You know how some things take longer than you expect? Well Project Life isn’t like that, it’s all my other chores that seem to expand like balloons to fill all the available space/time around me.

Let’s start with a few basic steps, and then add a video later that will have more helpful details for you.

One: Gather the photos you want to use. Keep in mind that you’re looking for highlights and photos that expand on the details of daily life. You don’t need 15 photos from one particular birthday party, but rather photos that capture the essence of what happened. If you’re dealing with previously printed photos, this is a great step to do while multitasking. You can catch up with your favorite shows or listen to podcasts or even supervise kids cleaning while doing this!

Two: Organize your photos. If you are making a chronological book, put them in general date and event order. If you’re telling another kind of story, sort your photos so you can use them in a way that helps tell your story.

Three: If you haven’t already, set up a binder with divided page protectors. I had already done this, but if you haven’t, you’ll need to do this before you can go any further. The old Project Life supplies only had one orientation for page protectors. There are a lot more choices now. If you go for all one orientation, just slap them in your binder, and you’re done. If you have a variety, you can either alternate them, or group them by type in your binder. If you group them by type, you can decide as you go regarding which orientation type will work best with each particular set of photos.

Case in point: I don’t have very many photos for this particular date range, and two of them are vertical, so it made sense to use a page protector with fewer photo slots that include room for vertical photos.

Four: Slip photos in pockets. Yep it really is that simple. Typical Project Life format is title/date card in upper left, journaling cards across the middle, and 4×6 photos in the rest of the pockets. You can change that up to suit the photos you have. Some need to be cropped smaller? Go right ahead, and put them in the middle pockets. Want to use a larger photo? Use multiple pockets for it. (How to do that will be in the video later.) Have a lot to say? Use a 4×6 pocket for a journaling card, or one of the foldable pull out tab cards that come with the Project Life sets, or both. If you like the look of rounded corners, you may want to do that now too.

Five: Write. It doesn’t have to be a lot. Who, what, where, when, why, and how are good places to start. Just think to yourself, “If I was showing this to someone, what would I be telling them?” That’s what you write down.

Six: Embellish. This is where you get out the date stamp, and stamp dates on journaling cards or photos. Or use arrows and number stickers. Or labels and twine. This is where you get as creative as you want to be. If that thought scares you, don’t do anything. If the thought of not having inky fingers when you’re done makes you sad, play! This is where you make your Project Life album fit your style.

Seven: Share. Show it to your family and friends so they can be impressed. Then tell them how easy it was to put together. You’ll have scrapping company in no time. 😉

If you want to use Project Life to document your story, either today’s or ten year ago’s, you can find Project Life supplies on Amazon.