living artfully

unfinished projects

Raise your hand if you have unfinished scrapbooking projects. I'm over here, throwing both hands up in the air!

I think most crafters have unfinished layouts and projects... and that this can be an unfortunate source of guilt or embarrassment. It's not always fun to admit that you didn't complete a class or finish an album you started.

When I recently shared my completed December album, some of you shared that you weren't able to complete yours. I may have finished this project, but I have my own list of old projects that aren't quite done yet. Like my Project 365 from 2010. I started using Becky Higgins' Project Life kit, but didn't like the format as much as I had expected. At first I felt guilty for giving up on the album, especially because the kit wasn't cheap. But I've moved on from worrying about the unused kit and have decided on a different digital format for the photos from my 365. It will be a book that I can print through a printer like Shutterfly, and now it's something I can actually finish.

 

And my Week in the Life album from 2010. Well, it's not even close to being done. Turns out I'm not crazy about editing and resizing that many photos. When Ali Edwards announced earlier this week that she'll be repeating the project this summer, I honestly felt a little panic. But wait, I'm not done yet!! How can we be starting again?! Momentary panic aside, I realized it's so not a big deal. I love the album and want to finish it, so I will pick up bits and pieces when I'm feeling inspired to. When I look back on it years from now, it's not going to matter how quickly I finished the album.

 

 

There's also the high school album I want to make, inspired by Cathy Zielske's Me: The Abridged Version class. Paper has been purchased and I've started my journaling. And, well, that's it. As for classes, those are sometimes hard to finish, too. I signed up for Shimelle's True Stories class and never managed to participate. Thank goodness for "forever access!"

Sometimes a project takes a while; that's perfectly okay. As long as it's still something you want to do, take your time! If you're absolutely dreading the crafting project, maybe it's time to rethink if it's something you even want to complete. Rachel from Small Notebook recently shared a thought-provoking post on breaking  up with old hobbies and projects. The lesson: just because you started it, you don't have to finish it. It's a great read.

What are your thoughts on unfinished projects?

hugs, sharyn

june & july photo calendars

You know what's a bad idea? Taking your Project 365 photos and then doing nothing more than transfer them to your computer. For almost two months :(

I was finally loading my July photos to Shuttercal, when I realized I also never shared my June photo calendar. A bit tardy, but complete!

 

 
Calendar and full size images can be viewed at Shuttercal

I was thinking I was ready for fall, but this glimpse back on June and July already makes me nostalgic for the warm summer days that have passed us.

Maybe I'll load August and even wrap up more Project Life pages before, I don't know, October?! How are you doing on your Project 365?

 

may photo calendar

So happy to have another month completed of our Project 365! While I work on finishing the May pages for our Project Life album, here is our photo calendar.

 
Calendar and full size images can be viewed at Shuttercal

Looking back at May, it was really a great month with a number of highlights. The Travel Channel came to town to tape a burger challenge episode of Food Wars and Steve got to be interviewed. And we saw the Peter Pan ballet, got invited to a wine tasting event, took a food tour down a popular Milwaukee street, and had our first picnic along Lake Michigan with our pug. And we attended the world's largest brat festival and the largest pug festival in the US. Whew! Life is busy but life is very very good!

I hope your photo projects are going well! I will be back later to share images from our Project Life album!

project life - april

Better late than never, right? This weekend I finished up our April pages for our Project Life album. The funny thing is all the pictures were printed and the journaling cards were done, too. I just needed to add the patterned paper and couldn't quite decide what paper to go with.

Finally, I decided on papers from Elizabeth Kartchner's Dear Lizzy line for American Crafts. They seemed to pull in the many colors from my photos and have a fun feeling of celebration. Perfect for a month that contained my husband's birthday and other get-togethers.

Here are a few of our April pages...

 

 

 

Every time I complete another month of pages for this album, I am re-energized by how it's coming together and reflecting a whole year in our lives. Hope you are feeling the same!

april photo calendar

Wow, how are we almost a week into May?! I am finally finished editing and loading my Project 365 images for April. Between Shimelle's Something from Almost Nothing class and Ali's Week in the Life project in April, I really derailed on editing and uploading the pictures I was taking each day. A word to the wise, don't wait an entire month to upload your pics!

 
Calendar and full size images can be viewed at Shuttercal

April marked a fun milestone: the 100th day of the year on April 10th. My 100th picture for Project 365 is our sweet and silly nephew celebrating his 2nd birthday.

Oh and did you notice my super cute new slippers? Love them! They are from Target and come in all sorts of colors if you don't like the teal/green pair I picked up. Comfy + cute!

Wishing you continued success with your photo projects! I'll be back soon with images from our April Project Life book.

 

what's in your bag

I just came across a fun photo project called "What's in your Bag?" If you haven't taken a shot like this recently, it would make a great picture for your Week in the Life or Project 365. This one is definitely going to make it into our album.

Thanks, Kelly, for the inspiration! And if you'd like to see more, check out the What's in your Bag Pool on Flickr.

 

project life - march

Before it gets too late in April, I thought I'd share a few pages from my March Project Life album. Last month, I decided to stray from the kit contents and instead use my own journaling blocks and patterned papers. March reaffirmed my decision to use supplies that are more "me" and I am loving the greens popping up in the papers I used...

 

 

I've tucked away the kit contents for future use and am happily using whatever I love at the moment. I haven't settled yet on April's colors and papers... Maybe the latest Studio Calico?

Wishing you continued success on your photo and album projects!

 

march photo calendar

Wow - can you believe a quarter of the year has passed?! We are happy to say goodbye to the cold, snow, and bitter winds. And hello to sunshine, warmer temperatures and maybe even a spring shower or two. And another month down means another month of pictures for our Project 365...

 
Calendar and full size images can be viewed at Shuttercal

Just like last month, I am still really enjoying this project and love looking at the images gathered together. Some of the images aren't technically amazing or wouldn't hang on the walls of our home, but I love that they tell the little stories of our day-to-day.

Are you still playing along with your Project 365? Have you found a groove with your daily photo taking? See you later this week with images from my March Project Life pages!

project life update

I may have lost my mind. I have been documenting our project 365 with Becky Higgins' Project Life kit. Cute design, easy and convenient. And then I went and decided to make it complicated.

Instead of using the pre-designed date cards, I'm opting instead to use my own patterned paper. And instead of using the journaling cards, I created a template in Word and am going to type my journaling in a typewriter font, then print onto kraft cardstock. Not only does this take some of the "automation" out of the process, but I had to redo January.

But honestly, I love it so much better. It was cute before, but now it reflects my style.

 

 

January sample pages
 
 
 

 
February sample pages
 

 

I'm really excited about these changes. I like the idea of adding an element of play by using different products, but it's still relatively easy because I'm following a formula and just have to fill the pockets. I do still hope to use some of the Project Life kit elements. And whatever I don't use, I'll be keeping on hand for other projects, which I think will be fun.

Are you using Project Life? Have you mixed in any of your own product or are you sticking to the kit contents?

PS - I definitely have to thank Lindsey for the encouragement and inspiration to use my own favorite papers instead of relying only on items from the kit!

february photo calendar

Another month down, another 28 pictures for our Project 365. I am really enjoying this photo project. I keep loving it more and more as our photo collection for the year grows; I can only imagine how amazing it's going to be to have a whole year completed!

 
Calendar and full size images can be viewed at Shuttercal

How are you doing on your photo project? Do you find that it's getting easier or harder now that another month has passed? Wishing you much success with your Project 365s!