Update: Is project life for me?

I am doing PL for the first time this year. It has really forced me (in a good way) to journal much more than I do on my 12x12 layouts, which are more of a creative outlet for me. Some months I am much better at photo taking than other (for example, March only had three photos for the whole month), but I use a variety of page protectors in different sizes and I am just going with the flow for each month. I am also filing in 12x12 layouts of special moments or good photos. So far it has been working really well and I love the finished product.

My partner has kids, I am childless and petless, so I have one album that is more focused on things the kids do and family layouts. My PL album is mine--I document my hobbies, adventures with my partner, times out with friends, basically anything about me. It gives me the ultimate flexibility in what I want to include. I have also been trying to journal as I go, which has been working really well for me and makes things much easier when it is time to put the layouts together.

I agree with so many who say "no rules, do what feels good for you." I think it's a good idea to dip your toe into a different style, see if you like it and go from there. Try not to buy all the things associated with it, just in case you don't like it. But divided page protectors can always be used to supplement traditional pages.

My experience:
I have no children, so scrapbooking has always been about family/nephew, travel, and every day life stuff for me anyways. I tried Project Life in 2012 which I used the Becky Higgins A style page protector. I filled up 2 12x12 albums and that is just too big of a footprint for me. I've continued to do a mix of traditional layouts in 12x12 and 8.5x11 putting them in 12x12 albums with divided page protectors mixed in. With this style, I generally have 1 12x12 album per year and in recent years where I've been more picky about what photos I scrap I have combined 2 years into one album.

As my photos have changed, esp over the last year with the more mundane, I've always wanted a better way to record this stuff, more like journaling, including things like articles, tv I am watching, books I am reading, food I am cooking/trying, etc. I felt too limited by the traveler notebook style. When Heidi Swapp released the Storyline Chapters books, I held off for a while before trying it. Now I am hooked on it and so glad I tried it. I use the planner style inserts that have 1 week on a 2-page spread, the pages around about 7.5x9. Something about the size and space per day is just the right amount for me. I've been keeping up with it since June 1, 2020, skipping a couple weeks here and there where I've done other documenting, and am half way into my second book. I print anywhere from 6-12 photos a week using a collage app onto 4x6 sheets, so I have mini photos, then add my journaling and embellish. I took her Stop the Blur class for a couple months which I felt was worth it because she has some good ideas and tips to make various little pockets, flips, etc., as well as printable elements. I recently started her Stop the Blur kit as well because I like getting the items that fit in the daily spaces & color coordinate, but will probably only do that temporarily too. I just added another flip-thru video to my Instagram, (@thepapergoddess), if you want to see.

So I still do traditional 12x12 layouts for occasions or events, or just when I feel like it, but this way I get the everyday stuff documented & it's easy to keep up with.

I'm sure you will find a way that works for you.

If you want to try it you probably should. Some people find it confining but many love it.

Years ago I didn’t think it was for me. Now it is. We change, we grow, we make changes to what we do.

You have a trimmer & paper so try it with the supplies that you have on hand. The only thing I find confining about pocket scrapping is the preprinted cards that are never quite right ( after buying a bunch of cards ) although I do find myself using KP cards.

Also, take a ‘tip’ from Ali Edwards, what ever album size you choose you are not constrained to that one size. I do 12x12 3 ring and I put any size up to the 12x12 one insert is as small as 12x2. In my 8x8 I also put smaller page configurations. For me the 12x12 is great, it’s all on the table from a full 12x12 layout and on down 12x12 pockets, 9x12, 6x12, 3x12 what ever. It was really freeing when I watched one of Ali’s album flip thrus and she didn’t just keep to the album size but put anything in even flip out pages to go above the album size.

It did take a bit to get used to almost planning my page or at least mapping out where the pictures will go before printing the pictures which is not how I scrap 12x12. Once I got a handle on that it’s been fun.

Good luck to you with your new endeavor

( you could also try memory planning with pictures that is really like a weekly photo diary for me. All about me & my everyday mundane life )

When my last child graduated from high school I was in the same boat. I went to monthly PL spreads. A few years later I change to 9x12 - love this size! When I have more stories I add in a 6x12 in the middle of the spread. Some years I would get two years worth of pages into one album. Last year I took a Allison Davis class and made 20 layouts - I made them 9x12 and put them in the back of the 9x12 album. So at minimum I can put in some photos in the sleeves and put a journaling card in OR I can supplement that with layouts - best of both worlds.

I have just started project life this year and I am loving it, I just never had the time to sit down and work on whole pages and this way I can do as little or as much as I want depending on my available time. The key for me to really enjoy project life was buying a portable printer and having the ability to just print as I go, that was a game changer purchase. I also only scrap by the month not weekly, some weeks we are super busy and have lots on and others I am lucky if I even take one photo so some months have more pages than others.

I tried to do project life back in 2013 and I just found the process so overwhelming that I got scared off from doing it for a long time, however I never let those pocket page inserts go to waste. I found that for me I loved the look and ease of scrapbooking a few select traditional layouts and then adding the "extra photos" into the pocket pages especially for our holiday and weekend trip album. This is how I also do my December daily/Christmas album, it is a mish mash of an album with all the years in together sorted chronologically and all the layouts done in different sized page protectors and pocket pages mixed in.

While I do a combo of full pages & pocket pages I’ve given away a few of my 12x12’s in frames to the subject and I just printed a photo of it and slipped it in my PL

That’s a nice way to have the memory and the memory of making the pages

I have done that when there wasn’t ‘just’ the right style pocket pages OR when what I want on one page doesn’t match the format of what I want on the back of that page. I just put both on paper and slip it in a full PP and it all works out!

I’ve used black, craft, cream or white backgrounds so far

I love PL and it has become my most-used style of scrapbooking.

Why? Because it has all the things. I can pick any random PL album and flip it open and see snippets of our life. I originally did PL weekly and that just became too much. So now I document monthly and love it. I have 9 years of PL albums, I think? So every month I gather my items I want to include (any cards, notes, etc) and stick them in a plastic pocket. When I get a chance, I print my photos and stick them in the pocket as well. At any given point, I can grab the plastic pocket and minimal actual SB supplies and get to work. Sometimes I use actual PL cards but I also like using 6x6 paper pads to make cards. It is easy peasy. I keep all my 'extra' PL supplies in a little cart, all together so at any moment, I can roll it over and embellish the cards I have been working on.

My boys are grown and (mostly) gone, so one 12x12 album is plenty for an entire year for me. I've debated going to a 9x12 size, but because of how hard it is to get 9x12 protectors, I just keep using 12x12 style A. Sometimes I cut down style A, other times I throw in a 6x8 protector if I just need a couple of extra slots for things. I have really streamlined my process and can get a bunch done in little pockets of time. I do leave my PL album out all the time, sitting on a little desk behind me, so its ready to go anytime I have some time.

While I have really slowed down on regular scrapbooking, I don mind. I am still getting my memories down, and my reality is that I don't have tons of photos still coming now that the boys are growing up. It works for me.