january project life

Sigh.  Okay, so maybe January isn't quite finished yet.  Groan.  I had issues uploading pictures from my camera to computer, so I haven't printed the very end of January.  But I am impressed that I have so many pics printed in the first place.  From one whole month.  Probably the most printed from a month since this era of digital (sadly!).  Perhaps I am feeling some negativity because I spent 12 hours (LATE nights) creating a shutterfly book using a digital version of Project Life for our Disney trip last year.  It turned out awesome, but in my zoned state of mind (lack of sleep I suppose) I didn't look at the expiration date on some coupons I had.  So, alas, the coupons expired and my book is sitting in the "cart" waiting to be ordered.  I can't wait to order it and share it!!

I am loving that I have been really good about uploading pictures(until the issues...), sorting them, deleting bad ones, and uploading to have them printed.  The rest of the project isn't going as smoothly as I had hoped.  I'm not loving it, and I think because it is so simple.  I'm trying to get over that and just put the pictures in the book. I am certain I'll have multiple volumes, since I am sometimes printing several pictures from one day.  But it's supposed to be whatever you want it to be, right??  I'm going to start going through my stash, too, and use more of my own stuff.  The journaling cards are great, but the page protectors that fit them are out of stock online.  I turn them or put them in a 4x6 slot, that doesn't really bother me.  But I am finding the bright colors of the cardstock in this kit are sometimes clashing with my pictures.  Hence the need to use my own stash.  Lord knows I have enough stuff ; )  And finding the space & time is another issue--more so because it involves pulling out tons of stuff and sprawling across the kitchen table (and sometimes a bench and chairs, too!).

So here is some of what I've done with it.  Nothing terribly exciting, but I sure am glad I've been making notes, I had already forgotten a couple of the funny things I wrote down.

The top left card has some journaling and then says, "From basketball to building barbie houses"...bottom right card says "we stay busy seven days a week."  I have to add a pic off of my phone of the barbie house taking up our closet : )

At first I had several pages of Maddie's birthday in the book.  Then I condensed it quite a bit of some of my favorite shots.

I have another picture off of my phone to add to this page.

Here's a stack of little things I have to add to the work in progress...

I included the baby shower invite in one of the 4x6 slots, and a note that was on the table at the baby shower.  This baby shower was a big deal (well, all of them are, but this one was really special).  I have yet to journal about the mom-to-be's journey, but I can do that at any time.  The gals in the photo with me are all wives of college friends of Mike.  The mom-to-be & husband had been trying for 7+ YEARS to conceive with no success.  They went through the whole fertility thing, including in vitro.  They had pretty much lost hope, and began to accept it was just not meant to be.  She signed up for the Chicago Marathon last spring and voila!  Found out she was pregnant.  I love stories with happy endings!!

Thanks for looking!