Leah and Melanie, ask away! Glad to help.
I've used a Creative Memories corner rounder for years, but I pretty much wore it out this year, so I just bought the same one Emily linked to at my local Archivers. I like it better - more ergonomic.
For basics, get an album and some page protectors. If you can't print at home, invest in a Core Kit. If you can, I think you could easily print many of the great products in digi (including the upcoming Jan BYOC!) and put together a beautiful album.
As for my work flow, I use pics from 3 different cameras (my DSLR, my P&S and my iphone), so I download those 2x a week into my monthly folder. They all get dumped together so I can scan through in Lightroom and tag my favorites. I usually process and print (at home, mostly on my Selphy) on the weekends or in the evenings, but I work on the album itself once a week. (On Tuesdays, when I have the house to myself!) I also have a "working" notebook where I jot down the daily highlight and some thoughts for the day that I can refer back to for journaling.
I think that finding a workflow that is manageable and sustainable for YOU is the key to this project. My best suggestions:
- Commit a certain block of time to it each week so that you can stay on top of it
- Let go of perfection...I am a 100% type A perfectionist but I told myself early on that I was not going to try to take the perfect photo or find the perfect words every single day. That's too overwhelming in a project of this length. My kids don't care if the depth of field in my photo could have been better! kwim!? LOL They love looking at the albums regardless of any of my own perceived imperfections.
- Be prepared for misses. Occasionally, it will happen...you will forget to take a photo for that day. For some people, this is a major event that sidetracks them. (Happened to me in 2009 - I missed a day and gave up!) What experience has taught me is that if I am in the mood to do some photography, I will shoot some generic things for the month. For example, pictures of the kids' rooms, backpacks, my favorite mug...whatever. I do this every month and just give them edited file names of jan2011_fill1, jan2011_fill2, etc. Then, if I need a filler day, I have some readily available. This is great if you are doing a photo a day format. If not, just go with the flow!
-Have a designated spot or container for your stuff. I am blessed with a great studio space, but when I am not working on it, our album actually lives on a desk in our kitchen. It makes it handier to tuck the bits and pieces of life into as they arrive from school/work/outings.
-Don't be afraid to mix it up. Add whatever you like... in whatever sizes you like... paper, hybrid, digital...just do what you love.
Project Life is the most satisfying project I've ever worked on. I can honestly say it's also my favorite. It's inspired me to be more committed to telling my family's stories. It's had a huge impact on my kids too. My teenager said she wants a Project Life for her whole life and my 5 yo has become quite the little curator. She now has such an eye for collecting things that will be meaningful for our album. Several times this fall, she told her Pre-K teacher that she needed to take something she had worked on home for her Project Life album. What is even cooler - her teacher asked me about it and is doing PL for her own family in 2012.
As I've said before, I print my digi pages and put them in the same album. So, don't feel like you will have to keep a bunch of albums going. It can all work together beautifully. Give it a try! I think you will be glad you did.
*hahhaha phew - that was a novel! climbing off my PL soapbox now!!***
