Project Life?

I'm struggling... I actually have a reminder set on my Outlook calendar to "Think about Project Life for 2012 (and maybe 2011)." In case you're not up on the scrapbooking terminology, Project Life is a scrapbooking project where you record everyday details. What's different about it (when compared to something like Project 365 or Week in the Life) is that there are no rules. You don't have to take a photo every day or every week or every month. You do what you want when you want, and call it done. Most people document one year in an album.


Liz's (Paislee Press) 2011 Project Life Album

I've never done "Project Life," but I had really good memory-keeping intentions when I started 2011. I was planning to do a 2-page spread for each month and throw in whatever other layouts I happened to make throughout the year. I made ONE, and I haven't scrapped a single page in over six months. I've taken tons of pictures, and I've posted a few of them to my blog, but other than that, I've done nothing. Sigh...

Now it's 2012, and I feel like I need to make a (better) plan for this year, while at the same time hurry to go back and document 2011 before it's lost forever.

Project Life claims to eliminate the guilt that comes with always feeling "behind" on scrapbooking. I mean, let's face it. We're constantly making new memories, so we can never truly be caught up on preserving them. It's a great idea - to give yourself a break and not have super high expectations.


Cathy Zielske's 2012 Project Life Album


Katie's 2011 Project Life / December Daily Album

My problem is that whenever I start a project, I tend to want to copy what someone else has already done, and it never feels like "me." I always end up nixing what I started with and coming up with something on my own (or abandoning the project altogether because I feel overwhelmed).


Ali Edwards's 2011 Project Life Album

There are some awesome examples of Project Life albums out there on the interwebs. I just finished browsing through Ali Edwards's and Liz's (of Paislee Press) posts. I once heard Ali Edwards referred to as a "celebrity scrapbooker," though, so comparing my scrapbooks to hers might be a little like comparing my hair to Jennifer Aniston's. I want it to look like hers, but it just won't. And, if it actually did, I probably wouldn't feel all that comfortable with it.

So... I guess I will do what I usually do... wait for creativitiy to come calling. I just hope it hurries up because I really want to do SOMETHING (good) this year.