How I Scrapbooked One Whole Year In 3 Days!

Posted on January 17, 2012 | 2 comments

Yes, you read that right.

I was able to scrapbook an entire year of photos in just 3 days.

Here is how I did it.

Day 1

I printed and organized my photos into chronological order (for the most part – I was not to picky)

I set up my Project Life album with all the journal cards and title cards – right through the entire album.

Day 2

Put all the photos into the album

Started to add the journalling

Day 3

Continue the journalling and adding any finishing touches.

I completed my entire 2011 album this way. It felt amazing to put that album on my shelf completed and ready to be viewed by my family and friends.

Do I do a Picture of the Day (POTD)

I did do the POTD concept for 2010 using the Original Edition of Project Life (not currently available), and I really enjoyed it. However it can be overwhelming for many. Some struggle to remember to take a photo each day or even what to take a picture of. I started using the concept of themes to help with the inspiration.

For 2011 I decided to take a slightly different approach. I went back to taking photos whenever the desire arose. Which for me meant that there were lots of days that the camera or even my phone camera were not used. Other days, I had 7 or 8 photos that were meaningful. For example a birthday party or our son’s graduation.

When completing my 2011 album, I simply added all the photos I wanted and none I didn’t. So if that meant there were 8 photos of my nephews birthday party – so be it. I also didn’t feel obligated to journal every picture in a series like that. I would maybe do 2 or 3 journal cards with the details and then fill the rest with the decorative cards or journal cards for artistic flare. They are beautiful enough even without the writing.

How did you keep track of your photos for a whole year?

I use a digital camera and when my card is full or at the end of each month, whichever comes first, I transfer my images to a folder on my computer called Photos_Jan2012, etc. When I am ready to put together my album, I simply upload my photos to the print shop.

As for memorabilia I collect over the year, I use a 12×12 plastic folder, the Project Life Big Envelope is perfect! I simply slip everything into it and then when I am creating my album I add the pieces to the appropriate places. Some will likely still be left in the Big Envelope, so that will get added to the album.

I also used the Design E to slip in a disk with ALL the photos I took last year, as well as CDs of the images we took on our crusie, our son’s graduation and the dvd of the video we took of our youngest playing bagpipes on November 11th. I just added references in the journalling to “watch the coordinating CD” at the back of the album.

What are some of the other uses for Project Life that are not the Photo of the Day style?

There are so many ways to use Project Life. It isn’t just for a Jan 1 – Dec 31, Picture of the Day (POTD) format.

Just think of these wonderful ideas:

Hobbies
Baby’s first year
Relationship: Dating, engagement, wedding, first year, anniversaries, etc
School Album (see our son’s here – Video too!)
Christmas Album (you can fit a few years in one album)
Vacation Album
Celebrate a Life – Pick a loved one and feature them in the album. Tell their life story
Heritage Album
Garden Album
Gigs or Sports Album (We have started an album of all the events our youngest has had the honour of piping at)
Grief/Therapy Album
Thankful/Grateful Album
Catch up on old photos

Here are some Photo of the Day ideas with a twist:

POTD – First year of Marriage
POTD – Birthday Milestone (start on your birthday)
POTD – A Grad’s last year of high school or first year of university or living on their own
POTD – A year of LOVE – start on February 14th

I mentioned “Catching Up” in the list above and want to share with you what my mom did this last fall. She had a plastic photo box with a mountain of miscellaneous photos from years past that really needed a home. She used a binder, core kit and Design A Photo Pocket pages and after sorting through the photos just started adding them to the album. She didn’t add much journalling beyond names and years, but it was enough. In one weekend she has almost completely cleared out the ‘shoebox’ and we have a wonderful treasure of memories to share. The relief my mom felt knowing it was documented was HUGE! Don’t under estimate the power of getting it done!