My Letter-Sized Project Life 2016 Plan + Title Spreads

February 09, 2016

As you might have noticed, I've been struggling over the past several months to find the time and motivation to scrapbook. Some months I struggled to get even one layout finished and I started to see the number of photos I was taking dwindle as well. But I was determined to keep the memory keeping fires burning.

So last November I decided to make one more last ditch effort at making Project Life work for me. Rather than trying to start right in the busiest time of our lives though, I gave myself permission to hold off until the new year and I decided instead to spend the months of November and December gathering my supplies and my thoughts.

Below I've shared my plans for my 2015-2016 Project Life album and the products and tools that will help me along the way.

The Plan

LETTER-SIZED: With all of the great 9x12 albums and protectors that were released last year I decided to stick with my beloved letter-sized format for this project not only because I love the compact size, but also because I can include any regular layouts I make over the year in my album as well.

AUG 2015-JUL 2016: After looking at my photo log I decided to play catch up and date my album back to August 2015. For some reason the start of the school year has always felt like a more natural starting mark for our family. Its when we are most organized and geared up to tackle a new year; its when we take our family photos and its when I send my boys off into the world another year older and another year wiser.

MONTHLY SPREADS: I've decided to go for a monthly approach consisting of 1-2 spreads and a "Currently" section to honor myself a bit more in my memory keeping. This section will utilize the 9x12 protectors with all those cute little 3x3" pockets and will consist of an anthology of the tv shows, music, books, and trends that I'm currently into.

HYBRID: I'll be using a mix of both physical and digital products and will be doing the bulk of my printing at home.

My Tools

And these are the tools I've chosen to help keep me motivated and make my project a little easier.

THE 9x12 MESSY BOOK | A Beautiful Mess

I fell in love with this fun album from A Beautiful Mess the moment I laid eyes on it.

9 x 12 PAGE PROTECTOR MULTI-PACK | Studio Calico

To start out with I bought a single pack of each of the four styles included in the multi-pack: 1B, 2B, 3B and 4B. And then as I need more I just purchase the multi-packs.

DOCUMENTER KIT | Studio Calico

I made the decision to subscribe to Studio Calico's pocket page kit because of the ease it offered. Having everything I needed plus a few new things to try out each month was just what I was looking for to keep things simple and satisfying.

NIKON D7100 | Nikon

I'm so excited about my new camera. Its my first DSLR (shhh don't tell anyone) so there's a bit of a learning curve but it will definitely keep me snapping photos this year!

CANON PIXMA MG7720 | Canon

I've been nothing but happy with my Canon Pixma MG5420, so when it came time to get a new printer this year I stuck with the same family and just bumped up a few steps. To tell you the truth I got this printer for $50 less than what I bought my other Pixma for 4 years ago.

My Title Spread

And here's a glimpse at our title page and the opening spread of my album.

Supplies: Studio Calico Lollipop and Arendal Documenter Kits.

I knew I wanted to fill half of my opening spread with back to school photos of the boys. So on the other half I decided to include one photo from each month of 2015 up until the starting month of August. This "half-year-in-review" approach turned out to be perfect since I didn't end up taking very many photos during the first half of 2015.

Supplies: Storyteller Kenner Fillers by Just Jaimee; Through the Years by Amber Labau Designs and Studio Calico Lollipop Documenter Kit

As I discussed earlier, I've been playing catch up but should have August thru October to share with you shortly! Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned...