Hellloooo Seafoam Kit :)

It arrived! I was so excited to see my gorgeous little Seafoam Core kit arrived! I was then met with complete sadness since I had to go to work and would be working long late hours over the next several days. Once I had the time, I  opened the white box and was so DELIGHTED. So much eye candy, so little time.

Warning: this will be a long post, so grab a cup of coffee and snuggle up :)

Love this white little box :)

 I was so pleased when I opened this kit. The first thing I noticed is the quality change. It was very apparently much improved from previous years! To start with, the colors are simply, gorgeous. They are so pleasing to the eye, and coordinate well. The title cards are just beautiful and I was pleased to see that ALL of the 3x4 cards were journaling cards at least on one side. This makes it so much easier than trying to separate the decorative cards from the journaling cards. The second thing I really noticed is the printing quality. The cardstock is a better quality than previous years and the cards are cut very smoothly (none of the "ragged edges" I saw in other years). I also appreciate the tray, as much as I didn't think I'd use it.. I may just find myself stashing it in a drawer for ease of use :)

Title Cards, same pattern is vertical on the opposite side

4x6 Journaling Cards (each side has a design, there are really only 4 different designs)

The "meat and potatoes" of Project Life: the journaling cards! These are the basic color schemes for the seafoam kit

The front title page looks nice, but I plan to personalize it as the year passes.

Very first Title Page

So, there she is, in all her simple and beautiful glory. I like how many of the journaling cards only have a simple design on them- it leaves the photos as the star but still gives a subtle sense of cohesiveness.



As for MY album? Yes, of COURSE I've started adding photos (who am I kidding). I am using some of the freebies you can find here. I love the calendar cards by findingnana.com and will also be using the week numbers by september blue- they are so much easier than buying eight million stickers. I will note the yellow on the week numbers is a bit brighter than the mustard yellow color of the kit- but I don't mind it, and actually prefer it :)

Still have to fill in my January 1st journal card! I love the way the week number cards turned out!

Pardon the blur- trying to keep SOME privacy :)

I am awaiting the seafoam cardstock and a printed photo for the last little bit from my insert! I think I may change the chevron color now too, so I can match the kit.

So, you may be asking, what ELSE have I done to help keep up with my project life. In previous years, THIS is how I organized my albums. It has worked great for me- but now that there are no separate "decorative" cards, I think I'm going to try a new approach. 

Here is my plan for organization:

1. Instead of pre-filling layouts with journaling cards, I plan to pull from the organizational tray each week as I need them. That way I am not constantly pulling out unused cards and wondering where to stash them.

2. I have printed off the first 25 weeks worth of "week numbers" by september blue. They can be found on my freebie page. I didn't cut out each circle yet (man that is time consuming), but I did cut them to a manageable size and slip them in the appropriate pocket.

3. I've also printed out all the organizational pages by Marcy Penner. I had to play around with different printing styles to see what I like. I'm pretty sure one double sided page is how I will use them. I date them and 3 hole punch them, and put them in the right places. I only did this for the first 25 weeks for speed, but I will go back and finish them.

4. I've printed all my calendar cards from findingnana.com and have inserted them in their respective places.

5. I continue to use evernote.com to stay ahead. If you aren't sure what I'm talking about- see my post here. At the end of each week and when I have my photos, I print off my evernote page and start my journaling. In each day I make a note of which picture to use by writing "(pic)" next to the subject. This also helps me with keeping up.

6. I will try my best to print weekly, or at the very most bi-weekly. I've done the math and it is so much cheaper to print locally and avoid shipping costs, so I've found a great photo lab that lets me upload images and sends me an email when I can pick them up. This is definitely the part of project life that is the hardest, but I am committed!


So, there you have it. My seafoam kit has arrived. My first week is almost done and I'm on a roll. I hope this inspires you to get started. 

Some last things for you to consider:

What do you use for organization? What has and has not worked for you in the past (both regular scrapbooking and project life). How do you "keep up" with project life and are you planning on doing anything different this year?

Happy Crafting :)