Last year there was quite a buzz around the scrapbooking communities. Both the digital and the traditional communities could not stop talking about Project Life. Maybe you didn’t hear that buzz last year so let me give you a brief explanation of what Project Life is. Project Life was originally developed by Becky Higgins, who is a traditional scrapbooker. She wanted a simple way to document her life and the life of her family. She created some kits and specially designed page protectors to do just this. After a year or two this approach to scrapbooking really caught on, especially when people started “tweaking” it to meet there own needs. Scrapbookers really loved that they could document the everyday moments of their life and share the stories that may have been getting lost. The digital community certainly embraced this new style of scrapbooking and there are 1000’s of products out there to create a Project Life album. Many digital scrapbookers create their Project Life albums digitally and print them in books at the end of the year. I think that is an awesome idea, but today I’m here to introduce you to how rewarding it could be to do a hybrid Project Life album.
To get started on a hybrid Project Life album I thought I would show you what not only I but some of the other Polly’s here at The LilyPad think are essential!
- Binder — You need something to put these beautiful layouts in. Most people choose 12 x 12, but a there are some daring people out there that choose other sizes. I personally love the We R Memory Keepers binders!
- Page Protectors — These will go in your binder. There are a large variety of shapes and sizes you can buy. I like to keep things fairly simple and go with Becky Higgin’s Big Pack of Design A.
- Pen or Font — You need an awesome pen to write on your journaling cards, or some people like use an awesome font to print directly onto their journaling cards. Christine did a great post about pen’s on the blog HERE. Of course you can always find some great fonts in Heather Hess’s store here at the LilyPad.
- Scissors — You definitely will be cutting things up so a good pair of scissors is a must. These Cutter Bee Precision-Cut Scissors are wonderful!
- Adhesive — Adding bits and pieces to your journaling cards requires something to tack it down with. I prefer this Dot Glue Runner because of how nicely it fits in my hand. I never had a problem with the adhesive either. Heather G. suggest this Scotch ATG Advanced Tape Glider.
- Corner Rounder — In the original version of Project Life all corners are rounded. This look has been very popular. A good heavy duty corner rounder that everyone raves about is the We R Memory Keepers Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper Tool.
- Cardstock or Presentation Paper — You will need some form of paper for you to print your journaling cards on.
- Digital Stash — The best part of hybrid is that you can dig into your digital stash and pull papers, embellishments, alphas, and all other kinds of goodies to use for your Project Life.
Those supplies should get you started on project life. You could start printing pictures and journaling cards that you have made digitally, cut them out, and place them in your album. Voila! You have a very easy hybrid album made. Or you could go to the next step and start embellishing your pictures and journaling cards. Here are just a few more items suggested by the Polly’s that they consider essential to have when creating their Project Life albums.
- Washi Tape
- Alpha Stickers
- Date Stamp
- Paper Trimmer
- Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher
I know this is sounding like a lot but hang in there with me! Remember you don’t have to have all of these things right away. You can start small and build as the year goes on! Now earlier I mentioned your digi stash as an essential part for your hybrid album! So many kits these days are coming with journaling cards in them, or gorgeous papers you could crop to make journaling cards out of. The designers here at the LilyPad are helping you out even more though! Many of them have designed products specifically with Project Life in mind. Here are just a few of my favorites:
1. Oh Yeah! by Jacque
2. Doodlings no 2 by Emily Merritt
3. Word Arrows by Lili
4. Journal Happy by Valorie Wibbens
5. Journal Cards no. 1 by Pink Reptile Designs
6. Journal Junkie: All That is Good by CD Muckosky
7. Everyday Essentials Mega Journal Pack by Amy Jaz
8. Lined Up — Weekdays by Amy Martin
9. More + Less Journaling Cards by Paislee Press
10. All 52 by Lauren Grier
11. It’s a New Year Cards by Sabrina Dupre
12. 3 x 4 Photo Collages
All lovely stuff! There are so many more products for Project Life that you can find in the store under the Project 365 section.
Lastly I want to leave you with some Project Life inspiration pages from some of the Polly’s. Some of these are hybrid some are not. But all of them could give you inspiration for hybrid ideas.
by Shannon {mrsski07}
by Cristina
by Heather G. {heathergw}
by Heather H. {talktoheather}
by Carly {snaggletooth}
Project Life can be as simple or as intricate as you want it. However, it is all about one thing, getting those memories documented now! Get started and I know you will find this project rewarding!
~Jewelle {mrspotts}
Christine N says
Awesome post, Jewelle! Very informative!
Michele says
Where do you purchase the various photo pages as in Heather G and Heather H’s examples?