Project Life

"Cultivate a good life and document it"

That's the slogan of Project Life.  And I can't believe it has taken me this long to find out about it.

I am NOT a scrapbooker.  The thought of designing and even worse, creating a scrapbook page makes me want to cut my fingers off.  It does not appeal to me.

Sure, I love the end product.  But even then, I always had an "issue" with scrapbooking because it felt like it was more about the "stuff" than it was about the pictures.  And I want my displays to be about the pictures.  About the people.  About the story.

So I've tried several different ways of displaying photos.  And, unfortunately, I've just left a lot of my photos on my computer where no one gets to see them but me.

Until I found Project Life.  It's exactly what I've been looking for.  Simple.  Affordable.  And something I can keep current with.   And it supports my intent to display photos that will enrich our family's life.  Project life is about the STORY, not about the STUFF.

I listened to a 3 day conference Becky Higgins (the creator of Project life) did online and decided we should probably be friends.  Because our mission is the same.  Document your life.  Tell a story.  CREATE a story/life (cultivate a good life).  And in the process of doing that, you become more grateful, more aware, and more intentional.

"The truth is, if what we choose to do with our lives won't make a story meaningful, it won't make a life meaningful either."  Donald Miller

Cultivate a good life, and then tell the story by documenting it.

Project Life goes hand-in-hand with the Tell My Story class.

Here's how it works.  You buy a Core Kit, an Album, and Sheet protectors (I use 40% off coupons and get them at Hobby Lobby or Michaels).  Select and print your photos.  Then it's simple.  You just slide pictures and journaling cards in pockets.  And in no time, you have a completed album.  (You can watch video demonstrations on the Project Life website)

There are a few reasons I prefer Project Life over an album you design digitally online.

First, I sit in front of a computer far longer than I'd like to for my business.  Any more hours in front of the computer and my eyeballs might fall out.

Second, I like to be able to do it while I'm doing something else (like catching up on all my DVR shows, or sitting by kids while they do homework).

Third, it's FAST.  And super simple.  Both of which are requirements in pretty much anything I do these days.

Fourth, they look AWESOME when they're done.  More visually interesting than a traditional photo album with pictures in pockets.

Fifth, my kids can get involved and help.  They become invested in the project.

Sixth, you can also journal in the albums.  There are "journaling cards" where you can write small amounts of information to supplement (note I said supplement as the pictures are the main focus of the album for me) the pictures.

Seven, you can make some killer unique gifts with Project Life.  I'll post some things I've done with them so far in a separate post.

But the biggest reason I appreciate Project Life is that I'm able to look through my albums and see what we've accomplished and what efforts we've made at living a good life story, but it also helps me see what we're missing so we can be more intentional about our future and live the life we want to live.



The boxes also make a great spot for folding paper cranes.  Folded 30ish of those (out of 1000) for a friend fighting stage 4 Lymphoma.  

Try it out.  I'm pretty sure you'll fall in love like I have.
And your kids will love you!

Click here to visit the Project Life website.

And for another idea on displaying photos in your home, click here for a super awesome wall display.

Where should I print my pictures?

I get asked this question alot.

My answer:  It depends on what you're using the pictures for.

I know most professional photographers will say to only get your photos printed at a professional lab.  The only time I disagree with this, is based on your answer to the question, what are you using the pictures for?

If I am printing pictures 5x7 or smaller and they are intended for an album, like Project Life, I print my photos at Costco (if I want a white border around them or if I need them quickly).

Keep in mind when printing anywhere, what you see on your screen isn't necessarily what you get from the printer (unless your monitor is calibrated to that specific printer).  I have learned that Costco prints tend to be a little "dark".  So before I send them to Costco I lighten them up a little (bump up the exposure).  All of the photos in this wall collage I did are from Costco.

OR I print my 4x6 photos at York Photo online.  If you google "free 4x6 prints" a code for 100 free prints to york photo should pop up.  You can use that the first time you order prints from them.  They also have sales on their prints all the time so I have a folder on my desktop with pictures I want to print and I wait until there is a sale and then send a batch of those pictures in to be printed.

If I am printing bigger than 5x7 or printing anything large that will be hung on my walls, I use Pixels Foto and Frame (for the Utah readers, it's on 90th S. and State Street in Sandy) or online I use Mpix.  These are both professional printing labs with affordable prices.  And their customer service is killer!!

I use pixels for regular prints (they'll do custom sizes which I love to do) and I also use them for matboard prints like this one:

Mpix has a bunch of novelty photo items like calendars and photo books and cards along with regular prints.  I also use them for printing stickers and business cards.

Any photos I print I use a matte or lustre finish instead of glossy.  Makes them look better in my opinion.

If you have never printed somewhere before and don't know what the prints will end up looking like, just send a few photos to be printed.  Then if you like how they look, you can send a bigger batch for prints.

I have also printed at Persnickety Prints in Orem, UT.  They do printing for Instagram pics (square photos) as well as Project Life album sizes (3x4's).  I also love their polaroid type prints.  Hoping to get a lot of those for a wall display I have in mind.  The printers at Persnickety have a different color than what I see on my monitor, so if you plan to print there, do a "test" print first to make sure it looks the way you want it to.  (For anyone who cares, my monitor reads an RGB color space, and persnickety does heavy stock prints which are CMYK color space.  Different from photographic prints which are RGB)  Regardless, the prints still look awesome!  I'm sure I'll be posting more about Persnickety in the future.  Killer customer service and response time!

I personally would never print at Walmart.  For anything.