After the huge (and early!) hit that was HSN Project Life Photo Overlays, I thought you’d want early info on another Project Life item at HSN.com. Well, you know me! I’m here to enable . . . erm, INFORM . . . my readers. So here ya’ go . . .
Project Life Assorted Themed Journaling Cards from HSN.com
From what I can see, these are just 5 of the new Project Life Themed Cards sets sold as a package at HSN. You get:
40-pack themed cards – Love
– (4) 4″ x 6″ title cards
– (4) 4″ x 6″ journaling cards
– (32) 3″ x 4″ journaling cards
60-pack themed cards – Road Trip
– (6) 4″ x 6″ title cards
– (6) 4″ x 6″ journaling cards
– (48) 3″ x 4″ journaling cards
60-pack themed cards – Floral
– (6) 4″ x 6″ title cards
– (6) 4″ x 6″ journaling cards
– (48) 3″ x 4″ journaling cards
60-pack themed cards – Tropical
– (6) 4″ x 6″ title cards
– (6) 4″ x 6″ journaling cards
– (48) 3″ x 4″ journaling cards
60-pack themed cards – Celebrate
– (6) 4″ x 6″ title cards
– (6) 4″ x 6″ journaling cards
– (48) 3″ x 4″ journaling cards
You can get somewhat of a look at each of the above Themed Cards on BeckyHiggins.com right HERE. There are 36 total Themed Cards sets so you’ll have to put those eagle eyes and that scroll finger of yours to work.
The 40-pack Themed sets retail for $4.99 and the 60-packs for $6.99.
I’m as good at math as I am at resisting French fries (i.e. NOT very good) but I believe that adds up to about $33 retail. Seems to me that at $20 and fairly low shipping ($5.20), this is a steal of a deal!
A steal that I’d be taking advantage of except that I LITRALLY just got the Celebrate cards yesterday. Which are very cute, btw … kind of a modern vintage take on celebrations like birthdays and Christmas. I also might’ve purchased 4 other Themed sets as well. Just, ya know, in theory . . .
{Btw, I know that it’s not spelled LITRALLY. That was a joke. All you spelling and grammar babes can just take a chill pill}.
So what do you think of this HSN deal on Project Life Themed cards? Any interest?
As I mentioned HERE, I was very excited to order these new photo overlays made by Becky Higgins for PROJECT LIFE from HSN.com.
Well, apparently I was not alone. They were an HSN exclusive item, posted to their site on Wednesday, I bought them immediately when I saw them that day, and they were sold out by Friday before the HSN Scrapbooking shows even aired on Monday night/Tuesday morning (depending on your time zone).
Mine arrived on Tuesday – fast shipping! You go, HSN. Word to ya’ mutha’.
According to Becky herself on Facebook:
For those of you who were lucky enough to score the Project Life Overlays from HSN, here’s a TIP that you’ll want to know: Be sure to peel off the protective film before using the overlays! Once you do, the clarity will blow your mind. I know a lot of you are bummed they sold out so fast (I agree that more should have been ordered). I will be able to give you an update soon about our plans to hopefully bring these back!
From the image on HSN.com, it was hard to tell exactly what you get with this kit . . .
. . . so I wanted to post some quick photos of all 60 overlays. Sorry, not the best quality pics with my iPhone first thing in the morning but here ya’ go. You can at least get an idea what the sayings are and such.
Well first, here’s the packaging. I took this in the car right when I picked them up from the post office, hee hee. The Scrapbook Obsessed will understand that I couldn’t even wait until I got home to open them up, right?
Here are the first 2 sets on some kraft cardstock:
Here are the next 2 sets on a blue/green color. I wanted to show them on different colors/shades so you can see how they look:
Here’s the last set on charcoal grey Bazzill bling. Ooooh, my arms look so skinny! These overlays are good for my self-esteem.
Here are 2 overlays on photos.
{We got to see a Dodgers/Red Sox game a few weeks ago. DODGERS: They clinch the NL West title WHEN they beat Arizona tonight, hee-yah! Oh wait, this is a scrapbooking blog . . . erm . . . so I’m pocket page scrapping the game using my Project Life “Honey” kit – 22 pages, LOL. Might be a wee bit baseball obsessed, too}.
These photos are true 4×6, printed on my Epson Picturemate. As you can see, the overlays cover to all the edges. Look at the top right corner of the top photo. They do have rounded corners – not sure how I’m going to handle that.
Here’s the whole healthy stack – 60 is a lot! But there are only a few duplicates that I noticed, of plain frames.
I figure if I used approximately 1 per week in my Project Life, I’ll go through them nicely and won’t get tired of seeing them either :)
I hope Becky is able to restock these awesome overlays and that you’re able to get a hold of them!
You can see all the new stuff RIGHT HERE* in a .pdf catalog.
ETA 07-09-13: Well, sugar!! The link I had no longer works so I removed it. I’m hearing that the new PL stuff wasn’t supposed to be released yet. When it actually IS released, someone please remind me to come back and post it again. Becky says sneaks will be release on her blog “soon.”
ETA again 07-09-13: Thanks to the Peas, I found THIS LINK to a Google doc of the catalog. I think you need to be signed in to a Google account to see it (?). I will paste the images in below and hope they don’t disappear as well ;)
My thoughts:
Elsie and Emma “Sunshine” Core Kit: Waaaayyyy too bright and crazy for my tastes but with Elsie involved, I’m sure it will find its following.
Celeste Knight “Heritage” Core Kit: Great colors and patterns for older photos and what better way to finally get all those heritage photos scrapped!
Dear Lizzy “Polka Dot Party” Mini Kit: Usually love her stuff but not sure about this one . . . need to see more.
Amy Tangerine “Cut and Paste” Mini Kit: Great colors and looks good from what little is shown.
Maggie Holmes “Flea Market” Mini Kit: I might have to buy the kit just for that card with the layered hearts. I {heart} hearts!
The albums are all cute but I don’t “do” cloth albums.
Great variety of page protectors and pockets … more the merrier, bring ’em on!
Date stamp and corner rounder are nice additions but not sure I can justify them given I have some date stamps and a corner rounder already.
Love the lined and ledger cards as an alternative to the existing graph cards.
Want the gray arrows, alphas, and label stickers; not a fan of the beige.
They aren’t currently listed as of this writing (07-08-13) but when released, you should be able to see the entire kits in a digital version HERE on the AC Digitals site. I don’t usually buy the digital PL kits but it’s nice to be able to see all the cards to decide if you like it or not.
What are your thoughts on the new Summer 2013 Project Life items by Becky Higgins?
Back in the day, LISA BEARNSON used to host scrapbooking shows on QVC. They were THE THING to watch. Scrappers would call in sick to work or gather and crop during these shows. They were such an event, lol. Well, Lisa left QVC some time ago as did scrapbooking as a whole.
Then HSN picked up the crafts/scrapbooking baton with a variety of hosts. While I’m grateful that at least someone has kept on with the scrapbooking shows, HSN has never held a candle to QVC’s old shows. That’s why I was so very excited to hear that Lisa Bearnson is coming to HSN! Not only that, she’ll be debuting Project Life there. As a Project Lifer myself, that was icing on the scrapbooky cake.
If you don’t want to know ahead of time many of the items she’ll be showing on HSN, don’t look below … SPOILERS!!
But first I’ll share the schedule so you can set your DVR – it’s basically Monday, 03-25-13 from midnight to midnight EST. HERE is the program guide at HSN.com. You can adjust it to show your time zone if you like.
These are the times Lisa says she will appear (all EST):
12:01 AM – Papercrafting with Lisa Bearnson premiere along with Today’s Special (Project Life) presentation
1:00 AM – Today’s Special (Project Life) presentation
8:00 AM – Today’s Special (Project Life) presentation
12:00 PM – Papercrafting with Lisa Bearnson premiere along with Today’s Special (Project Life) presentation
2:00 PM – Today’s Special (Project Life) presentation
5:00 PM – Papercrafting with Lisa Bearnson premiere along with Today’s Special (Project Life) presentation
6:00 PM – Today’s Special (Project Life) presentation
9:00 PM – Papercrafting with Lisa Bearnson premiere along with Today’s Special (Project Life) presentation
10:00 PM – Today’s Special (Project Life) presentation
She’s been posting on her blog about items she’ll be presenting on HSN for the big scrapbooking day. This is just a snapshot; click on her blog link above to see a lot more details. But here are all the products in one place:
[quote]On March 25th, 2013 at 12:01 a.m. I will present the Today’s Special–an exclusive Project Life kit that is not offered like this anywhere else. Oh–and wait until you see the price![/quote]
There will also be a washi tape item:
A Silhouette Cameo bundle:
And a card kit:
Sticker Bliss Mega Kit:
Project Life Blush and Jade kits:
Favorite File of Rub-Ons:
Across the Board border kit:
Life’s Little Moments chipboard kit:
American Crafts twine and paper trimmer:
I don’t know about you but I’m excited! DVR is set baby! First of all, I love Lisa. I was blessed to spend some time with her on a scrapbook cruise and she was amazing. Loved her and David Venable on QVC all those years (and thought the dust-up about ‘the slap’ was kind of silly, imho). Anyway, just happy to see something new and exciting coming to HSN for once. If I have to see the WRMK punches demo’d one more time I’m going to scream.
Reminder: If you’re PST like me, we actually get the first show at 9pm Sunday night :) I need to catch up on my Project Life. I think I’m going to set it up on the coffee table and have a little Scrap Party for One from 9pm to midnight, LOL.
Will you be watching? Got your eye on any of the items above?
Lain Ehmann over at Layout a Day.com just announced her next FREE SCRAPINAR for October and I think you’re going to love it!
Hmmm … You know that little voice in your head that talks to you but no one else can hear … yet *I* know what it’s saying right now? It’s saying, “What in Blue Cherry Hill is a ‘scrapinar’???” And since I heard your little voice alllll the way from here, I’m going to answer: A scrapinar is an online event where everyone meets up at the same bat time on the same bat channel (e.g., same website – which will be provided to you when you sign up). Lain speaks to us live, then she introduces a pre-recorded mini-scrapbook class or seminar. While all of us “students” are listening to Lain and watching the video, in another box on our computer screen, we are having an ongoing “live” (real time) chat with Lain and each other about the topic. We ask questions, make comments, share our own ideas, make jokes, whatever.
And the beauty part is that if you get interrupted or miss it altogether, you will have a certain window of time AFTER the scrapinar to log in, watch Lain, watch the video, and read the chat transcript. Lain also shares any links, worksheets, etc. that were discussed during the scrapinar. BUT – aint’t there always a but? – you MUST register before the event to have access to it afterward (i.e., you can’t see if after the fact if you didn’t sign up to attend originally). You don’t need Skype or anything. Lain sends you instructions on how to access the “classroom” and they’re really super easy. Hey, I’m about the biggest techno-boob out there and I managed to figure it out. Just sayin’ …
The REAL beauty part is … this is all FREE if you can flippin’ believe it! I know, right?
So here are the Top 5 Reasons You Should Sign Up:
1. On Tuesday, 10/02/12, she is having Jennifer Woodbury, a creative team member for Becky Higgins’ Project Life! She will share “Project Life Step-by-Step.”
2. As soon as you sign up, you’ll be offered a special deal that you can only get by signing up for this particular scrapinar. {Hint: It involves Becky Higgins, it’s a great deal, and you won’t want to miss it}.
3. If you already love Lain, you get to spend more time with her. And if you’ve never “met” Lain, what are you waiting for guuurrrrll? She’s fun, upbeat, and always hooks us scrappers up with cool stuff.
4. The October scrapinar uses the same “live chat” and video technology that Lain uses for the TRUE SCRAP events. So this is the perfect test drive to see how it works, get any bugs out, etc. before True Scrap later in October*
5. Um, *I* will be there! DUH!
*TRUE SCRAP 4 is an amazing 2-day, all-inclusive, online scrapbooking event taking place October 21-22, 2012. You get:
Inspiration and Education from 15 A-list instructors…
Five virtual project make-and-takes…
Pre-Event PJ Party…
Virtual goodie bag…
All for one low price…
All from YOUR computer!
I’ll be attending a True Scrap event for the first time. You can probably tell how excited I am because I keep blogging about it, LOL. I just think it’s a super cool thing and I wish I would’ve found True Scrap earlier. The class I took from True Scrap 3 was the best of ANY online scrapbooking classes I’ve ever taken, and that’s what brought TS4 to my full attention. Please think about joining me. Srsly.
I also hope to see you at the free October scrapinar. Do you think you’ll attend either event?
YAY! LAIN EHMANN from LAYOUT A DAY has just announced that “True Scrap 3” classes are now available for individual purchase. HUZZA HUZZA!
If you haven’t heard about True Scrap 3, uh, where have you BEEN?!?! Juuuust kidding ;) TS3 is a set of online classes with great instructors and speakers you may have heard of like SHIMELLE LAINE, BECKY HIGGINS, NOELL HYMAN (from the PAPERCLIPPING.COM scrapbooking podcasts … love her!), and many more.
Back in the day {aka April 2012 … but that was AGES ago when you’re waiting for something, jeez!}, you had to purchase the entire TRUE SCRAP 3 EVENT and the cost was $147.
Sure, it’s a stupendous value for the money {uh, hello? 15 instructors and 5 virtual make-n-takes!}. But I for one can’t afford to lay out (ha ha, get it? layout???) that kind of dough these days. So I’ve been patiently waiting for this announcement: Now you can buy the classes “a la carte” – for you non-Frenchies, that means “with a separate price for each item on the menu”.
For me, that translates in English to: “Hollah! Now I can afford it!” I know I’ll definitely be buying the Shimelle Laine class called “The Perfect Collection: Using your favorite collection pack to the very last scrap.” ‘Cuz lawdy knows I got a zillion collection packs here to use up. How about you? Can I get an “Amen!”
Stay tuned for more talk about True Scrap 3 Individual Classes. I will post more soon. For now, you can click here to view more details and maybe buy some classes, eh?
Sign up soon, before you get distracted by the UPS man bringing you more scrap pretties, LOL! The price for each class is set at $9.99 — for a limited time. On 7/7 the price will increase to $12.95 per class.
Come back and let me know what you signed up for. Maybe we’ll have the same classes – we can share a locker and pass notes during class ;)
Ruh roh, Cleetus McDuffy strikes again … and he finally got a toot!
What do you think of THIS? Do you agree with the commenters who love Cleetus and think it was a good choice or do you think it was inappropriate, not funny, unfair (since she has a tie to Cleetus aka Colin Kartchner who’s married to a “famous” scrapbooker), etc.?
I think it’s a hilarious video just like the rest of his (I’ve been a fan since the BEGINNING). He fulfills the “entertain” category for sure. I guess if I had worked really hard on a video submission that “educated” or “inspired,” I would maybe {unjustifiably} be pissed, I don’t know. But barring that, I don’t get the negative comments. Maybe my sense of humor is so warped, I’m beyond comprehending, LOL.
I organized my bedroom clothes closet recently. Well, one of my clothes closets. I have part of another closet where I keep my hanging stuff, luggage, and some storage. This closet is more like a walk-in dresser, LOL. Hey, I work from home. My everyday wardrobe mainly consists of tees, jeans, and sweats.
It’s a miracle that deserves an annually-observed holiday, because it was sooooooo long overdue. You couldn’t pay me enough to show you the Before* … WAY too embarrassing … but here is the After.
* Then again, maybe you could.
This picture is also embarrassing to show, because I realize that I have a Normal, Boring, Person with No Money Closet … as opposed to a Martha Stewart Closet or an HGTV Perfect Closet or even a Decorator Blog or Becky Higgins Closet. So I’m sorry if it’s underwhelming, LOL.
But I’m for real. I can’t afford fancy bins and baskets from POTTERY BARN nor awesome customized closet systems by ELFA orIKEA. I have cheap wire cubes from TARGET and older hanging shoe and sweater organizers made of cheap plastic which have sagged over time.
And I’ll replace those when they physically fall apart, LOL. Srsly. I’m the only one who goes into this cave and I couldn’t care less if it looks pretty, as long as I can find stuff. In the morning. In my half-lidded stupor. Before coffee.
Here is a closer view. Shoes in their place. I can see the floor again. “Ohhhhh …. so THAT’S what the floor looks like!?!?”
So I was proud of myself nonetheless. It took ALL DAY on a Saturday. I guess it looks like I still have too much, and maybe I do, but I filled 8 trash bags and 10 donate bags. I let go of a lot and yes, it did feel good! It had probably been 5 years since I’d done a thorough clean-out of my closet, so older clothes and things I no longer wore were just stacked and stacked and stacked. It was entirely ridonculous.
Then it got to the point where it was so intimidating and daunting to confront, that I just … didn’t. I lived with it. I made sure to keep my closet door shut so I didn’t have to “see” it, except for the few minutes a day it took me to choose and put away clothes.
Anyway, saying that I’m glad it’s done is a huge understatement. I just hope I can stay on top of things better from now on. I know the tees in ROYGBIV color order won’t last long but that’s okay. As long as I can keep long sleeve tees together, my shoes in their holders, etc., I’ll be quite happy.
Is there a big job in your life you’ve tackled lately? Any organizing photos or stories you’d like to share? I’d love to see some blog links showing me what you’ve done, or your favorite organizational sites. Whatever you wanna’ talk about or comment on or share :)
Just don’t tell me I have too many shoes :) I mean, DUH.
The response to this new line and kit by MEMORY WORKS has been overwhelming! Which, as a Memory Works consultant, excites me to no end. It feels good when so many people have such a positive response to a product that the company YOU work for sells.
So I’ve decided to do regular update blog posts here about it. Here is UPDATE #1 and UPDATE #2 in case you missed them. They don’t have “Update” in the title because I didn’t realize when I wrote them that Simple Stories/Life Documented would be such a big honkin’ deal, LOL!
I’m also going to start sending out e-mail updates to anyone who would like to be on my address list. If you would like to be on my list and receive updates about Simple Stories “Life Documented”, please e-mail me: scrapbookobsession(at)gmail(dot)com. {I would prefer you didn’t leave your e-mail address in my blog Comments, as then your personal e-mail is out there for everyone on the web to see and you will be spammed to within an inch of your life. Believe me.}
I’ve been away from the computer for the last several days, so I haven’t been able to share all the Life Documented sneak peeks they’ve been posting on the Simple Stories BLOG, but here are some links so you can get all caught up:
REVEAL #1 (12-28-09) ~ Life Documented Kit, Journal Cards, and Quote Cards REVEAL #2 (12-29-09) ~ We R Memory Keepers Albums, Page Protectors, and prices REVEAL #3 (12-30-09) ~ Title Strips, Border Strips, and Page Elements REVEAL #4 (12-31-09) ~ Journaling Mats, Quote Cards, and how they work with the Page Protectors
For this update, how about a What, Where, How kind of thing?
WHAT is Simple Stories “Life Documented” by Memory Works?
Let me scooch back a little and start at the beginning :) Memory Works is a direct sales scrapbooking company that has been around for 7 years. It is run by Amber and Kevin Crowell (husband and wife) from Utah, USA. Over the years, they have built a wonderful and successful business with consultants from all over the country selling the “latest and greatest” scrapbooking products direct to the customer. Until now, Memory Works has sold products made by other companies, such a My Minds Eye, Basic Grey, Pink Paislee, and Bo Bunny.
Beginning in January 2010, Memory Works will manufacture and sell their OWN product line called Simple Stories. The first release from this line is called “Life Documented” and it consists of paper (not digital*) scrapbooking elements, and it works perfectly with the We R Memory Keepers 12×12 D-ring albums and regular/pocket page protectors that Memory Works already carries. *The kit itself is paper but there will be a free digital element to it also.
WHEN will Simple Stories “Life Documented” items be available to purchase?
The We R Memory Keepers 12×12 D-ring albums and page protector packs are currently for sale through any Memory Works consultant. I notice that as of now, the Celery green color is out of stock, but other colors are available. My assumption is that the Celery color will be in stock when the kits are.
Speaking of which, the Simple Stories “Life Documented” kits are projected to be available for purchase in mid-January. MW does not believe in promising something until they have it in their hands, so they will not take orders until they actually have the product and know they can fulfill the orders. (My VERY OWN OPINION is that Memory Works trying to avoid a fiasco like Becky Higgins/Creating Keepsakes had with their Project 365 kits last year at this time….man, that got ugly!).
So, if you would like to order the albums and page protectors now, you can, or you can wait until the kit comes in and get everything at once. Totally up to you. Either way, I hope you will consider ordering from me (yeah, I have no shame…) and you would do so HERE. Instructions are HERE.
HOW does the Life Documented kit work and would it be a good fit for Project 365, Project 52, and the like?
The concept of Simple Stories is just that: SIMPLE. Take photos, get them in an album, embellish, journal, DONE. Sure, we scrapbookers are creative types, and we love to make more detailed and complicated layouts a lot of the time. But what if you’re super busy like me and find you don’t have the time to scrapbook that you used to? What if you took a big trip with lots of photos and are now daunted by the prospect of getting all those fab photos into one album, and getting it done, like, sometime this century?
Maybe your solution is Simple Stories. Take your 4×6 photos (no cropping necessary), slip them into divided page protectors like THESE from We R Memory Keepers, slip in some embellishment by way of nicely designed accents made from heavy cardstock, jot down some journaling on a predesigned card, and you’re done.
If you’re planning to do Project 365 in 2010 (or Project 52, Project 12, etc), you can see this will be perfect for these projects. The page protectors come in many different configurations, with different sized pockets, vertical and horizontal 4×6 photo slots, etc. so you can personalize it exactly how you like. Many of you have already purchased the PROJECT LIFE kit by Becky Higgins and that is awesome. Rock on, Project Life sistas! She gives you a lot of product for the price and her clean, simple style is very appealing. However, if the style of her kit doesn’t appeal to you, or you did her Project 365 last year and maybe want to try something with a different layout and look this year, check out Life Documented :)
WHERE can you order Simple Stories “Life Documented”?
You can order from any Memory Works Consultant. If she has her own website, you can order directly from there. If she doesn’t, you can tell the consultant what you want and she will place the order for you. My website is HERE. I take check and money order, but prefer Paypal as you will get your order quicker (since I don’t have to wait for payment in the mail before I can place your order).
No matter which consultant you order from, and where she and you are located, your order will ship from Memory Works in Utah. So it is NOT necessary to find a “consultant near you”, kwim?
Do you think a lot of your friends might like “Life Documented” or other Memory Works products? Want to earn a 20% commission on everything you sell and/or buy for yourself? Consider becoming a Memory Works CONSULTANT {starts as low as $20 sign-up!}. If you do sign up, I would love the free product credit I get if you put in my consultant number (wink).
WHY should I wait for Life Documented kit, when Project 365 starts tomorrow?
I have asked myself that same question, LOL! I’m going to do Project 365 for the first time in 2010 (HERE is where I agonized over the decision). Of course, I’m anxious to get started and afraid of falling behind. Waiting for 2 weeks into the new year before I can order Life Documented seems counterintuitive, right?
But I figure that once I receive “Life Documented”, it’s so super easy, I can get caught up in one scrapping session. Starting tomorrow on January 1, I’ll begin taking my daily photo and jotting some quick journaling about it in my dayplanner, notebook, or a Word document. {This is a practice I’ll keep up throughout the year}. Then when I get the kit, I’ll print out my 2 or 3 weeks of photos and pop them into the page protectors, copy over my journaling onto the pre-done journaling cards, add a few embellishments and accents, and I’m caught up. Piece a cake, I tell ya. So I’m not worried about it…
I like the “Life Documented” kit so much more than Becky’s that it’ll be worth the wait. Here are some pix so you can see how different they are:
A peek of PROJECT LIFE
A peek of LIFE DOCUMENTED
What I’ve been hearing on the message boards is that one kit or the other is “your style,” so it’s nice that there are 2 options we can all choose from, don’t you think? Yay, OPTIONS! We LOVE options!
ETA: I’ve been getting inquires from outside of the States, so I want to clarify that question. Standard shipping within the Continental US is $8.45 for up to an $87.99 purchase. For higher charges, there is also Rush shipping and shipping to APO/FPO, Alaska, Hawaii and US Territories. As of now, Memory Works does NOT ship outside of the US but, if you’re willing to pay the actual shipping costs, I can have any Memory Works products shipped to me in California, and I will ship them to you :)
So, I hope I’ve answered your questions about Simple Stories “Life Documented” by Memory Works. If I haven’t, please leave me a comment and I’ll answer in my next Update.
If you would like updates by e-mail, please e-mail me as explained above. And one last thing…
HAPPY SCRAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Have a safe, fun, and fabulous night :) Our plan includes pizza, movies, a fire in the woodstove, board games, and staying home where it’s safe and warm. I know, just livin’ The Vida Loca over here, ain’t we? {I do plan to break out the Dirty Martinis at some point, so if you see me on the scrapbook message boards tonight and I’m not making much sense, I’m probably PUI…Posting Under the Influence…ha!}
Wow, that’s a lot of freakin’ numbers! Yeah, I’m thinking about doing Project 365 starting January 1 of next year.
If you’ve been living under a rock and aren’t already familiar, Project 365 is where you take a photo per day for an entire year (get it??? 365?? huh? huh?). Ostensibly, you then scrapbook those photos so that at the end of the year, you have photos and journaling from an entire year in your everyday life. Pretty dang cool.
I *think* this idea originated with Ali Edwards or Creating Keepsakes or Becky Higgins, or some combination thereof. Becky provided a PROJECT 365 KIT last year that you could purchase to simplify the process. It utilized those page protectors with slots in them and pre-done journaling boxes and accents which, along with your photo per day, you could just slip right in. Add some quick journaling each day or each week and you are dunzo. HERE is something from January 2009 by Becky, about all the reasons to do P365 … it’s a good overview of what the project entails and why it’s a cool idea. Plus, it will make you want to buy one of her kits, LOL. For 2010, she is selling the Project Life kit HERE.
Here is a sample from MAGGIE HOLMES using Becky’s kit from 2009:
This is such an all-encompassing project that a lot of participants started a blog separate from their regular scrapbooking blog to document their P365 photos. Some people see this as a great way to improve your photography, not just the skills used to take photos of such varied things but also opening your eyes to the everyday things that we wouldn’t think were “important enough” for a photo usually, but P365 gives you license to take their picture. For instance, maybe you take a photo of what you have for breakfast most days, your kids doing homework, or the gorgeous spring flower that just bloomed outside your window.
I avoided being sucked in to Project 365 last year, but my resolve is weakening. It has the potential to be a VERY time-consuming project, no? Not only do you have to remember to take a ding-dang photo every single day of your life for an entire year, but then you need to sit down and daily or at least weekly print out your photo(s), slap some journaling down, and make it all look cute.
However, I’ve been reading about Project 365 throughout the year here and there, kind of following how scrappers everywhere are accomplishing this daunting ~ yes, I said daunting…you gotta problem with that? ~ task, and they have made me feel like it’s doable. I think the divided page protectors are definitely the way to go. There is no way on Lisa Bearnson’s green earth that I’m going to scrapbook a full-on layout a day. Just ain’t happening. After the FIASCO with Becky’s P365 kits last year*, I’m not going there … don’t want to deal with that mess if I decide to do it for 2010. They are supposedly shipping Dec. 29th but we shall see. Just for the record, I’m not dissing on Becky … but I’ve not been a fan of CK Customer Service for years. Nicely put: They suck. So there.
*The link is to Becky’s blog archives for January 2009; scroll through and browse all the negativity to see what I’m calling “The Fiasco.” January 24 is a good one to read.
Besides, as happy happenstance would have it, the company I’m a consultant for {MEMORY WORKS} has announced their own products for the first time, coming out in January 2010. The first line will include items to do this type of “photo album scrapbooking” made so attractive and popular by the likes of STACY JULIAN and all those Project 365’ers out there. So there will be pre-cut journaling boxes and elements with corresponding divided page protectors to make scrapping a lot of photos about as easy as it gets.
As for the photo issue, now that I have my little Epson photo printer and can easily print photos at home, the obstacle of sending photos off to be printed in a timely manner is gone … I’ll just print them at home. Easy peasy. I doubt I would actually print out a photo every day, but I could certainly do it weekly … erm, at least I think I could.
So, I’m still on the fence about doing Project 365 in 2010. I’m kind of famous for … well, for lots of things actually, like the fact that Lou Diamond Phillips once brushed against me in a nightclub and that TROY DUNN is my homeboy … but what I meant to say was, I’m pretty famous for starting projects, being all gung-ho at the beginning, and then my life gets “too busy” and I let those commitments fall by the wayside.
In the case of Project 365, I don’t want that to happen. If I start it, I wanna finish it. And I honestly don’t know if I have it in me to do that. With 2009 coming to an end, there is a lot of talk on scrapbook blogs and message boards among those scrappers who did P365 this year. I’m hearing a lot of “Yeah, it was a cool project but it was SO hard to keep up on,” and “I was really excited to do it but I dropped out in February; it was just too much work.”
I don’t know. I’m confuzzled. Is there a support group for people like me?
I think it would be very cool to have a completely done 2010 album at this time next year. What an awesome thing for my family to look back on, a year of our everyday life captured in one place … the good, the bad, and the ugly. And believe you me, there is LOTS of ugly! Dirty dishes, a mentally-challenged dog, unmade beds … the horror! But I think doing this project would at least keep me in semi-scrapping mode throughout the year, whereas currently I only seem to scrap when I go to crops. P365 would force me to at least be taking some pics and jotting a few details down on a regular basis. And a reason to Scrap Shop! {Yeah, like I NEED a reason??} Project 365 would give me an excuse to buy the cute new Memory Works products, and it would give me a way to display them for customers.
One good idea I heard is to start NOW putting photo ideas in your dayplanner. Then you’re not struggling every day for what to take a photo of. HERE is a cool list provided by CK of 365 things to take photos of.
So, yeah, there are lots of positives to this project and that’s why I’m seriously considering participating in 2010. I think I’ve about 70% convinced myself, but the other 30% is being a real bee-yotch about the whole thing (“You’re too busy, you’ll never keep up.” “You never stick with anything long enough to complete it.” “Focus on your regular scrapping, dummy.” You know, bitchy stuff like that.).
So tell me, did you do Project 365 in 2009? Do you plan to in 2010? Why or why not? If you’re going to participate, HOW are you going to do it? Tell me, tell me …
Just some random scrappy things to end your week with …
~*~ You know that “First” magazine you see in the supermarket checkout aisle? Well, buy THIS one … there is a scrapbooking article in it!
~*~ Word on the street is that Big Lots has older Cricut cartridges for 30 snaps. Okay, “the street” = “The PEAS,” you caught me! I’ll be checking my BL this weekend, but this is the store that got one lame shipment of Thickers when everyone else had tons of them, so I’m not holding out much hope. I guess for all the bad that comes from this seriously sucky economy, we will be seeing cooler items trickling down to the discount stores because of it. Mixed blessing, I guess…
~*~ Do you like scrapbooking novels? Well, did you know that JOANNA CAMPBELL SLAN has two scrapbooking mysteries out, and another one on the way for May 2010? I’ve read “Paper, Scissors, Death” and really enjoyed it. Now I need to get “Cut, Crop & Die” which has been out since summer. (Yeah, I’m totally lagging, cuz I DO want to read it!). Well, to tide us over until the next book comes out {details are HERE}, she shares a free scrapbooking short story HERE. She must’ve JUST finished writing it because there are some mentions in there about Twilight and the Tiger Woods situation. Timely, Miss Joanna, very timely… Anyway, it’s a fun story to devour with your next cup of coffee or tea. Enjoy!
~*~ What do you think of the January issue of CREATING KEEPSAKES? The Peas are talking about it HERE and, let me tell ya’, reviews are really mixed. I just got my copy and hope to pour through it this weekend, but have had a quick browse through and like what I see so far. It is definitely weird with all the usual suspects like Ali and Becky gone.
I’m putting off reading Lisa Bearnson’s last column ‘cuz I know I’m gonna cry. I had the pleasure of going on a week-long Mediterranean cruise with Lisa/CK in 2006, and she is THE nicest most caring lady you’d ever want to meet. It always kills me to hear her ripped apart by Mean Girls because I don’t think you can spend a week with someone and not see some mysterious evil side come out at some point, if it really does exist (which it obviously doesn’t). Yep, big Lisa fan here. Remind me to tell you about her on that cruise some time, k?
Oh gee, I seem to have gone off on a tangent. That NEVER happens, LOL! But back to the CK January issue … Your thoughts?
~*~ I am SO frick-frackin’ excited about a new product that MEMORY WORKS has coming out in January!! They have always sold all the latest and greatest products by other manufacturers {like Basic Grey, Fancy Pants, etc.}, but MW is coming out with their OWN line. I’ve seen some sneak peeks and it’s rockin’. Stay tuned…
~*~ Isn’t this an adorable layout from KELLY GOREE with Basic Grey “Sugar Rush”?
I love love LOVE the letters used in “reward” so I’m going to ask her how she did them. The SSS girls are thinking Silhouette and a sweet Sista named Lisa has offered to cut me something if I can find out which font it is.
ETA: Color me bummed. Kelly said “reward” is from the handwriting of a Basic Grey staff designer, and Kelly hand cut it. Alas, there is no way to replicate it. Even IF I could pretend to approach that gorgeous writing, there’s no way I’d have the skill or patience to hand cut it, LOL!
~*~ I shall leave you with the news that SCRAP SISTERS STUDIO (my home-away-from-home message board) is having an online crop this weekend. If you’re not already a member, join up and join in! Lots of fun chatting and doing challenges, sharing our work and ideas.
This is a sad, sad day in Scrappy Land. After the December issue of CK (currently on newsstands), Ali Edwards and her “Studio A” column will be no more :( As of now, there are no plans for Ali to write any other features for CK, either.
The Peas are talking about it HERE, and the Scrap Sisters HERE…
So can you read that great big writing on the wall, folks? Cuz I’m seeing it in big, black, ugly, capital letters: Creating Keepsakes magazine is on the way out.
Here are some of the signs I’m basing my opinion on:
– BECKY HIGGINS leaves CK
– Crazy cheap CK subscription deals
– LISA BEARNSON no longer does her monthly CK column after January 2010
Sorry, folks. I think CK is “done and done.” And I fear Scrapbooks Etc. is right behind them.
How many scrapbooking magazines will that leave us then? Oh, that’s right! NONE.
I gotta’ be honest here and say we have no one to blame but ourselves. I’ve heard time and time again on the message boards about scrappers dropping their scrap magazine subscriptions because they didn’t like this or that about the magazine. Now with Ali leaving CK, here comes another round of “Well, now for SURE I won’t renew!”
Do you see the parallel with the demise of the LSS? I sure do. “My LSS has the latest and greatest, but they (charge too much), (don’t kiss my butt when I walk in the door), (kiss my butt too hard when I walk in the door), (don’t order the exact brand and model number of product I want), (don’t have sales or coupons like the Big Box Stores),” etc. etc.
And guess what? The LSSs all closed while we scooped up coupons and Killer Deals at the big box stores. Hey, there are fewer choices, only major brands to choose from, and paper stacks galore, but at least it’s cheaper so we’re happy shoppers! Oh, wait, you mean if we don’t support the LSS and the variety of scrapbooking companies whose products they carry, the LSSs AND the scrapbooking manufacturers will go out of business?? Wha???
Well, yeah, that’s how it happens. And the same goes for scrapbooking magazines. We complained. We said, “Screw you. I don’t like exactly how you do your magazine, so I’ll just go get my content online for free from blogs and such!” We quit subscribing and buying from the newsstand. The newsstands stopped carrying scrap magazines, even for those of us who still want to buy them (but can no longer find them without searching). Scrapbooking magazines started folding. Did we stand strongly behind the remaining ones? No, we didn’t.
So now we have no Ali, Lisa, or Becky ~ three of the biggest scrapbooking names in the industry ~ and I think we can see where we’re going from here.
I’m not pointing fingers, believe me. First, because I know the horrible economy played a big hand in a lot of our decisions as scrappers. Second, because I did/do a lot of these same things, all in the name of saving money on scrap supplies. I did do everything I could to patronize my LSSs when they were here, but I live in a rural area and lost mine well before most others did. I did the best I could to support this industry, but I failed it in many ways, too.
I gotta’ say, I never gave up on the magazines, though. I criticized the changes at SB Etc. (because I thought they were making the wrong choice to save a struggling magazine), but I still bought it at full retail every month, as I did with every paper scrapbooking magazine out there. I really, really wanted to save them! I’m a Scrap Mag Ho, remember?
I just want us, as scrappers, to accept some of this responsibility. Ali is a symptom, not the problem or the cure. I will miss dearly the unique perspective she added to CK for years and years. I wish her great success in all she does in the future. I will miss her :(
When CK and SB Etc. disappear soon, I will miss them terribly, too. And I will have no one to blame but myself.
Hey, did you notice it’s snowing on my blog. I just really {heart} WordPress.
Okay, let’s start with a shopping report, because there haven’t been enough of those lately. Tonight I went to Michaels and used my 40% off coupon on a really snazzy 5-up photo album by Recollections. Sorry, I coudn’t find a photo of it anywhere online. It was back with the frames and photo albums, not with the scrapbooks. It’s my latest idea for storing extras of “already scrapped” photos and bad shots that I can’t seem to throw away. Each page has some vertical and some horizontal. I figure whatever slots I don’t have photos for on each page (does that make sense?), I’ll slip in some paper and do journaling or a title. Or just some decoration. I have to keep it flat, though, as I doubt this album would be able to handle lots of embellies. If you’d like a photo of it, leave me a comment and I’ll take a pic of mine. I’m going to start collecting these with future Mike’s coupons. I think they’re normally $25, but worth it, with a simple, classy looking cover and the plastic protecting cover that I love…
I also got a kit by K&Company, which was on sale for 30% off. It’s a paper pad with embellies attached (bling!) to make ornaments, which I’m going to give as gifts. And I’m sure keep some too. Every year, I make an ornament for each child so this year’s will be made from this kit. Again, couldn’t find a pic to post for ya’ ~ SAH-REE!
I also got some cinnamon-scented pinecones because I love how they make my house all smelly! I came right home and put them in 3 crystal bowls distributed around the great room area. Mmmmm!! And I got 4 bags of chocolate melts, because they were on a good sale. We’re going to make our traditional PEPPERMINT BARK with the recipe I coulda’ sworn I got last year from BECKY HIGGINS blog. But now I can’t find it on her blog, so I’ll refer you to a sweet CKMB’er, LIZ aka HicksChick, who also has it HERE. We made 2 versions, with Oreos and without. I thought I would like the Oreo version better but just to warn you, it is SUPER sweet. I could take about 2 bites and be done. Hey, wait! That’s a good thing! Last year, we used boring old white chocolate melts but this year, they had RED and GREEN. Totally cool! Here’s a pic of Liz’s peppermint bark so you can start drooling now…then go buy the stuff to make it, you won’t be sorry…{Hi Liz!!!}
Then I went to Target. Yawn. Their scrapbooking aisle has gotten so boring. Nothing was on clearance, and what they call “Sale Items” are, like, 30 cents off the regular price. I do want one or five of THESE KI Memories card and scrapbooking kits. Here’s the Christmas Cardmaking Tin:
And my favorite of the scrapbooking tins, Birthday:
I hope they don’t sell them all, and then put them on Clearance near or after the holidays.
Okay, what else is going on? I got the most recent Scrapbooks Etc and am really enjoying it. I hear a lot of scrappers saying on the message boards that SBE has replaced CK as their favorite scrap mag. I’m not quite there yet, but I get what they’re sayin’. Now the January CK is out and getting rave reviews at 2PEAS. I seeked…sought…sooked…oh, whatever!…but did not find it tonight on my shopping jaunt. Bummer, dude. But I did get the Jan/Feb issue of Simple Scrapbooks. Can’t wait til bedtime when I can browse through it.
I found a very cool LINK where you can download a list of all the Cricut cartridges released to date.
Well, that’s it for now. Back to work! Hope you’re having a wonderful Christmas season and maybe getting to scrap a little? Yeah, me neither but making Christmas cards and ornaments and gifts for soldiers is so much fun this time of year. “Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo!” {Did I get that right, Anne Marie?}
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