My 2019 Family Album Plan

So I am processing my 2018 pages and am completely swamped!! They are all done but there are just SOOOOO MANY!!! Like three times more than I normally make. Lots of reasons explain the increase. A very cute baby girl plays a big part then there were all the updates in the Project Life app that had me experimenting way more than I normally do. As fun as its all been, I am facing a printing cost that is exorbitant!! I have a few solutions for that issue but it has motivated me to reign in my 2019 Family Album big time. 

In the past I have kept my album to about 120 page along with extra pages for my kids’ books and separate books for our travels. For 2019 I actually wrote out a plan to try to keep it to 120!! I never really plan anything so this is huge. 

First, I decided NOT to continue with Project 52 this year. 2018 was the first year I tried it and was able to complete the whole year but, by the end, I was felt like I was forcing myself to take pictures to fill space. I just wasn’t telling the story of our everyday life like I wanted too. Too much minutea, not enough substance! I would rather gather pictures across weeks that focus on relationships and patterns and then make overview pages about those things. Francie and Jasper, for instance, developed a very sweet connection over the year. I would have preferred to take up space in my family book with a layout of their relationship instead of pictures of them together scattered across my weekly pages. Does that make sense? So it’s back to an everyday layout once a month (now known as Project 12) which is what I have been doing since 2005. Why mess around with a good thing?! 

So...without further ado, here is my plan!

2019 Family Album Plan:

* ONLY 120 pages!! Two 60 page 10x10 hardbound books printed through the Project Life app. 

* Drop Shadow on with light gray background throughout

* Pocket style with added embellishments in Over. Stick to in-app cards as much as possible for simplicity.

* Occasional large picture page throughout 

* Project 12 for Everyday Pictures

* Make a separate books for trips to Grammas’ houses, Iowa, vacations with a highlight layout in family book

* Try to have at least 4 layouts dedicated to family relationships and how we show love to one another

* Add pages to 2019 Family Album folder, PL book and export to Dropbox as I go

* Title Page (1)

* January: Project 12, Isaac’s play, Luke’s Nordic, anniversary, Isaac’s birthday (8)

* February: Project 12, Valentine’s Day, Random Winter Fun Layout (sledding/snowmen/hotchocolate)(6)

* March: Project 12, Jasper’s birthday (4)

* April: Project 12, Easter Morning, Easter with Family, Zeke’s birthday (8)

* May: Project 12, Spring Concerts, Random Spring Fun Layout (flowers/playing in rain) (6)

* June: Project 12, End of School, LaCrosse overview (6)

* July: Project 12, July 4th Day, Fireworks, Francies birthday (8)

* August: Project 12, Random Summer Fun layout (pool, park, ice cream truck) (4)

* September: Project 12, Back to School (4)

* October: Project 12, Meagan’s birthday, Halloween, Cross Country (7)

* November: Project 12, Luke’s birthday, Thanksgiving with each family, Fall Fun Layout (fall foliage, playing in leaves) (10)

* December: Project 12, Family Parties, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, December Daily Fun Layout (shopping, gingerbread house, baking) (12)

* Last Page (1)

* Pages Planned: 79

* Event, Random Pages, Full Size Pictures, Relationship Pages allowed: 41

So! What do you think? Do you have a plan for your personal or family album 2019? Steal mine if you want to!!  If you need more guidance or motivation Becky Higgins newest self-paced class would definitely be a great place to start! You can check it out here: https://classroom.beckyhiggins.com/courses/family-yearbook

I will keep you posted on my progress! Happy memory keeping in 2019!