Project Life CTC#78

This week at CASE-ing The Catty we are looking at Project Life. I often prefer to scrapbook traditionally but I have to admit that Project Life is a great system for keeping up-to-date with memory keeping. It's a little bit sad that the current generation is the most photographed and yet those photos are rarely printed out. 

In 10 years time, when your iphone has been replaced and the computer updated and technology has done another about-turn, you might not be able to access those photos. It really is time to print those fun, family shots from your phone,so you'll have photos of your son and daughter to show to their children.

It doesn't have to be difficult. Start with a 6" by 8 " album, some page pockets, Project Life cards and a journaling pen. Maybe it is something you can actually do with family? I had my grandson,Logan, write his name to place next to photos of his very first day of school. I told him he could draw a picture or anything he liked, but he wanted to show off his writing.

Recently I attended  Stampin' Up!® Onstage in Sydney and shared a room with fellow team member and friend, Kathryn Mangelsdorf. I thought it would be a fun idea to make us some Project Life cards to use with photos we would take at the Onstage Event and in the days before, when we were sight-seeing around Sydney.

I didn't know whether Kathryn was using Project Life or not, but I do know she travels a great deal. It's another of the things we have in common, besides a love of paper, stamps and ink. As we chatted, I was a little disappointed to hear that she doesn't print her photos, just enjoys them on her computer. I wasn't sure how she'd feel about the small 6" by 8 " album I had made her, with some pages and the stamped cards I'd added to the pages. I stamped with Let's Get Away and Day To Day for two cards. Both those stamp sets are retiring at the end of May, if stock isn't depleted prior to then. Day To Day has a replacement stamp set, but there is nothing similar to Let's Get Away, so if you think you might need it for travel pages, today might be the day to pop into the Online shop to check out retiring stock - there are bargains to be had! The Project Life stamp sets, there are 7 of them, are listed under Project Life in the alphabet. On Kathryn's card with the world and a banner, I left the banner blank. On mine, I used the Alphabet Rotary Stamp, (#133769 $26) also retiring, to stamp 'Sydney'.

I used the heavy card from the 12" by 12" Project Life pages bags for the covers. The paper covering them is from It's My Party Designer Series Paper Stack, in such a lovely pattern and shade of Mint Macaron. Enjoy The Little Things has been stamped onto a Whisper White circle and another piece, die cut with Lots Of Labels Framelits, was stamped lightly with Birthday Blooms and Dear Friend at the bottom. Enjoy the Little Things is not carrying over to the Annual Catalogue, but Birthday Blooms is. The SALE-A-Bration glitter washi adds a touch of glimmer and a wooden butterfly left over from a stamp kit finishes the decoration. There is a closer shot further down the post.

It was drizzling on Thursday morning when we arrived, not the weather we'd been promised, so neither of us had an umbrella. That made for a slightly damp wander down to the Opera House after a beautiful breakfast (and some rather funny photos of two drowned rats!)  After we'd become sufficently wet, the sun came out and it became quite warm and humid. Some of the accessory packs include letter stickers which are handy for a quick title, if you don't want to use your Little Letters Thinlets, which are also on the retiring list.

On Friday night, we were again in the vicinity of the Opera House. It was a hive of activity and we weren't able to get seated anywhere, so we headed down to the end and watched a huge cruise liner as long as the Harbour Bridge, and too  high to go under it, leave port. It took some time, so when we returned we were able to get a seat at the Sydney Cove Oyster Bar, and ate a delicious meal of Barramundi and rocket salad, accompanied by a glass of champagne so we could use the card I'd made with Balloon Celebration and the retired stamp, Making Spirits Bright. The other cards on this page are from PL Moments Like These Card Collection. They are available now and will also carry over into the new Catalogue (refer to pages 162- 167 for Project Life.

 I know that Kathryn was thrilled with her gift and I do hope she jumps onboard with Project Life soon. Photos are so much better printed out, I often sit with my travel albums or share baby photos with my grandchildren. I had intended to make one of these albums for me as well, but I've realised that with two days of Sydney sight-seeing, plus a great Onstage where I celebrated my fifth anniversary with Stampin' Up!® by walking across the stage, there are just too many photos for a 6" by 8" format.

If you are just thinking about starting on Project Life, one of the 6" by 8" albums would be perfect and manageable. Choose an event - a special birthday, family Christmas or other celebration, a year in the life - there are lots of possibilities. Do you need some help? Ask your demonstrator if they use Project Life, or I am happy to try to answer your questions too.

I have to say, two big 12" by 12" albums managed to get 4 years of photos out of a shoebox and into order. Slowly, I am working my way through adding in journalling cards and notes as I remember anything significant.
So what will you do if your computer crashes or you lose your phone? I might be able to help you get started, just ask.

If you live in Australia, and want to place an order you can go to my online store anytime of the day or night. The Hostess Code for this month is ZGGAABEE


If you would like to share your creations with us at CASE-ing The Catty, you can link here

   

 Now head on over to see what Monique is sharing this week (I think it might be a card)

Cheers, Rachel