Project Life 2016: February to June

Hellooo thereeee

So turns out making a monthly spread for Project Life was harder than I thought! Between choosing, resizing, and editing pictures...eventually getting to the good part where you actually build your spread is veeery time consuming. For January I had a lot of free time and was able to do this. Also for January I had more stuff happening so my spread was about 4 pages long (yikes!). But, as many new changes were happening in my life, I decided to wait until summer to update it.

Keep scrolling to read how I design my pages!

I found it easier to design my pages the following way:

1. Choose your pictures and create a folder with duplicates (since you'll be editing them, you don't want to alter the original).

2. Organize your pictures per pages.

This for me is the hardest part. Here you have to use a lot of imagination and mental picturing of how your spread will look.

I decided not to do a monthly spread (some months may not have much excitement) and make a page or two per event.

3. Decide the size of each picture. In my case, my protective sheets are 4 4x6 and 4 3x2. I always try to leave a few empty slots for journaling cards. I use the program Picasa which lets me resize pictures (there you can see if you need to crop your picture or if it will loose resolution if it's too small). These program also lets me do collages. 3x2 pictures are half a 4x6 picture, so I place 2 3x2 pictures in a 4x6 collage and then cut them when I print them (makes sense?).

4. I always send my pictures to Walgreens for printing. I upload them online and pick them up a few hours later. It's fast and convenient. Plus they always have some sort of discount for online printing (I've never paid more than 10 bucks!)

5. Once I have my prints, I cut all my 3x2 and make a layout of each page. This helps me see if I like the layout and if I need more or less pictures.

6. Then comes the fun part! Placing every picture in their slot and start adding to the empty slots! I didn't buy journaling cards but bought white card stock and a small card stock pad with designs. From this I cut the sizes I need. It's definitely much more effort but I like having the flexibility of changing the style.

Soon, I'll be posting a detailed process with pictures, but for now leave any questions below!

For events that'll will take me two pages I feel is better to have them side by side.

When I was a 4x6 picture short I would just insert 2 3x2 (in this case a picture plus a journal card).

 I made this card using pure markers. I traced the circle using the cap of a candle!

I am really happy by how it ended looking! I have to admit this wasn't a 1 day process. I made bits and pieces on different days. After a few hours it can become overwhelming! 

If you are interested in making an album similar to this you don't have to use the Becky Higgins album I'm using. You can totally create your own with a simple binder. I've even seen people make their own pockets for pictures with their desired layouts and sizes. I purchased this album because of convenience. Designing the spreads was hard work enough! But I enjoy the process and definitely the outcome! If you are interested though, you can explore her website here.

Stop by again & happy memories!

xoxo,

N