Have you loved 365?

[Scrapbird]

I enjoy seeing the amazing 365 layouts in the gallery and the wonderful glimpse they give me into your lives. And what a fantastic glimpse into your own family history for the future!

So far, I've never gotten past just thinking about it, but 2010 looks to be a banner year . . . a big birding trip, a week with my brother in Canada, a girl's weekend with a friend and both of our daughters in Portland, a possible family wedding, 10 years surviving cancer, new kittens growing up, my dh's 60th birthday, plus the everyday joys and trials of teaching. It's all making me want to do a 365 book!

So what advice can you give me? Do you use the same papers and stuff each week? Have you used a template?

Was it fun, or did you burn out? What if you did it again . . . what would be different?

Thanks, thanks, thanks, ladies!

[Jen D]

I loved doing it. It has been fun looking through past pages already!

I changed papers and elements monthly. I mostly stuck to using different templates. I think next year I am going to stick to the same template and format and just switch out the paper and element. I think it would save time.

But, it has been a really fun ride =)

[Chris]

Those of you who kept it up should be proud! It's been so much fun seeing all the pages in 2009 and learning about your family life. Even though I wasn't able to comment on them all, I have enjoyed them!

I did start the 365 and even opened a new blog for it, but only so I could get used to the digital camera, and I soon realized this wasn't for me and ate up too much time.

If my children were at home, or I were a good photographer - even writer, I think I'd jump at it, but I'll stick to Christmas and vacation dailies, plus my memory stories (these I keep in my MS Wordl, fabric and art journals).

[Britgirl]

I have kept this years 365 strictly photographic. and thats helped. but I've loved the layouts so maybe next time will be that way for me. Sometimes its been hard as heck and other times laughably easy. Its certainly changed my photos, my outlook and my 'eye' for shots forever. so for that - I will try to always do it.
on thing to note, looking back its funnily enough NOT the trips and suchlike that make my favourite re-reading. Its the snapshots of daily life, -cups, books, TV, food, clothes, us at home etc. so I know today you think take a picture of my bag/car/coffee? but why. but in years to come you will be so grateful!

[Kayleigh]

Well as you may know I was totally late to the 365 party as i started at the end of the summer ... but i am loving it so far. It is already so fun to look back on the little moments week by week. I used a template & just changing up the papers & elements week after week. That has helped keep me interested in it, I dont think i could just plunk in my photos & have it the exact same week after week.

I say go for it! I dont think you will regret it!

[katrinak]

I loved it and continue to love it! I have absolutely seen my photos improve in addition to documenting the important little moments in our life

I have a new pdf tutorial just on 365 that will be in the store soon!!

[katrinak]

And as for the papers. Yep, stick with the same. Plug in and move on! Save the extra creative scrapping for other pages and get your photos and stories on the page for 365!

[anke]

I enjoyed doing it and will continue doing it next year. At first I used the same set of templates but got bored with it soon, so I am now keeping the 2 facing pages the same, so they will match. Other than that I change everything and it's more fun for me, treating them like other pages. Not sure what I will do next year yet..

[Scrapbird]

Originally Posted by katrinak

I have a new pdf tutorial just on 365 that will be in the store soon!!

Yay, Katrina! I hope it will be soon.

[Joey_M]

Hey Diane!
YOU CAN DO THIS! (I am cheering you on!)
While there are days/weeks when 365 got pushed aside, I have successfully completed all weeks so far! I use the same design for each page as it's the easiest. I can't, on a daily basis, get my photo uploaded and thoughts journaled in PS so I jot down my daily thoughts on a scrap paper, snap a photo, and make a whole page at the end of the week. I am so happy that I have everyday thoughts down!

The only thing I have trouble with is wanting to take a few of my photos and scrap a more detailed/creative page. I have trouble taking a 2009 photo and creating a page that will never go in a book! I am trying to figure out how to solve this problem for 2010!

YOU can do this!

[justmp]

I am sooo glad I did this for 2009 and will absolutely be doing it in 2010! I haven't missed a day on the photos and because I stuck to a template and kept my LOs and journaling simple, I'm up to date for the layouts as well.

I've seen my photography improve, I've captured photos and memories that I wouldn't have otherwise...it's been wonderful!! Not every photo is great in terms of quality because sometimes the photo of the day is just a quick snap with my Phone camera, but that part is ok with me.

[Scrapbird]

Originally Posted by Joey_M

Hey Diane!
YOU CAN DO THIS! (I am cheering you on!)
While there are days/weeks when 365 got pushed aside, I have successfully completed all weeks so far! I use the same design for each page as it's the easiest. I can't, on a daily basis, get my photo uploaded and thoughts journaled in PS so I jot down my daily thoughts on a scrap paper, snap a photo, and make a whole page at the end of the week. I am so happy that I have everyday thoughts down!

The only thing I have trouble with is wanting to take a few of my photos and scrap a more detailed/creative page. I have trouble taking a 2009 photo and creating a page that will never go in a book! I am trying to figure out how to solve this problem for 2010!

YOU can do this!

Thanks, Joey! I'm pretty sure I will.

I also think I'll still make separate layouts and/or books of things like trips and special events.

[dorah]

Absolutely you can do this. Some weeks I journal and some it's just the photos. I change things up at least monthly. I started out with two pagers for each week but that was just too much so now do just one page for each week. And if I take a photo I just love then I will use it on a layout all by itself.

[earlofoxford]

Diane, with the great year you have coming up, you should definitely do Project 365. I have thoroughly enjoyed it, but plan to do it only every few years or so. I don't want it to get stale.

Although I love the coordinated look, I thought I would probably get bored if I used the same template and/or papers for every layout. As a result, I've used different papers and templates for each two-page spread. I started out doing some weeks on one page and some weeks on two pages. Now I've switched to doing two-page spreads for each week. Wish I'd started that from the beginning.

[geekgirl415]

I was dodging this thread but it kept catching my eye. AAAAgggh! The guilt! The feelign of Failure! I was doing great til September. Now that I actually have said September- I realize that's only 2 months behind- that's not as bad as i thought.... hmmm... all is not lost!

Honestly, it was the pressure to do the downloading/processing/blog posting daily that got me burned out. If you're going to do it and stick to it- make sure you figure out a daily/weekly process for photo management that will work with your life, even when you're busier than normal.

I agree with BritGirl- the little daily things are the most interesting - it's so worth it! Not only have you captured your life, you improve with photography/scrapping/post processing. That said, next year, I'll be doing a Project 52!

[Elena]

I really enjoyed doing it. I stuck with one-page template and plugged the photos in and just changed out the fun little elements. I did minimalist journaling... just enough to help me remember the details. I'm not sure what I'm going to do in 2010. I figure I will have done 52 pages for this book, so I may move onto other projects. However, I'm afraid I would miss it! I might go for a "looser" version and sum up the month with 15-20 photos. There are a lot of different styles/ways to go... and I'm sure you won't regret it!

[LauraBean]

I liked doing it, and I enjoyed scrapping the pages. I did not stick with the same papers or templates; I just kept facing pages matching. I like variety and think I would have gotten bored with the same approach for every single week. I really look forward to having my pages all in a book.

[Lynn Grieveson]

I really enjoyed doing my monthly interpretation of it. There were lots of things that otherwise wouldn't have been scrapped or even photographed, but this gave me a "home" for them and makes a great record of the year. I'll definitely be keeping it up. Too busy to commit to a daily photo though!

[carollee]

Because I fell behind I almost gave up but heck, I'd done half a year, what a waste if I didn't keep going, so I've done a major catch up. My advice for you, would get a template and stick to it. I didn't, which has become the chore for me, so much so that I'm using past pages as my own template now.

I know I will love this in years to come, perhaps I've done too much journalling, hey but that's me, but you won't regret it if you jump on the wagon.

[deanie]

I'm very happy that I chose Anna's Fotodayz templates. I take a lot of vertical shots and they make it easy to use both vertical and horizontal shots in the template. My biggest issue was actually taking the photos. There are many weeks when I am here by myself and really don't want to record the boredom of those! But I'm glad I did it, I have learned so much about how I take photos and where I need to improve. Next year...haven't decided, but maybe just posting some on flickr.

[mugsbigsis]

Originally Posted by katrinak

And as for the papers. Yep, stick with the same. Plug in and move on! Save the extra creative scrapping for other pages and get your photos and stories on the page for 365!

I agree. :O)

[teeleedee]

I love seeing the 365 pages. So wished i would have jumped on board. Instead I'm doing a page a month. I might have to start this January. Thanks for the tips. I can't believe a year is almost past. Where does the time go.

Tara

[Amy L]

I have really enjoyed this project. I did get burned out in October, but I changed the template I was using and that really rejuvenated me. I can't look at that old template any more (it was my own) and although I know the end of the book will look different from the beginning, I think that will be part of the story too.

I don't know what I will do for next year yet, but I am so glad I stuck with it for 2009.

[Gabi]

I'm loving doing this project!! When I look back at the beginning of the year how my children looked like and how they look now, it is amazing to see how much they grew up in just few months and how everyone has changed.
I scrapped a lot of my P365 photos and right now I've started doing monthly reviews, for the next year I would like to scrap each week. I definitely plan to continue doing this for the next year.

[Myra]

I couldn't agree with Katrina more: 365 has changed and improved my photography in ways I wouldn't have expected. I can't imagine my life without it. Now Jake and Michael often ask if something can or should be my photo of the day. That always makes me smile.

And Mel is right, I've loved detailing little things that I wouldn't have otherwise. I think that my scrapbook pages capture events better, and this book will capture the details. I've used a template on the left page for each week, and then I'm showcasing a single photo for the week on the facing page. Anna made it easy for me to keep a coordinated look while changing it up with her multifoto templates.

I haven't figured out my look for next year. But it will be simple.

[sweetpeony]

Once I started using the same template, it got a lot easier to keep up, even on the journaling. It's made a difference in my photography, and a huge difference in the speed and confidence with which I edit photos.

I am doing a Kent project next year, not quite P365, but close. I must like my adopted home a lot - my shot list is closing in a 150!

[MIDA78466]

I've enjoyed it--I sort of got burned out in October. If I do it again, I'm going to stick with the same template and just change the paper and elements out. I think for the last four months I stuck with the same template and just changed the paper monthly.

One thing this project has done--made me learn my camera and I feel like I've improved my photography skills. Still have a long way to go though.

[maureenreynolds]

Joey and Kelly(mugsbigsis) - did you make your own templates or are those for sale here? I really like that type of design and I don't know what to call the look of an inner mat.

[MeEmMom]

I have been keeping up with it (although I haven't uploaded my pages in about 2 months! -- Gotta catch up with that part!) I think it helped me that I created a template (I used pieces of one of Katie's templates and modified it quite a bit) and then I chose 4 different colors of papers and have been slowly fading from one color to the next all year until I get back to the first color. Then I change one element that I have in the bottom corner of all pages each month. Most of the time it is as easy and plugging the pic into the template and typing a short journal entry about it. My problem is trying to remember to take a pic everyday. Some weeks are easy because there is so much going on that I would take pics of anyway, and then some weeks it is a struggle to remember each day.

I think that I would do it again someday, but probably not next year. I still have to catch up on scrapbooks from when my dd's were younger to fill in a 3 year gap that I skipped, so that will probably be my focus next year.

[happysuz]

What a great thread! I am inspired to try the 365 project for 2010! We're in Michigan for Thanksgiving(we live just south of Boston) and while my 2 year old is busy playing with Grandma and Grandpa, I've been catching up on DD stuff. I've also loved checking out the DD group on Flickr too! I want to get better at using my camera. Right now I'm sort of at the point where I compose a shot and hope for the best. I need to learn how and what to change based on lighting etc... This might just be the motivation I need to actually do that. Thanks for all the great tips!

Suzanne