Help! I can't find anything to take a photo of anymore!

We all have some days that we just look around, sigh heavily, and say, "Now what do I take a picture of?" It's kind of like standing in front of the open fridge door and saying, "there's nothing to eat in here!"

Give your brain a rest and use this list of words to help inspire you. If you love theme albums, why not make your whole project into your photo interpretation of a different word each day!

You can develop your own word list by:

• opening up the dictionary, closing your eyes, and putting your finger on a random place
• asking your kids to choose words (a funny experience, too!) or using their spelling lists from school
• choosing a few pages of text from the paperback you're reading and taking out any word under 2 and over 6 letters (except colors) (this should be fun with a smutty book...LOL!)

Here's your first 31 words (in no particular order)
chair
music
round
cold
colorful
note
row
alive
craft
odd
sew
blue
curvy
orange
shiny
bottle
dusty
plastic
soft
brick
funky
play
storage
busy
happy
read
tap
button
light
reflection
two

2009 - Week 3

2009 - Week 2

Stuck? Here are some photo ideas to inspire you!

A large Christmas tree in the center of town
Your favorite band
Your favorite ice cream
Your favorite recipe
Your favorite website
People you meet
Your alarm clock
A full moon
A new moon
Your “bucket list”
Your hair care products
Items in your favorite color
Your electronic gadgets
A boo-boo or body part in a cast
A collection of knick-knacks
Cooking with kids
Your tattoo or getting one
Your favorite piece of furniture
National holidays
Heritage festivals
Your favorite restaurants
Your jewelry
A pile of clutter
Walking the dog
Your favorite place to shop
A basketball game
A trip to the library
You child’s favorite outfit
The view out your bedroom window
Your favorite cereal
Your everyday dishes
Your fine china
A quote by someone and this person’s picture
What you do that relaxes you
A book your child is reading
An unfinished (or finished) crossword puzzle
Your child’s favorite toy
Dance parties
A natural landscape
Housewarming parties
Your shoes
A favorite magazine
A favorite book

2009 - Week 1

2009 - Let's do it all again!

Caution - this is a bit long because there are so many ideas for getting started that will help you right now!

Last year, participating in Project 365 was popular, but this year it's everywhere you look - worldwide!! I've heard of at least five digi shops that are hosting, challenges, numerous Facebook groups you can join, a paper scrapping kit by Becky Higgins (that has sold out already!), and I'm sure there are many more folks out there who are participating in their own ways. Some participants on Facebook and are going to post their photos and layouts in their personal photo albums. Invite your family and friends to play along with you...it's fun to take photos together! Don't forget to have the kids play along - it would be amazing to see the year from child's point of view.

I just can't say enough about this project and highly encourage you to join in. By 'join in" I don't mean you have to JOIN a group if you don't want to. I did it all on my own last year and really enjoyed it. It sure was an easy way to create a comprehensive album about our everyday life that will be fun to look back on for my whole family - after all, they were mostly involved, too! I'll still make special albums about events or vacations but I think this will be the way I create my annual family album from now on.

Feel free to start your project 365 anytime - a few of you already have - and don't be afraid to start late. January 1 isn't the only good date to start...lots of other countries and nations have their new year starting on a different date. And, if you want to do a pregnancy theme, you'll definitely be starting on an alternate date!

Are you a teacher? Do a shortened version with your class and document the school year, a semester, or a quarter. At the end of the designated time period, choose a different weekly layout from each pupil and have an art show...so many possibilities.

Since I am such an advocate for documenting life this way, I decided to host Project 365 in the Plain Digital Wrapper challenge forum (linked on the right) and give away the weekly templates, featuring 7 photos per page, that I created for my 2008 album...all totally FREE. I created all 52 of them (and a cover) to document my photos because I was too lazy to upload a photo to my blog every day - LOL! My 2008 photos are not all placed into the templates yet - I'm up to week 34.

If you're hesitant or aren't ready for such a commitment, why not start out doing a photo a week? Once you get in the habit of taking your camera everywhere you go (even to the grocery store) you'll find it's actually pretty easy. And with all the free templates out there - including mine - putting it all together is a snap!

My 2008 Project 365 was about our everyday life and interesting things I observed. One day I took a picture of an oil spot in a parking lot on a rainy day just because it had a cool rainbow effect! Since everyday life is pretty eclectic (mine is anyway), I decided to NOT have a particular theme except for making the background the same for facing pages. However, if you need to have a theme or a theme helps you get inspired, why not do a week for each family member and pet, a week or two for a vacation or trip, 365 days in the garden, 365 days of recipes (for all you foodies out there), add in a photo of you or a family member once a week (very fun to look back on at the end and in the years to come!), or if you have a DSLR camera, play with the settings and document what you used for your photo.

Secret tip: I actually had a few uninspired days last year where I just couldn't find anything to take a picture of or I just plain forgot. To fill in those days, I took extra shots of the garden, scenery, indoor closeups, etc. It's not really cheating because I did take the photo - it's being 'creative' in finding an easy solution! ;-)

Ideas for December

(Exchange Christmas ideas for Hanukkah, Kwanza, or other winter celebrations)

Mittens, scarves, hats and boots
An outdoor ice-skating rink
Rosy cheeks
A steaming cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows
A wreath on a door
Boxed ornaments or decorations
A mailbox with holiday cards
Christmas shoppers with packages
Gifts under a tree
A local Christmas tree farm
Kids in pajamas
Winter Solstice
A random act of kindness
A pair of skis
A self-portrait each week all year
Boxing Day
Decorating cookies
Christmas carolers
Ramadan
A pile of opened presents and ripped wrapping paper on Christmas
Holiday parties
A Christmas Eve program
Christmas stockings hung at the fireplace
A snowman
Christmas cards you received
The first snowfall
A favorite Christmas decoration
Christmas lights on a house
Cooking and baking
A recognition or award ceremony for someone in your family
New Years Eve