ksabel
Shy Member
Posts: 14 
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Post by ksabel on Aug 27, 2014 16:12:40 GMT
A few questions for those of you who have converted to Monthly Project Life:
How many pages/spreads do you do? Just one 2-page spread a month?
Do you still document weeks (#s) but you only work on the project monthly?
I'm super behind with PL and am considering going with a spread (2pages) per month just hitting the highlights, to catch up. But I do love all the cute week# stuff.
Curious how others tackle it monthly!
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Post by ScrappyJac on Aug 27, 2014 16:40:16 GMT
After two years of doing weekly PL, I went the monthly route three years ago. It works so much better for me! I was getting into a rut with PL and starting to feel that it was more of a chore....but the albums were my favorites...so, this was my solution. I typically start with a 2-page spread. However, I have allowed myself the flexibility to add extra layouts/inserts as needed. I don't want to limit myself. I add enough to feel satisfied that I have told the story for the month. Whenever there are holidays/birthdays/vacations, I definitely end up adding extra. It has made the process much easier for me. I don't feel so "behind" all the time. And when I was doing weekly layouts, I felt more limited with pictures from big events. 52 weeks already took up so much space that I didn't want to add inserts. With the monthly concept, I can highlight those big events a little more while still documenting the everyday stuff.
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Post by mehardy on Aug 27, 2014 17:44:17 GMT
I couldn't deal with weekly. I didn't want to add stuff just to "add stuff" to fill up a week because not as much happened during those 7 days.
Monthly really works for me. I go through my photos and dump everything I think I want to use in a file and then pair them down for printing. Some months I might only use 5 page protectors and the next month, if we went on a trip or it was a big holiday I might use 8 or 10. I let the photos decide for me.
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Post by anniefb on Aug 27, 2014 19:59:47 GMT
I've only ever done monthly - my first PL album is charting my niece's first year. Typically I have 4-5 double sided pages per month. My brother takes the photos so sometimes I get pictures from each week, sometimes one event is the focus. I don't worry about showing what's happening week by week and sometimes the photos are out of order too - I'm more interested in giving a general snapshot of each month highlighting special events & milestones.
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Post by christinebk on Aug 27, 2014 23:04:39 GMT
I have also only done monthly PL. Usually I do 2 12x12 pocket pages per month highlighting the main events, sometimes I add several 12x12 layouts that are focused on one picture on each layout. I am pretty much like anniefb- I don't worry what is happening week by week.
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Post by cannmom on Aug 28, 2014 2:14:58 GMT
I'm using PL to document my ds first year of high school. I'm planning on doing one 2 page spread per month. He is terrible at taking photos so I hope I have enough photos.
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rlg510
Shy Member
Posts: 28
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Post by rlg510 on Aug 28, 2014 10:37:44 GMT
I am doing monthly. Reading boards like this one, I saw that was most likely the best approach for me. I have no difficulty making at least a 2-page spread per month. Even on slow months, I will put in things like books, movies, etc. even if I didn't take many photos. And when something eventful happens (vacation, holiday, etc.) I will add more pages, or inserts. My vacation for this summer will be 12 page protectors (e.g. 24 extra pages). I really like the different sizes (e.g. 6x12, 6x8) so I buy some of the variety packs to help the photos and stories I want to tell fit within the month.
My first year was 2013. I found enough photos to go back and do 2012 after the fact. I learned a few lessons during this process.
First, don't be afraid to experiment. Part of my 2013 album was the growth and development of my own style of doing PL. I started taking more and more photos, even though I started out taking very few.
I even journal about my latest scrapbooking/PL "fad."
The second lesson was that when I went back to do the 2012 album with just the photos I had, and no real intention of doing PL, I had more than I thought. One month had no photos, but I just did a 6x8 insert for the month with a movie that we went to see. I found that as a whole, I loved documenting that year.
And, in this year, I'm learning that I have grown to consider doing more than just 2-pages per month, and maybe can get to 1 page a week. In other words, I may start monthly but am now thinking of increasing it to weekly, so you can go either way.
What makes PL so popular is that it can be adapted to meet a large variety of preferences.
Good luck and have fun!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 19, 2024 11:12:23 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2014 1:03:35 GMT
I am so behind on PL it's ridiculous.
The good news is that I think I will be able to catch up using the monthly format. I've already printed out 3 months worth of photos and put them in the pages chronologically. It only took a few hours. Now I just have to add journaling and embellishments.
For me, it's easier if I keep notes in a calendar of what happened each day. It helps jog my memory when I go back deciding on which photos to use. And it helps a lot with the journaling.
As for how many pages per month....I've decided not to care how many there are. The most important thing to me is that I want to tell stories using the pictures I have. So I'm not going to limit myself to one or two spreads per week or month or whatever. I'm even going to throw in a true scrapbook page here and there for the important stories.
I've found that going back a month at a time helps me organize better. And I don't have that overwhelming feeling of "Ack, I have to catch up this week!". I hate that feeling. It's a joy kill for me. My Monthly approach has helped me get focused on what stories I really want to convey and it's helped me relax and loosen up a bit. I'm very happy I decided to go the Monthly route!
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Post by boxermom73 on Aug 29, 2014 22:57:26 GMT
After two years of doing weekly PL, I went the monthly route three years ago. It works so much better for me! I was getting into a rut with PL and starting to feel that it was more of a chore....but the albums were my favorites...so, this was my solution. I typically start with a 2-page spread. However, I have allowed myself the flexibility to add extra layouts/inserts as needed. I don't want to limit myself. I add enough to feel satisfied that I have told the story for the month. Whenever there are holidays/birthdays/vacations, I definitely end up adding extra. It has made the process much easier for me. I don't feel so "behind" all the time. And when I was doing weekly layouts, I felt more limited with pictures from big events. 52 weeks already took up so much space that I didn't want to add inserts. With the monthly concept, I can highlight those big events a little more while still documenting the everyday stuff. what she said!!! It's so much easier and takes less room! |
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ksabel
Shy Member
Posts: 14
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Post by ksabel on Aug 31, 2014 16:38:47 GMT
Thanks for the tips, everyone! I'm thinking I'll start with a 2-page spread per month and use inserts for special events. I *need* to impose some limits on myself bc I need to edit down and simplify or I won't get anything done.
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Post by sabriolet on Sept 9, 2014 1:00:22 GMT
I usually get two full spreads out of each month, and if there was a lot of specific events going on I will throw in an insert or three.  |
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Post by petitenoonie on Sept 9, 2014 2:48:42 GMT
I work monthly and just print as many photos as I want for the month. I always try to end my month on the right hand side of the page protector, so when I flip the page, the new month can start. To make this work, I sometimes have to put an insert in, but I love the way inserts look, so that works for me.
I sometimes miss doing the weekly cards, but it's nice not being restricted to fitting the weekly format in.
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Post by meridon on Sept 12, 2014 0:51:53 GMT
I do a monthly approach, but I am always "behind" in the sense that I don't have a regular or dedicated time I can scrap, so I usually do several months' worth at a time on a long weekend or over Thanksgiving break, etc. I get 2 two page spreads out of most months, but like others said, I also add in extras as needed. For instance, I know I'll need extras in March for spring break, in December for Christmas play pictures, in October for Halloween and the like. I also mix different size page protectors in my albums, so I don't worry about having to come up with "fillers" for empty pockets just to even out the number of pages. Although with three kids, I can always throw some of their art in a pocket! I keep a pile of papers they bring home from school for just that purpose.
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sandraamelia
One Post Wonder
Posts: 1
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Post by sandraamelia on Sept 12, 2014 3:32:26 GMT
I normally do a 2 page spread but if I happen to have slot of photos that day then I do more then two pages a month..I really just follow my own rules because it's suppost to be fun..my YouTube channel name is ( starsinpalm ) if you wanna see my monthly process videos
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Post by penny on Sept 19, 2014 6:00:05 GMT
I do mine monthly, and I just put the month and year as a title... I do a two page spread per month, but I will add in a second two page spread if there was a special event or mini vacation type thing... I will title that "zoo, date" or "thanksgiving, date" and then just put it in after the month it happened in... I have a small family and don't do too many outings that would get their own two pages, so it only adds maybe three or four additional spreads to the year...
I do 8x8 LOs for photos that I want to highlight or that have a specific story I want to document... But the general, 'went to the zoo' type stuff goes in my PL album...
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