OBSERVATIONS: I didn't get around to posting my pages last week. Work and life got in the way of printing my photos, writing my journal cards and putting it all together.
In fact, as I write this, I don't know if I'll have enough photos to document Week 17 (hopefully coming on my usual Thursday post day.) We'll have to see, as they say. I've been wondering what it would look like to just do one week per page on those weeks when I don't have enough content. I know there are people out there doing just that, and honestly, the idea appeals to me greatly.
Another idea that appeals to me is going all digital for Project Life in 2014. As I try to figure out where albums are going to go in this house, it appeals to me even more. I don't have endless storage and the thought doing it all digitally then getting an actual printed book at year's end… that seems kind of cool. Just letting that simmer around my brain. I'd love to hear from those of you who do your Project Life in the all digital format. Tell me what you love about it.
Here are my pages for Week Sixteen:
I used one of the folded 3 x 4 cards to journal something personal, something I don't necessarily want everyone to read unless my family members are so inclined to pull it out years from now and do just that. Which is fine by me, actually. I like the idea that you can tuck something very personal into this album format. I may do more of that this year.
This past week saw, in my opinion, another monumental milestone in the development of a child: when they no longer have to shop in the boys' department. Sigh.
Speaking of Cole, he was rocking a very Kurt Cobain-inspired vintage look for his 7th grade dance last week. So grateful he let me take a few photos.
Week Sixteen also was when the Boston Marathon bombing happened. While I didn't cover it extensively, I did want to include it in my weekly recap.
The question of covering tragedies in our albums has come up from time to time here in the comments of my blog. What do you do? Do you include them in your documentation?
Onto the week ahead.
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Kim says
I live love love digital project life! I changed to digital to save space and make less mess (I always had embelishments and papers everywhere) and It’s so exciting to get the book at the end of the year!
libbywilko says
Love the photo of you and Aiden…. Love digital PL.
Pat says
I couldn’t go digital. I’d miss playing with paper and glue. And it would seem way too much like work.
News events (local, national and international) often make my PL pages. It’s a place for me to record my thoughts and feelings about the event.
Heather Johnson says
Hi Cathy!
I am all digital–and I love it. It’s so quick, transportable, and takes up a lot less space–I live in a St Paul too, so I get it! That being said, last year I printed a book through Shutterfly (seriously takes up about an inch of space) but this year I have been printing out the 12×12 pages and slipping them into a binder so I could have inserts. (I absolutely go nuts for those 6×12 enlargements!) I really enjoy it that way, and I do it pretty simply. I don’t have big bulky embellishments, so I am hopeful it fits in one album. For those that like to still play with some “paper and glue” that would solve that issue…just do the normal spread digitally and if you have an insert play away! Persnickety Prints prints the 12×12 and it’s stunning when printed. I do think that where I am in life has a lot to do with it though…i have a one year old and five year old, so having an insert to put things like an small envelope from a first haircut and that type of thing are needed. But when I have older kids? Well…I am guessing at some point I will go back to the shutterfly book. Cause honestly? I seriously don’t know where these albums are going to be stored. We’re talking 1300 sq ft sister….
donya says
I’ve struggled with the idea of going digital with my PL albums as well, especially since I do a lot of photoshop journaling over photos like you do, and don’t add a lot of physical scrapbooking to my pages. But every time I consider it, I always end up realizing I’d miss the physical aspect of it too much. And it made me laugh when I read your post bc right after you mentioned you were considering going digital, you talked about the little 3×4 you folded up with a personal story inside. It’s things like this that I’d miss too much about going digital!
cathy says
Kim, where do you get your book printed?
cathy says
I guess I forgot about that option, of designing the pages and going the Persnickety route. Did you love our weather this weekend? Insanely gorgeous.
dawn says
I would miss your paper PL pages Cathy, honestly LOVE LOVE yours soooo much!! On the flip side though, totally understand your reasons but LOOOOOVE your style right now!!
What great pictures this week, how sweet that one of you and Aidan is. Hands down you and Dan should get an award/ribbon for most couple pictures. You are so lucky he does this and that you take the time and care to do them. I never get tired of seeing you two together!!
We keep getting rain which isnt’ as pretty as your snow, almost would rather have the snow. almost!
Aidan is so cool, sleeping in a cardbox is a great reminder of being thankful for our warm houses.
Have a good week and glad your weather was more springlike this weekend.
p.s. if you did do the digital version, would you do this weekly and share it with us?
Kaysie says
Hey…agree on documenting national events…….I remember exactly where I was when JFK was shot, the memories of being at work on 09/11 and the shock of Boston. I think it is a good history lesson for our future generations who are reading our scrapbooks. They will know the history of our country but to see us mention it and the point of time we were at when these tragedies occur just puts national history on a more personal level.
Holly Corbett says
I too have considered going all digital for my PL album. Every once in awhile I get this crazy idea to do it digitally because I think about how quick it would be! But then I realize that I really, really do like the cut and paste of scrapping, and the idea suddenly disappears for another 3-4 months. And honestly, I don’t put a lot of embellishments or “stuff” on my pages. They are pretty simple with just words and pictures, and I use the same design pretty much all the time. Call me boring, but it works well for me and my family! I also use PSE to create a lot of my journal cards and print my photos which helps to speed up the process. And I keep a calendar with me 24/7 where I take notes on the days happenings or keep reminders of what I want to include at some point in my album. This helps me write the journal cards fairly quickly, and I’m not sitting around wasting time trying to remember what to write or add to the weekly spread. Because of these ideas, I can usually finish a two page weekly spread in one full day of working on it. One enjoyable day I must say!!
As far as adding tragic events to my album, I do. For the Boston Marathon I will likely have a 3×4 journal card with the story of the events, but I will always include the thoughts or things we said as a family about the tragedy. I also saved the USA Today for that morning and will slip it into a 12×12 page protector, and add it as an insert. Yes, this does create more bulk to the album, but it’s not like I’m adding a whole newspaper every month. A few here and there will be interesting to read in 20 years. Or at least thats what my boys say! And they do have a lot of input on what goes in these albums. After all, they are for them.
Good luck with your digital dilemma! It’s a tough decision!
Denise M says
I always love your PL pages. This is my first year and really enjoying the creative process using tangible items. For me personally I don’t necessarily document all events. For the Boston Marathon bombing I did. Because we were literally right there 2 weeks prior and had fallen in love with the city. It seemed fitting to mention the exact place we made such wonderful memories was now the same place where peoples lives were changed forever. And on the flip side of that, my husband is currently deployed to Afghanistan and sadly we lost 2 pilots from our unit this week and a friend lost her son on Saturday. Our hearts are shattered and it’s too difficult for me to document that even though I probably should. I am trying desperately to keep the fear hidden from our 3 girls. They are worried enough. Besides there is no way to look at week 17 in the future and not feel incredible sadness, my heart already knows. So that’s my .02 and really at the end of the day the only thing that matters is that you are content with what you document.
Marilyn says
Cathy, I’ve done digital PL for each of my grandchildren (instead of doing two pages a week, I do two pages a month), and have them printed by Adoramapix. I think the main difference in their product from other photo books is that the pages are stiff and substantial. While we’re on the subject, there are a few PL digital templates out there, but I wish you would design a series. Your templates are always a cut above.
Katie says
Like most others above me have said, the idea of digital PL really does appeal to me. Less fuss with printer ink and paper and storage and cutting… And I’m always behind and find it so hard to see how something will look together. A lot of my spreads don’t seem cohesive, and it’d be much easier to change that if they were digital; How hard is it to recolour an element or something?
But one of the nicest things about physical PL is being able to flip backwards through the pages. It just…feels like life. With all the little bits of tickets and stubs and cut outs (and I’d want those to go in my album and would end up even more behind waiting to scan etc). I find that it gives me a really good incentive to keep going with PL even when I’m behind.
I can physically touch the pages I’ve done before which remind me how much joy i get from seeing a complete week (I did complete a spread for Week 1 this year digitally, and it just didn’t give me that thrill) and this in and off itself reminds me to live life fully the next week so that I have enough to fill in those little pockets. It sounds bizzare, but the idea of documenting my life, actually helps me /live/ my life and have enough adventures.
Storage is a massive issue for me as I’m a young single 20-something living in a room in rented accomodation as I have my first job, and I don’t add extra embellishments at all. I do print and cut cards down to fit in. But this cutting of cards is actually a chance to get away from the computer, and a way of getting the photos actually off the screen. (And another form of backing up, even after 2 HDD and CrashPlan)
Even if I’m constantly behind, it’s so nice having pictures of just a few weeks ago. I wouldn’t be deal well if I was printing out an album at the end of the year because it wouldn’t give me the same sort of buzz and reminder of where I’ve been (And where I’ve yet to go) and to, well, when it comes down to it, be constantly, grateful for all the wonderful things and people in my life.
Plus it’s always great when people come over and want to leaf through it, to see if they’ve “made” the book ;D. I can’t wait till the end of the year when it’s finished.
No idea if that mini-rant helped, but I know your pages will be beautiful whichever way you decide to document them in 2014 🙂
cathy says
See, I like the cutting part too, AND the getting away from my computer. Theres much to consider, for sure. : )
brittdrake@comcast.net says
I am on year #4 of digital project life. And I have 4 beautiful 12 x 12 books on my coffee table that are beautiful, don’t take up much space & can be duplicated, either as smaller printed books or as PDF files for the kids & grandparents. I mix project life pages with event pages (usually 3-4 2 page spreads per month) and have them all bound into a book at the end of the year. Printing options are limited for books > 100 pages. I usually stick with Viovio. Blurb is another option. This year, it took Viovio 3 tries to get my book printed properly – first they didn’t crop the pages correctly, so there was a white stripe at the bottom of each page. Then they reprinted but used the standard paper, rather than the premium paper, and the reduction in quality was very noticeable. They finally got it right on the 3rd try. If you ask, they will also send you a link to a PDF version of your book.
When I do paper pages, I am always behind. But I really can crank out great looking (if I do say so myself) digital pages & stay pretty much up to date on things, which keeps stress levels low. And if I want to look at what I have done so far, I just do a slide show on my computer. The kids love that.
http://scrapstacks.com/brittdrake/My-Project-Life-2
Britt
Heather Prins says
I am doing it all digital and I love it. I watch my daughter do the paper version and shake my head, lol. I like that I can fit everything just where I want it to go, my type can fit on the photos or cards or wherever simply and lastly the storage issue. I love project life so I don’t see quitting this anytime soon, which means there will be an album a year-yikes!! Photobooks are much skinnier!
Bonnie says
I’m another one doing digital then printing out 12×12 prints at Persnickity. I love the versatility of digital. Especially if I don’t have a lot of photos, I can change the size of the photos to fill the page. Or if there’s a photo that needs to be bigger for whatever reason.
Heidi says
I tried traditional/hybrid PL, and it almost took my scrapbooking joy away. As a computer engineer, I might be a little biased, but I do love digital. Both for regular layouts and for PL. So far I have only printed single page prints from PL (which doesn’t solve the storage issue), but as I have small children, I love that my pages are protected when they flip through it. I’m doing 8.5×11 spread. I might switch to single page 8.5×11 or 12×12. And I don’t worry about skipping a week if I’m too busy to scrap. I might catch up, or I might not. No worries 🙂
If I’m going to print a book, I will probably go with viovio or paperkiwi (same company as scrappingsimply.com), as I’ve been super happy with the prints from scrappingsimply before.
How about you doing some 8.5×11 PL templates, Cathy!?
Joni Kix-Moore says
My kiddos and I are training for our first marathon. In fact, my “project life” book is focusing on our marathon training. This way I can look back to remind myself why my first marathon is also going to be my last, lol!
On a serious note, since we are training for a marathon, the Boston tragedy hit very close to home. I added a short note about it on my page.
I’m doing digital Project Life and I love it. Also, it just so happens that this particular week, my camera was broken, so I had very little other content to put on my page. I just grabbed some screen captures off the WWW and dropped them it. It all works out…
I just love your pages and your templates (as you can see I use them)!
http://www.kixinlife.blogspot.com/2013/04/project-life-marathon-training-week-13.html
Heather Crawford says
Can’t get over how grown up Cole looks in that set of two pictures of him? His face has totally changed? Gosh, I can’t imagine when my 10 1/2 year old boy starts changing like that 🙁
Tanya says
7th grade seems to be the year when these boys start showing that they’re growing into men. My son joined that 28/30 club last year as well. We’re finishing up 8th grade and he’s already moved up to a 31/30, although he insists on 31/31. But it’s easier to find. That 28/30 seems to be the hardest size to find in stores.
Ginger Watson says
I have incorporated big national/world stories when they have impacted me or my family emotionally (Newtown – I used your beautiful grey Mr. Rogers quote + a smaller journal box; inauguration; etc.) I live about 90 miles from West, TX, so last week had the marathon bombing, the explosion at West, and the horrible earthquake in China. Evil/ negligence/ natural disaster. Like a tour of the terrible things. I handwrote an 8.5×11 page and shoved it in an insert. I appreciate that PL gives us flexibility to handle these things in whatever way feels right.
I’m going to have to start a new binder soon – I’m hoping to have only 2 volumes for 2013. I’ve really wondered about where all these binders will go. Digital makes so much sense because I do it all digitally anyway and then have to print it. I only occasionally include ephemera. But there’s something satisfying about those pockets and actual photos in them.
Teresa M says
I am really debating about going digital because my kids love to look through my other shutterfly books because they are so much smaller. I would have a hard time with the extra stuff I like to include but it isn’t as much as it used to be.
I don’t normally include national events unless I have some kind of connection. I am including the Boston marathon tragedy as I had a cousin who ran the race so it hit very close to home. Luckily he is fine.
Loving the MN weather right now. Even though it is going to cool off again.
Running my first 5k this weekend, the Run or Dye at Harriet Island in St. Paul.
Thank you for always being an inspiration.
Stephanie says
I used digital PL for my 2012 album. I had my pages printed at persnickety prints (love them). I also included some inserts that were not digital. This year I decided to go the paper route and I have not enjoyed it as much. I also switched to monthly (not a 2 page spread) instead of weekly spreads. Starting May 1st I’m going back to digital and the weekly format. Although last years album is still big everything fits in it. The layouts I have done so far this year almost fill the entire album! I don’t like the idea of having two big binders every year. I’m such a fan of PL because it gives me the chronology I like but then free’s me up to make regular scrapbook pages about whatever I want because the chronology is taken care of. I say try going digital. What is the worst that could happen?
Maegan says
Your wish is my command: http://www.scrapaholics.com/the-benefits-of-digital-project-life/
I’ve often wondered why you bother creating your journalling cards digitally then print, crop, etc. when your Photoshop Kung Fu is so strong. It is so much easier to print one 12×12 layout. It seems like an extra step to me, but then again, I’m kind of lazy. 😉 Of course, I also think my printer is the devil so I try to avoid it whenever possible. Persnickety Prints prints all of my layouts, usually quarterly. I stock up on print credits when they have their semi-annual sales.
cathy says
Good luck! Im guessing that is a color run of sorts? Enjoy!
cathy says
Awesome! Off to read!
bdaiss says
Ah, the lure of digital. I think about it every year. But here’s where it stops for me: 1) the “extra stuff”. It’s one thing to scan and incorporate in the layout a piece of art my kids made me. It’s another to have it Right.There for them 30 years from now.(see also ticket stubs, photo strips, pressed pennies, NPS passport stamps, etc) 2.) Handwriting. I’ve taken to weekly summaries as you do, but in this increasingly digital age I have found it more and more important to hand write stories for my kids so they’ll have that piece of us as well. And again, (for me at least) scanned is just a poor substitute for the real thing. So for now, I’m sticking with the paper version. If we have a major event (vacation, etc) that would take massive space in PL to cover, I make a separate digital book for that event, including a folder at the back for the paraphernalia I can’t bear to part with.
Kristi B says
I am doing digital project life this year. I do one 12×12 spread per week with 1 week in review card (from you). I have the 4×6 templates & 3×4 templates and am able to get up to 20 pictures on a spread (not the norm – just if needed on a busy lots of things happening week). I like adding the digitial embellishments. I print my book at Shutterfly or Paper Coterie as 8×8 books. They don’t take up much room & I can print for my kids as well.
Carolyn says
I do mostly digital scrapbooking. Make the page, send it Persnickity and then slip it in a protector. Easy Peasy. But Project Life, I do weirdly. I would probably do it all digitally, but I spent a fair amount of money on Becky’s pocket page protectors, before I really thought it through. So now I lay it out in PSE. Then I print it and chop it up. I like putting it all together and I like including bits of ephemera. But the part I hate the most is having to cut everything. I think that is mostly due to my stupid paper cutter. Gosh I hate that thing!!! So mother’s day is coming and my husband is asking for ideas…what kind of paper cutter should I get??
Shannan says
I think my comment got lost but I wanted to say I went from paper PL to digital and the only thing I missed was a spot for ephemera – like movie tickets or interesting packaging (I HATE scanning!). So I just add a baseball card or other divided page protector every few months between the layouts and stick stuff in. Making my weekly spread is so much easier and quicker now. (I never enjoyed the cutting, printing and slipping in).
Sheryl says
I did the paper route with Project Life for two years. I found the binders very bulky and sometimes the cards or photos will come out at the top if you flip through too fast. The first year Becky offered PL digitally I did it and I really like how it turned out. It saved so much space! Last year I did the digital version with Shutterfly and it is ok, but I felt like I didn’t have enough room to journal. This year I took Jessica Sprague’s class on digitial PL. I am loving my layouts. I am loving how many photos I can incorporate thanks to collage templates and how much journalling too. My main reason for switching to digital was space. I still do paper layouts for beg events or topics I want to cover, but I feel like most of our stories are now being told in PL. I plan on having my pages printed in a book. It is just easy to flip through.
Kathy says
I love the project life system and the actual photos (real photos) verses a flat piece of paper of photos (aka printed via a book) however I too decided to go digital in 2013 and this was after I ordered two seafoam kits to do 2013 with. I love all the bits and pieces etc. however if you have 2 or 3 albums for one year then storage is a huge issue. I have about 15 albums 12×12 of my scrapbook pages and storage for those is huge. I love the actual albums but I am not near the printers and it’s a 2 trip to get photos and so after falling behind after month 1 in 2012 and after month 2 in 2013 I went digital because I have my photos on the computer I upload them to the templates and the week is done….it’s simple and it’s the easiest option for me however the downside is waiting until January 2014 to print the book or some people do 6 months and then 6 months but I guess this would depend on how many extra pages go in. 2-3 albums a year is hard to store so I cut my losses and went digital. If I had of done that last year I would have my book done but I’ll have to get back to that because I certainly took all the photos for it. Regards Kathy A, Brisbane, Australiaa
Heather Wong says
I have gone all digital this year but I’m using templates from Peppermint Creative that are actually exactly the same layout that you use. I was printing at Costco but discovered that Persnickety is even less expensive (and WOW talk about a higher quality). What I’ve enjoyed about going digital (printing & putting in page protectors) is the no-mess factor as I’m creating (I have a 2 yr old & 4 yr old so gone are the days of covering my dining room table in art supplies), the ability to still incorporate paper/hand made elements and the ability to email pages to friends/family.
I have continued using 12×12 albums to stay consistent but I’ve started looking into places to print a book instead since they do take up less room. I don’t know if I could wait until the end of the year though, I’m kind of an instant gratification gal!
BTW I’m still using your “Week in Review” card every week plus many of your other elements –the other beauty of going digital, the flexibility of so many elements! Fun Fun.
On your other topic: I do usually mention local or national news topics that are important or relevent. Sometimes I print out an article and tuck it in the album instead.
Oh! and I have definitely done 1 page per week. To balance it out I typically do a random page capturing something that might not fit exactly into a Week in Review theme (such as my son’s obsession with Spider-Man…I did an entire layout with his ‘fashion show’ of Spidey outfits)
Becki says
Another digital girl printing thru PP, but will I probably do a printed book instead of a binder next year just because of the space issue.
J3SS1C4 says
I make my pages digitally and I love it! I was debating on whether to make a photobook at the end, or put them in the divided page protectors, as I already have the albums and page protectors and I want to use some inserts, so at the moment I’m leaning that way.
I have a question for you… When you print your 3×4 cards, what size do you print them at? I’ve printed some out, and they all ended up too big for the pockets…
Toni says
I’d love to do project life but could only consider it digital and there are limited kits available that capture the concept for me. Im doing your clean and simple course at the moment and hope to pick up the skills to make digital insert look pages and get started.
How about a digital C&S PL course for next year?
Laura says
Re: covering tragedies – I did what you did for the Boston Marathon — included it in the week’s journaling. Newtown got its own page in my December Daily. It will be jarring every single time we flip that page. A couple of months ago there was a shooting incident 20 miles away, and I included that in PL, too. It feels weird to pick and choose — there are bad things happening every day (as well as good) — but on the other hand, PL, for me, isn’t about chronicling what’s on the news, either.
Laura says
Oh, and I’m doing one page per week for PL — it’s perfect for us. Small family, same routine every week, can’t really take pictures of our work days for various reasons, so we wouldn’t normally have enough material for two pages per week.
Melissainsc says
What! somebody stole Cole and left a young man in his place. Woah! That means I’m going to have a young man in my house very, very soon (mine is about 6 mo. younger than yours). I don’t know if I will survive it–especially as I think there are going to be some pretty rocky places to go through with this whole teen thing. Ugh. It is great to see them become their own person. William is still trying to figure out who exactly that is, hence the rocky road ahead.
Maureen says
I’m totally digital, and while I’ve printed the pages in the past for a D-ring binder, those babies are just too big for me. I’m thinking this year of doing a persnickety book. However, I miss seeing the album evolve In My Hand as the year goes on.
For things like the Boston bombing, or other serious events, I often take an iphone image of the front of one of our newspapers.
Patti L says
I like the idea of doing some digital PL to 1) just get it done quicker 2) may take up less space. But I would probably just get pages printed as well, so that would still require album. I may want to do a little hybrid too just to use some favorite embellishments.
I only scrap news/events if I have a feeling about it or want to journal/say something about it. I scrap the presidential election, I scrapped the 11 year anniv of 9/11, and I will actually do a little bit about the bombing, combined with the gun control laws. That was an eventful week news-wise and personally as far as tragedy goes for me.
I love to scrap authentically, the good, bad, and ugly, i like seeing my truth out there. Not trying to portray my life as anything close to perfect. I feel much better about that.
I like your hidden journaling. I prefer to do that more often than not.
Chrystal says
Hi Cathy,
I did paper PL 2 years ago, and last year I did digital “PL” but with only 2 layouts per month. I used your “The Monthly” templates so I guess it wasn’t technically PL, but you get the idea. I had the book printed at paperkiwi.com and I have to say, it turned out beautifully. I opted for “lay flat” pages which are nice and thick. I much prefer their quality over Shutterfly.
This year I am doing digital PL but with the “official” BH templates. However, I am still only doing 2 layouts per month (a month in review card instead of week in review – it’s just much more manageable for me).
Project Life, for me, has been a process. I’m always trying to perfect it. 🙂 Good luck!
Leah Cameron says
So many great responses already…but I will add my two cents in nonetheless! Firstly, I mix between two page spreads (or more sometimes, with inserts) and one page spreads per week, simply depending on what photos or memorabilia to go in. It works well, and I don’t have to stress if I don’t have enough “stuff” to fill a full double spread. And you know what else?!? Sometimes, just sometimes, I have done a single page on one side, then the first page of the next week on the same opening – with the second side over the page! Embracing the imperfection here this year!!!
Digital…well, I have considered this too. BUT – I think you and me both would miss that opportunity to tuck little bits of memorabilia in there as you go along. So I am sticking with physical albums for the current year, although now I think I will also do a completely digital version concurrently that I can get printed into books to give to my girls when they are adult. I will keep the album, they can take the books (although this is NOT helping with storage at the moment!!). I am going backwards digitally, and have done 2009 and am doing 2008 completely digitally. If you want to take a look at my mix of single and double page PL spreads they are on my blog here http://leahcameronscorner.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Project%20Life
Ayesha says
I always wondered why you were doing PL physycally, since… you add no physical embellishments to your pages… you add digital wordart to your pages… you use digital journaling cards… etc. You are already doing everything digitally… (and then you print everything?!?) So why are you having doubts????
(I just started the physical PL adventure in february, after having done PL physically… So I’m on the opposite sideof the adventure ;)…)
Lynn H. says
I do Project Life digitally, and I love it. Here are my reasons:
Clutter Control: I don’t have all the physical product to store in my house. It’s all nicely organized on my laptop (and backed-up!) When it comes to the finished product at the end of the year, I also have one hard-cover Shutterfly book on the shelf in the family room, whereas my cousin has three large 12×12 binders per year.
Workspace: I need my laptop and my iPhone with my Momento app. I can work anywhere – in the family room, at the table, at the coffee shop, etc. I get together with my cousin once a month to work on PL, and we alternate whose houses we go to. When I go to her house, I take my laptop bag. When she comes to my house, she needs to make several trips to the car to get all of her materials, AND she’s already taken the time to select, edit, and print her photos beforehand.
Creativity: I used to love playing with paper – both scrapbooking and making cards, but my new creative outlet is digital. I have purchased a few of the PL digital kits, and I LOVE (and regularly use) your digital products, Cathy. But I also design my own stuff – instead of relying on what’s been designed for the kit, I create what I need for each layout.
Flexibility: Last week I used a few cards from the Wellington edition, and everything in my layout coordinated with that. I had a Seafoam card that I wanted to use, but the colour wasn’t right, so I re-coloured it. If I was working with the physical product, I wouldn’t have been able to do that. I love that I don’t need to settle.
What about the memorabilia? I have a 12×12 album that holds my memorabilia (ticket stubs, those 5×7 pictures they sucker you into buying at tourist attractions, etc.) My album will hold several years worth of memorabilia. This Spring Break we went to Vegas and my husband and I renewed our vows with an Elvis impersonator. I included a few pictures in my PL album, but there will be a full layout with inserts in the binder.
What about the fact that I have to wait for my album? Well, we have an iPad and we have the Shutterfly app. My son and husband regularly flip through the album-in-progress, and we’re all super-excited when the orange box arrives in January.
JulieE says
I too do digital project life. I agree with the pp. One of the reasons I love it is because it’s portable. I scrap while waiting at dance/clarinet/softball, etc etc.
I used to worry about placing ephemera but I’ve gotten adept at scanning and drop shadows so I don’t worry so much about it anymore. If I have something (a map, brochure, etc) that is too big to be scanned I put it in an envelope in the back of the book once it arrives. I’m thinking of using Becky Higgins PL large envelopes in the future for a more archival format.
I use blurb for printing. I do 12×12 books and have been very happy with them. It took me a time or two to get the processing correct on my photos so they don’t print too dark. I also like that you can download the blurb ICC profile and soft proof. I use proline uncoated papers. I like the matte finish. But with the larger books (like PL) the only option is standard paper and it is fine. The binding seems ok and I think it will last. But I don’t have little kids looking through my books. I once received a book and the pages were coming out. I contacted blurb and they replaced it right away.
I’ve also printed with paperkiwi because they offer a lay-flat option. The cover was not as nice as the blub cover and the printing colors seemed off. But in retrospect I think this had more to do with my photo editing than their printing. I’d be willing to try again.
Photobooks can be expensive so don’t print without a coupon! I also use http://www.photobookgirl.com/ to look for recent coupons and deals as well as reviews.
Good luck with your decision.
Vigdis Koren Aass says
I am doing it all digital. I have tried to print out a lot of other digital single pages and I think the albums gets so heavy – and we dont’t pull them out of the shelves as often as the photobooks.
What I think to is that I can print one book for each of the kids and us, then they can bring this with them when they move out. And it will not take up too much space either.
You said also something about number of weekly pages. I adjust the number of pages after what has happened during the week. One, two or more. Have had special events for both kids during a week and then I have made one page of each of the events. So how big the book will be depends on all the things we do during a year 🙂
PSD to html5 says
Terrific project life. I like your project life and it’s a sixteen week. What an amazing stuffs.