We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post. Please see policies for more information.

Father’s Day has come and gone but Studio Calico is celebrating all week long. They have asked a few of the SC team dads to give their thoughts on Project Life. Catherine Davis, Kelly Noel, and Lisa Truesdell have both shared thoughts from their husbands this week- watch the SC FB and twitter for more to come!

Bare with me as we aren’t mushy people. At. All. Cards for holidays are always funny or punny it’s how we show our love in laughter I think.

That said I am SO lucky to have the most supportive husband ever. No matter what crazy new hobby or technique I start and/or stop he has always been supportive and nothing but encouraging. I love that he encourages me to be who I am and change as time moves on. I think that has been one of the biggest attributes to our successful (going on 13 year) marriage. We have to allow each other to grow and change since we weren’t done growing up when we got married (I was 18).

I finally got him to agree to a little interview about his thoughts on Project Life:

  • Do you like that I spend time documenting our life?Yes
  • Why is Project Life a good way of documenting our lives? I really like that it is easier to look back at the memories of the past year than going through your computer files. Those things are a mess. I like that your thoughts, ticket stubs, receipts and stuff are all there next to the photos. I have always had lots of photos from my childhood and my family has always loved looking at them but your Project Life albums give so much more than that. They allow us to not only see and read about the memories but see and learn your personality throughout the album as well.
  • What do you think Project Life will give our kids? I love that they will have more to look back on than just the photos. It will give our boys and future family more of a look and feel into life as it is now than just a photo ever could.
  • How do you support me or why is it important for you to support me in my love for recording memories? Do I? Yes you do very much. Well I know that it’s a creative outlet for you and know how much you love to try new things. I realize that it is valuable to our family. I feel like it’s your job. Like you are a creative historian.
  • Do you get annoyed that I make you take pictures when I’m not there? No, it’s become habit now. I find myself consiously trying to remember to take a photo or hang on to the ticket stub – especially when you’re not there.

 To make it easier for me I have photos from his phone going to my photostream so they are already there when I go in to print out photos for the week. A bowl, tray, or box designated for PL memorabilia is a great way to remind him to drop off anything I might want to add to the album.

I am so excited to be able to give away a Cumberland Gap Project Life Add-On kit to one of you!

To enter leave a comment here telling me if you have other people in your family regularly participating in the creation of your Project Life albums. If you don’t do Project Life just leave any comment πŸ™‚ I’ll post a winner on Monday the 24th! (open to international too!) (Comments accepted until 11:59pm June 23rd 2013 PST – kit will be shipped by Studio Calico. Winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen)

Oh! And the wait is finally over for Studio Calico Project Life kit wailist! If you subscribe now, you’ll start with the Valley High kit – or you can wait till reveal and grab one then. They’ve also stocked the Project Life section of the shop with albums and page protectors! I need to stock up on those. Good luck!

Author

Allison Waken is the founder, writer, photographer, and content creator of All for the Memories and All for the Boys.

121 Comments

  1. Alysa Griffith

    My husband LOVES our project life album! Whenever I finish a week, he has to get his hands on it to check it out; when he looks at it, he always tells me how cool it will be to show our future kids and tries to imagine what they will think of our life before them. He also takes pictures when he's out and about and messages them to me to put them in the album. So lucky to have such a great supporter!

  2. My husband is great about it, he loves that I document and will take a picture if I'm not around
    My sister in law always sends me pics she takes when she has the kids too.

  3. My husband takes pics for me. i try to remind him but he's pretty good at remembering on his own. For the most part. HA. I'll also ask him for his comments or thoughts, but mostly it's me adding my own thoughts/journaling/words. And the majority of pics are mine. Thanks!

  4. Well, I'm the sole contributor because I'm single. πŸ˜‰

  5. Mikki McGehee

    Project Life is almost 100% me. Lately however my daughter (5) has taken to stealing iPhone and going on photo sprees so I have gotten some darling photos that way.

  6. Sara Kiiru

    My three- and five-year-old sons are always gathering things for me to use: flattened bottle caps, tissue paper from a gift, petals fallen from a flower. I love that they are already taking notice of things around them! Thanks for the chance to win.

  7. Stacy Hamby

    I do PL pretty much on my own, but I'd love it if I had some help!

  8. That is so sweet of your husband to snap photos for you. My husband refuses to get a smart phone. He would rather get a rotary dial if he could. Our daughter regularly keeps tags, tickets, etc. and asks me if I want them for my project life.

  9. My husband keeps memorabilia for me to include in the album, but isn't as good at taking pictures when I'm not there to remind me. πŸ™‚

  10. Nancy Holley

    My sweet husband and my three kids all work together to make PL happen! I've had my son's teacher text me a picture (on multiple occasions) and she'll add "he says you'll need this for something called project life?!?" My daughter brings lots of the everyday things (take-out menus, business cards, drawings, etc) while my husband just knows to send lots of pictures! The fun part is that each member of the family works really hard to be included and of course wants to see at least a part of their contribution in the end product each week. My husband has stepped out of his comfort zone and tried to become more creative with his photography (because he knows I'm more likely to want to add it to the book) and my daughter wants to talk color schemes and layout options before the week is over to see if we might need more pictures or pieces. It's truly a family project at our house and we wouldn't have it any other way!

  11. So far, it's just me and Project Life. But, I think I'd like to get my girls to create some cards for the pockets this summer. I'll give them some SC grid cards and see what they come up with. πŸ˜‰

  12. i do have access to my hubby's photo stream, and the girls are forever taking pics with both our phones. thats about the extent so far. i'm hoping all that will change this summer

  13. My favorite layouts are the weeks my boys have made their own creations for my "scrapbook"!! They beam as I slide their artwork into a pocket πŸ™‚

  14. My husband will take pictures for me and also save ticket stubs or golf course score cards so I can include them in my Project Life albums. I love that he participates sometimes and will help me fill my book on weeks when the photos are a little light. It also helps to make sure the book is not just focused on the things I'm doing but also some of the things he does with friends, etc. Thanks so much for the chance to win this awesome kit!

  15. Summer Aiello

    I started doing Project Life this past April when HSN was offering the deals on the Jade and Blush kits. I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did. I'm doing a sort of monthly recap since I'm still trying to figure out what stories to tell through this format. Some months I find, are harder to keep it just a two page spread per week because my photos are good! My husband is a creative director at Universal Orlando and by nature takes many pics at work to show the kids and I what he's working on. He knows how much that means to me being able to use them in my scrapbooking. Mike is super supportive of it. πŸ™‚

  16. I enjoyed reading your post πŸ™‚ Just my daughter helps me! I have not been able to recruit my hubby yet πŸ™‚

  17. Shelley P

    My family used to roll their eyes whenever I wanted to snap a photo or two. I decided to let it go one day and my boys say "hey Mom, get a picture of me!" On their own, my husband and my boys save me the memboralia, ticket stubs, etc It evolved after they saw how I collected the stuff for their scrapbook pages. My first PL arrived last week and I am already on page 4 this week. Loving this over scrapbook pages!

  18. My husbamd saves little things and contributes journaling!

  19. I am new to PL so it's really just all me right now. I have always been one to save the ephemera, but trying to get more into the habit of taking pictures to go along with all the stuff. I did give both of my girls old digital cameras and enjoy the pics they bring back. They have such a different view of the world. I should come up with some way to indicate if one of the pics I use for a spread was taken by them. I think that would be neat for them to see when they look at the albums through the years.

  20. What great support and insight! Good guy. Makes me want to start tonight.

  21. Amy (AmyBugCrafts)

    Both my hubby and son save things for my scrapbooks. I love that they think of me in that way and appreciate the albums I make. πŸ™‚

  22. Melinda T

    My girls, 3 & 7 love contributing to our project life and my husband does occasionally!

  23. Jennifer O'Connell

    My boyfriend hasn't yet voluntarily participated in PL, but he has learned to appreciate my devotion to it. Last week, he bought ladybugs for our garden. Before he could release them outside, they escaped their packaging inside the house. There were ladybugs everywhere. He was very relieved when, instead of being angry, all I asked was, "Why didn't you take pictures???"

  24. Tiffany J.

    I am definetly the only "Project Lifer" in our household. I take all the pictures, record all the stories, spend so much of my free time looking on Studio Calico for inspiration and I love every second of it!

    It's so worth it to watch my daughters look through the album and see their little face's light up when they talk about the pictures. My husband likes it because he gets to play video games while I scrap! πŸ˜‰

  25. Wendy Gould

    I'm just starting out with PL. I did my first couple weeks and my husband thought it was so cool! I think that I will be able to get him to help me out with pics and maybe some journaling. My oldest daughter is only three so probably a few years before she will be really helpful. Right now she just enjoys looking at her pictures.

  26. My husband is awesome at taking photos for my book. At least 50% of the photos I use each week are probably from him. He's also really good about writing journal cards if I ask to.

  27. Some of my family members do participate in my PL. My dad is posted abroad for his work so he sends photos regularly – what he sees, what he eats and sometimes even selfies. My teenage brother is the same. I ask him to take photos when he has outings w/o me or the rest of the family. When we're all together, they're always conscious enough to save stubs, cards, etc. for me.

  28. Fran Spooner

    My daughter is in college and she sends me at least one picture a week with journaling so she can be included in our family's PL. I love it!

    Fran

  29. I have managed to get hubby to set up a shared photostream so that he can send me some pics he takes sometimes. That is so far the extent to which he helps out as such. Of course he features in it alot as it's just us and the dog at the moment πŸ™‚

  30. I do a variation of PL (monthly and/or occasion). My family helps me save receipts, stubs, art, etc and remember details and quotes. I've always been bad about taking pictures, but my daughter is there to remind me, "Mom, get your phone."

  31. Rose antonopoulos

    I just started PL so my hubby's not that unblocked, but when he's about to take a picture of the kids he looks at me so I can tell him portrait or landscape…depending on he other photo's orientation that week πŸ˜‰

  32. Alexandra

    Great interview… i love to see examples of PL to get a lot of inspiration for my future PL.

  33. Danielle Higginbottom-Brown

    This is my first year doing PL…so I have to keep reminding Clay to save me things! but they all enjoy looking through the album!

  34. Michelle Huegel

    Loved reading your hubby's answers, i could actually see my husband saying many of those things! He is also very supportive, and although he doesn't have a camera phone, will often grab mine or the DSLR to snap a pic of our kids doing something funny.

  35. SueinMtVernon

    As a single mom and now an empty nester, my Project Life album is a way for me to document what is going on in my personal life. My day-to-day is pretty boring, but I wanted a place to record my life even though it is pretty uneventful. Since my pictures are random and wouldn't work on a regular full page layout, I do a monthly Project Life spread and it's perfect for me.
    Thanks for the chance to win!

  36. I fell behind in my Project Life and stopped doing it. But I'm really hoping to get back to it soon! Thanks for the giveaway (:

  37. Isabelle A.

    My 4yo daughter is often giving me drawings to 'put in the album mommy!'. Hubby is also more cooperative at taking pics when I'm not around. I like that PL is a family project.

  38. It's so awesome to read all the comments and see how many husbands and families are doing project life together!!

    My family is great about sharing pictures and saving tickets and papers for our album. I would love to get more of their journaling in the album but am I just thrilled with them participating.

  39. My whole family gets in on saving treasures and tacking pictures! I guess after five years, it is just second nature πŸ˜‰

  40. My kids sometimes help out at my request. Would love for this to become a family project!

  41. I am the one who puts the PL spreads together, but my husband is really good at taking cool pictures while he is working. I like to add those to our album because he works outside and sees a lot more than I do everyday! πŸ™‚

  42. Julie Wan

    There is only the two of us (Mr Wan and I) so our family of 3 cats and 1 dog play a large part in project life documentation. My Dad, the neighbours and the neighbours animals manage to pop up occasionally. Mr Wan is well trained and saves anything he thinks will help document out lives.

  43. PL is something I JUST started doing after being a traditional scrapbooker for 14+ years and currently it's me and my kids with my husband admiring it (but I hope to get him more involved, LOL). The kids are both writing and telling me how they want their stories told (like this week, my son went on a field trip and I wrote down verbatim what he said until I totally ran out of room). They love seeing their adventures immediately captured and I find I get a great deal of "scrappy satisfaction" in doing this!! If I'd known… I would have started much sooner. I would LOVE to win as I am just getting starting with supplies.

  44. I am a single mom with two boys that are 6 and 7 years old. We all love to work on Project Life. It is so exciting to have my boys create with me. One really gets into the whole "Mom, you go a picture right?" and he works on his own cards and journalling. My other one he loves look at my albums and telling the stories. With him PL is important to me because he has ADHD and Autism and it is a great way to keep him mind goes. He will draw pictures for me and write his name instead of journal but it is about everyday life and our trials that make this such a wonderful family activity.

  45. I haven't done Project Life but would love to. Just saving up some money to get started.

  46. You could say that PL has become another member of the family and everyone in my house knows what it means and it's importance so everyone always has something to share my 3 kids will bring me things to include into the album and even my husband will bring or save receipts for me and take a picture knowing I would want it included. It makes me that much more happy knowing that what I am documenting is not only my view but my whole family putting together our memories into something we will cherish years to come. Thanks so much for the chance!

  47. Shannon Avia

    I've thought about starting PL, but it feels overwhelming even though it's not meant to πŸ™‚ I am toying with the idea of putting our road trip photos from this summer in a PL format, though…start small!

  48. Briana N.

    I usually create the PL spread myself but my husband does take photos and saves things when I am not around. My 6 year-old loves to help with journaling or will draw a picture for me on filler cards.

  49. I haven't done PL yet but I've definitely considered it. I'm still trying to wade through piles of event photos to do on traditional pages. I find I don't take as many photos as I used to so I'll hopefully be able to catch up a bit. Some day, I'd like to do some PL pages to fill in between events and even capture them a bit more lightly than I do now. The hubs and munchkin don't help with any of this but they both enjoy going through the pages I've done and even requested that I move my scrapbooks from my craft room to the living room so they could get to them easier.

  50. My husband is a huge help. He always grabs things or says hey you want this for your PL.

  51. Bailey G.

    I sneak a 4×6 card under my 21-month old son's crayon when he's coloring and then add it to my Project Life for the week!

  52. I've gotten to the point that once a week-2 weeks my husband will journal something or give me pictures he's taken. I also get my girls to either help choose which photo/story to tell and sometimes get them to journal as well.

  53. I love to add photos and journaling from my husband or little tidbits from the kids into my album…and they LOVE looking at the finished products! πŸ™‚

  54. I am just starting out with project life I am so excited to use it!!!

  55. Simmone D

    I thought I did Project Life by myself until I was leaving the hospital after back surgery. My son and husband were packing up my things and my son picked up my hospital bracelet and he said, "I guess you want to keep this for your scrapbook." I really had no idea that they even aware of my memory keeping.

  56. my fiancee and my friends are important photographs of my project life, but the result is mainly for documenting my everyday.

  57. My boyfriend chooses he pistures with me πŸ™‚

  58. Well I don't know that anyone really "participates" that much, but I've noticed the kids are a little more cooperative in having their photos taken and I catch them checking out the pages to see what pictures I used.
    Great giveaway and thanks for the chance.

  59. My husband has actually taken photos of certain events or things he has seen to include in our project life album. My daughter (she's 5) will pull out her albums and make me read the journaling to her. She calls the albums a "library" of herself.

  60. With school done, I've been thinking of perhaps starting project life, or some sort of scrapbooking to document my life πŸ™‚ I think PL would be a great beginning with the small sizes πŸ˜€

  61. Julie McD

    My husband is definitely a huge supporter of my creative endeavors. Though I am blessed to also have support and enabling from both of our Moms and friends! My kids definitely love that I scrapbook and I love getting my stories on paper! Great giveaway. Have a great weekend!

  62. I don't do PL, but my whole family has opinions about what I scrap and how I do it. My scrap room used to be the dining room and is in the middle of the house. People are walking through it all the time. On the down side, I have to keep it picked up; on the up side, I can be in my happy place and still in the middle of everything else that is going on at home.

  63. Meaghen Calder

    My DH takes photos when he goes out with friends, saves little memorabilia items or takes photos of our son when I'm at work. He will also journal if I give him a card to do so. And he genuinely loves our PL album. He looks at it a lot and gets very excited to see a new layout!

  64. I don't necessarily do project life in it's intended way. I do document and try to get those everyday moments down to have for my family for years to come. My hubby is extremely supportive and I find him squirreling ticket stubs and different little memories away to save and use as well. It's fun to have that kind of support.

  65. My entire family (3 grown children and hubby) contribute and it seems we all have the scrapbooking/Project Life mentality in our everyday picture taking and memorabilia collecting. LOVE the interview!!

  66. I don't have anyone contributing- yet. I'd love to have my husband be a little more involved though. Working on getting him to take more pictures, lol. : )

  67. Ari Choquette

    I thought I was embarking on the project life adventure solo, but my boyfriend surprised me the other day when he brought back a ticket from an arcade he went to and told me "Here, this is for your project life!" Guess I have someone helping me out after all!

  68. Hello Allison,
    unfortunately I have no one participating in my project life / scrapbook so far. Well, I intend to start it with my first born who's still in my belly, so we'll see if that changes over time, and if my husband's willing to take part in it. maybe not as thoroughly as keeping receipts and other things like that but maybe including me in the pictures for a change. without my asking.
    Thanks for the give away and for the lovely love story of you and your husband!

  69. Love how your husband describes you as a "Creative Historian". That's a wonderful description of what you do. I also like how he defines what he feels is important in the books and how much the kids will enjoy them in the future. I scrapbook my great nieces and nephews with the photos either I take or family members takes whenever we meet. However, the albums will all go to the kids when they graduate from high school. So anything to make it easier to keep up with all of them helps. Love the project life idea and may try a variation of it for all the kids albums. This looks like so much fun. Thanks for sharing with us.

  70. Amanda Parham-Hall

    My kids & hubby are helping w/ PL-they fill out questionairres & interviews, etc. Luv it & this add-on kit! Got the main kit 4 PL, but wasn't in the budget 2 get the add-on:-) Thanks 4 the chance 2 win!!!

  71. I am slowly getting my 10 year old daughter into PL. I believe she will do wonderfully with her creative imagination! And, I can't wait till I see some of her finished projects! I am sure if there was a "golf" PL my hubby wouldn't mind participating as well, course we could work around that! Thank you, PL!!! πŸ™‚

  72. Amy McVey

    My hubby has started to take photos of things when I'm not there and will share them with me to put into our album. He really loves to have these memories and is very supportive of me doing PL.

    Thank you for the giveaway!

  73. Julie Mangold

    I am expecting my first grandchild and can' wait to do a PL album for her!

  74. My son loves to add little bits and pieces to PL. He always asks if he can contribute sth, a drawing or his homework. He also asks me to take photos of him in different situatuions to include it in PL

  75. Audrey Davis

    My husband takes photos and saves tickets and things for me. I also use his texts / emails of cute sayings our son says or funny things that happened in our album. Thanks for the inspiration and chance to win.

  76. I don't interview people for my project life. I should start! I usually quote them when they something that I'm interested in.

  77. sharon gullikson

    I have never done Project Life before. If I won the components, you bet I would begin. I'm intimidated by scrapbooking per se.

  78. Natasha Poteraj

    My mom and I should start doing this together. I haven't started, but would like to. I have a lot of photos that need to be organized.

  79. My hubs has gotten much better over the years at knowing to save ticket stubs, hotel room keys, and other ephemera for Project Life. Love that your got your hubs to do a Q&A! Awesome. πŸ™‚ Thanks for the chance to win! πŸ™‚

  80. Amy Jones

    Wow… I have been admiring project life lately. Although I have not been able to try it out yet, I really want too. And I know if I win this my daughter will be all over me trying to help. She is just awesome like that. Thanks for the chance for me to get a start on my very first Project life.

  81. Yes – I use art work from my son to include on my pages.

  82. I haven't gotten my family involved YET! But it's a goal I have!!!

  83. It's just me who fills up the folder, but I do include pictures and drawings that my boys create at school….and when my husband remembers I do get the odd photo of 'boys only' days!

  84. Project Life participants? Yes I do…. That would be my wonderful hubbie and my kids (4), even though they have grown up and moved out on their own. They regularly send me photo's for me to incorporate them into my PL. My husband is always snapping a picture just in case I forgot to. I have such a great family!

  85. Haven't started using project life yet – but definitely want to start! I take all the pictures and save everything πŸ™‚
    Thanks for the chance to win!

  86. Kim lietze

    My girls like to help pick papers and embellishments.

  87. i pretty much do my own with some help from my husband who supports my creative side! love him! he's even wonder out loud if he should start his own. hehe

  88. Michelle A.T.

    I do PL by myself, but I'd love it if my hubby would get into it πŸ™‚

  89. DaniW in Oz

    It's mainly myself who does Project Life, my two boys regularly bring me their drawings or school work to add into it and my husband keeps random bits and pieces for it, I'm the one who takes all the photos. Thanks for the chance to win!

  90. This is my first year doing PL. My husband will save a receipt or some memorabilia if he goes somewhere and my daughter and grandkids all give me little things that they save. they love "grandma's" book. It's been a lot of fun and I've been surprised how often we look through it to see when something happened. Amazing how fast you forget everyday moments. Thanks for a chance to win.

  91. My grandmother often sends me pictures of her trip from different places when she travels…

  92. Mel Brewin

    My family has always supported me too & love our albums, project life has just amped it up for me, now my girls are like "mum take a photo of this to put in our album" or hubby says did you want a photo of this?! I love that they will pore over our albums (if I ever get them completed) & remember the great times we had as a family & our daily life!! T remember that they were important & I loved capturing every little part of our life, good & bad. Thanks for the chance.

  93. It's only me doing Project Life though my boys are very patient with all my picture taking!

  94. I've been loving all of these dad posts! My family definitely helps me out with PL. I think that's what makes it so fun! Feels like a collaborative effort. Thanks so much for the chance to win this awesome add-on. I've been eyeing it up and have resisted thus far!

  95. Barb Wagar

    I don't have a PROJECT LIFE kit but I would love to have one. Thanks!

  96. My kids are grown now but they know whenever we shoot a photo mom wants at least two shots. I've been a long time Creative Memories scraper but I've been lately attracted to what Project Life has to offer. I'm excited to created one very soon.

    Marian Garcia

  97. My husband takes photos and shares with me but I'd like my daughters take photo too, it would be fun to see theit point of view.

  98. Fran Chopp

    My entire family helps with project life. My husband takes photos for me when I am not there. My boys will ask me to take a photo of what they are doing that they feel should be documented! Love it!!!

  99. I'm not married so don't have that but my Dad documents his family life and I love working with him on it. My stepmother just passed and we are putting together a book around her life memories. I love photos but the project life concept really brings them to Life:)

  100. In answer to the question….not really. I wish they would though.

  101. My husband is great as well – he travels a lot but always remembers to send photos! Wonderful give-away – Thanks for the chance to win!

  102. I also have my husband take pictures and save me stuff πŸ™‚ My toddler daughters like to help to. My oldest will round corners with me and help me sort pictures and stuff while the younger one just watches πŸ™‚

  103. Magdalena/Rockermorsan

    I just started making my PL pages a few weeks ago, so I have noone else participating YET. But I plan to my husband and two kids involved. Might have to go the interview route, same as you, though. I'd love to ein. Thanks!

  104. Hi, i'm so exicited to join this giveaway because it's the Cumberland Gap Project Life Add-On kit ! πŸ˜€

    I have never try doing this journalling before but i was inspired by so many people who are doing it. saw them on instagram and the creative team on Project Life. I will be starting soon and wish there's some motivation. It will be the first among all my friends who will be doing such things, how awesome! (:
    Hope this could be the new of my motivation.

    Thank you! πŸ˜€
    God Bless.

  105. Stephanie

    My son helps out by drawing and providing funny quotes to record in my PL album πŸ˜‰

  106. I haven't gotten very much help on project life to date. However, as I am completing pages my family is slowly starting to bring me items for the album.

  107. I'm the only one that puts it together but my family loves looking at each page as I finish them.

  108. I'm just starting out with Project Life right now – but my sister has been yelling at me to do it for a long time now, lol! She has helped with ideas, pictures and even a starter kit! Now with baby #3 on the way, I am really looking forward to being able to keep up on family daily books rather than individual books for everyone.
    Thanks for the giveaway!

  109. That is really a nice idea. It's nice that they have thought about that kind of way. Thanks for sharing this information.

  110. Laura Moegenburg

    I have been doing PL for two years – I also talked both my children, now 26 & 27, into doing it, we love it as it gives us more reasons to get together, talk on the phone, and text each other pictures of our layouts. My husband travels a lot with work and I love it when a random photo shows up in my in box, it always gets included in PL.

  111. I show my parents my weekly spreads, but mostly it's just my personal hobby. I hope in a few years that I'll have someone to share it with more!