! It’s all good!
    My favorite thing about PL…It helps me appreciate my life more. I absolutely LOVE going back to see what we’ve done this year. Who we’ve shared our life with, what things we’ve done, the places we’ve been, our home, all of it! So much so, that I have bought other editions to get my photos off my computer, and into books! SUPER excited to be doing this!
    My 2 big tips would be to:
    1: pick a printing method that works for you. I tried home printing at first and found I got too wrapped up in playing with photos and not getting them actually printed and in the book, lol. Not that I don’t enjoy editing and printing at home. But reality for me is that I’m fine with most of my everyday photos. So, now I batch print, and I have plenty to work with and stay caught up to within a couple of weeks.
    2: Don’t stress over how to do it. As Nike states, lol…Just do it. Who cares if it’s daily, weekly, monthly, or even in any chronological order. The important thing is to have fun with it!
    The Virgo in me really likes things in order. So I decided to do a weekly method. Keeping in mind that my primary goal is to record & appreciate our life more, this works for me. I LOVE to review our book! Our friend’s LOVE to see themselves in our book. Even with that though, I have become more flexible about ‘weekly’. I’m mostly very happy that our life is getting documented. So some weeks have a few spreads, sometimes a one side page takes care of a couple of weeks. I think this just reflects real life though. Sometimes more is happening than at others, you know? And it’s all good.
    Soooo excited to see how this comes together for you! I JUST signed up yesterday for Picture Everyday, and bookmarked your blog! So this is perfect timing! Love your site, btw. And very, very excited for Picture Everyday:)
    I have been reviewing the tip sheets, learning SO much already! I can’t wait to see how PL works for you, and your kids!
    And, sorry for babbling. I was definitely not blessed with brevity skills, lol. I do ramble when I’m excited:)

  • Tracey
    Posted at 15:39h, 20 August Reply

    I’ve been using PL for a few years now and absolutely love it! My favorite things about it:
    I was never a scrapbooker- just not my thing, but I LOVE all things paper/stationary. The designs of the PL cards etc feeds that love 🙂
    I love having a spot for all of the little bits and bobs from my kids- from artwork, notes from teachers, ribbons whatever… having it with the photos just makes sense!
    My boys love going through the albums- I’m woefully behind right now, but it’s so easy to catch up and just do your own thing!

  • Terrena
    Posted at 16:25h, 20 August Reply

    I have been scrapbooking for years and love it. I just recently added Project Life so I could utilize more photos to tell about my life in one ‘layout’. Good luck and have fun!!!!!

  • Betty
    Posted at 16:34h, 20 August Reply

    What a great video, I have been doing Project Life for a couple of years and may have reacted much the same when I received my Seafoam core kit. The beauty is, it can be anything you want it to be, can’t wait to follow your piece of family art.

  • Annette
    Posted at 05:51h, 21 August Reply

    Tracey you have no idea how awesome you are! Just love this! Love your excitement and cannot wait to see what you do!

  • Marie-Pierre
    Posted at 07:36h, 21 August Reply

    Hi Tracey!! 🙂
    I’m sure your album will be gorgeous with your beautiful pictures!! I’m eager to see which direction you take: simply put pictures and journaling cards in the pockets or as you said in the video if you’re going to go artsy with glue and scissors. Either way it will be a beautiful album to cherish for years!! I’m doing PL since three years in addition to traditional scrapbook pages and I love both ways of memory keeping as much! If you want to check out my blog, I just made a blog post with my process and my way of staying up to date with my PL album. It’s here: http://mpcapistran.blogspot.com/2013/08/project-life-how-to-be-caught-up-weeks.html?m=1
    Have fun!!!! 🙂 that’s the most important thing!!!
    Oh and I loved your idea of doing it with your girls! It would be awesome if all together you could fill the album with the photos you each like and your own journaling cards. 🙂
    Marie

  • Marina D-K
    Posted at 15:04h, 24 August Reply

    I just love your enthusiasm! I’m doing PL for my 2nd year. While I also do traditional pages I just love that PL allows me to document more of our everyday stories and include some of the little bits of our lives. I’m South Bay local so if you ever need a buddy I’d be happy to do some memory-keeping along side you! =)

  • Diving into Project Life with Another Video | Tracey Clark
    Posted at 13:47h, 02 September Reply

    […] appreciate all of your kind comments and encouragement on my first Project Life video post. I’m excited knowing so many of you are doing something like Project Life for yourselves […]

  • elise
    Posted at 16:36h, 03 September Reply

    how fun to see this!! So happy to hear you love seafoam. 🙂

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