$1000+ Giveaway, Day 5 {Mini Editions}

Today is Day 5 of my biggest giveaway EVER!! We are half-way there!

I am thrilled to have an awesome group of ladies help me share the Project Life LOVE!

Check my blog each morning to get the link to the daily giveaway.

Friday, April 26th, 2013 Giveaway

Today, you will need to visit Melanie’s blog to enter today’s Edition giveaway.

ScrapbookersInnerCircle-Project-Life-NSD-2013-Mini

Melanie (from United Kingdom) is helping me by hosting the MINI Edition giveaway. Canadian and European addresses ONLY! Visit her giveaway to enter NOW!

The winner will have their choice of 2 of the following Mini Albums (colors: Cherry, Kiwi, Midnight, Rain, Cinnamon, Ivory, Sunshine, Blush) and 2 Mini Kits – Baby for Him, Baby for Her, Childhood, Wedding, Seasons and Holidays.

Thanks Melanie!

Once you have entered on Melanie’s blog, be sure to send a tweet:

tweetable

I am entered to win two #ProjectLife MINI Editions via @pinkladymel and @ScrapbookCoach http://ow.ly/kh4Kn #Canada #Europe

Remember winners for all the giveaways will be announced on my blog on Monday, May 6th.

Come back MONDAY, April 29th to get the link to the next giveaway! I have another WHOLE WEEK planned!

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National Scrapbooking Day is on May 4th and I am celebrating stress-free and guilt-free scrapbooking in a BIG way!

 

ScrapbookersInnerCircle-Project-Life-NSD-2013-ANNOUNCEMENT

 

 

A Note about the Pre-Order Giveaway!

This draw is open to ALL International customers who can order from either Scrapbooker’s Inner Circle Shop

Pre-order between MARCH 1, 2013 and MAY 4, 2013 to be entered into a draw to receive your order free! Yup, that’s right enter to win your money back. Be sure you have your pre-order in place by May 4th at Midnight Pacific Time.

Note: If you have Pre-Ordered at either the Canadian or UK/Europe shop since March 1, you are already entered. No need to place another pre-order, unless of course you want more Project Life awesomeness.

I will draw a pre-order from the Canadian shop and one from the UK/Europe shop on May 5th and will announce the two winners on the blog May 6th.

Once you have your pre-order placed, by sure to send this tweet…

tweetable

Pre-Ordered my #ProjectLife goodies via @ScrapbookCoach and now I’m entered to win my order for free! http://ow.ly/kfMZy #Canada #Europe

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$1000+ Giveaway, Day 4 {Limited Edition}

It is Day 4 of my biggest giveaway EVER!!

Have you heard? May 4th is National Scrapbooking Day! Scrapbooker’s Inner Circle is celebrating stress-free and guilt-free scrapbooking in a BIG way!

I am thrilled to have an amazing group of ladies help me share the Project Life LOVE! Hasn’t it been awesome so far? And we are only 4 days into it. It is giving me goosebumps!

Remember to check my blog each morning to get the link to the daily giveaway.

Thursday, April 25th, 2013 Giveaway

Today, you will need to visit Mila’s blog to enter today’s Edition giveaway.

ScrapbookersInnerCircle-Project-Life-NSD-2013-LimitedEditions

Mila (fromPortugal) is helping me by hosting the LIMITED Edition giveaway. Visit her giveaway to enter NOW!

Remember Canadian and European addresses ONLY!

The winner will have their choice of the following Limited Editions – Baby Neutral, Baby for Him, Baby for Her, Olive, Cherry, Amber, Turquoise, Clementine or Cobalt.

Thanks Mila!

Once you have entered on Mila’s blog, be sure to share the Project Life LOVE by posting a note to your friends on facebook, instagram or send a tweet:

tweetable

I am entered to win a #ProjectLife  LIMITED Edition via Mila and @ScrapbookCoach http://ow.ly/kgOQt #Canada #Europe

Remember winners for all the giveaways will be announced on my blog on Monday, May 6th.

Come back tomorrow to get the link to the next giveaway!
———————-
Do you want ANOTHER chance to win?

Be sure to enter the Amazing Pre-Order Giveaway!

Place your Pre-order between MARCH 1, 2013 and MAY 4, 2013 to be entered into a draw to receive your order free! Yup, that’s right the winner from each shop is going to get their order, but their money is coming back to them! Be sure you have your pre-order in place by May 4th at Midnight Pacific Time.

Note: If you have Pre-Ordered at either the Canadian or UK/Europe shop since March 1, you are already entered. No need to place another pre-order, unless of course you want more Project Life awesomeness.

I will draw a pre-order from the Canadian shop and one from the UK/Europe shop on May 5th and will announce the two winners on the blog May 6th.

This draw is open to ALL International customers who can order from either Scrapbooker’s Inner Circle Shop

Once you have your pre-order placed, by sure to send this tweet…

tweetable

Pre-Ordered my #ProjectLife goodies via @ScrapbookCoach and now I’m entered to win my order for free! http://ow.ly/kfMZy #Canada #Europe

ScrapbookersInnerCircle-Project-Life-NSD-2013-ANNOUNCEMENT

 

 

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$1000+ Giveaway, Blush Edition

It is Day 3 of my biggest giveaway EVER!!

I am honoured to have a wonderful group of ladies help me share the Project Life LOVE!

Check my blog each morning to get the link to the daily giveaway.

Wednesday, April 24nd, 2013 Giveaway

Today, you will need to visit Sheri’s blog to enter today’s Edition giveaway.

ScrapbookersInnerCircle-Project-Life-NSD-2013-Blush

2012 Project Life Creative Team Member – Sheri Horton is helping me by hosting the BLUSH Edition giveaway. Canadian and European addresses ONLY! Visit her giveaway to enter NOW!

Thanks Sheri!

Once you have entered on Sheri’s blog, be sure to share the news via facebook, instagram, or send a tweet:

tweetable

I’m entered to win a #ProjectLife Blush Edition hosted via Sheri Horton and @ScrapbookCoach http://ow.ly/kgOc3 #Canada #Europe

Remember all giveaway winners will be announced on my blog on Monday, May 6th.

Come back tomorrow to get the link to the next giveaway!

———————-

National Scrapbooking Day is on May 4th and I am celebrating stress-free and guilt-free scrapbooking in a BIG way!

 

REMINDER – Pre-Order Giveaway!

Pre-order between MARCH 1, 2013 and MAY 4, 2013 to be entered into a draw to receive your order free! Yes, I am giving your money back, but you have to have a pre-order in place by May 4th at Midnight Pacific Time.

Note: If you have Pre-Ordered at either the Canadian or UK/Europe shop since March 1, you are already entered. No need to place another pre-order, unless of course you want more Project Life awesomeness.

I will draw a pre-order from the Canadian shop and one from the UK/Europe shop on May 5th and will announce the two winners on the blog May 6th.

This draw is open to ALL International customers who can order from either Scrapbooker’s Inner Circle Shop

Once you have your pre-order placed, by sure to send this tweet…

tweetable

Pre-Ordered my #ProjectLife goodies via @ScrapbookCoach and now I’m entered to win my order for free! http://ow.ly/kfMZy #Canada #Europe

 

ScrapbookersInnerCircle-Project-Life-NSD-2013-ANNOUNCEMENT

 

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$1000+ Giveaway, Rain Edition

It is Day 2 of my biggest giveaway EVER!!

National Scrapbooking Day is on May 4th and I am celebrating stress-free and guilt-free scrapbooking in a BIG way!

I am thrilled to have a wonderful group of ladies help me share the Project Life LOVE!

Check my blog each morning to get the link to the daily giveaway.

Tuesday, April 23nd, 2013 Giveaway

Today, you will need to visit Nadia’s blog to enter today’s Edition giveaway.

ScrapbookersInnerCircle-Project-Life-NSD-2013-Rain

Nadia (from Switzerland) is helping me by hosting the RAIN Edition giveaway. Her blog is written in German (top) and English (bottom) and the giveaway is open to Canadian and European addresses ONLY! Visit her giveaway to enter NOW!

Please don’t worry if you are not able to see your entry in the comments section of her blog immediately.  Nadia will make all your entries visible once she is available this afternoon.

Thanks Nadia!

Share the Project Life LOVE!! Once you have entered on Nadia’s blog, tell your peeps by sending a quick tweet (or facebook, instagram, or however):

tweetable

I am entered to win a #ProjectLife Rain Edition via Nadia and @ScrapbookCoach http://ow.ly/kgMwP #Canada #Europe

Remember winners for all the giveaways will be announced on my blog on Monday, May 6th.

Come back tomorrow to get the link to the next giveaway!

———————-
ScrapbookersInnerCircle-Project-Life-NSD-2013-ANNOUNCEMENT

 

 

REMINDER – Pre-Order Giveaway!

Pre-order between MARCH 1, 2013 and MAY 4, 2013 to be entered into a draw to receive your order free! Yup – you will get your money back, but you have to have a pre-order in place by May 4th at Midnight Pacific Time.

Note: If you have Pre-Ordered at either the Canadian or UK/Europe shop since March 1, you are already entered. No need to place another pre-order, unless of course you want more Project Life awesomeness.

I will draw a pre-order from the Canadian shop and one from the UK/Europe shop on May 5th and will announce the two winners on the blog May 6th.

This draw is open to ALL International customers who can order from either Scrapbooker’s Inner Circle Shop

Once you have your pre-order placed, by sure to send this tweet…

tweetable

Pre-Ordered my #ProjectLife goodies via @ScrapbookCoach and now I’m entered to win my order for free! http://ow.ly/kfMZy #Canada #Europe

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Announcing the $1000+ giveaway in celebration of National Scrapbooking Day

This is my biggest giveaway EVER!!

National Scrapbooking Day is on May 4th and I am celebrating stress-free and guilt-free scrapbooking in a BIG way!

 

ScrapbookersInnerCircle-Project-Life-NSD-2013-ANNOUNCEMENT

 

Starting today I am giving away Project Life products every Monday-Friday until May 4th. That’s right – 2 weeks of giveaways!

Now let’s get this party started!!

 

Pre-Order Giveaway!

Any pre-order placed between MARCH 1, 2013 and MAY 4, 2013 will be entered into a draw to receive your order free! Yup – you will get your money back, but you have to have a pre-order in place by May 4th at Midnight Pacific Time.

Before you email me panicked if you are entered, don’t worry. If you have Pre-Ordered at either the Canadian or UK/Europe shop since March 1, you are already entered. No need to place another pre-order, unless of course you want more Project Life awesomeness.

I will be drawing a pre-order from the Canadian shop and one from the UK/Europe shop on May 5th and will announce the two winners on the blog May 6th.

This draw is open to ALL International customers who can order from either Scrapbooker’s Inner Circle Shop

Once you have your pre-order placed, by sure to send this tweet…

tweetable

Pre-Ordered my #ProjectLife goodies via @ScrapbookCoach and now I’m entered to win my order for free! http://ow.ly/kfMZy #Canada #Europe

———————-

I am thrilled to have a wonderful group of ladies help me share the Project Life LOVE!

Each day there will be a new giveaway announced.

Winners for all the giveaways will be announce here on my blog on Monday, May 6th.

There are 12 giveaways + the two Pre-Order refunds for a total of 14 PRIZES

Lucky 14!!

Here is a quick preview of what is coming up:

April 22, 2013 – hosted by Tammy (enter until May 4th)+ Becky Higgins  (closed)
April 23, 2013 – hosted by Nadia
April 24, 2013 – hosted by Sheri
April 25, 2013 – hosted by Mila
April 26, 2013 – hosted by Melanie
April 29, 2013 – hosted by Marcy
April 30, 2013 – hosted by Ashley
May 1, 2013 – hosted by Stephanie
May 2, 2013 – hosted by Rebecca
May 3, 2013 – THREE gift certificates – (This draw will be open to ALL International customers who can order from either Scrapbooker’s Inner Circle Shop) – Get all the details here

hosted by:

Milena (Canadian shop)

Ewa (UK/European shop)

Dunia (Brazil and other South and Central American shoppers who can order from the Canadian shop)

Check my blog each morning to get the link to the daily giveaway.

Monday, April 22nd, 2013 Giveaway

Today, I am giving away a CINNAMON Edition.

ScrapbookersInnerCircle-Project-Life-NSD-2013-Cinnamon

 

Canadian and European addresses ONLY! 

Enter you name and country below in the comments (Open to Canadian and European customers)

Once you have entered, be sure to send a tweet:

tweetable

I am entered to win a #ProjectLife Cinnamon Edition via @ScrapbookCoach http://ow.ly/kfMZy #Canada #Europe

 

Remember winners for all the giveaways will be announced on my blog on Monday, May 6th.

Come back tomorrow to get the link to the next giveaway!

 

{updated at 10am MST} Just Announced…

The one and only Becky Higgins is hosting ANOTHER Cinnamon Edition giveaway on behalf of Scrapbooker’s Inner Circle  - CHECK IT OUT!!!  Becky’s giveaway is now closed

 

 

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Q & A Friday

Last week I posted how I have used Project Life to record 9 years of our lives. And I did it in just 6 days.

That included two big trips and 5000+ photos.

Can you say AWESOME! My family is so excited.

And YOU had some great questions!

Before I get to answering them, I want to let you know about my “Scrapbooking Tip and Secrets” monthly newsletter. You can sign up for it over to the right. Just enter your name and email. Each month I will email you a secret that will take the stress out of scrapbooking.

Here is what one relieved mom said about the newsletter:

I think you are my fairy godmother !! How do you KNOW ?! – looking forward to the journey and not having to avoid my cupboard full of guilt (stack of unused albums – far more photos of child 1 than poor old child 2 etc ) any more – and knowing I am not alone

 

Now on to your questions:

 

Q. What about journaling the past/historical photos?

A. To be honest, if I don’t remember the story, it is okay. I keep it simple. My main focus is to name who is in the photo and where they may be at (Grandma’s house, family trip, etc). Remember “It is what it is”.

Here are three pages from my albums where there wasn’t much for journaling.

Journaling1

 

Journaling2

 

Journaling3

On this layout I let the Turquoise journal cards do the talking.

 

Q. Jessica asked: I so so need to do this and I have family albums that I am revamping with the old yucky glue too. Do I really have to scrape that stuff off?? UGH!

A. The yucky glue will eventually crumble and I don’t know about how acid-free it is (I would guess it is NOT), so I would recommend you get off what you can. My Mom used dental floss, but thin fishing line could work too.

 

Q. Jill asked: What do YOU do with sizes that don’t fit pockets?

A. My mom has graciously agreed to share a couple photos of her layouts using those odd sized photos. I also want to bring everyone’s attention to a post Becky Higgins did this week regarding this very issue – be sure to let her know the odd sizes of your photos.

odd-size-photos-1

 

odd-size-photos-2

 

odd-size-photos-3

 

odd-size-photos-4

 

Q. Alicia asked: If you print all of your photos, how are you putting any vertical ones in the 3×4 slots? Aren’t they printed vertically at 4×6?

A. I do print all my photos in advance. The photos I choose to crop to fit the 3×4 slots can be from either a horizontal or vertical 4×6. I simply trim any unwanted part of the image to get more focused on the subject. Hope that makes sense. Note: you will have to trim just slightly smaller then 3×4 to get them to slide in easily.

 

Q. What site do you recommend for off-site, online backups?

A. I use and highly recommend Live Drive.

 

Q. Can we see the inside, even just a few pages?

A. As I stated in the post, I made the decision to not share my pages because scrapbooking is so very personal. However I can understand everyone’s curiosity. So above are a few layouts and here are a couple more. As you can see, I keep it real simple.

Our trip to Trinidad and Tobago - title page. Mostly Turquoise Edition and a couple cards from the Wellington mini kit

Our trip to Trinidad and Tobago – title page. Mostly Turquoise Edition and a couple cards from the Wellington mini kit

 

I used the Amber Edition for our 2011 album

I used the Amber Edition and Tan Arrows for our 2011 album

 

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Recording Our Story. How I used Project Life To Capture 9 Years in Just 6 Days!

~ Warning: long post ~

I have thought long and hard about this –  about sharing my scrapbooking process.

I guess the main reason is that scrapbooking and sharing our stories is very personal and I truly believe there is no right or wrong way to do it. I don’t want someone to read this and say “Oh that’s how you’re suppose to do it”, nor do I want someone to read this and think “she has it all wrong”.

Here is my personal philosophy about memory keeping…

I don’t take photos to scrapbook. I take photos to capture moments in our lives.

Putting my photos into a scrapbook is the format I use to share those moments with my family and friends. Therefore:

  1. If it isn’t simple, I won’t do it.
  2. It must be stress-free

 

Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t enjoy the process of getting the photos in the scrapbook, but I will be honest, it is a means to an end. What I love the most is to watch my family relive the memories we have created together.

Let me touch on the two points above.

1. If it isn’t simple, I won’t do it.

I have a busy life, we all do. I love the things I do, the activities I am involved in and the precious time spent with family and friends.

I love Lisa Bearson’s quote. “It should take longer to create the memory than record it”

I need something simple and quick to hold all those memories, whether written or photographed. That is why when Becky Higgins introduced Project Life in 2010 late 2009, I was over the moon excited. This was the system for me.

 

2. It must be stress-free.

In mid 2009, I had learned about Becky Higgins Project 365, which was focused on taking a photo a day for 1 year. The purpose was to help you  capture the little, everyday things in life. The bigger goal was to realize how much we are grateful for. I had decided I would try it for 2010. Then the Project Life system came out and many of us went “Viola” here it the system to go with Project 365. Although completely suitable, it was not meant be used solely for that purpose, but like many of you, that is how I chose to use the system.

I will be honest, although there was a renewed sense of appreciation for the everyday, I was increasingly frustrated, overwhelmed and generally stressed out. It just didn’ t fit with me. It was not my style.

I quickly regrouped myself for 2011. By this time I had been working closely with Becky to bring the Project Life system to the world and had a much better handle on the real purpose of the Project Life system. To me the real purpose was to simply ‘record my story’. Whatever that meant to me. Not what everyone else thought it should be – for me. No two Project Life albums needed to be the same. Period.

The stress instantly left and my creative heart soared. I once again found myself taking pictures the way I use to. Photographing the things I wanted to capture even if it was 20 or 30 pics of the same thing. No more stressing out if I was capturing something every day or if it was ‘blog’ worthy. It was then that I also made the decision that I would not blog my personal layouts (unless I wanted to share a particular story).

Ahhhhh!

So from 2011 to present this is my process:

1. Take photos when I want, how many I want and with NO RULES in mind. There is no right way. Some weeks my camera is out everyday, sometimes I won’t pull it out for 2 or 3 weeks. I may have 100 photos from a birthday party. I may have not taken a “first day of school” photo until a month into the school year. My only RULE is “it is what it is”.

2. I don’t spend time editing my photos or deleting them. As my memory card fills up, I simply download them to my computer. File them using my photo organizational system and then forget about them. I have an automatic off-site back up system that I check once a month to confirm all is well.

3. I use the Big Envelopes from the Project Life system to hold the memorabilia I have collected through the year. Ticket stubs, brochures, newspaper clippings, receipts of interest and notes I have recorded.

4. Once a year I print ALL my photos. I mean all of them. I don’t spend much time deciding if that photo is in focus or that maybe I have to many of that one pose. I print them all. Most years I have about 1000 photos. If we have done a family trip that year, I may have 500 more. I know some of you are thinking “what a waste” as I won’t use them all. However I view it like this… My time is precious and to spend hours on my computer analyzing my photos is not a productive, nor a stress-free way to spend my time. The time I save is worth the extra $50 is may cost to have printed photos I don’t use in the end.

5. My mom, sister and I go on a yearly scrapbooking retreat. Just us girls getting away for some ‘girl-time’. I LOVE it! With the switch to the Project Life system and letting go of everyone else’s expectations of how it should be done, I now use those retreats to put my photos for the year in my Project Life album.

Whether the retreat is part of a formal community retreat, or the three of us just meeting at one of our homes for the weekend, we make sure we have our girl time each year. We don’t over think this. Keep it simple. Take-out or potluck if we are doing it at home.

I arrive with my Project Life Album, Big Pack of Photo Pocket Pages (Design A is my preference), a couple packs of Design G (for those very few vertical photos I take), a Core Kit in my favourite design, my photos from the developer (usually Walmart or Costco) and my Big Envelope of memorabilia.

For tools I do bring a trimmer as I love to use photos in the 3×4 slots as well. Also note that I do NOT corner round my photos.

The results!

At the end of 2011 I recorded our entire year in less than 3 days – that includes all the journaling. I used the Amber Edition. It was liberating and I was ecstatic with the freedom and having NO STRESS recording our story. I knew right then, there was no going back.

I used the Amber Edition Core Kit and Original Amber Binder

I used the Amber Edition Core Kit and Original Amber Binder

At the end of 2012 I recorded our entire year as well as the 600+ photos of our son’s trip to London in his own album. He is doing the journaling and sharing his stories.

2012-Albums

I used the Black Signature Binders for our 2012 Year. For our son’s London trip, I used the Cobalt Edition Core Kit and Binder

Then in early 2013, my mom and I had an opportunity to go to a Spring retreat. That is when I decided to do some historical scrapbooking. I have a box of organized photos that have been pushed aside for too many years. I also had a digital file of all our photos from our trip to Trinidad and Tobago in 2008. My original intention had been to make a photo book (similar to the Shutterfly books), but just never got around to it.

So, in my usual style, I sent the entire folder of images (900 +) off to Walmart to be printed. Along with my box of historical photos, off I went for 3 days of ‘girl-time’.

7years+Trinidad

I used the Olive Edition Core Kit and Binder for our trip to Trinidad. For the 7 years, I used a Black Signature Binder and assorted core kit cards

I succeeded in scrapbooking our entire trip (including journaling) in one day – I ended up using about 500 of the photos. The other 2 days I was able to record another 7 years of photos from my box of historical photos. If you are anything like me, in the years before owning a digital camera, there were a LOT LESS photos. So these seven years have filled one album. That said, I was also creating full 12×12 layouts with single images back in that day, so I will spend a day this summer consolidating them together and will likely end up with a total of two albums to hold those 7 years. Hence the reason I have not labelled the spine yet.

My mom decided that it was time to tackle our old family albums. All of which were in those sticky/magnetic old photo albums.

Old-sticky-albums

Some of the photos were no longer attached, but in some cases she had to use floss to get them off of the pages and then scrape glue residue from the back of the photos. YUCK! Unfortunately, back in the day, photo albums were not very photo friendly and most of our photos are aged/yellowed. She was so relieved to be getting them out of those albums and into something safe.

As each album held a year and not many photos per page, she was able to take 10 years worth of photos and get them into 2 Project Life albums. She did 6 years at our retreat in late 2012 and 4 years plus our family pet’s mini album at our retreat this spring.

New-safe-album

She used assorted core kit cards and a Turquoise Album

The Ultimate Goal

The best part was that our family now has photos and stories to look at. They are no longer hidden in a box or on my computer. And with my Mom’s albums, they no longer need to worry that the pages will fall out or crumble.

Sharing memories = PRICELESS!

 

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