366 in 2012

It is finished. I LOVE IT! I successfully managed to take a picture every day this past year as well as get them all into a shutterfly book. I just finished it and cannot wait for shutterfly books to go on sale so I can order it. I used Becky Higgins Project Life Turquoise edition for my book. I am loving her designs and the option of digitally making books rather than having to do them with actual scrapbooks. As I was finishing 2012 I was a little sad because I knew it was over, I was sad because I wouldn't have any more layouts to design, or the challenge of taking a picture every day, sooooo I have decided to continue it for at least one more year. I am taking it on a year by year basis, not committing to doing a photo a day book forever (that could get old and I don't want it to be a chore, I want to love the project). Without further ado here is a glimpse of my 2012 book. I can't wait to order it and for it to arrive so I can sit down and slowly page through it. I will probably do one more proof of it before I order it, I would hate to have stickers in the wrong place or have a typo. Either way I am jazzed.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Looking back on the year there are a few things that were important as I made my book:

• The first few weeks seemed like I was always looking for the "big moments" the major things that happened, while yes, there are a few major things that happened last year (like getting engaged) my life is really made of of small moments that leave a big impact - yes, I go to work every day and it isn't always glamorous and sometimes the messy desk is the most appropriate picture for the day
• Shoot lots of photos & shoot often - I don't always know what my photo of the day will be until the day has ended and I am looking over my photos - I shot thousands of photos this past year and in turn had to make a general 2012 album as well (or really a 2012 album is in the works - I will post it when I get it finished)
• My photos come primarily from three different cameras - I always (or 99% of the time) carry my iPhone 4s [which takes pretty good pictures], I often carry my Nikon CoolPix AW100 [which takes great pictures], and sometimes I carry my Nikon D60 [which if it weren't for operator error would always take amazing pictures] and my book is a combination of all three of those cameras 
• Play with your layouts - sometimes certain layouts look better than others 
• Work with it every week - it gets ridiculously overwhelming if you have to remember back and do more than a week at a time - every Sunday night or Monday morning I updated my album
• Go with it - not every picture will be worth a million dollars - but looking back is sooooooo much fun

Anyone else do a photo a day book?
Are you enjoying the project?
How many years have you done it?

Disney 2011 Photobook

Click here to view this photo book larger

I finally got around to finishing my vacation photobook from last December. Yes, it took me a year, partially because I forgot that I hadn't finished it yet. My friend Suzi and I always make a photobook of our trips together, so we have been working on this one together. It is such a great memory and I LOVE looking through previous photobooks, I thought I'd share this one with you. I can't wait to share my 366 in 2012 photobook! Seriously jazzed every time I update it and can't wait to order it - I am still a little impressed with myself that I have managed to take a photo every day this year (some are definitely better than others but still I am impressed with myself). 

Project 366 in 2012

Every Sunday night I seem to have patterns of things I always do such as:

• I always look ahead at the next week's calendar to get a grasp at what this coming week will look like
• I always make sure my laundry is folded and put away (not certain why I like to start the week with clean laundry and have it put away but for some reason I like not having piles of laundry on Monday morning)
• I always run the dishwasher - living by myself it takes me several days to fill the dishwasher and by Sunday nights it always seems to be packed - I hate waking up Monday morning and not having a clean cereal bowl - yes, I know this is trivial and I could wash a bowl by hand, but I like having clean dishes out of the dishwasher
• I always take Dakota for a good long walk - one last super long walk before the week begins
• I always update my Project 366 shutterfly book.

Last night as I was updating my shutterfly book (meaning I add pictures from the last week, get the layout as I want it, add descriptions, blah blah blah, you are catching on - so that at the end of the year I don't have to attempt (because I am pretty certain it would be nearly impossible to remember which picture went with which day) to put the whole book together) and as I was scrolling through the pages to get to last week's pages I was in awe of how fabulous the year has been. I am loving the every day project. I am loving that I can look and get a glimpse at what was happening in life. I love that I have pictures of piles of dirty laundry, a clean kitchen, construction, unexpected visitors, my sweet puppy, running paraphanalia, and some totally random things that I have seen while out hiking.

I entered into this project for no real reason, other than I wanted to take more pictures, this project has for sure required me to be creative in what I take pictures of, not every day is there something monumental to take photos of. However I have more than realized that life is made up of just as many little moments as big ones. I also enjoy that it is a leap year so we get 366 days in the year. I loved looking back in the album and remembering things that I have already forgotten this year. I love looking and seeing how my sweet puppy has grown over the year and some of the things she has gotten into.

I originally thought this project would be a pain in my butt but I am loving it, every second of it. I think this could be continuing on at least another year. I had no expectation that it would but as long as I am still loving it, the project will go on. I don't ever want it to become a chore - that will mark the end of the project.

Thanks be to God for fun projects!

366 pictures in 2012

At the beginning of 2012 (which really doesn't seem all that long ago, but in reality is months away, time is one of those things that boggles my mind) I challenged myself to take at least one picture a day and put them into a shutterfly book (I LOVE SHUTTERFLY). I am absolutely loving this challenge. This could by far be my most favorite challenge I set for myself in 2012. I love taking pictures, editing them, and making shutterfly books! I am realizing that I am going to have to make another 2012 book to contain more of the pictures in more of a traditional photobook type format. I have taken way more photos this year than I did at this point in 2011, which was part of the goal. Part of the challenge is what to take pictures on days that I would consider 'normal' and nothing 'extra-ordinary.' Sure I have gotten lots of pictures of my sweet Dakota, which I am totally okay with, and I have some funny pictures of things like my messy desk or some new recipe I tried. The other challenge is what to choose as my picture of the day, some days it seems like I take a ton of pictures and have a hard time deciding what exactly to claim as my picture of the day. I LOVE this project. I am not yet committing to doing it another year but so far this has been amazingly fun and even better I have made it to April without missing a single picture! Which I was 99% certain by now one of two things would have happened, either I would have missed a few days or I would have given up or forgotten about this project and neither have happened.

Dakota and her BFF Luther carrying a stick together

a month in pictures

I successfully took an entire month of pictures. Several pictures of my sweet puppy and lots of pictures of the world around me. I am excited to have made it a full month, I wasn't sure I'd even make it a month. Here's to month two!!!! I am loving the challenge!