Last year I created a photo book of all my Project 365 photos from 2015, and I cannot tell you how much I LOVE it! After looking through it at the end of last year, it really renewed my motivation to continue with the project for another year.

So, for this year I'm doing pretty much the same thing again, but I thought I'd share again in case any one else would like to do something similar with their Project 365 or Project 52 photos.

Rather than print these in a photo book (which is what I do with my yearly family photo books) I decided that I wanted to be able to print my photos as I went along - for me, there is something much nicer about printing out each image and putting them in place each week, but most importantly, it really helps keep me on track with taking a photo a day. I think if I only printed them each year I might be more tempted to miss a few :)

So instead, I have a D ring binder with photo pocket pages. My D Ring binder for this year is a black cloth one from American Crafts, and it's pretty big at 12 x 12. I did contemplate a smaller album, but I rather like the larger size, and the way that the images are laid out in it. (The "Twenty Sixteen" in the middle is an insert that I made - it doesn't come with the book)

Although you can get many different layouts for the pocket pages, I only ever use one size - the one that holds 6 x 4 images in a landscape format. It just makes it easier for me since you don't have to worry about getting your images to "fit" a certain layout. I just print out on 6 x 4 photo paper and I'm done :)

I've created templates in Photoshop that I use for the images themselves. This gives them a white border, and also an overlay of the day of the week that image was taken. i'll maybe also write a line or two on the image if I want to remember a little bit more about that day or why I took that particular photograph.

I also have templates for portrait orientation images and for Instagram - I have the photo on one side, and some information about what's going on in the photo on the other, or I've also started added in some conversations or sayings - if I don't record these somewhere then they are going to be lost forever, and I don't want them to be!

The only other thing I do, which is not in the slightest bit necessary, is to print "dividers" which show me when each month / week starts.

I guess it's a cross between a Project 365 album and a scrapbook album - for me the focus is definitely on the images, with a few captions here are there to add a little bit of memory keeping, and less about making it look pretty with embellishments and things like that, although you could absolutely do that!

Printing out the photos each week (or sometimes each month if I am incredibly behind!) gives me a lovely sense of achievement, and also the impetus to keep going with taking an image a day - without it, I'm not 100% sure I would have stayed with it!