How I use the Project Life App to Plan and Keep Up in my Physical Albums

Are you a physical Project Lifer? I know, I like holding and creating physical layouts. It gives me joy. Think you have no need for the Project Life app? Think again. I'm going to share with you how I use it to aide in my physical pocket page layouts.

It's not just about pre-planning my pages. It's also a way for me to get some journaling done while it is still fresh in my mind. I love capturing the details that I know I won't remember later. 

I'm not going to go into how to create layouts, there are lots of good ones out there. Becky Higgins has done it here.  I'm going to show you how I organize and set myself up to print the photos. I will note that I don't worry too much about which journaling cards I am using in my app layouts because I usually use something different later, BUT sometimes it's so perfect I just print the journal cards, too.

So after you have created your page, you can save it by the date the photos were taken. Click on the "More Options" under "Completed Pages".

From here, you will click on the page you want to update and select "Update Page Info"

Correct the date to match the layout photo date. There is a spot for a "name", too. I usually put in here a code "PPx", meaning that I have uploaded the photos to Persnickety Prints for this layout.

You want to either export these and save them by date in a Dropbox folder (I do this so I can flip through them easily in order and see what type of pocket page I need next, if it's not the typical Design A.) or leave them all in the PL app. Then, you can go back and refer to the layout configuration and the journaling when you sit down to scrap.

I have a folder in Dropbox called "Project Life" where I save them by year-month day format so they save in chronological order.

Next up, order those photos, if you are batch ordering from a service like Persnickety Prints. And when they arrive, do the happy dance and start filling in your pocket pages!! I just love white borders!

Now, I like to skip around and do which ever page goes with what products I'm excited to work with. Eventually, it'll all be done and in chronological order. Look at all those pages layed out and ready to be scrapped. The best part!

What is your process for getting photos in your albums? I know this may seems unusual but my process has totally evolved for the better (for me) over the last year. It's working and I love it. I'd love to hear your ideas for getting your photos printed!

And if you want more ideas for using the Project Life App as a physical scrapper, Becky Higgins wrote a great article showing lots of other great uses the apps specifically for this. Find it here.

Holly with www.paintedladiesjournal.com
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This is my favorite editing app - the brighten action is worth the whole app.
PicTapGo - Totally Rad! Inc.

Scrapbooking Two Years at Once

This is a repost of my Creative Team post over at The Pocket Source. If you don't know them yet, hop over and check it out. It's a fabulous community.

I got so far behind I decided to do 2014 and 2015 simultaneously. It was a goal I posted about back in February, here. I had visions of getting tons done and being caught up with both by the end of this year. Well, I'm not trending in that direction but I've revamped my plan to make it more doable. That said, I have been doing some simultaneous months. It is fun comparing pictures that are a year apart. Sheesh, kids grow too fast. They are not going in the same book, I'm just doing January layouts, for instance,  from 2014 at the same time as those January 2015 layouts. Here are two I just did.

  

I used cards from Project Life Jade and Plus One in this 2014 layout, studio calico wood veneers, Target washi and my good old embossing label maker.

These cards and embellishments were from the April Paper Issues Swag Bag. I tried it out when they had it on sale. Love!! Will definitely be shopping with them again.

So, my process has morphed since the idea of doing 2014/15 simultaneously. I'd love to do another post that gives more details on that, but I'll just give you the abbreviated version.  

• I planned out all the layouts in the PL app for Jan-Apr 2015. It was getting a bit old by the end, but it makes printing and putting them together quicker. And now, I keep that up along with journaling in the PL app, just so I can get more of those cute little stories written down. It's is so good for me to do it this way! 
• I already had Jan-Feb 2014 printed. For 2015, I did ALL the photo editing on my phone, using a combination of pic stitch, pic tap go and Dropbox. As I referred to my layouts, I saved my edited photos to a new "print" folder in Dropbox. 
• Then, I uploaded that whole folder to Persnickety Prints. Wow, my first order from them. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to go anywhere else. I was overwhelmingly happy with my prints. 
• I could barely contain my excitement, as I filled my pocket pages, again referring to that PL app of planned layouts! So, then, I had this book full of just photos, and I've been happily skipping all over the place working on whichever layout suits me at the moment. (I just had a mental image of myself literally skipping on top of my scrapbook pages with a big grin on my face. Anyone else? The horror!). I'm loving this system, people. It is so freeing to just have the photos where they go and dig into all my supplies and get it done!

EEK, I need a mani.

Go get some scrapbooking time in this week.

Holly Genc

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Project Life Pre-Planning Process

Process. I love reading about others' process. It's like you are getting some inside, top secret, special clearance information. Maybe it'll make your life better. Yeah!  So, where's your special badge? You got some kinda ID? Oh well, I'll tell you anyway. What you are about to hear is a small part of my Project Life process. The pre-planning part. The goal is to reduce the amount of printing of excess photos (money in the bank). It also allows me to resize to 3x4 and put them on a 4x6 for printing (more money in the bank). And, the nice pay off is that my layouts go together faster because I already have a guide for where the photos go. But...I kinda hate it. It's tedious. I just want to get to the fun part of putting it all together, already. However, it's soooo worth it. Sure, there are times I don't get to pre-plan before a crop session with friends, so I just print willy nilly and they are all 4x6. I then just figure out what to crop down to 3x4's, as I go. Does it work? Yeah, but I'm a happier scrapper when I've preplanned. (insert sigh of relief)

In the 2015 Goals Post, I mentioned three different ways that I plan. I am currently working on two annual albums, 2014 & 2015 (whew, I know, sounds like a lot, am I crazy? don't answer that). When I'm ready for a planning session, I grab my laptop, external hard drive and notebook. For the current year, I am using a printed book I made that is like a weekly journal with an area for sketching your layout. (Used that Zutter I just HAD to have years ago, woot. woot.) I always aim to give due credit where credit is due: I used Marcy Penner's Pocket Page Planner freebie. resized it to a half page and printed double-sided. It is great being able to write down current details that I just know I won't remember later. You know, those cute little things kids say, like "Boys have those things and if you're a girl, you just have a butt." I'm dying...

The Zutter-Made Book

A look inside.

For 2014, I use a dedicated sketchbook in which I just draw the layout with a few notes and the dates. Since, I'm not doing weekly layouts, this works fine for me. I don't need a calendar type notebook; however, I do still note the dates of layout photos to keep them chronological. My Project Life annual album is by month. I tried doing weekly in 2013 and decided to go back to monthly since I have now used up ALL the w's e's and k's in my entire sticker library. No, really it's because I have too many photos, and doing one monthly title card was a better option. Although, I do loooove a good title card design.

My Notebook for 2014 of Layouts

Either way, I'm in front of my laptop. I keep ALL my digital photos on my external hard drive (and back up online in two places, throw salt over my left shoulder, say a small prayer). They are stored in folders by year and sub-folders by month. I sort by "Date Taken" so that I can work chronologically. Always make sure your camera's date/time are set correctly. Man, I have photos from 2006 that say they were taken in 1999. Or a million newborn pictures (doesn't everyone have one per every 5 seconds?) and Grandma's camera time is off, now how am I going to put these in order....So, I guess I'm saying go around to all your close relatives and fix there cameras, too. Just kidding. Don't do that. You'll become the weird relative. Unless you already are, then go for it.

The newest way I've started pre-planning is using that nifty Becky Higgins PL App on my iPhone. I have bought some of the kits that match the physical ones that I own. The app was appealing to me for use during times when you are sitting around waiting on something. It never happens at home, or when I'm with my kids which is always, but there are times it does happen - like my own doctor appointment, or while driving (JUST KIDDING). 

Put your dates right on the layout somewhere for future reference. Becky Higgins PL App.

The key here is to rename these layouts by the date of photo. In my case, they are typically random weeks. I'm still tweaking this system. It has glaring flaws. But at least, I know where they will go in my album. 

In PL App. Go to your libary.
Click on OPTIONS
under COMPLETED PAGES

Here you can indicate the
date of the layout.

Now, as long as I just use Design A, nothing to worry about. ugh. The other thing I do immediately after creating a layout (well, the second thing because first I do a fist pump) is to put any 3x4's together on a 4x6 from that layout. You can do that right in the app. And save it. It's genius.

(2) 3x4's on a 4x6, done right in the PL App.

Ok, well, I've spilled all. Your turn. What kind of pre-planning do you like to do for ProjectLife? I have the badge and ID, it's ok, tell me.

OUR 2015 GOALS (Project Life Related)

Holly, here.  Luly and I want to kick things off with a post on this year's goals. I've been thinking about how to get more of my Project Life albums done. The simple answer is I need to be more efficient. This is THE YEAR FOR REORGANIZATION AND STREAMLINING. I have three main goals I'm striving to implement to make this happen.

1. REORGANIZE MY STASH. I've been scrapbooking for many years (since 6th grade, but more seriously for the last 15 years). Project Life style scrapbooks started in 2011. But, guess what, I still have most of the stash from traditional scrapbooking. Sound familiar? What do you do? My newest idea is to organize my stash by PROJECT versus by embellishment type. It needs to be mobile, so I can pick up a "Project Box", an album and the corresponding pictures to go to a crop. I have many other projects in my to-do-list besides my annual book. (Wedding, several vacations, 2 1/2 baby books, school albums, etc.). I can't wait to implement this and update the blog with how I tackle this.

The majority of my supplies (and currently many other things) are in these two pieces from IKEA.

2.  CATCH-UP & STAY THERE. So, I got a little behind, as in none of 2014 is done, nor 2015. I've always been one to jump in with current and work backward when this happens, since those memories are freshest. In this case, I've decided to go month-by-month simultaneously. (Jan 2014/Jan 2015, etc). Then, I'll be back on track by the end of the year (what will I do with all my time only doing one annual book? I'll think of something.) 

Doing TWO simultaneous albums this year, 2014 AND 2015

3. PRE-PLANNING. I typically try to do some rough pre-planning so that I'm not printing all the thousands of pictures that I take of my kiddos. In order to accomplish Goal #2, pre-planning is going to be so important. I take a few approaches with this. Keeping track is key. I use a printed book with dates/notes for current memories I want to jot down while they are fresh. I use a sketchbook to draw out my older layouts with less notes. And I also use the ProjectLife App for those times that I'm waiting (doctor's, etc) and have my phone handy. I'll be sharing more of this process in another post.

PL :Planner Book bound with the Zutter.

And now to Luly....

So my goals are different than Holly's since my life is very different than Holly's at the moment. However, no matter where you are in your life the best way to be able to get to your scrapping goals is to WRITE them out.  I don't know about you, but seeing them in black and white keeps me very accountable!

My goals this year, which go hand in hand with the Ali Edwards One Little Word class that I am taking (hurry you can still register until February 28th! Find it here.) is to FINISH a lot of my outstanding projects.  They have been weighing down my creativity and causing me guilt.  Scrapping is NOT about guilt!  It is about enjoying the process and the outcomes of your crafty life.

1. Continue to document weekly(ish) with Pocket Style Digi scrap layouts. I did paper based Project Life starting in Dec 2011 - Dec 2013.  In 2014, I went all digi and I haven't looked back.  2015, I will try my hand at printing in a book - style to be decided.  Maybe Shutterfly or Adorama.  Much more to come on that as I research the options and best way to organize!

2015 Week 6&7 - Just Jaimee Son kit at The Digital Press

2. Christmas Card Album - I've collected all the photo Christmas cards I have received since 1990 - that is a long time, people!!  I will use the Becky Higgins Project Life app to document simply and then print in a Shutterfly book.  This goes hand in hand with my other goal for the year - Purge. It will be great to get rid of 99% of these cards.

2013 Christmas cards - compiled in Becky Higgins Project Life app.

3. Since I've gone to all digi I need to PURGE my paper supplies.  I will never make that many cards - EVER!! This is going to be hard, as I am a huge sentimentalist - I can remember where I got almost every piece of paper - but someone else will love it just as much as I do (or at least I can tell myself that!).

Come back and join us as we tell you all about our journey and how we are able to keep up with our scrapping goals in 2015.


Holly & Luly