Project Life Prompts- February 2013

Hello PL-ers!!  

How did your first month go?

I have to admit, I'm totally starting the year off badly.  

I have taken tons of pictures (TONS!) but haven't printed a single one yet. 

Baby shower, family visiting, mandatory business training, multiple dr visits thanks to gestational diabetes, baby shopping & setting up his room-- Oh, and 2 adorable ADORABLE roly-poly little 14 week old puppies have just been taking up all my time.

LIFE is getting in the way of my album!

How dare it?!?

Thankfully, I have kept up with my note-taking & have a folder filled with ephemera all ready to go.

My lists are made-- on scratch paper, but they are made!

And my OLW page is started- it just needs to be glued down.

 

Hopefully, my studio & I will get some bonding time soon.

If not, Mama might just lose her marbles.

I wanted to take a minute to answer a question that I've gotten several emails about.

Yes- I print the vast majority of my photos at home.

I have a Canon Selphy CP800 that I use for printing.

I LOVE this thing.

LOVELOVELOVELOVELOVE IT!

It's very easy to use, the print quality if fantastic & because it is a dye-sublimation system, the cartridges never dry out & you always know exactly how many prints you are going to get out of it so there is no wasting ink or paper on half-printed photos. 

It will only print at the 4x6 size (which is fine with me-- I use Photosheet to re-size some pics down to the 2x3 pocket size and for the occasional photo collage.) and the finished photo is very slightly smaller than a true 4x6, but I feel that it is not noticeable since they are all consistently slightly smaller throughout the album.

I don't do many photos that other sizes, but the few that I do use I always order from Persnickety Prints.  

I *heart* them. 

Their prints are gorgeous, come in all kinds of scrapper-friendly sizes, and  their customer service is the best.

(Seriously-- I got a phone call at home from an actual person! when one of my files uploaded weird & printed wonky-- they wanted to make sure it was correct before they sent it to me. Who does that now days??  Nobody but them- which is why they will have a loyal customer in me forever.)

I hope that helps a few of you & answers your questions.

If not, feel free to leave a comment & I will be happy to elaborate if I can. 

On to business!!!!

Here are some ideas for February

52 Lists in 52 Weeks: 

It's LOVE Month-- you could do lists of  

• 10 Things I love about YOU
• 10 Things I love about ME
• 10 Things I love about US
• 10 Things I love about LIFE 
• 10 Things I love about (Dog/Cat/Fish/Rabbit/Pet of your choice)
• 10 Things I love about being SINGLE

I think you get the drift-- it's an easy list month if you're feeling lovey!
If not, you could try

• Band/Musicians I fantasize about being a back-up singer/dancer for
• My Favorite Animated Movies
• Places nearby that I've never visited but really want to see
• The Laminated List (of Hollywood/celebrity crushes) 

One Little Word:

 This month, use up some of those left-over chipboard or alphabet stickers to make a word collage or subway art of synonyms for your word.

Project Life:

Monthly Themes:

• Love, of course: Things you love, people you love, decor you love, things you love to hate.  Love is everywhere this month.  Even if you aren't doing the 52 Lists project, lists are a great way to incorporate love into your album this month.  Forgot to take a pic on Tuesday?  Make a 4x6 list of shows you are loving right now, 10 Things you do around the house that you despise, but do anyway because they make your SO happy, the Top 20 on your playlist, movies you want to see, etc.

• Pink:  Colors are always a fun theme to go with.  Pink is easy to find with all the hearts & whatnot floating around in Feb.  But there are lots of non-Valentiney things to photograph too-- little pink tongues licking suckers, pink sunsets, the hot pink polish on my toes, pink noses coming in from playing in the cold, the CD cover to Legally Blonde:The Musical that I just replaced, etc.  

• Two: Look for things that come in pairs this month.  Any place you see 2 of something will work.  Or maybe even the numeral 2.  We have 2 new puppies and soon will have 2 new babies in the family (Lil E & his cousin Jacob who was born a couple of weeks ago), Steve has 2 brothers, I will be asking 2 long-time friends to be bridesmaids in our wedding this weekend, I just ordered Lil E 2 pack & plays (1 for home & 1 for the daycare), and there are 2 beautiful matching albums in my studio just waiting to be filled with baby pictures!  TWO is everywhere!

Don't be afraid to let your inner "Artsy-Fartsy Creative Type" come out.  Yes, this project is supposed to document your life, but it's supposed to be fun too.  You know know when something out-of-the-box could end up becoming a favorite photo.  

February is also:

• Responsible Pet Owner Month
• Relationship Wellness Month 
• National Mend-A-Broken-Heart Month
• National Hot Breakfast Month
• African-American History Month
• Library Lovers Month
• Bake for Family Fun Month
• American Heart Month

Weekly Themes:

• Children's Authors & illustrators Month: As a preschool teacher, this one speaks to me.  Try setting up the tripod & take a photo of your child's bedtime story every day for a week.  Are they all different books or do they want the same one over & over?  If you don't have kids, this would be a good time to document some of the books from your childhood that hold a special place in your heart.
• International Friendship Week: Document your most important friendships and the things you do to nourish them.  Maybe you could reach out to a friend you haven't talked to in a while as well.
• Random Acts of Kindness Week:  Document some of the little things you do to brighten a stranger's day.   
• National Conference For Education Week: Document every educational activity that goes on in your house this week, from reading the newspaper to practicing a skill or reading a book.  In my house it will be "Hank.  Your name is Hank.  When I say "HANK", I'm talking to you.  Because your name is Hank.  So when you hear me yell "HANK" it's because I want you to come here. Because your name is Hank."  (He's a cutie-patootie, but it is taking forever & a day for him to learn his name!)

 Daily Ideas:
Feb 1- Spunky Old Broads Day: Any that you know- even if it's YOU!
Feb 2- Groundhog's Day: If you're bored documenting predictions, make shadow puppets & take pics.  They're harder than you think!
Feb 3- Wear Red Day
Feb 4- Ice Cream For Breakfast Day: What a fun tradition to start!
Feb 5- Weather Person's Day: Document your local weather
Feb 6-  Walk down to the corner & take a picture of the street you live on. 
Feb 7-Laura Ingles Wilder's Birthday: these were favorite books of mine when I was a kid.  My Gram always read them with me.  It's a good day to photograph my collection of her books.
Feb 8- Laugh & Get Rich Day: What would you do tomorrow if you came into a bunch of money today? Get that fantasy down on paper!  It will be fun to read in a few years.
Feb 9- National Stop Bullying Day:  What do you do or could you do to help?
Feb 10-  Document the contents of your pantry today. 
Feb 11- White Shirt Day: Get a self-portrait in a white shirt
Feb 12- Paul Bunyan's Birthday: How will you celebrate?  Chop down some shrubs?  Wear a plaid shirt? Go for a walk in the woods?
Feb 13- Clean Out Your Computer Day: Back up your files & document your work space!
Feb 14- National Extraterrestrial Culture Day:  Do you believe in life on other planets?  Why or why not?
Feb 15- Susan B. Anthony Day: Document something you do each day that wouldn't have been "allowed" to women 100+ years ago.
Feb 16- National Donor Day:  Are you an organ donor?  (If not, I strongly encourage you to become one!  Organ donation saved the life of someone close to me not long ago & I know from personal experience what an amazing gift it is.)  Why or why not?  Will you become one?
Feb 17- National PTA Founders Day: Document how you are involved in your child's education.
Feb 18- Capernicus' Birthday (1473): Take a photo of the stars from your yard
Feb 19- Chocolate Mint Day: I absolutely HATE mint in every form.  I barely tolerate toothpaste.  Document something you despise that most people love.
Feb 20- Love Your Pet Day:  Get a pic of you & your pet
Feb 21- International Mother Language Day: Document some "personal jokes" between you & your mom or you & your kids
Feb 22-- National Margarita Day:  A day I cannot wait to celebrate!   We really don't drink a whole lot, but man oh man, there's no torture on earth like a pregnancy craving for something you absolutely cannot have.  And I am DYING for one of Lumpy's famous fresh margaritas!  Come on March!!!
Feb 23- National Chili Day:  If you don't want to take a photo, you could include a recipe card instead.
Feb 24- How are you doing with those New Year's Resolutions? 
Feb 25- International Sword Swallower Day:  Document an unusual skill or talent that you have.   I can pop my right shoulder out of joint at will-- I got mad skills, girls.  Mad skills.
Feb 26- National Personal Chef's Day:  Who is the "chef" in your house?
Feb 27- Inconvenience Yourself Day: I hate emptying the dishwasher.  I just hate it.  And, as stupid as it is, I will hand wash a whole sink full of dishes to get out of emptying the dishwasher.  I have no idea why I do this.  How do you inconvenience yourself?  
Feb 28-  What is on the front of your refrigerator?  Is it neat & clean? Do you have a magnet collection? Do you leave lots of notes here?



I would love to say that I will be posting some projects, but baby looms closer & closer, so I can't make any promises.  I do promise that monthly prompts will go up on the first of each month, but that's the best I can do for now.










I would love love love to see the pages you make using some of these prompts.  Leave me a link in the comments section & I will absolutely check them out!









I hope you have a happy February!


 ******This will serve as your friendly monthly reminder to BACK UP YOUR PHOTOS!! Everything else can be replaced, but photos can not.  ******