Wow, that’s a lot of freakin’ numbers! Yeah, I’m thinking about doing Project 365 starting January 1 of next year.

If you’ve been living under a rock and aren’t already familiar, Project 365 is where you take a photo per day for an entire year (get it??? 365?? huh? huh?). Ostensibly, you then scrapbook those photos so that at the end of the year, you have photos and journaling from an entire year in your everyday life. Pretty dang cool.

I *think* this idea originated with Ali Edwards or Creating Keepsakes or Becky Higgins, or some combination thereof. Becky provided a PROJECT 365 KIT last year that you could purchase to simplify the process. It utilized those page protectors with slots in them and pre-done journaling boxes and accents which, along with your photo per day, you could just slip right in. Add some quick journaling each day or each week and you are dunzo. HERE is something from January 2009 by Becky, about all the reasons to do P365 … it’s a good overview of what the project entails and why it’s a cool idea. Plus, it will make you want to buy one of her kits, LOL. For 2010, she is selling the Project Life kit HERE.

Here is a sample from MAGGIE HOLMES using Becky’s kit from 2009:

This is such an all-encompassing project that a lot of participants started a blog separate from their regular scrapbooking blog to document their P365 photos. Some people see this as a great way to improve your photography, not just the skills used to take photos of such varied things but also opening your eyes to the everyday things that we wouldn’t think were “important enough” for a photo usually, but P365 gives you license to take their picture. For instance, maybe you take a photo of what you have for breakfast most days, your kids doing homework, or the gorgeous spring flower that just bloomed outside your window.

I avoided being sucked in to Project 365 last year, but my resolve is weakening. It has the potential to be a VERY time-consuming project, no? Not only do you have to remember to take a ding-dang photo every single day of your life for an entire year, but then you need to sit down and daily or at least weekly print out your photo(s), slap some journaling down, and make it all look cute.

However, I’ve been reading about Project 365 throughout the year here and there, kind of following how scrappers everywhere are accomplishing this daunting ~ yes, I said daunting…you gotta problem with that? ~ task, and they have made me feel like it’s doable. I think the divided page protectors are definitely the way to go. There is no way on Lisa Bearnson’s green earth that I’m going to scrapbook a full-on layout a day. Just ain’t happening. After the FIASCO with Becky’s P365 kits last year*, I’m not going there … don’t want to deal with that mess if I decide to do it for 2010. They are supposedly shipping Dec. 29th but we shall see. Just for the record, I’m not dissing on Becky … but I’ve not been a fan of CK Customer Service for years. Nicely put: They suck. So there.

*The link is to Becky’s blog archives for January 2009; scroll through and browse all the negativity to see what I’m calling “The Fiasco.” January 24 is a good one to read.

Besides, as happy happenstance would have it, the company I’m a consultant for {MEMORY WORKS} has announced their own products for the first time, coming out in January 2010. The first line will include items to do this type of “photo album scrapbooking” made so attractive and popular by the likes of STACY JULIAN and all those Project 365’ers out there. So there will be pre-cut journaling boxes and elements with corresponding divided page protectors to make scrapping a lot of photos about as easy as it gets.

As for the photo issue, now that I have my little Epson photo printer and can easily print photos at home, the obstacle of sending photos off to be printed in a timely manner is gone … I’ll just print them at home. Easy peasy. I doubt I would actually print out a photo every day, but I could certainly do it weekly … erm, at least I think I could.

So, I’m still on the fence about doing Project 365 in 2010. I’m kind of famous for … well, for lots of things actually, like the fact that Lou Diamond Phillips once brushed against me in a nightclub and that TROY DUNN is my homeboy … but what I meant to say was, I’m pretty famous for starting projects, being all gung-ho at the beginning, and then my life gets “too busy” and I let those commitments fall by the wayside.

In the case of Project 365, I don’t want that to happen. If I start it, I wanna finish it. And I honestly don’t know if I have it in me to do that. With 2009 coming to an end, there is a lot of talk on scrapbook blogs and message boards among those scrappers who did P365 this year. I’m hearing a lot of “Yeah, it was a cool project but it was SO hard to keep up on,” and “I was really excited to do it but I dropped out in February; it was just too much work.”

I don’t know. I’m confuzzled. Is there a support group for people like me?

I think it would be very cool to have a completely done 2010 album at this time next year. What an awesome thing for my family to look back on, a year of our everyday life captured in one place … the good, the bad, and the ugly. And believe you me, there is LOTS of ugly! Dirty dishes, a mentally-challenged dog, unmade beds … the horror! But I think doing this project would at least keep me in semi-scrapping mode throughout the year, whereas currently I only seem to scrap when I go to crops. P365 would force me to at least be taking some pics and jotting a few details down on a regular basis. And a reason to Scrap Shop! {Yeah, like I NEED a reason??} Project 365 would give me an excuse to buy the cute new Memory Works products, and it would give me a way to display them for customers.

One good idea I heard is to start NOW putting photo ideas in your dayplanner. Then you’re not struggling every day for what to take a photo of. HERE is a cool list provided by CK of 365 things to take photos of.

So, yeah, there are lots of positives to this project and that’s why I’m seriously considering participating in 2010. I think I’ve about 70% convinced myself, but the other 30% is being a real bee-yotch about the whole thing (“You’re too busy, you’ll never keep up.” “You never stick with anything long enough to complete it.” “Focus on your regular scrapping, dummy.” You know, bitchy stuff like that.).

So tell me, did you do Project 365 in 2009? Do you plan to in 2010? Why or why not? If you’re going to participate, HOW are you going to do it? Tell me, tell me …

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25 Comments

  1. avatar

    I have been having that same inner dialogue with myself. :)

    I’ll do it if you’ll do it, okay? I mean, two Erica’s/Erika’s are better than one, right? ;)

  2. avatar
    Gloria says:

    On the fence here, but what I am thinking of doing is starting with a month of January trial run. That is my birthday month so if I see that doing it for the entire year is not my cup of tea, I’ll just call it my birthday month album. Lots of things will be happening for my family in January along with my birthday. Two granddaughters also have bdays and the new baby girl is expected in Jan. So it is an important month for me. Not wanting to set myself up for failure here, ya see. A little out for me if I don’t want to continue.

    BTW if I did digi, I would totally do what Nicole did for this year. Hers is really neat.

  3. avatar
    toliveinspired says:

    I must be sheltered because I have never heard of it :-D But it sounds interesting.. I have signed up with several types of challenges for this next year , including a Creative Everyday challenge.. And you blog, besides making me laugh , inspired me to start a new blog for my creative challenges for this next year, as the blog I had started was created to be a bit different then it has been turning out to be , doing the december views ( taking pics or your everyday and posting them on your blog) has helped me realize this.. I have too much I want to say to have it just be pics all the time! So you inspired me to start creating a new one just for that purpose!
    My two cents about this is that you can join, to help motivate you to do what you can.. what are the 365 police going after you if you don’t do one a day? Plus you could journal about your week in short snippets and take a few photos to add to it..
    Make it your own, use it as a motivator and inspiration !

  4. avatar

    I have no comment…because after only 8 days I quit :(

    I need to think of a easier way (for me) to do it.

    I’ll keep an eye on you :) to see what you decide!

    1. avatar

      If the 365 is to much, try doing it weekly. A friend of mine did the weekly project when she realized with work and school and everything else in between the 365 project seemed impossible. She’s almost done, only has 4 weeks left i think. Hope this helped.

  5. avatar

    I did it this year. Yes, I have missed a few days, but really in the year 2025 is anyone really going to know that I took the Oct 4th pic on Nov 22nd. Nope! It is a big project, but I’m glad I did it this year. I’m not doing it for 2010 but maybe in a few years, I will tackle it again. It really isn’t too hard to come up with pic ideas. On the days I couldn’t think of something, I took a pic of our dinner, or what was in our frig that day. I guess my big piece of advice would be don’t make a chore out of it. If you miss a few days, don’t stop, just make those pics up. Have fun!

  6. avatar
    toliveinspired says:

    Ok I clearly need to get out more.. I know this will sound like cursing to those of you who are die hard scrapbooking divas, but you don’t actually have to scrapbook all of them in the formal way… You can just post to your blog, you can upload to flicker.. Or do what I say below and upload that collage/page view to your blog.. What I am thinking of doing ( yes I am a nerd, I know plan on signing up for the project as well.. ) You can just do a sort of a 1 page collage in a normal paper size,like 1x a week.. I am going to use the program I have on my mac called pages.. I can put pics on it with text on the pic or near it et … I make notes during the week about what I do, I take the pics, but I take about 30 min or so one time a week to load it all in on one page.. , That way you can gussy it up how you want, after you print it out if you choose too.. Or you take a few of the photos 1x a month and do the traditional scrapbooking..
    And like the above poster Christie said have fun ,and don’t be so strict about it!
    Ok I am shutting up about it now!

  7. avatar

    Well, I have thought and thought about it and have basically decided I’m doing it. I guess I’d say I’m about 95% sure I’m gonna attempt it. I plan on either doing an 8 1/2×11 type binder book with one week at a time on the two page spread OR doing an album like the one above with Pebbles page protectors and an AC D-ring album. Like you, I’m pretty good at starting projects and not finishing. I’m hoping the key to my success will be that I’ve asked my dh nicely for some assistance with the photo-taking, since he’s becoming pretty talented behind the camera. Fingers crossed for a super duper complete project at the end of 2010 for the both of us. I’m in it with you. ;)

  8. avatar

    Well, I’m right there with ya. I started it last year, even started a blog for it.. lasted about a week because things got crazy. But I have been following Noel Joy’s photos, and have really been thinking about doing it again.

    I also will not scrap the photo daily. That’s just nuts. Am thinking about doing either a weekly page, or a monthly (think calendar) type page. Haven’t decided yet.

    Eitherway, I plan on dusting off my 365 blog from last year… hopefully this year will be better!

  9. avatar

    I think that anyone who is married with children should do this, and since I don’t fall into that category, I won’t be doing it. Since YOU fall into that category, you should do it. Just a snapshot a day…a couple of words if you want and you’re done. I haven’t looked, but Stacy Julian must have this completely and totally simplified.

    And if you dont’ finish, you’ll have all those great little pictures you wouldn’t have otherwise.

    Good luck!

  10. avatar

    I did it this past year. I wanted to buy the Becky Higgins kit but got there too late. I’m glad I did, too. I just made my own “kit.” I have lots of Creative Memories pages that I need to use up, so i just corner rounded my photos and adhered them directly to the page. I did a 4×6 cardstock for a “week of” spot, and then 4×3 journaling spots. I liked it because I could put the journaling spots wherever I wanted to – not just at the bottom of the page. Becuase there are only 7 days in the week and I would have space for 8 journaling spots on a 2-page 12×12 spread, I used a pretty cardstock cut to 4×3 in that extra spot. I used my photo-editing program to write the day of the week on each photo before I printed it off, and then for the journaling spots I used a set of journaling-line stamps I got at Walmart and a set of days-of-the-week stamps from Technique Tuesday. I used different papers/color scheme for each month to kind of tie things together – mostly I used the small 4×6 “stacks” from DCWV – lots of colors, and they all coordinate within the “stack.”

    I am sure my way was more expensive than buying the kit, but I did already have the album, pages and page protectors. Also i could mix it up and tailor the paper colors to the season, etc. I am not sure I will do it again this year, but I did have fun doing it and it is a good snapshot of our daily lives!

  11. avatar
    Danielle says:

    I just wanted to add a little tip if you don’t print your photos each day. I purchased a really cheap pocket calendar and I wrote down what picture was taken each day. That way, when the photos were printed, I was able to find what date they were taken on. It also helped jog my memory a bit on the journaling to have this as a reminder.

  12. avatar

    I have been trying to decide too. I love the idea of taking the pictures from each week and putting them in a collage. That way I don’t haved to worry about the page dividers.

    I am super excited to see the new Memory Works products!

    Guess I will just make it up as I go along. Thanks for the list of ideas and the tip about putting ideas in my planner!

  13. avatar

    I’ve thought about it in the past, but now I’m thinking about a P52 or a P12. I think I might could handle either of those without having “gym fatigue” (y’know those new year resolutions…) by Feb.1. Otherwise, it would last about 3 days!

  14. avatar
    Julie L. says:

    I did it this year. Okay, I bought it, but didn’t get it until late March, I think and then I was hopelessly behind. I stuck with taking the pictures, just need to get on the printing and journaling.
    And I’ve bought it again this year…sucker that I am!

    So here’s my tips. I kept up with visually organizing my pictures at http://www.shuttercal.com. I love having this as my backup!
    If you buy the kit, organize it immediately. Have everything ready so all you have to do is add photos and journal.
    Find a friend(s) who will nudge and inspire you to keep at it.
    If I were confident in my photoshop skills, I think I would choose that this year, but I’ll put that off for now.

  15. avatar
    toliveinspired says:

    I just have to chime in here again and say I love everyones ideas! Maybe we should start a 365 support group :-D I am getting excited about it, this next year is the first time I have been “involved” in so many fun and creatively stretching things, I can’t wait!

  16. avatar
    Madeline says:

    I am thinking of doing this but it may end up being a digital LO, one or two pages for the week, haven’t decided yet

  17. avatar

    I’m in! I can’t not do this (I know, double negative, but it just works). With two precious little boys I don’t want to forget a thing. :)

  18. avatar

    I just heard of this this year -I just started scrapping this year – so that makes sense. However – I have been doing MUCH research before I dive into thsi task… Mother of 4 – I have lots to scrap – but also Lots to do. Plus I want to loose weight this year – get a grip on organizing my chaotic house – and the thought of throwing this in on top – sure – why not?!?

    But I did want to point out that Becky mentions in a top 10 Reasons to do Project 365, that it is not so much taking 1 picture everyday -in fact she mentions this is frustrating… but instead journaling/capturing the “week”. She mentions the idea of using memorabilia for a day in lieu of a pic as well. For those without a printer – she mentioned filing them with the date as the name on yourcomputer – then print a week or 2 at a time.

    She also mentions that it’s not about the “special” stuff as much as the everyday mundane stuff – that we may take for granted. I like the concept – I am hoping maybe this will help me “slow down”… but who knows it’s worth a shot!!

  19. avatar

    Call me crazy…but I decided to start a blog AND Project 365. The blog I plan to use for scrapbooking, card making and use of my Cricut/Gypsy….but I also am currently documenting my Project 365 photos right now, until I get the items I ordered and can physically start doing the project. I didn’t want to wait til mid_January to get one of the kits…so I made up my own.

    I look forward to see what others are doing with their project!

    Beth

  20. […] out, this is a terrific thing to cover in my PROJECT 365 album, so one or two photos of my books will be my picture(s) of the day. {If you have more than […]

  21. […] I set about getting started with my Simple Stories kit, which I’m using to complete my PROJECT 365 for […]

  22. […] You’d like to do PROJECT 365, 52, or 12. You want to do a weekly GRATITUDE ALBUM. You’d like to do a Year in Review album […]

  23. avatar

    hi girls
    found your post and it is nearly 2011! starting mine on Jan 1 and am so excited about doing this massive challenge!
    is anyone else doing it in 2011?

  24. avatar
    Cheri says:

    It’s 1/1/11 and I’m starting today. Maybe I’m carzy, but I will try. Doing digital and using Creative Memories software so hopefully that will help me stay organized.

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