project life // 2013 begins

after a few years on hiatus and another year of eking out just a layout a month or so, i'm plunging back into an old hobby. in 2013 i'll be scrapbooking with the project life system.

:: what is project life? :: 
project life is a documenting system that encourages you to simplify the scrapbooking process. it can be as simple as sliding photos in like an old school photo album, but also allows for journaling, embellishment and the addition of the pieces of everyday life, like ticket stubs, grocery shopping lists and business cards. 

:: why project life? ::
over the past six months i've felt really pulled back into the idea of scrapbooking, but every time i sat down to work on a layout, nothing came together. i was inspired, but i just couldn't make it happen.  i'd sketch. i'd push stuff around. but nothing felt right. project life removes the level of design work and time commitment associated with regular scrapbooking. instead of one big, empty canvas, i'll have eight little pieces and for where i'm at with this hobby right now, that seems much easier to complete.

secondly, it's all about the little things. when i used to do traditional scrapbooking, i was young and single. my pages weren't about life milestones or holidays and of course, not about children's activities. for me, it was all about the everyday bits from the music on my ipod to my college classes to a life lesson learned. i love that project life makes it easy to document in that same way - capturing everyday life, because to me that is always, always, always the most fascinating.

:: my plan :: 
my goal for the year is to complete a spread for each week (sunday through saturday) and share it on the blog each sunday. obviously this system is all about minimizing stress in the hobby so if that doesn't work, i'll be the first to say it's okay to change that plan.

so, without further ado...

it's day one and i'm already obsessed.

totally obsessed.

project life // 2013 title page
since each week is a spread, there is a one-page title page right up front. not a lot of stuff yet as it technically doesn't cover any actual days. just a snapshot of our family as of today. the numbers overlay made me think of a calendar and the the "o" is for our last name, o'brien. kept a neutral color scheme with black, ivory and some gold and champagne which felt fitting for ringing in a new year.

i used the most recent picture of scott and i in which you couldn't tell i was pregnant. since i will only be pregnant for about two and a half months of this coming year, i wanted to include one of us that focused on us, not the bump.

i personally tend to dislike sonogram photos. i actually deleted my facebook account one day shouting, "i can't see one more person's uterus!", but knowing that baby o will join us in 2013, it seemed weird not to have her represented on the album's title page. the only thing i may add to this page since i took these photos is adding a small 7 gypsies label to baby o's picture with the date of when it was taken.

i am so insanely excited for 2013 and the thought of filling up this album is a huge part of that.

supplies: KI Memories number overlay, American Crafts Thickers letter stickers, chalkboard 2013 artwork from Abuzeedo.com and printed at home, September Blue chevron journaling card printable. most of my products are way old, but i'll keep posting these lists with every project life post for now.