Maybe you've heard of it...

Project Life. Becky Higgins---part of the original Creating Keepsakes team---developed this concept a few years ago.  Janet, mom and I met her on a scrapbook cruise in the early 2000's. It was in the early days of scrapbooking. She was newly married and had no children. She was working on her book---Sketches for Scrapbooking---I remember seeing it in the rough. She was quiet, shy and very sweet. We liked her right away. I've followed her blog for years.

Project Life. I never thought I would do it. I wasn't interested. I was resistant. Make a double page layout each week of the year? Crazy! Too time consuming. Besides, what in the heck are you going to do with all of those books (assuming you are still doing other scrapbooking.) I was totally NOT on board with it. But then, I saw the layouts. Something hit me. I'm all about telling the stories of our every day. I decided that I would give it a try. I knew that with all of my classes, stitching, book club and everything else I do, a layout a week was too lofty of a goal for me. Plus I didn't want to feel like I was just "manufacturing" pages to keep up. They had to be meaningful.

Instead, I decided to give it a try on a monthly basis. Totally doable. Just a single double-page spread documenting our life and the little things that go along with it. If one of the Project Life albums can hold 52 double page layouts, then one album can hold 4 YEARS!!! Totally up my alley. I'm doing it.

Here we go. January.

 2013 Title Page. I explain in the journaling about how I'm planning on approaching this. The title on the upper right card says: "Project Life: Month by Month."

Here's my first layout for January. It includes movie tickets from the 3 movies I saw, theater production of "Catch Me if You Can", my addiction to Downton Abbey, and an old black and white movie. There's the postcard Morgan sent us from Killarney, a shot of a restaurant we visited, the fact that my 61st birthday was on the 11th, part of the box from my Twinings Commemorative blend tea from William and Catherine's wedding, Operation Organization and one of my AYM classes. And, I added all the journaling. You can really get a lot in to a single spread.

This month by month thing is going to work for me! If you would like to give it a try, check it out here:
Project Life.

If you are already doing it---I'd love hear about it. I would love to post some of your layouts here. Just email me your photos.

I have another year long project up my sleeve. I'll share that another time.

Tomorrow: Operation Organization---that which I have been dreading!