ACOT Message Board

And the winner chosen by Random.org is:

          11) Ethereal sheep

I'll be sending you a GC from the ACOT store.  To see her layout click on her name above.

What is Project Life? I love the short and sweet answer provided by Denise about this Challenge:

redsonic20 wrote:
Project life is about documenting the every day. They are done in 12x12 page protectors that are divided up (usually in configurations of 4x6 and 3x4). It is usually documented with a two page spread for every week, but can be varied based on your needs. There are also smaller inserts you can add if it was a photo heavy week (say a vacation or major holiday) and thicker pockets that are meant to hold memorabilia and other goodies that wouldn't otherwise fit in your scrapbook.

I will also add a twist to the challenge each month. If you incorporate the twist, then you will get an extra chance for that month.
And, last but not least, I hope to provide you some links with inspiration from around the world of others who have been doing Project Life.
 
For this month:
TWIST:
One of the great things about using the pocket pages, is the ability to have mini-layouts scattered through-out your photos.  This layout is digital, but you can see the influence of the pocket page blocks.  If you incorporate a full size layout, but use pocket pages, you qualify for a TWIST this month!

Here are two examples:

I love the simplicity of this first one, and while the scrapper is using this for the album cover, it could just as easily be about one particular point in life.



Here is a second example that is more complex.  I've provided both the original, and my take on the mini-layouts involved.





INSPIRATION: If you are still on the fence about project life, remember that you can START anytime.  I saw a couple of folks on Pinterest who started in the middle of the year.  Here is a list of tips to help you start.

• http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ ... d0f735.jpg 
  
• project-life-ideas

RULES (yeah, gotta have ‘em):
1) Due by 11:59 pm ACOT time, Mar 2, 2014. Winner will be selected randomly for an ACOT gift certificate.
2) Please post layouts here, but I will check the gallery area as well.
3) Open to digi and paper scrappers. Card makers, if you can show me how you are incorporating PL in your cards, great! If you are doing an altered project (mixed media) each month representing your PL – awesome! Let’s see it!
4) Please, no combining with another challenge.
5) But most of all – have fun, don’t stress, and get creative!
 
PRIZE: $5 ACOT Gift Card
 
Any questions, just pm me!

Cherries participating this month:
1) CarrieG
2) ernstem (Beth)
3) Killarny_Rose (Kim) 
4) Killarny_Rose (Kim) twist
5) steprae (Stephanie)
6) butterfly843 (Jenn)
7) sweetsour (Karrie) 
8) sweetsour (Karrie) twist
9) Retiree3 (Donna)
10) Craftyshannon
11) Ethereal sheep
12) blbabe1234 (Brandy)

 

Love the examples!

oooo tricky one this month!  I am giving it a shot but it wont be elaborate as your examples since my format is 6x8 .....that is a tiny format for pockets..LOL

CarrieG wrote:oooo tricky one this month!  I am giving it a shot but it wont be elaborate as your examples since my format is 6x8 .....that is a tiny format for pockets..LOL

Yes, it's a tiny format for 6x8.  But you can still consider the composite image or blocking style.  And remember the twist is for a full layout, not necessarily the PL page.

here is mine....twistless since I just couldn't get it to work in pockets........

I can't wait for some of February to happen so I'll have photos to scrap!!  I did take photos today, because it snowed!!

Hi all,

Deanna was kind enough to provide this link to Heidi Swapps's web page where you can find a free download printable for Project Life.

http://www.heidiswapp.com/welcome-to-february-2014/


 

Hi all, SweetSour asked me a few questions in a PM, and has consented to let me share here so that it might clarify this month's TWIST.

sweetsour wrote:Hiya, I am just a little confused about your examples for the twist this month...  the first is obviously one pic cut up to fit into the pocket pages and when I first saw it I thought "if I were going to do that I would just put it on one normal 12x12 page, and not cut my photo"
The 2nd example looks like it is not separated into pockets, but is in sections right on the 12x12 page.   Or does it look like that only because you do digital ?
I guess I am just trying to figure out how I could make it fit with my choice to go monthly (1 page per month-with various events over the month) with my PL, and the question is;  if the background and embellishments is all the same, as in the 2nd example, and in the pocket pages  even though the pics and events are different,  would that count ?

 
So, let me answer the second question first.  Technically, it probably would be easier to do this in digital, but I can't say I've ever done a layout like the example.  

With the respect to the first question, here's a layout that I created a couple of months ago that uses this concept (to a degree).  For this album, I'm not restricting myself to a single pocket page format.  I'm using all of the WRMK pages, mixing them up as I need.  And yes, I'm including full 12x12 layouts as well.  But the stretch here is to do a full layout, but in the pocket page format.  I probably could have done this layout on a full size page (12x12), but the beauty of the pocket pages is that my use of the pp and embellies is minimized.  I was able to spread out the use of my embellies throughout this entire series of pages.  



If you are using a 3-ring binder for your album, this gives you the option of doing full size pages that front your pocket pages.  But you might want the two pages to be coordinated (similar pp's and embellies).

The page above is the right side of a dps, and the page below is the left side.  The bright color pp's are all from Bo Bunny's Surprise collection (for Birthdays), and the black pp is from a DCWV stack.  For me the pocket pages provide a great opportunity to include SOOOOOO many more photos in my album and scatter full 12x12 layouts for only the photos or ephemeral that really deserve/need a full page.



I hope this answers your questions.  Remember the concepts behind a "Challenge" and Project Life:  1) We offer the Challenges to take you out of your comfort zone so that you are stretched in your scrapping.  2) It's your Project Life, scrap what makes it yours!

Here's another example of a divided photo.  Understand that on the back of this layout, the scrapper may have nothing but photos OR it could be a mix of photos and the PL journal spots.

Here is my next page!!!  It's not posted in the Gallery because of not on list.  I'll try to get it in there.

I hadn't even read the challenge yet this month.  And amazing my layout is more like your first example!  I took a single page and cut it up into six blocks keeping the page whole so to speak.  My niece really has that attitude about her children, they are her gift!  Perfect sheet of paper for it!  And once I get one more layout uploaded as well as dishes done I'm back into my Project Life stuff!

My great-niece just toooooo cute!!!



Laurie, thank you so much for keeping PL constantly in the back of my mind.  

CarrieG wrote:here is mine....twistless since I just couldn't get it to work in pockets........

Given that it is a dps in such a small size, I think you did a good job on the challenge!  Love the honesty in your journaling.  

ernstem wrote:

I love your coffee cup!  Great job on coordinating the two pager!

killarney_rose wrote:Here is my next page!!!  It's not posted in the Gallery because of not on list.  I'll try to get it in there.

I hadn't even read the challenge yet this month.  And amazing my layout is more like your first example!  I took a single page and cut it up into six blocks keeping the page whole so to speak.  My niece really has that attitude about her children, they are her gift!  Perfect sheet of paper for it!  And once I get one more layout uploaded as well as dishes done I'm back into my Project Life stuff!

My great-niece just toooooo cute!!!



Laurie, thank you so much for keeping PL constantly in the back of my mind.  

Love the little embellishments in each pocket!  Great job on the twist for this month's PL challenge.

Here's my January pages for my PL album.  I finished my January pages this morning. I'm doing a monthly format, so how many ever pages it takes to tell my story is how many I'll use. This month it was 4 pages - 2 to capture our everyday life and 2 to capture the biggest event in January - snowfall in Charlotte... I used the PL Seasons, Holiday, and Kraft kits as well as embellishments from my stash.  If you click the picture, it'll take you to all 4 pages.  And while I didn't complete the twist, I like having that extra push to get my monthly pages done before the next month is over.   So my plan is - work on February in March, March in April, etc.  Until the end of the year.  

And I dislike that my scanner cuts off some of the page, I need to figure out how to fix that.

pugliess wrote:Here's my January pages for my PL album.  I finished my January pages this morning. I'm doing a monthly format, so how many ever pages it takes to tell my story is how many I'll use. This month it was 4 pages - 2 to capture our everyday life and 2 to capture the biggest event in January - snowfall in Charlotte... I used the PL Seasons, Holiday, and Kraft kits as well as embellishments from my stash.  If you click the picture, it'll take you to all 4 pages.  And while I didn't complete the twist, I like having that extra push to get my monthly pages done before the next month is over.   So my plan is - work on February in March, March in April, etc.  Until the end of the year.  

And I dislike that my scanner cuts off some of the page, I need to figure out how to fix that.

Great job on these!  I honestly could not tell which embellies were outside or inside the pockets!  But you are so right about the special pages for SNOW!  I remember living in NC as a kid, and most of the time we only saw snow once every couple of years, unless we went to the mountains.

Yeah!!!  With this post I'm adding two pages!

This is actually page 2 right behind my title page.  What better way then to honor my MIL and I love love this photo of her!  Taken Christmas Eve.



This page is behind the one of my great-niece putting on her make up!  I had intended on carrying through with all Bo Bunny but these photos just begged for a more fun product.  Fun = Elle's Studio Products!



What fun I'm having!  Thanks again, Laurie!

Whoops.....forgot this one as I have another layout I want to highlight one other photo from Christmas Day by itself!



Makes six I believe for PL so far this month.

Here's mine

Here is mine, February Hot and Not
 I have no idea whether I fit the twist or not, I did the whole page as is and then cut it up to fit in my PL protector.   If not, no worries!

killarney_rose wrote:



 

Love the way you have the arrows pointing to the photo!  And that you have something in each corner, including your journaling!

killarney_rose wrote: This page is behind the one of my great-niece putting on her make up!  I had intended on carrying through with all Bo Bunny but these photos just begged for a more fun product.  Fun = Elle's Studio Products!




 

Great job on the pocket page.  Love your colors and embellie selection!