AS REQUESTED: my must have Project Life supplies

It makes me VERY happy when my friends reach out to me with interest in Project Life! This is my first year and I have had three friends express an interest in starting their very own Project Life Albums, two of whom are expecting new additions to their families in the very near future. As I have said before, Project Life WILL MAKE YOU WANT TO HAVE A BABY, I can now say that it seems that HAVING A BABY WILL MAKE YOU WANT TO DO PROJECT LIFE! Most recently, my friend Jenn, who is expecting a baby boy sometime very soon, and who is also an INCREDIBLE photographer (you can check out her work here) told me that she was starting project life and asked me what else she might need other than a core kit, pages and an album. Now, I have to say that while one of the most beautiful things about this project is that you don’t NEED anything else, you can MOST DEFINITELY use SO MUCH MORE if your heart desires! I feel like I am far enough into this adventure now that I can accurately share the supplies that I reach for most often if not for every single spread. This is in no way all of the supplies I use, that list is embarrassingly long, but that’s because that’s how I like to craft. I love having lots of options! So these are my absolute faves and all things I would recommend to any and all who might be just getting started with Project Life. Part of the fun of this whole process has been learning what works for me, hopefully this helps you to decide what works best for you!

Pictured above MY MUST HAVE PROJECT LIFE SUPPLIES:

Thickers: I use these EVERY single week! Be sure to check in the tiny craft section at your local Marshalls or TJ Maxx for some great deals!

Roller Date Stamp: I need to use them more, but I love them!

Elmer’s Glue Dot Runner: This is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE of all the MANY different brands that are available! There are also Tape Runners, some semi-permanent, some permanent (like immediately!) and on and on, I recommend this one as a good starting point.

Washi Tape: BE CAREFUL! THIS STUFF IS ADDICTING AND CAN BE FOUND EVERYWHERE NOW! But, it is such an awesome way to accent alpha sticker, add pops of color with no fuss, and of course it also serves it’s purpose as an adhesive method, so there’s that

Fiskars Scissors: Any scissors will do, these just happen to my favorite.

Fiskars Corner Rounder: I like having the option to round the corners of my photos, but I don’t always do it. I do think that I am going to go back and round all of my corners because there is something about that little magical triangle of space in the pockets that make everything come together. And since my Project Life is completely scattered with constantly changing color schemes and what not, it would be nice to know that there is AT LEAST ONE thing that is uniform throughout!

Project Life Corner Rounder: I just found this at my Michaels, I am happy with it and it’s pretty cool that the corners are the exact same as the Project Life core kits. It is not available on Amazon yet but it should be SOON!

Silhouette Pick Me Up: This little tool makes moving Thickers and the smaller alpha stickers that come in the Studio Calico Kits a lot easier to adhere.

Staedtler Fineliner Porous Point Pen: LOVE the way these write!

American Crafts slick writer (see below)

Project Life Pen (see below)

Staedtler permanent Lumocolor (see below)

uniball Signo broad (see below)

Custom Stamps (see below)

Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher: This little magic stapler is just SO MUCH FUN TO PLAY WITH! It’s such a dainty little staple that you will find yourself using it constantly!

StazOn Ink Pad: This ink is great because it will “stay” on most every surface!

I have provided links to almost everything through Amazon or etsy because that is what is easiest for me to do, but these items don’t have to be purchased on the internet, I bought lots of them at Michael’s or Joann’s using their weekly coupons. You can also check out these awesome scrap supply sites:

Two Peas in a Bucket, Scrapbook.com, Studio Calico, and Simon Says Stamp.

A little closer angle:

Pictured Below:

Canon Selphy Printer

Studio Calico Project Life Kit

The Canon Selphy is awesome because it allows me to print, via wifi, directly from my iphone. It has proven to be extremely helpful in times when I am falling behind and want to catch up quickly on my weekly layouts. Now that I am almost done with my first year I do find myself using Photoshop or Photoshop Elements to resize, edit and add text to my photos which I then print on my HP printer, but when I need things to be simple I like knowing I have the Selphy available.

Here’s a closer view of my favorite and most used writing utensils as well as the silhouette tool which works GREAT to help align thickers on your layouts. The white pen is BY FAR THE BEST option for writing on a photo, just be sure to write slow as to give the ink time to flow as well as allowing time to dry before sliding into your pockets.

These are all great pens, the project life and precision writer are the same pen and are great for writing on all kinds of paper, the slick writer is perfect for writing directly onto your photos.

The Studio Calico Project Life Kit

This is Studio Calico’s August Project Life Kit, it is part of a monthly subscription program (you can also purchase month to month at a little higher cost). This subscription is BY FAR the best addition to my Project Life process! I LOVE their products and feel like a little kid at Christmas each month when my box full of goodies arrives from them. I have never once regretted signing up for their monthly kits. This picture does a pretty good job of showing all of the adorable things you can expect each month, but just click here to take a look on their site. If you do decide to order a kit you should pick up some of these Fiskars Acrylic Blocks for clear stamps, they come in a package of varying sizes which will accommodate the stamps that are included in SC’s Kits.

Custom Stamps!

Even if you don’t really think stamping is for you, I HIGHLY recommend picking up a couple that you really love, I think you will find that it adds something special to your layouts. These stamps are from three of my favorite crafty ladies!

Click on their names below to be taken directly to their stamps shops.

Elise Blaha Cripe “THIS” “FOR THE RECORD” “YOU ARE HERE” “<3″ “HELLO”

CarrieLSunday “THIS IS WHAT love LOOKS LIKE” “HUSBAND” “WIFE”

Kelly Purkey “IT’S MY JAM” “#”

And last but certainly not least, I have to give you the list of blogs that I have become a loyal follower of, all of which provide me inspiration for all things crafty, especially Project Life, on a daily basis!

For those of you that are prego you might want to pay special attention to Amy Tangerine as she expecting VERY SOON! Elise JUST HAD a baby girl, so I would check back through the last couple of months for some GREAT inspiration from her, she has done a lovely job documenting and sharing her daughters entry into the world! I have linked a few blog posts at the bottom of this post for your enjoyment!

I SERIOUSLY hope that this blog post is helpful for you, it has taken me MUCH LONGER to write/create than I anticipated LOL! Tomorrow is my birthday. and I plan on sharing my “32 Highlights” so keep an eye out for that. As always, THANK YOU for reading! If you are new to Project Life or a seasoned veteran, What supplies do you love the most? Please share, leave comments and/or ask questions! It let’s me know that you were here, that someone is reading and more importantly, I LOVE KNOWING THAT I HAVE SHARED SOMETHING USEFUL!

-thejensspin

P.S. I am not cool enough or popular enough to be getting paid for any of these recommendations! (A girl can dream that some day she might be!) Everything you see listed here is here because they are all things that I actually use/read/need! Thanks!