UPDATE: CONGRATULATIONS TO NATALIE PARK, OUR GIVEAWAY WINNER!
Before I got married and had a little one, I had all the time in the world. (Didn’t we all?) I LOVED scrapbooking. No seriously, check this out. My “Bryan + Emily” scrapbook from back when I was Emily Cowan, not Emily Ley.
All together now… “ha! Who has time for that!”
I know, I know, my hair was so blonde. And look at that photo where we’re staring at each other. That was literally the moment we locked eyes at a (very romantic) sports bar and didn’t stop talking the rest of the night. My friend Danielle captured that and it’s one of my fave photos of all time. :) I digress!
So a major source of some serious Mommy guilt has been that I haven’t scrapped the even more precious moments our family has had since Brady has joined our party of two. Sure, I’ve stuck the photos in a drawer or at least imported them into iPhoto, but I’m horrible at carving out time to make something extra magnificent like the album I made for Bryan and I way-back-when.
I started trying to think of innovative ways to document these precious years of our lives. Digital scrapbooking? (no time) Journaling? (no time) Then it dawned on me… I LOVE Instagram. It’s such a fun way to share awesome moments from our days. And I’ve done a REALLY good job being addicted keeping up with it since Brady was born. Around the time I started being diligent about capturing special moments with Instagram, I was introduced to Becky Higgins. Surely I was the only person on the planet who didn’t know about Project Life, but I was immediately enamored. Watch this video to see what it’s all about.
What is Project Life? from Becky Higgins LLC on Vimeo.
You mean… these incredible scrapbooks I see everywhere are easy, simple and this gorgeous!? Becky and I exchanged a few emails and she so generously sent me a whole bundle of Project Life goodies. I was OVER THE MOON. So, one morning, while I was quarantined in bed with the flu (ugh), I ordered prints of nearly all my Instagram photos online as well as some extra Photo Pocket Pages – Design J so that the Instagram prints would fit perfectly. With Instagram + Project Life I was going to make it happen.
Then, last Saturday, when Brady went down for a nap at noon, I gathered all my Instagram prints, my Project Life pieces, and got to work. It was SO FUN going through each photo and remembering those special moments. One of my favorite things I’ve done is capture happy moments and pivotal moments (Brady’s first doctor visit for a high fever or the moment we learned of the Sandy Hook tragedy and prayed for those families together in the back of my Explorer). One by one, I slipped them into the pages and wrote notes to go alongside them.
One hour later, I was done. FLOORED! I couldn’t believe I’d just put together an ENTIRE “Brady since birth Instagram album” IN ONE HOUR! Brady was still napping!? With Project Life, there are an ARRAY of page styles and core kits (kits of gorgeous, colorful cards with cute designs and even prompts to write special notes and memories on them) so that you can really make your album as elaborate as you’d like it to be. For me, I wanted quick, simple, clean and joyful. The Honey Core Kit was perfect for that. Here are a few photos of my new Project Life Instagram Album. The next thing I’m going to do is print some photos from my “big camera” and work on some larger pages to put throughout this album.
Perhaps my favorite part about Project Life is what the brand stands for. This piece is inside all of Becky’s albums. “Cultivate a good life and record it.” I love that. That’s what life is all about.
I’m so EXCITED to share that Becky and her team have offered to give a Project Life BUNDLE to one lucky winner here on my blog – everything you need to create your own Project Life album!!
Here are the details:
- One lucky winner will receive a Project Life Album, Core Kit of their choice and Photo Pocket Pages!
- Winner will be selected at random on Wednesday, July 24 at NOON EST. Winner must be located in the US.
- To enter, please leave a comment here telling us ONE memory you want to make happen by the end of this summer – one that will most definitely go into your new Project Life Album :)
I’ll start… my one memory that I’d really love to make happen is a visit to Clearwater Beach with both my boys. Brady and I went once earlier this summer and he LOVED it so much. I’d love for Bryan to see his little face light up when he finds new shells for the fish jar on his dresser or gets to eat his most favorite Superman ice cream barefoot on the Pier.
Wishing you all a lovely week full of what matters most! And don’t forget – receive FREE shipping on your Simplified Date Book (dated to begin August 1) with code HAPPYBDAY in our shop! :)
Emily
PS: My Project Life Album includes:
- Photos from Printstagram (though next time I’ll be ordering from Persnickity Prints – I hear their images are cut perfectly for the Project Life Pages)
- Seafoam Album (just plain awesome… love the color)
- Honey Core Kit (the awesome collection of colorful cards you see I’ve written on)
- Photo Pocket Pages – Style J (holds three 4 x 4 Instagram photos and three 3 x 4 cards from the Core Kit on each side)
- Adding to my album soon: Photo Pocket Pages – Big Pack of Design A (for larger photos I’ll be printing from my “big camera” and some 3 x 4 cards from my Core Kit).
PPS: Special thanks to my amazing photog friends for many of the images I used in my album: Gina Zeidler, Shay Cochrane and Michael Newman.
PPPS: I just learned there are only THREE seats left for our Making Things Happen Conference October 21 + 22 in Chapel Hill! I would LOVE to see you there! More details here at www.MakingThingsHappen.com