Fancy is fun, but simple is done - Project Life

I started Project Life in 2011.  I bought two kits - one to use for 2011 and one to use to work backward into 2010.  I knew I loved the concept, but when I began to work in the albums, I was really in love.  I had so much passion about it, I even made a video.

I absolutely loved that my (then) six year old could finally look at a family album that included him!  You see, I had been a traditional scrapbooker since 1997ish.  My wedding and family were all documented and pretty current until that third baby arrived.  Then I just couldn't keep up.  So between 2005 and 2011, there was nothing.  I was overwhelmed and couldn't seem to get going again.  Enter Project Life.  It was so easy.  I just sat down once a week, picked the best, or perhaps the most important, 7 pictures of the week and sent them to be printed.  Easy.  Sometimes I got crazy and added in extra pages if I needed them.  But mostly, that was my formula.  7 pictures and the kit.  In 2012, I kept seeing all those cute pages online where the creative genius scrapbook gurus took Project Life and added their zip, zing and personal stamp to it.  Somehow I let that get to me.  Despite my advice in the video, I started trying to be like them.  I started cutting up paper from my stash.  Or buying rubber stamps to complement my albums.  I went right back into my old traditional scrapbooking ways.

Guess what happened.

It is now October of 2013 and my 2012 album is still not finished.  I only just started printing pictures for 2013.  How did I fall off the wagon for something I'm so passionate about?  I got overwhelmed.  I fell into the comparison trap.  I forgot the very thing that made me love it to begin with; simple is done.

Now I have no album for 2013.  I have no record of all the amazing and funny things my kids said this year.  I have no documentation of my blessings for this year.  And that makes me incredibly sad.

So, here is what I'm going to do.  I'm going to devote myself to using the amazing collection of Project Life core kits and mini kits I've continued to accumulate this year to get current, stay current and then try to spend 2014 catching up on those back years.

Ambitious?  Yes.  But if I can remember to keep it simple, I can totally do this.

And I'm going to keep you updated on my progress.  When I feel like getting crafty, I will make quick lunchbox notes or home decor projects.  But my albums are no longer up for comparison.  They don't have to be a masterpiece.  They are mine and I want to be able to review them and share them quickly, not in 5-10 years.  7 pictures and the kits. They will be perfectly imperfect and done, just the way I like them.

I'm off to pick up my first print order now.  I'll keep you posted.

Cheers!