I discovered the idea of taking a photo a day for a year back in 2009 when I was still actively scrapbooking. The idea has been around for a while in photography circles, but it was introduced as a way to document the everyday life in a Creating Keepsakes magazine. It’s called a Project 365, and the concept really just resonated with me (you could say that it clicked, but that would be an awfully cheesy photography pun, so I will restrain myself…).
The idea was to take a picture every day, and then also to jot down either a memory about the picture, or some other random memory from the day. How easy is that?!
But then the kit that was being offered by Creating Keepsakes sold out so quickly that I didn’t get one. I was really disappointed, but decided to continue with the concept since I had already started taking the photos. In response to the disappointed masses who missed out on the physical kit, CK offered a digital download so that we could either print out the journaling cards or use them for digital photobooks. I decided to try something new…
I knew how to use photoshop on a very basic level, and had been intrigued by the idea of digital scrapbooking (making your scrapbook pages on your computer) for a while. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to give it a go!
I decided to use Blurb to print my book because you can have more than 100 pages (which is very important since there are 52 weeks in a year and each week has a 2-page layout).
This is what my very first digital page looked like using the cards that came with the kit:
It’s pretty basic. No bells and whistles. And honestly? I am fine with that!
In 2010, Becky Higgins introduced her take on this idea, and called it Project Life. She describes the whole concept way better than me, so go check out her site for more details.
This method of scrapbooking has had the most profound change on what I scrapbook. And it was this idea of capturing the every day moments that has shaped the way I photograph for my business.
I am currently working on our 2010 Project Life photo book (yeah, I’m still not caught up. oh well!). I chose to use the digital version of the Clementine Edition because I loved the colors in this kit.
I wanted to have a larger variety of journaling cards than what was provided in the purchased kit, so I set out to find some more.
Leena Loh is one of the creative team members for 2013 for Project Life and she designed a freebie set of beautiful, bright, citrusy-colored cards. I loved her design, but the colors didn’t work with my Clementine kit, so I shamelessly copied her design for my own use and then asked her permission to share what I made with other Project Lifers who are using the Clementine kit. She gave me the go ahead, as long as I included a link back to her site. A huge thank you to her for her generosity, and willingness to let me copy and share my take on her cool design!
To get your copies of these cards, just click the link below:
link! —-> Days of the Week Clementine Freebie <—- link!
The files are .png files that you can either print yourself on your printer, use on your digital pages, or have printed by your favorite photo lab.
Now go document your life!
