Wow!

Thank you so much for making the 2012 launch into the UK and Europe such a HUGE success! I am truly excited to be bring you this wonderful product and a concept that is helping thousands document their stories, beautifully and simply.

Due to the overwhelming response we have already sold out of a few items. Don’t worry, more of EVERYTHING is coming as soon as we can get it off the press. And as I have mentioned before, the Cobalt and Clementine are already on their way!

I have been answering a tonne of emails and want to address a couple of concerns.

I want to make sure I am as transparent as possible, as always.

So let me explain the VAT and shipping. When we were dealing with Amazon, they required that we offered a single price. I know most countries outside the UK were charged extra for shipping by Amazon.co.uk, but everything else was hidden in the price.

Now that we have our own warehouse, we can let you know how much of your purchase is product cost, how much is tax and how much is shipping.

Let me give you an example:

Through Amazon.co.uk

Core Kit
Binder
Cardstock
Dividers
Big Pack of Design A

the total cost for a person in mainland UK was going to be 96.95 (includes shipping and VAT)

Here is how that breaks down now, through our warehouse

Product = 73.95
shipping = 6.50
VAT (20%) =  16.09

Total  = 96.54

We are reviewing some of the small to mid-size order packaging options to see if we can find a more ideal shipping price. If we can, I will be sure to make adjustments.

I apologize to those on the Isle of Man, I had thought we had included you with our shipping options, however I’ve been told you need to be listed as a separate country (just like Northern Ireland or Scotland). We are getting that resolved for tomorrow afternoon.

Here are the 3 biggest reasons that NOW was the right time to move to our own warehouse:

1. We can offer pre-orders, which in turn, helps us make sure we have enough product produced. Plus with Pre-Orders we can guarantee you are going to get what you want when it arrives. No worries about beating the clock or your neighbour to place your order.

2. We can offer non-EU countries the opportunity to order closer to home. Customers in Norway, for example have to wait 6-9 weeks for their order to arrive from the Canadian warehouse. Now they will be able to order and have it delivered in under 2 weeks. It also allows us to continue to grow Project Life to other surrounding countries without having to have them go through the Canadian shop.

3. Your product is in your hands faster! We can ship it direct to the UK warehouse without having to re-route it through Canada for processing. Now you will get new products at the same or close to the same time as North American customers.

Unfortunately the downside to this move is for those of you who were given gift cards for Christmas in anticipation of purchasing on Amazon.co.uk. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

Thank you to all of you for your patience as we worked to bring Project Life directly to you. I really appreciate each of you!

I have a HUGE announcement!

I know the wait for Project Life has been making you CRAZY!

So here it is:

We are going to be distributing Project Life through our very own warehouse in the UK!

Yes, that is right, it will NOT be available via Amazon.co.uk.

That means starting on Feb 1 at 4:00 p.m. GMT everyone in Europe (including non-EU countries, like Norway!) will be able to place their orders and PRE-ORDERS for Becky Higgins Project Life. That is TODAY everyone!

Our warehouse staff is preparing everything now and will receive the shipment before the weekend as I just was informed that it cleared UK customs last night. THANK GOODNESS!  That means we start shipping on MONDAY, February 7th!

So here are all the details:

You will go to this page on my website where I have set up a store specifically for YOU, our European customers. You will make your selection of items and make your payment using PayPal.

Once paid your order will be transmitted to the warehouse and starting Monday, February 7th, will be filled/shipped the next day. To anywhere in EUROPE.

If you PRE-ORDER items (indicated with a green tab on the product image), your entire order will be held until all items are in stock to fill your order. So if you do not want your whole order held, then please place 2 separate orders.

Why the last minute switch?

You may be asking?

First of all let me explain that this change of plan came upon us very suddenly. Although Amazon.co.uk is a fantastic company and have been great to work with, the delays and hoops to jump through were crazy and causing all of you (and me) to be frustrated, disappointed and even a little annoyed.

We got your comments and emails. We listened, we understood and put ourselves very much in your shoes.

When we were informed this past weekend that the shipment had still not cleared customs, we took the opportunity to change how we did this. SCRAMBLE does not even come close to the last 48 hours as we secured a warehouse and set up a shopping cart and researched shipping. But it is done. It is ready for you!

Going forward what does this mean for European customers?

#1 (and the biggest reason we made this change) you will see your product MUCH sooner. We will no longer have to route it through the Canadian warehouse for re-labelling. We will be able to ship it direct to the UK warehouse with out delays.

#2 (a very close second, I might add) Pre-Orders! You will now be able pre-order any future releases of Becky Higgins Project Life products. No worries about missing out! We have you covered!

Alright, so as I said, this will be launched TODAY, February 1st, at 4:00 p.m. GMT, so make sure you check it out.

ACKK! I am so excited! This is HUGE I am telling ya! Please tell your friends and family about this. We don’t want anyone to miss out anymore.

Thank you for your patience and sticking it out with me. I know it has been hard and even disappointing, but no more!

Thank you for sharing in my excitement to be making Project Life a part of your everyday documenting.

Big *HUGS*

In Volume 1 of 52 Project Life Photography Themes, I suggested that you capture photos of your favorite dishes, your family’s favorites throughout the year.

This week’s Project Life Photography theme is to  remember to include the recipes along with those photos.

Just think back to how thrilled you were to learn an old family recipe you remembered from childhood.

Well now your Project Life album could contain those goodies for your future generations to enjoy.

Last year I used the 4×6 scored journal cards with the tab to tuck the recipe in behind the photo of the dish. This year I will be adding the 4×6 scored card adjacent to the recipe or folded in the 3×4 slot.

Have an awesome weekend!

Want to share these Project Life Photography Themes?

In the wise words of Becky Higgins, here is a short list of the things I need to CONQUER this week.

For those of you in the UK/Europe I will be sending another update via your email tomorrow or Wednesday. If you are NOT on the mailing list, you will not want to miss this update, so make sure you add your name and email address!

For those of you in South Africa, your orders begin shipping today!

Happy Monday!

This week’s Project Life Photography themes is to record what were the #1′s during the year you were born. I did a quick Google search to find all three.

I listed the #1 Book, Song and Movie from the year I was born on a journal card (from the Turquoise Edition), using the color stickers for the “1″ (from the Turquoise Edition).

You can also find images on Google of the Book cover, the Movie poster and Album Cover. Or if you want to go even further, you can find and download the actual song (mp3) and Youtube video (if applicable) and burn it to a CD to add to your album using a Design E Photo Pocket Page.  I add the Design E page to the back of my album and put any cd’s we create through the year there. Then on the layout out I reference the CD in the back and what is on it.

You may want to do this for the year your significant other was born and if you have kids you can feature them too! This is also a great idea to use for the week of their birthday.

Feel free to share what was making it big the year you were born, below in the comments. It would be interesting to see what everyone discovered.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Want to share these Project Life Photography Themes?

I am thrilled to let you know that the shipment of Project Life products arrived a whole week earlier than projected, to the port in London!

It is in UK customs and we will cross our fingers that it will not take long to clear.

Once through customs the shipment will begin with the next leg of it’s journey.

It’s first stop will be a warehouse where the cartons have to be completely unpacked and repacked onto Euro Pallets so that Amazon is able to accept the shipment. Once it is ready, then we get it scheduled into the receiving queue at Amazon.

My friends, it should not be much longer than a week or two and you will be able to place your order.

Remember it is the Amber + Turquoise Edition items, all the plastics, including the Big Envelopes and Dividers, and the blank Journal Cards.

Thank you once again for your patience!

Now back to crossing our fingers it clears customs quickly. I will keep you posted!

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!