Pages

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Travel Scrapbooking with the Project Life App

 
Today I'd like to share my secret for handing all of my 100s of travel photos.  I love having them in scrapbooks, but my regular, paper/ribbon/sticker-style scrapbooking just won't work. It takes too long! 
 
 After a trip I like to get my pictures in an album as quickly as I can - for me to enjoy more easily and because OTHER people want to see them, too!
 
So, this year, after taking 2, rather large, international trips, I have chosen a new way to handle my travel photos - The Project Life App.
 
 
Back in March, after we came home from the UK, I downloaded the app onto my smart phone and my ipad. (It's cheap and easy to do!)   I also signed up for a Dropbox.com account so that I could store my photos online and access them while I worked on the app.
 

Uploading my pictures on dropbox.com was very easy  - I just created folders for each place we visited and  dropped in the photos. 
 



Once my photos were online, I opened the app on my iPhone or iPad and got to work.  For each layout, you begin with a large square that has been divided into smaller boxed frames.  These boxes are where you add your photos from Dropbox.   When you buy the app you get a beginner selection of frames, but you can choose to buy more for a few dollars extra.   As you can see, some layouts have only small photo boxes, some have large and some have a real mix of both.    If I had a photo I really wanted to feature, like the pictures below of the Amalfi Coast and the hills of Positano, I picked a page layout with a big photo box. 
 

 
 
Once you've added your pictures, you have a basic mix of title cards, journaling cards and filler cards you can add to your layouts. (You can buy more of these for a few $$, too!)
On the layout below, I used  journal cards to add my title  and my journaling. 
 


Once my photos are uploaded onto Dropbox, I find I can create a  1-page layout in about 10 minutes. Isn't that great??  Even though I love working with paper and glue while I do my traditional scrapbooking, it just takes too long.  When I need to make 53 layouts, like I did for my Italy scrapbook, I simply don't have time and thought of it simply stresses me out!
 


How do I get my layouts from my computer screen and into a scrapbook? I send my layout files to a company in the US called Persnickety Prints.  They will print my pages, 12x12, for about $3.00 a sheet (including shipping and the conversion to Canadian $$)  This is the cheapest I have been able to find and I think it is more than reasonable!
 


Once I place an order for prints, they arrive within 5 days.  Then I slide them into 12x12 page protectors just as would traditionally made scrapbook pages.
 

 
Sometimes I feel the need to "gussy-up" my digital scrapbook pages, so I add flowers, ribbons and raised elements, right onto my 12x12 printed pages.  For example, if you were to see the layout below in my scrapbook, you would see a large camera sticker stuck right above the title.  I also added some small jewels to the centre of the flowers in the "So Happy" box in the middle.  It adds some texture and some extra interest.
 

 
This morning I finished the 53rd layout for my Italy 2015 scrapbook.  I uploaded all my pages to Persnickety and I expect to have them in my hot little hands by the end of the  week!
So, in less than 3 weeks, I was able to put together a gigantic scrapbook made up of 100s of pictures. I've already made coffee dates with several of my friends just to share my photo book .  They can't wait to see it either!
 
(I have no affiliation with the Project Life App or beckyhiggins, com, I just really like the app and wanted to share it with you!)
 
 
Til next time,
 
XOXOX
 
Bronwyn
 

5 comments:

  1. Ah yes, memories in a book. I am about 4 years behind. This is a great idea, will check it out. Thank you. x

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's just brilliant! I've used blurb to make some blog memory books a couple of times, but it takes ages and is quite expensive. This way is very effective and what wonderful memories to look back on. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love that app too. I recently downloaded it and have played around on it a little. I haven't printed anything yet though. I will have to check out the website you mentioned. Your layouts are simply gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's really interesting, and helpful. I've used some online places to create photo books, but it takes ages to organise the pictures (partly because my photos are pretty disorganised, to be fair) and it is very expensive. i need to think hard about the best way of sorting this out - no point having excellent memories on your PC where no one can see them! Thanks for this really useful advice - will look into it in the autumn, when I should have more time.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's really interesting, and helpful. I've used some online places to create photo books, but it takes ages to organise the pictures (partly because my photos are pretty disorganised, to be fair) and it is very expensive. i need to think hard about the best way of sorting this out - no point having excellent memories on your PC where no one can see them! Thanks for this really useful advice - will look into it in the autumn, when I should have more time.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for popping by my little world. I'd love to hear from you. Comments make my day!!