Week 17 is when I really fell far behind in Project Life. Looking back, I can see why.
The week started like any ordinary week. Sunday was Easter which, for us, meant a low key day at home. It was the last day of spring break and a day I finally put the finishing touches on my popsicle quilt, I just love that quilt! Tuesday we headed into New York to see John Stewart. Unfortunately, instead of seeing John Stewart, we saw the inside of the newly renovated and just opened, that day, NYU medical center's emergency room. A whirlwind couple of days passed with us trying to figure out what was wrong with Mark and how to help him heal. Non-stop busy-ness! I am so lucky that I had Jess there to keep me company while Mark was being wheeled every which way, through the cafeteria and up to MRI!
The insert shows by Shop Hop passport and photos of the shops that I visited on Saturday while Mark was busy recuperating at home.
Wednesday we signed Mark out of NYU at about 8:30am and made the 9:06 train back to NJ. From there is was heavy duty electrolyte consumption and lots of sleep. Thursday, I was home from work, feeling under the weather myself and on Friday I was back to work. Friday evening I headed over to Needles and Pins to start the shop hop!
Saturday I spent the entire day on the road! So cool to be hopping all over New Jersey. There were a couple of new shops on the hop this year and I had a great time exploring each shop, including a couple of my favorites from years past.
On my way home a shot a picture of the sky, through the windshield of my car, while I was driving along I-95. The sky was gorgeous and I was feeling accomplished!
Being able to finish this spread made me so happy this morning. I had all the elements of the spread completed but the insert with the photos and my passport was lost someplace on my crafting table. Clearing that off and making is functional again is on my agenda for this week!
I spent some time this week seeking inspiration for Project Life and I found some really great stuff out there in the scrapbooking world! To begin, I love Ali Edwards! She often explains her choices and talks you through options avalable to document your unique story. She blogged about Week 14 here.
Elise Blaha Cripe has decided that this year she will complete her Project Life on a monthly basis, one page per month. I think that is such a cool idea, especially because completing it weekly can sometimes feel overwhelming. I love following her blog and I learn so much from her on so many levels. Project Life monthly, sounds like a great idea!
France, over at Bananfish Studio, does not do Project Life per se, she does pocket page scrapbooking. It is just about the same thing and I love how she does it. She is extremely creative and has a great eye for all kinds of things. I can absolutely not wait for her shop to open. Stop by her blog and take a look, I am sure you too will be enamored with her style!
In so many ways I believe that pocket scrapbooking can save so much time for those of us with thousands of photos in boxes. Just purchase a couple of three-ring scrapbooks, several pocket page protectors, set aside a few afternoons, and suddenly those photos are out of boxes and in a place where you can actually see and enjoy them. The beauty of doing that will be the stories you remember as you sort through the photos. Whenever I embark on such a project I keep a notebook nearby to jot down the stories I want to remember. I have the stories in one place and the photos organized. It is all just easy peasy!
Here's to remembering and sharing the stories of our lives!
