enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

Pl2014titlepage

I am very excited to be documenting our 2014 with Project Life® again this year.

This will be my third year using the Project Life® approach which to me means combining photos and journaling into pocket pages and displaying them in an album. In 2012, I just dove right in and worked primarily from what I had on hand. In 2013, I have worked mostly from the Seafoam kit and added on other kits as the year went by. Over the past two years, I have learned the value of recording our everyday through this project and as I move forward I really just want to have fun with it.

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 Enter my 2014 title page. I decided to get a little outside of the box (and into the triangles).

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This took some planning for sure.

I printed a bunch of 3×4 photos (some of us, some of favorite things in our house and some of palm trees because… obviously). Then I picked some of my favorite cards from the Studio Calico Copper Mountain kit. I chopped the cards and the photos on the diagonal and stuck them into the pockets, sewed the pockets closed from corner to corner and then stuck other halves on top. It's like a paper quilt and I love the result.

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I had to think about the backside as well because once the pockets were stitched I wouldn't be able to make any changes. I decided my title page will have a front and back and I will most likely use a full 12×12 photo of the three of us for the next page. But we'll see.

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Obviously, I'm changing things up this year.

Here is what I know : I will be keeping the same 12×12 size for sure (I'm using a black We R Memory keepers album) but I'll be switching up the type of pocket pages (hopefully often!). I am going to be documenting on a monthly basis (meaning not necessarily following the weekly spread model).

After two years, I know that the point of this project for me is collecting my family's photos and stories but it's also about having a creative outlet. I am hoping that letting myself off the hook of weekly spreads will help bring back some of the fun and yep – magic – back to this venture.

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I am honored to be joining the Studio Calico Creative Team this year, so I do know that one spread per month will be made exclusively from the monthly kit. The rest of my spreads will likely be a mix things including the Seafoam, Midnight and Sunshine core kits. I will be sharing my progress here on the blog just once a month instead of every Sunday. This is going to be a good thing. Monthly sharing will guarantee I am bringing something new to the table instead of just a weekly re-hash.

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I'm excited and more inspired than ever. If you think you'll miss my weekly Project Life updates, follow me on Instagram! I will for sure be sharing sneaks and progress shots there often – along with 7,000 other craft project, plant and Ellerie photos.

AND…I wrapped up my 2013 PL album last week. I decided to skip most of December since those photos and stories were in my holiday album. I had a spread for Thanksgiving and a spread for Christmas week and then just an end page. Feels amazing to just call it good enough and be done. 🙂

products used in this spreadStudio Calico's Copper Mountain Project Life® kit, khaki cardstock, this pen, these pens & a Project Life® design F pocket page.

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50 responses to “my 2014 project life title page & plans for the new year.”

  1. Christine K Avatar
    Christine K

    Wow! Your title page is beyond awesome. I think I have to do this. Thanks for sharing.

    Like

  2. Kate aka stinkydudette Avatar
    Kate aka stinkydudette

    I love how you’ve done this!! Great start to a new year.. And I’m super stoked to have you as part of the SC team! I’m mostly a stalker and a student of yours, but I just have to tell you that I”m super happy for you!

    Like

  3. Sabine Avatar

    Wow, this triangle layout is so amazing! It looks beautiful and creative as a cover page. Thanks for sharing, Elise.
    Sabine

    Like

  4. pamgarrison.typepad.com Avatar

    so super cool! and so YOU too, with all the triangle quilts you’ve made. happy your excited about doing it again and look forward to seeing what makes it fun for you. AND, so appreciate your emphasis on progress not perfection and embracing “good enough” – such an important example of how to choose happy for me, so thanks!

    Like

  5. karin hope Avatar
    karin hope

    I so enjoy hearing how you mix things up to keep them something you are excited to work on. And of course I love the quilted triangle cover page! I feel like I saw you got a new photo printer. I’m looking for one myself, could you share what you got, and how you like it/would you recommend it? Thanks much!

    Like

  6. Elsa-Maija Avatar
  7. cristi wuenschel Avatar

    congrats on finishing 2013! love your title page!

    Like

  8. Dawn Gross Avatar
    Dawn Gross

    Awesome layout! I too have decided on a monthly layout for project life. Weekly wasn’t my thing.

    Like

  9. howtomakeart Avatar

    I love this! And congrats on being on the Studio Calico Design Team too. You are totally motivating me to finish my 2013 album this week. 🙂

    Like

  10. elise blaha Avatar

    I got the epson picturemate show (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002P7H1MQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002P7H1MQ&linkCode=as2&tag=elisblahenjoi-20). It’s AWESOME and will be my little work horse this year. I will be sure to talk more about it in an upcoming PL post, but you can read some of the q&a already here … http://instagram.com/p/hrVWtwMqBR/
    It prints true 4×6 – works on any photo paper (that is cut down to 4×6) and I am printing directly from iPhoto for 4x6s and from PSE for two 3x4s to a 4×6 page. (I have it hooked up to my computer)
    🙂

    Like

  11. Emma I Avatar
    Emma I

    SO. AWESOME! I just got very excited! I’m really going to give this technique a try for my 2014 album. Thank you for continually inspiring and amazing me!

    Like

  12. young Avatar
    young

    Wow, so beautiful on both sides! Thanks for the inspiration! I wonder how it would have looked with a larger photo across 4 of the triangles? You’ve got my wheels spinning for sure! Thanks!

    Like

  13. Ckah Avatar

    Love love love it !!! I also am doing a monthly bok instead of weekly. Thanks for always being so inspirational in your creativity

    Like

  14. Joy Avatar

    So much to take in! Love all the details : )

    Like

  15. Welcome Home Taylor Avatar

    I love this new look! It puts such an awesome spin on the Project Life. Plus, it gives a feel of several snippets of the month/year. Love it!
    xoxo
    Taylor
    http://www.welcomehometaylor.com

    Like

  16. Fiona Avatar

    I love your title page! So fun and original!

    Like

  17. Sarah p Avatar
    Sarah p

    Wow this is a cool layout Elise! So fun and hope I can give this a try. I look forward to meeting you at the retreat in march 🙂

    Like

  18. Karen C Avatar
    Karen C

    I love the quilty look! I hope you carry the triangle theme throughout the year. Have fun! and Happy New Year!

    Like

  19. katie parker Avatar
    katie parker

    Lovely! What type of photo printer do you use?

    Like

  20. katie Avatar
    katie

    Oops just noticed in comments above printer type. Thank you!

    Like

  21. Libbi Moore Avatar
    Libbi Moore

    i love this and your new approach to tackling this project in 2014. just curious, are you going to share your december daily?

    Like

  22. Carol Avatar

    That is awesome! I hope you share your holiday album as well! 🙂

    Like

  23. Brianna Avatar
    Brianna

    I love the triangles. I bought your 2014 calendar and I’m trying to work out to do my own version of Project Life/photo a day using each month as the header.

    Like

  24. Sunday Avatar

    Love the triangles! This year was my first doing PL and I used a monthly, main event approach like you’ve mentioned here. It worked really well – and I think it will work even better for you as you print photos from home (whereas I’ve had to go to a photo printing place.) Big plans to buy a printer for home in 2014, let me tell you! Happy memory keeping 🙂

    Like

  25. A Beautiful Mess Avatar

    Hi Elise!! This looks SO GOOD. I’m obsessed!
    Happy to hear your are changing things up to make it (even more) fun for you. That’s important!
    You’re an inspiration!
    elsie

    Like

  26. tracy Avatar
    tracy

    I’ve been using the PL format for monthly spreads for two years and all digital—until this summer when I got sucked back into the paper kits a bit. What I found as a result of that are page protectors that work for my real life: 5×7. 8×10 etc–these work great for school and team photos, school work etc. Love the mish mash and most importantly, documenting life on (an almost) regular basis.

    Like

  27. Cynthia H Avatar

    Love the paper quilt look! So fun!

    Like

  28. J3SS1C4 Avatar

    This looks fantastic! I love how your spicing things up for 2014! I’m looking forward to your pages over the next year!

    Like

  29. Genevieve Joy Avatar
    Genevieve Joy

    Hi Elise,
    Love your PL work – it’s a constant source of inspiration for me.
    I was wondering if you we’re going to be doing Ali Edwards One Little Word this year?

    Like

  30. Jaime Avatar

    I love your title page and can’t wait to see your PL updates in 2014! Any chance you’ll be sharing glimpses of your holiday album? I’m in the middle of working on mine and I consider myself fairly new to Project Life. Would love to see what you came up with!

    Like

  31. elise blaha Avatar
  32. elise blaha Avatar

    I created it for the December Duos class – so no, the additional content I created for it will be shared as part of that workshop only. 🙂

    Like

  33. elise blaha Avatar

    I am going to be picking a word and taking the class. Not sure I will build an album for it though.. more info on one little word coming monday. 🙂

    Like

  34. elise blaha Avatar

    Nothing more to share on the holiday album… it’s part of the content for the class I am co-teaching with Big Picture, December Duos. But there will be a lot of project life once a month on the blog. 🙂

    Like

  35. andrea Avatar
    andrea

    This looks amazing. Really love it!!
    Will you share your last few PL-spreads and the end page?

    Like

  36. courtney Avatar

    I LOVE yours! I found you earlier this year on instagram and you are such an inspiring, hard working momma! -Courtney http://www.myfriendcourt.com

    Like

  37. Amy @ Wildflower Ramblings Avatar

    I love how you’ve decided to do it monthly — I am doing a monthly album for each of my kids — I keep the 3×4 cards handy to write memories down throughout the month and then pick my fav photos of them — much less stressful than weekly! I had to play catch up, but it’s nice to have the cards done bc I do them as I go 🙂 I’m writing a long post about my system soon 🙂 Love the triangles — happy new year 🙂

    Like

  38. Casey Avatar
    Casey

    Love the title page. Triangle quilts rock! I switched to monthly part way through this month and it was the best decision I made. Can’t wait to see how you use the different sized page protectors. Something I am hoping to do more this year too 🙂

    Like

  39. Jen D Avatar

    Amazing & sooo creative!! LOVE it!

    Like

  40. karin hope Avatar
    karin hope

    i remembered it was on your instagram i thought i saw it, and now found it (EPSON picturemate show) thanks 🙂

    Like

  41. karin hope Avatar
    karin hope

    so glad to hear it’s working so well for you! i’m definitely looking into it right now!

    Like

  42. Michelle Avatar

    I would love to try PL this year. However, I fear that like many projects, I will invest my cash into the products, have the ideas, and never sit down to actually DO it. I have tried the whole daily (or regular timed) documentation thing and it’s just never happened.
    OTOH I would love to have a place to put all the random daily tings of my life right now. I did a whole Becky Higgins album about my daily life (including my purse, my toothbrush, where I ran errands, my music etc) for CKU-A in 2006 and my life went and changed so much, so I am glad to have even the unfinished album.
    Now that I have space where I could possibly leave an album-in-progress open all the time to be added to…
    I like the idea of the monthly documentation. I did (most of) a monthly documentation mini album from Shimelle in 2008 and again, the little I did is precious to me.
    Ok I am kind of selling myself on it…

    Like

  43. Kathy Avatar

    What a totally awesome idea! Love your triangles!!!

    Like

  44. Nicole Avatar
  45. Erika Avatar

    Loving the quilted look so much. That’s fantastic! Linked to it on my blog, just a heads up.
    Thanks for all the inspiration you provide… I’m looking forward to PL2014!

    Like

  46. Erika Avatar

    What about going digital? I put a load of money into PL2013 and then never sat down and did it… ended up switching to all digital towards the end of the year and working my way backwards. It just fits me sooooo much better. Or hybrid, maybe?

    Like

  47. tinamail104@yahoo.com Avatar

    LOVE LOVE LOVE the triangles! Great title page!

    Like

  48. Debbie Avatar
    Debbie

    Love it! Did you just stitch the pages with a sewing machine? May I copy???!

    Like

  49. Nancy G. Avatar
    Nancy G.

    Love the triangles. It is a great change of pace to see.

    Like

  50. Sarah Avatar

    I already miss your weekly posts, but I am thinking outside the box this year, too. so it’s alright for me to wait for inspiration 🙂

    Like

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