Lost Cause???

Okay... here's my 2 cents on this...

1. You have pages done! That right there is a gift. The years may not be complete... but what you have done tells a part of your story.

2. It's only really worth it, if you enjoy it. Right now I'm still doing okay on PL because I enjoy it. Once I stop enjoying it, I'll have to find some other way to document our lives because I need this to be an outlet for me, not another thing I *have* to do. If you still love the idea of PL but have burn out at the moment... why not switch to something like a planner to record all of the day to day stuff, so if one day you want to go back and PL these years, you'll have all of the notes to flesh out your pages.

Just some thoughts!

 

You are NOT a lost cause! Even if you are just taking pictures, you're still documenting your lives. You can always go back later and scrap or do PL if you feel like it, but it is not a requirement. If you are feeling like you WANT to continue with PL, what about doing a 2 page spread for each month to get you "caught up". I have been doing that for a few years now. I do regular scrap pages for the big stuff and then I do a monthly misc page(s) for all the little stuff that i don't have to do whole pages on, but that I still want to capture. Sometimes those pages are jammed full and the pictures are tiny and I lots of journaling. They may not be great page design... but I really love them!

 

I totally agree with what both Tracie and Karen said--I don't think it is a lost cause--if you take Karen's way, you only need to have 2 layouts for all of 2015 so far!! and Tracie is so right that you have some done for those other years, I think you have to take what you have and decide what is the best way for you to document. Sometimes, I just start pages and add pictures until it is full. Sometimes, I have layouts that are special and I want to scrap on their own. I have even scrapped some pages that are included in my PL pages. (double documenting!!!) The biggest thing for me is like Tracie enjoying what I am doing--if I don't enjoy it, then I probably need to find a different, more enjoyable way to document.

 

Good answers. I like Karen's monthly idea and if you wanted to add some favorite moments to another page you could. But like Becky said it's what you enjoy doing that matters. Could you do the monthly and just tuck away the rest of the month or do all 4x6 pockets so they are in the album or would that feel like cheating? You don't have to do all the fancy stuff. I also do special days in their own page and/or do a layout so maybe that would make you feel like you covered things? Like you could do an introductory Thanksgiving page with journaling, then just have picture pages.

 

Hmmm, Rebecca, I was going to start this year and have so far one spread and one left page.
Still am fond of the idea but have too many other things going on... I keep taking pictures and noting things down, not as much as I would like too, but still...
I have'nt given up hope yet and this thread makes me feel less about my being behind...

 

I agree with all the other ladies! My "catch up" pages are definitely less fancy, too, but I'd rather have a plain page than no page, and it's still fun. Sometimes it helps me if I do it in stages. Like I'll select photos from whatever week and just save them as layers in a TIFF. Then later I'll drag in some template elements. Then later I'll drag in some papers... Yeah, it might take forever to get the page done but it's progressing and I don't feel so much pressure. Even if I'm fairly busy I can carve out a couple minutes to do one step, yk? If I keep thinking "omg I have __ weeks/months to do!" it feels like too much, but "here are some papers I want to use" I can do.

 

I totally do this too on my catch-up pages. It seems so much less overwhelming when I'm only dealing with one "stage" at a time. That's how I'm currently tackling 2010... I have weeks and weeks of photos on templates with nothing else. When I had nothing else to think about, the template part went really quickly. Now they're sitting here on my computer and whenever a cute new kit comes out that I'm excited to play with, I go pick one of my unfinished pages to work with. It's actually really fun.

 

That is a great idea!!

I actually prefer to scrap my PL pages in parts. I can't seem to handle the editing of pics, placing in templates, adding the cards, embellishments and journaling all in one sitting. I accomplish so much more if I will edit in one sitting, add pics to the page, then finish up. Even thought it is in three steps, I think they seem to be more precise and take less time than a marathon session.

 

No you are not a lost cause! You really should not be hard on yourself about "being behind." There really is no such thing as being behind. It is just a pressure we put on ourselves. But really those who we share our scrapping with are typically pretty darn happy if we've done ANY scrapping for them. Just take time and ENJOY scrapping some of those weeks of Project Life that you want to. The rest will get done as time allows.

And I'm not trying to toot my own horn here, but I have been doing a bit of walk through on this whole "concept" of catching up on project life on TLP blog. I'm approaching it from a hybrid stand point but I truly believe each example I give can translate into digital or even paper scrapping. Here the posts: Post 1, Post2, Post3 Hopefully these post might help get your brain thinking of a different way to catch up on project life that isn't so stressful.

 

I stressed out like you several times about me cannot complete anything before deadlines. Then I think scrap is our hobby, our happiness, our love, our fun. It's not our job , so if we cannot handle it, everything still very okay. Don't be so hard on yourself. And yes, after a really stressful year with Project Life (2014 is the 1st time I did it), I have a different plan for 2015. I do monthly layouts, not weekly, it's really much easier and more comfortable for me.

 

I always get through January. I have February's photos onto pages, but no journaling, etc. done. And I've done nothing for March.


Seems to happen every year! Ha!

 

I feel you Rebecca! I've been struggling finding the time to write things down too. I'm glad you've found a place to start! All it takes is somewhere to start and then I'm sure you can get the ball rolling!

 

Not a lost cause at all! I got really, really behind last year. I just simplified everything and for some weeks, combined like 3-4 weeks into one 2-page spread. I reminded myself that the embellishments and "prettifying the pages" are for me - the pictures and journaling are for the kids, for the future. I sorted my pics into folders and then when I had time I added them to templates and saved them, and when I had time I journaled. I relied heavily on Facebook to remember what we did. And it worked, and I caught up.

Remember that any memory keeping you are doing is precious and awesome and is better than nothing. Even a week here or there is awesome!

 

There are times that I used to think about giving up because I was always behind. I still haven't finished 2013 or 2014 and am totally behind on 2015. But I shifted my attitude, and that has helped me. Instead of worrying about being behind, I just look at it as having an opportunity to pick and choose the weeks I feel like working on (and I have a lot of choice ).

I don't get a lot of scrapping time these days, so I tend to do my PL pages for CT things. So it is really helpful to have different weeks (and years) to choose from depending on what the kit/theme might be at the time. I do try to sit down every couple of days and bullet point out the activities from the week. Sometimes I don't remember them all, and I'll be reminded when I see a pic in my dropbox, or sometimes I don't have a picture, so I'll find an image from a book/movie/show we watched. Sometimes I get desperate enough to look through websites that say what happened that week or find prices for typical items (gas, milk, bread, movies, etc.), but usually I can fill a week out with more journaling or whatnot.

AND... both Just Jaimee and Sara Gleason have pages that are either done for you or almost done, so you can pop your pictures and some text in and be good. That makes it super fast and easy. Jaimee has some in the store today, and Sara has her Arboretum sets. They are all gorgeous.

I think that as other people have mentioned, if you don't feel like doing it/enjoy it anymore, don't. But if you do, just try to eliminate putting pressure of expectations on yourself and have fun. You are a rockstar, and your pages are always gorgeous, so I'd hate to see you quit.