Need advice from scrapbookers

[MelissaD]

I've been an on and off scrapbooker for years (only stopping when I couldn't afford it, that isn't such a problem right now). Each of my 3 children have baby books and I'm trying to get them up to date along with finishing up about 5 years of family books. My only New Year's Resolution this year was to get caught up with my scrapbooks; it really is important to me.

I just found out we are expecting #4:lol::lol::lol:. In about 7 1/2 months, I'm going to be much busier with another child and with homeschooling. I really, really, really want to get up to date. Do any of you scrapbookers have any advice on how to get a lot done quickly? Any motivating words?

[Pencil Pusher]

Well, I haven't tried this, but I *suspect* it would help.

I've decided that I'm going to limit ea yr to ONE book. No. matter. what.

See, I got behind when I started student teaching back in '04. I haven't worked on them since then. :blink:

So I'm really posting to BUMP your question back up, not because I've got great advice. :D

[Canada_Mom]

Simplify.

Use simpler layouts. If a layout works for one of your childrens' books, use it again for the other books- using different papers/colours. It's nice and all to come up with one-of-a-kind amazing layouts for our books, but when time is an issue and you have that many baby books to do, that is what I would recommend. They won't end up looking the same at all because the pictures will be different as will the papers that you choose. But, it will be a LOT easier because you don't have to think and re-think and then think again about how you are going to lay out your page.

I've even done two books simultaneously using the same layouts for pages but in different colours. In the end, each child will have their own book that is unique to them. What is obvious to us as scrapbookers won't be to others. They will just cherish that you spent the time and energy putting together an album for them.

Creative Memories has some great idea books that look great, but are simple enough to finish quickly. It is not exactly my style, but I've been able to make them work for me and it really is amazing how much more you can get done if you simplify.- that's been my experience anyways!

I'm in the same boat as you. It's difficult to catch up with what needs to be done while you're getting further behind with each passing month! I try to focus on my journalling now rather than fancy pages. To me, that's what I think the kids will remember and cherish the most- more than fancy pages and hours spent on the perfect layout.- though, I LOVE to sit and ponder my layouts, I really do!

Keep up with your most recent photos and work backwards. I believe that's what they recommend to beginner scrapbookers and I really appreciate this advice. When I tried to do it the other way around, I found myself getting more and more discouraged because there was so much I was missing out on.

You may also want to consider how much you are scrapbooking for each child. I've managed to limit my kids' books to their birthdays each year, a layout for each activity they are in and usually just one more double page to high-lite the year. The rest of the photos go in albums or into my family scrapbook. How much do you do for your family album?? Can a bit more of those photos go into albums instead? Just do the high-lites of the year. Major holidays, significant events and a couple extraordinary pictures that you just HAVE to write about.

When I desperately needed to catch up, I made sure that I put aside 2-3 hours each week (usually one night a week) to scrapbooking. DH knew that it was *my* time and at 7pm that night I would stop what I was doing and go work on my albums. Anything that happened from then until 10pm was *his* to look after. He was really cooperative about this and I got a phenomenal amount of scrapbooking done. It's a lot easier to get more done if you do it in one sitting as you won't have to haul all your stuff out, get organized just to have to put it all away again.

I don't know if any of this was useful to you or not. But, I've BTDT and now I'm completely behind again as our #4 has already arrived!

Good luck!! I'll be thinking of you on my scrapbook night! :lol:

[Canada_Mom]

OH. One more thing... if you really want to get your scrapbooks caught up...

TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER!! :lol::lol::lol:

I would get so much more scrapbooking done if I wasn't here... :001_rolleyes:

[strider]

First I have to give my disclaimer: I am nowhere near being up-to-date on my scrapbooks.

Having said that . . .

As another poster suggested, SIMPLIFY.

I found things went much quicker when I picked a general decorating theme for the entire scrapbook and laid out massive amounts of stuff all at once. For example, I might decide that every page in the book will be decorated with triangles in two corners with stickers clustered on one. I change the colors or stickers but each and every page is decorated according to that formula.

I also found the Creative Memories Power Lay-outs class helped me become much more ruthless about laying out an entire album. I also have learned to stop obsessing about the best way to crop each photo--I just go for it.

Good luck.

[3lilreds in NC]

You might consider digital scrapbooking. There is a lot available out there now. There is even free software. One thing to check out is Adobe Photoshop Album Starter (http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopalbum/starter.html). Lots of people use Photoshop Elements from Adobe; Adobe Photoshop is $649 (!) from Adobe, but Elements is only $99. These prices are from Adobe directly, so it's quite probably that you could find better prices elsewhere. Creative Memories also has digital scrapbooking software and I believe you can get a free trial version from your consultant.

Here is my list of links about digital scrapbooking:
http://jenjen.typepad.com/digiscrap/ (http://jenjen.typepad.com/digiscrap/)
http://www.scrapartist.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1172 (http://www.scrapartist.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1172)
http://www.cgessentials.com/Freebies-Page.asp
http://evergreeneclecticacademy.blogspot.com/2007/10/digital-scrappin-101.html
http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/shopping.asp?f=c_336&c=24
http://shabbyprincess.com/downloads.asp (http://shabbyprincess.com/downloads.asp)
http://www.scrapbookflair.com/

I have not actually gotten started yet, but it's MUCH faster than paper scrapping. I know there are lots of ladies on this board who scrap digitally, so hopefully they will come and post their suggestions as well.

HTH! My other suggestion is to get thee to a crop or three. Do you have anyone who holds crops? I know National Scrapbook Day crops were being held here last weekend and the weekend before. My consultant sometimes has a beach weekend - I've gotten tons done when I've been available to get away on my own.

[Cadam]

Keep it simple. When I need to scrap quickly I like to crop pics into squares and put them all around the outer edges of a page then I mat one pic or a box with writing or something and put that in the middle so the mat touches all of the surrounding pictures. It is like a cheater puzzle page and uses a lot of pictures quickly.

I just drop all of the fancy stuff, mat the pictures and put them on the page. Forget all the cute brads and stitching exc. Get the pictures in a book and move on! CM even has a book now (I think) that is a bunch of little pockets. You just throw the pictures into the pockets and you are done.

[babybryte]

I've learned to keep it simple. My fave sb magazine is Simple Scrapbooks. I used to think all of my layouts had to look like the ones in Creating Keepsakes - with lots of doo-dads on them. But I'm like you, I'm behind, and keeping it simple still produces beautiful layouts.

Also, don't scrap every single picture you take. If one will tell the whole story of the event, then just scrap one. Then just file all of the others in a photo box.

HTH!

Jacquelyn

[tess in the burbs]

I scrapbooked until ds came along. I forced myself to get the first year in a book but then I put it all away. years later I pulled it out to force myself to get a year of dd's life in a book. But then I got in the groove.

I did two years worth each year. I did the current year and a past year. I did this for 2.5 years and am now caught up working only in the current year. I did all day crops when possible(maybe 6 a year) and several 3 hour crops as well. This year I am feeling behind as we get to June and I am not where I want to be, but I also haven't done any all day crops. I get a lot done in those!

But my pages are simple. Unless I get motivated the layout is simple. I do journal. i spend more time doing that than designing fancy layouts.

I also made the decision way back to not do each child an album a year. i think that is why so many people are behind ;-) Although digital scrapbooking could resolve that issue for those people, lol. Anyway, other than the first year books I made them, everything else is year by year of the entire family. And when I only have to make one album per year I get it done.

simple layouts. it doesn't have to be fancy. they will appreciate it being done and able to look at it.

[Pencil Pusher]

I also made the decision way back to not do each child an album a year.

:eek: People do that much???? Oh. my.

I thought of another suggestion, though. I do all my photo editing/printing, etc. at once (for a given length of time). Then I slide them into the page protectors so that later I can do one page at a time w/out further commitment.

When I do a page (or a few), I *usually* don't do any journaling. I do all the stuff that requires the supplies at once, then for the journaling, I can more easily take the book w/ me. I can also journal & copy it into the book later. I keep a box of cute things the dc have said (dated) to pull out & copy into books, too. All these things help me to not have to stop & think. Which saves time. ;)

[BizyPenguin]

I don't have any particular advice, but I'm looking to catch-up too and I think Stacy Julian's book Photo Freedom is going to help me tons!! I bought it last month and I'm planning to use the summer months to catch up. I highly recommend her book. Very inspiring!! All the best!

[nestof3]

I've seen really cute albums done in regular 2-up or 3-up albums. Some albums have little areas where journaling strips can be placed. 4x6 photos are inserted in the photo area and then papper and embellishments are put into the strip area.

[nestof3]

I've also become a much simpler scrapbooker.

Examples can be seen here:

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1277657

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1277027

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1259592

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1259581

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1258411

[Rhonda in TX]

I am also so far behind!! I was actually caught up about 4 years, but not much has been done since then. Here's my advice (not that I follow it! :lol:)

Only do a family album while you're so far behind. Right now, everything I do goes in the family album. When I am caught up (or close to it), I will go back and do albums for the kids. I would probably do a book for the new baby, but put everything else on hold.

Set up a regular time with friends to get together and scrapbook. I meet with a group once a month. It's actually a class setting, so we only do one 2-page layout each month, but it's better than nothing! If it wasn't a class, I could get a lot more done.

Like other have said, simplify! The layouts nestof3 posted are absolutely adorable, but I can tell they took her no time at all.

[Rhonda in TX]

I've also become a much simpler scrapbooker.

Examples can be seen here:

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1277657

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1277027

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1259592

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1259581

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1258411

I love these!

[MOCA]

I second the move to digital scrapbooking! It saves so much time as you don't have to store, haul out and put away supplies. You can do it during your child's piano lesson. You can also reuse pages quick as a wink by switching out pics and journaling. Journal in Word while waiting at a doctor's appt and copy into your layout later.

And, a prime benefit is making only a family album and printing one for each child or duplicating just certain pages for each child...no added time other than hitting print to make copies for each person!

Google "power scrapping" for more ideas.

HTH's.

[MOCA]

Also, you might find scrapping smaller pages digitally to go faster. They have digital supplies for 8.5x11, 8x8 and even 4x6. You can see examples in many places on digital scrapbooking sites, such as scrapgirls.com. Just FYI.

[Michelle in TX]

I've also become a much simpler scrapbooker.

Examples can be seen here:

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1277657

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1277027

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1259592

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1259581

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1258411

I too am trying to catch up on 4 years of scrapbooking plus a baby book. I've been working on 2004 and already have my pictures selected and going through and layering in paper/embellishments. I'm going away for a scrapbooking weekend at a friend's cabin in July and trying really hard to have everything ready to just put the pages together. My goal is to have the entire year done over this weekend. These simple pages are exactly what I'd like mine to look like. Thanks for sharing!

And I agree with what someone else said about getting together regularly with a scrapbook buddy/buddies. This helps me get some done and I prepare for the time by organizing pictures ahead of time or just spending the time with friends organizing and selecting pictures. I've also been spending an hour or more each Sunday afternoon working on my layouts. I am telling myself to keep this scrapbook and all others completely simple until I get caught up. I hope you have fun!

[MelissaD]

I've also become a much simpler scrapbooker.

Examples can be seen here:

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1277657

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1277027

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1259592

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1259581

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1258411


Those really are nice. Very balanced and pleasing to the eye.

[***Tish***]

I've seen really cute albums done in regular 2-up or 3-up albums. Some albums have little areas where journaling strips can be placed. 4x6 photos are inserted in the photo area and then papper and embellishments are put into the strip area.

I've started doing something like this. I'm using 3-ring binder albums with 8.5 x 11 pages. I use photo pages that have 2 or 3 up 4 x 6 photos inserted in them and using the strip areas for embellishment and journalling like you mentioned. I also do some 8.5 x 11 regular scrapbook type pages in page protectors. Usually as a 'title page' type for a larger group of pictures, but also can be a regular layout for an event with fewer pictures. I started this because we have so many great scenery pictures from trips that don't really lend themselves to traditional scrapbooking, imo. It's working out really well & I feel like I can keep up this way. Scrapbook the best photos & still keep the other good ones in the same place.

Tish