What Is a Project Life Layout?
Project Life is a simplified approach to scrapbooking that uses pre-designed cards and pocket page protectors. Instead of building elaborate layouts from scratch, you slip photos, journaling cards, and decorative cards into clear pockets. The result is a clean, modern scrapbook page that takes a fraction of the time.
Project Life layouts work in a few standard sizes – 12×12, 6×8, and A5. Most scrappers start with the classic 12×12 pocket pages that fit 3×4 and 4×6 cards. The beauty is in the simplicity: one photo per pocket, a journaling card with a few sentences, and you’re done.
Below is a layout and Project Life spread originally created by design team member Flora Monika Farkas, plus a complete guide to materials, layout ideas, and finding your own PL system.
Materials You’ll Need
You can absolutely start Project Life with just a binder, photos, and a pen. But once you’re committed, a few specific supplies make the system click.
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- 12×12 pocket page protectors – the foundation. Becky Higgins Design A is the classic 3×4 + 4×6 layout most kits and cards are built around.
- Project Life core kit – a starter set of 600+ pre-designed cards (journaling, decorative, title cards) coordinated to a single theme. Saves months of card-curating.
- 3×4 and 4×6 journaling cards – if you already have a binder and pages, individual card packs let you build a custom palette without buying a full kit.
- foam adhesive squares – for popping focal cards or photos off the page when you want a layered look inside the pocket.
- Tombow Mono Permanent Tape Runner – clean, flat adhesive for any sticking outside the pockets (title cards, photo overlays, embellishments).
- photo printer for phone – a wireless 4×6 printer at your desk eliminates the biggest PL bottleneck (waiting on drugstore prints). Canon Selphy and HP Sprocket Studio are the popular ones.
- fine-tip black journaling pen – waterproof, fade-resistant, and the standard for handwritten journaling on PL cards.
The Layout
Hi Ladies! I hope you had an amazing weekend and you had a chance to create lots of scrapbook pages. Today I will share a layout and a PL spread and some thoughts about that.
The base of my layout is one of my favorite papers from a Hip Kit monthly main kit, a blue striped design by Kim Watson with an exclusive cut file. The patterned paper reminds me of the sea and summer so I have chosen a photo what fits here.
Last year my niece visited me in Slovenia and we spent one afternoon on the seaside. I took this photo in the sunset…hmmm…lovely memories. I printed this photo three times in the same size (2″x2″).
I layered a wide strip of vellum paper for scrapbooking behind the cluster so it can stand out well. For embellishing I pulled together all the pink, navy and turquoise pieces. I used a lot of My Mind’s Eye On Trend 2 enamel dots from a Hip Kit Project Life add-on. I also loved the Shimelle Starshine flower and the beautiful globe ephemera which fit my theme totally.
Check the whole process in the video:
About Project Life. I believe there are two types of scrapper. One is the layout type, the other is the Project Life type, and just a few people fall in the intersection. I am one of them and it’s so hard. I love to make layouts but I feel I have to document also our everyday life and print out the photos from my phone.
I have been doing Project Life for a while now and trying to find my system. This year I started with double 12″ pages but it seemed too much and our life is not that interesting (no kids, no pets). So I switched back to one page per week and I use my Fuse Tool to seal in 4×3″ packets. We will see!
For this Project Life spread I used patterned papers and leftover embellishments from a Hip Kit monthly Project Life add-on. I also closed a few tiny stars into the pocket with the Heidi Swapp Minc Fuse Tool – it heat-seals plastic pockets so you can trap small loose items (sequins, confetti, pressed flowers) inside the page.
Flora
5 Project Life Layout Ideas to Try
Once you’ve got the basic system down, layout variety is what keeps PL interesting month after month. Here are five formats worth rotating through.
1. The classic week-in-review. One photo per day across a 12×12 Design A page, a journaling card or two, plus a title card. Best for capturing ordinary weeks where nothing dramatic happened but the small moments add up.
2. The single-event spread. A whole spread (two facing pages) for one day or event – a birthday, a road trip, an outdoor concert. Lots of pocket photos, several journaling cards going deep on the day. Skip the weekly format entirely when something big deserves the real estate.
3. The themed month. All your photos for a month organized by theme rather than chronology. “All the food we ate in March,” “everywhere I walked the dog,” “every sunset I noticed.” Lower the bar from documentary to curated.
4. The 6×8 mini. Same Project Life concept, smaller scale – 4×6 and 3×4 pockets in a 6×8 binder. Easier to keep up with, looks finished faster, sits on a shelf instead of in a closet. 6×8 photo album binder with pocket pages starter sets are everywhere.
5. The hybrid layout. Use one full pocket page for traditional Project Life cards, then an adjacent 12×12 single-photo layout. Best of both worlds: documentary breadth on one side, scrapbook depth on the other. This is the Flora’s-style hybrid the original spread above demonstrates.
Tips for Your Own Project Life Layouts
A few things that make Project Life layouts easier to keep up with:
Pick one system and stick with it. Whether that’s one 12×12 page per week or a 6×8 spread per month, consistency matters more than volume. If you’re falling behind, scale down instead of quitting.
Print photos weekly. The biggest bottleneck with Project Life is printing. Set a weekly reminder to print 5-10 phone photos. Most drugstores do 4×6 prints for pennies, or use a desktop photo printer 4×6 at home.
Use your kit scraps. Those leftover paper strips from your scrapbook layouts? Perfect for PL filler cards. Cut them to 3×4 or 4×6 with a paper trimmer and tuck them into pockets for instant color and pattern.
Don’t stress about chronological order. Some weeks nothing photo-worthy happens. Skip it. Nobody’s going to quiz you on whether week 14 is missing from your album.
Batch your card prep. Once a month, sit down with your card stash and a Tombow tape runner and pre-build 8-10 generic title and journaling cards. When the actual photos come in, half the work is already done.
Where to Buy Project Life Supplies
The Project Life ecosystem has consolidated since Becky Higgins originally launched it – a few brands now carry the bulk of pocket pages, cards, and accessories. Where to look:
Pocket pages and binders: Becky Higgins pocket page protectors are still the standard. We R Memory Keepers and Project Life-branded binders both work in 12×12 D-ring format. 12×12 D-ring scrapbook album packs are common online.
Pre-designed cards: Project Life Core Kits in themed editions (Honey, Heritage, Big Top, etc.) are the easiest entry point. Each kit gives you 600+ cards across journaling, title, decorative, and quote categories. Project Life themed card kit from Amazon ships fast.
Embellishments and add-ons: Mix in scrapbook enamel dots assortment, decorative washi tape, and chipboard stickers from your existing scrapbook supplies. Scrapbook supplies are PL supplies once they’re cut to 3×4.
Monthly kits: If choosing supplies feels overwhelming, monthly kit subscriptions like our monthly scrapbook kits include a Project Life add-on with cards and embellishments coordinated to the month’s main kit.
Project Life FAQ
What size is a Project Life page? The classic Project Life page protector is 12×12 inches and divides into pockets that fit 3×4 and 4×6 cards or photos. Becky Higgins’ “Design A” is the most common pocket layout. Smaller 6×8 and A5 systems use proportionally smaller pockets.
Do I need a special album for Project Life? Any 12×12 D-ring or post-bound scrapbook album with a 12×12 binder mechanism works. The page protectors slip in like any other pocket page.
How many photos go on a Project Life page? A standard Design A 12×12 page has six 4×6 pockets and three 3×4 pockets – so up to nine photos plus journaling on a single page. Many spreads use a mix of photos and decorative/title cards rather than filling every pocket with a photo.
Can I make Project Life layouts without buying card kits? Yes. Cut 3×4 and 4×6 rectangles from your existing patterned paper, write directly on white cardstock for journaling cards, and use your stamp collection for sentiments. The pre-designed cards just save time.
How is Project Life different from regular scrapbooking? Project Life is built around standardized pocket pages and pre-designed cards, which speeds up the process at the cost of design flexibility. Traditional scrapbook page ideas give you full creative control but take longer per page. Most scrappers do both depending on the project.
Where to Go Next
Project Life pairs well with the rest of the memory-keeping toolkit:
- How to Scrapbook – foundational techniques that apply to both PL and traditional layouts
- Scrapbook Page Ideas – design inspiration when you want to break out of pocket pages
- Scrapbook Supplies – the broader supply guide; many overlap with PL
- Pocket Scrapbooking – the related-but-distinct format that uses similar pocket pages
- Scrapbook Albums – guide to album binders and what works for PL volumes
- Hip Kit Club monthly kits – if you’d rather have curated supplies arrive than choose them
Grab This Month's Kit
Every month we put together a box of coordinated papers, embellishments, and supplies that all work together. Open the box, start creating. It's that simple.