project life?

so. as if this blog isn't evidence enough, i'll go ahead and say it: i've been really terrible about documenting my life recently. i haven't been making time to post here. and when i do have spare time, it just doesn't cross my mind to come update the blog. i also haven't been taking a lot of photos or journaling about life in any way. no scrapbooking whatsoever lately.

it makes me super sad that i'm missing out on opportunities to capture stories and memories... and basically fulfill the purpose of this blog and the purpose of scrapbooking.

so. i decided to try something new, and i hope it will help.

i'm jumping on the project life bandwagon. :]

in the past, anytime i saw project life mentioned somewhere, i sort of dismissed it. honestly, i don't like the way it sounds... it's almost... too monumental.

but upon closer inspection, i've realized that it really can be whatever i want to make out of it.

all of my life, i've been a collector of bits and pieces... "momentos" as i like to call them. i have a drawer in my childhood room full of movie tickets, clothing tags, and notes from friends. i still keep my receipts [despite james' attempts to get me to stop. ha.] especially the ones from trips. shave ice from hawaii a few summers ago? yep. still have the receipt. :]

so like i said... once i took some time to really look into project life, i realized that it's right up my alley. i'm so excited to have a "home" for all of my momentos... all of the receipts, the movie tickets, the baseball game tickets, museum directories, disneyland maps, takeout menus, school programs, hotel room keys, flight boarding passes, fortune cookie fortunes, etc... and not only is it a "home" to store these things, but it's a place where i can capture what all the little momentos represent. much better than having them sit in a drawer with no order and no story to go along with them.

did i mention that i'm so excited?

for right now, i've ordered the style A page protectors and the grid journaling cards. i'm planning to pick up an album soon. i'm also contemplating getting the clementine core kit when it becomes available. i originally wasn't going to get a core kit [because i have an insane amount of scrapbooking stuff accumulating around here], but i think it might help me keep up with the project during weeks when life is too hectic to devote very much time to this, which... let's face it... will probably be most weeks for me considering pharmacy school + wedding planning among everything else.

seriously. i'm so excited. i clearly don't have time to devote to scrapbooking the way i would like to right now. and i think this is an awesome solution. i sort of see project life as something different. something so much more simple, yet comprehensive.

for me, making a traditional scrapbook layout is something that i do primarily to be creative. it's often not even driven by capturing a story... that tends to be secondary. now i can get everything documented in my project life album, but then still make traditional layouts when i happen to have time to fret over making a perfectly embellished page with the right patterned papers and proper photo placement. hehe.

plus. i don't always [or often, even] include movie tickets or boarding passes or other momentos on my layouts... they just sit around collecting dust. now i get to include them, tell the story, and not stress out about missed opportunities to document my life when i don't have time to sit down and fuss with layering paper and embellishments in a way that my perfectionist mind sees fit. :] [i'm sure i have probably mentioned before how long it takes me to make a single layout... way too long. i tend to push the paper and embellishments around for a few hours before committing with the adhesive. haha.]

so yeah.

here's hoping that this new adventure is something that works out well for me.

i'm so tired of feeling like i've missed out on documenting a memory.

i'm planning to start at the beginning of 2012.

wish me luck!