The Super-Secret Guide to Faster Scrapbooking

The Super-Secret Guide
to Faster Scrapbooking
©True Scrap LLC
The Super-Secret Guide
to Faster Scrapbooking
I
by Lain Ehmann
may not be the best photographer or technical
designer in the world, but if there’s one
thing I know, it’s FAST SCRAPPING!
Maybe it’s because I have three kids. Maybe it’s because I have a short attention span.
Maybe it’s just because I was naturally gifted (haha!). Whatever the reason, I can crank out
halfway decent (and sometimes really decent)
layouts in the time it takes others to blowdry their hair (did
I mention I am not much with hair tools or accessories? No
matter…).
In this short report, I’ll pull together some of my favorite tips for scrapbooking fast. I’ll include some background homework for you, as well as fifteen
ways to speed up your scrapbooking. Then I’ll present 43 scrapbooking
tasks you can complete in 15 minutes or less.
In a separate file, I’ve included fifteen of my favorite fast
scrapbooking layouts, ones you can complete in less than 30
minutes (or even faster, if you’ve taken some of my advice here!).
Read on… and get scrapping!
Lain Ehmann
lain@layoutaday.com
www.layoutaday.com
©True Scrap LLC
I
f you have unlimited time and can
spend all day attaching sequins to your
scrapbooking pages by hand, more
power to you! But for most of us – those
with kids, families, jobs, and laundry – we
face a few time constraints.
There are times when I’m enjoying the
process of creating so much that I don’t
care if I get one layout or ten done in an
afternoon. But most of the time? Well,
most of the time I have to worry about my
scrapbooking productivity. I have piles of photos to get in albums, piles of
stories to tell, and piles of laundry just waiting for me (laundry certainly
seems to be a theme here!).
That’s when I look for ways to speed up my scrapbooking. Not because I hate
scrapbooking – I adore it! But because I have so many stories to tell and so
many pages to create that I have to get cracking.
You may be in a similar situation, or maybe you face even more time
constraints than I do! That’s why I suggest you start with your scrpabooking
“why.”
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B
efore you embark on your own “fast scrapping” endeavor, it helps
to figure out why exactly you want to speed up the process. Do you
have 5 kids and you want to make an album for each? Do you hate
scrapbooking (gasp!) and want to get it over with as soon as
possible? Do you judge your “success” as a scrapbooker by how many pages
you complete and how “caught up” you are? Or are you taking part in something crazy like Layout a Day (LOAD) and you need to get the pages done so
you can win fabulous prizes?
All are legitimate reasons, but if you really hate scrapbooking, I suggest
you find another hobby (one that isn’t quite so time-consuming and product-heavy).
If you are putting pressure on yourself to “produce,” I suggest you take a
deep breath and try to enjoy the whole thing more. Life’s short – you’re NEVER going to get all your pictures scrapped, so why set yourself up for failure?
If you’re doing something crazy like LOAD, all I can say is … more power to
you!☺
©True Scrap LLC
N
ow, on to the good stuff. I have fifteen specific suggestions for
speeding your scrapping process. Some may apply to you, and others
may not. But as they say in AA, “Take the best, leave the rest.” (Not
that I know from personal experience, but I read a lot of recovery
from addiction memoirs because they make me feel better about my life). So
here they are, in no particular order:
Keep an idea file. I am not talking about an inspiration board
where you put snips and snatches of colors and prints that make
your heart race, or photos of your loved ones. Those are great and
fun and inspiring, but they’re not necessarily going to help you
scrapbook faster. What I’m talking about is a place to compile:
1
• All the scrapbook layouts you see online or in magazines that make
you stop dead in your tracks and say, “I wish I’d done that!”
• Journaling prompts (questions to ask
yourself and your family, quizzes, etc.)
• Stories you want to tell (the story of how you chose your college,
where you met your mate, etc.)
• Ideas for layouts (weekly trip to the farmer’s market, bedtime routine,
etc.)
• Photos to take (it can be really frustrating to sit down to scrapbook
and you don’t have the photos you want!)
How you keep this file is less important than actually KEEPING it – and us-
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ing it. I have binders full of pages I’ve pulled from scrapbook magazines and
Internet Explorer bookmarks of favorite online gallery layouts. I have a daily
to-do notebook where I jot ideas for layouts, and I have an annual Log Your
Memory logbook that I try to write in every evening to capture those fly-by
daily events. When I sit down to scrapbook and don’t know where to start, I
turn to one of these sources and flip around until I see something that grabs
my eye. A lot of times, starting is the hardest part!
Limit yourself. Greater options do not always mean greater creativity. In fact, a surplus (of ideas, supplies, photos, whatever) can
make you freeze in your tracks like a deer caught in the headlights
of an oncoming Mack truck. By consciously narrowing down your
choices, you can make yourself MORE creative, save time (because you only
have to consider two or three options instead of one hundred or more), and
have more fun (you won’t worry about choosing the “perfect” ribbon or brad
because you only have a few to select from).
2
Limiting yourself helps you forget about perfection altogether. It moves the
focus from picking the “right” option to picking a “good enough” option. And
may I remind you, good enough is GOOD ENOUGH!
Know thyself. The more you know about your own scrapping
style and preferences, the easier it will be for you to wade through
the overwhelm of ideas, products, and designs to create something you love quickly and painlessly. The next time you scrapbook,
take note of:
3
• The products you turn to over and over again (for me, it’s brads, Stickles, scallops, dimensional foam adhesive, polka dots, and bright colors
on neutral backgrounds. I use other things, of course, but these are my
go-to products).
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• The topics you enjoy scrapbooking most. If you always scrapbook
kid stories and have trouble with heritage pages, don’t sit down to
explore your family history when you’re pressed for time. Do what
comes naturally!
• Your style of scrapbooking. Clean and simple? Fluffy and foofy? Shabby chic, retro cool, pared down and linear? Figure out what your style
tends towards, and that will help you filter the products and designs
floating around in your head (don’t know what your style is? Ask a
scrapper-friend to look through your layouts and give you feedback.
• Your process. Do you ALWAYS start with a photo? Do you leave the
journaling for last? Do you need a complete sketch in front of you
before you start? These are all characteristics that will help you scrap
faster, if you recognize and respect them upfront (Note: There is no
one “right” way to scrapbook. Whatever way works for you, and that
you enjoy, is “right.” How do I know? Because I’m brilliant like that).
• Your hold-ups. What slows you down? Product selection? Hunting for
a photo to match your page idea? Figuring out what to write on your
page? Titles? Figuring out where you get bogged down will help you
devise strategies for speeding up the process and addressing your
roadblocks.
Know Your Goal. Do you want to create a specific album, make
a dent in your backlog of photos, or just spend less time on each
page you do? Figure out your goal beforehand, so you can focus
your efforts accordingly. If you are trying to speed up your entire
scrapbooking process, you’re going to take different steps than if you’re
just trying to get a baby album finished before the baby arrives.
4
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Knowing your goals will also help keep distractions to a minimum. If you’re
working on that baby album, you won’t start leafing through your most recent
pile of photos from the developer’s (unless they’re of the baby, of course!).
Break it down. Tiny steps, baby steps, chunking – whatever you
want to call it, it works! Not only does breaking activities down
make them seem less daunting, it also helps you be more efficient
and productive because you can leverage small segments of time.
Create an ongoing list of tasks that can be completed in 15 minutes or less
(see below!).
5
Have a dedicated spot/time to scrap. This tip may be more
fantasy than reality for some of you (anyone else got Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody going through their head right now? “Is this the
real life… or just a fantasy…”). But if you can have a place for your
stuff – particularly a place where you can leave things out undisturbed – and
a regular time that is “yours,” you’re more likely to use it, and to get going
quickly when you sit down to work.
If you don’t have a “scrap room” (and let me tell you, I didn’t have one for
years – then I had a scrap “closet,” and now I have a joint office/craft space),
at least have a tray or Rubbermaid box where you can put layouts in progress
and store them away from prying hands.
If I’m scrapping in the family room while everyone else is watching Rockford
Files on TV (don’t ask – my husband and son are addicted and are watching
the entire series on DVD), I’ll pull together just the items I need and place
them and my tools in one of those plastic clamshell containers. Then I just
whisk it all together and store it away when it’s time to do something else.
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Use a timer. A timer is now
one of my favorite scrapbooking tools. I set it for 30 minutes
and put it right in front of me
while I’m scrapping. When it “dings,” I’m
done.
I find that using a timer reminds me to
keep moving. Sometimes I break it down
even further: I’ll give myself five minutes
to pull all my supplies together, five minutes to select photos, seven minutes to
write my journaling, etc. Not only does it
make me scrapbook faster, it also helps
me pinpoint where my delays are (Do I have trouble putting my hands on
photos? Then maybe I need to re-work my filing system. Do I get stuck on
design? Next time I’ll try a sketch or blueprint).
Don’t scrap when you don’t feel like it. When you’re just not
feeling the scrapping love, take a break! There’s no sense in forcing
yourself to do something that should be fun and enjoyable. If it’s
not fun, step away from the scrapbooking table!
Nothing can make you feel less enthused about your scrapbooking than
tethering yourself to the scrapbook table when your creative well has run dry.
Go take a walk, take a shower, take a break. The photos will be there when
you return. (Sometimes I force myself to take self-imposed scrapbooking
breaks. I can’t come back to the table until I have that itchy feeling in my fingers that tells me I have just GOT to scrapbook, NOW! That ensures I’ve got
good scrapping mojo to start me out. Sometimes it’s a photo that sets me off,
or a story, or a color combination. But I wait for that feeling before I start.)
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Put found time to good use. It’s funny: When people ask me
how often I scrapbook, I never know what to answer! I actually sit
down at my scrapbooking table to start gluing items onto a page
only once or twice a week, for an hour or so at a time. But I feel
like I’m scrapbooking much more frequently. Why? Because I take advantage
of small moments during my day to start the process.
That way, when I actually sit down to scrapbook, I’ve already made a lot of
the decisions about my page, like what I want to scrapbook about, what the
title and journaling will focus on, and more.
Journal in the pick-up lane at carpool. Make a list of must-take photos while
at play rehearsal. Interview your kids during commercial breaks. And see the
attached list of 43 things you can do in 15 minutes or less for more ideas!
Scrapbook a LOT. Who do you
think is able to whip dinner together more quickly, someone who
works as a short-order cook in a
diner, or someone who only ventures into the
kitchen once or twice a month?
The same is true of scrapbooking – and, really, anything. The more you do it, the faster
you’ll become. (Note: You may even want to
take part in something like my Layout a Day
(LOAD) challenge, which is held several times a year. While scrapbooking
more quickly isn’t the goal of the challenge, it is definitely a by-product!
Nearly everyone who participates tells me they’ve cut their scrapbooking time
down significantly. For more information, go to Layoutaday.com and click on
the “LOAD Challenge” link at the top of the page.)
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Don’t reinvent the wheel. If you find a design you like, use it
over and over again instead of trying to come up with a new page
layout each time you sit down to scrapbook. When you change up
the colors, photos, and other products, no one will ever notice that
you’ve recycled your own work. (Note: For hints on some simple, reusable
designs, see the enclosed 15 Fast Scrapbooking Layouts.)
Use your favorites.
Often, scrapbookers
save “the good stuff,”
holding on to it for
some unforseeable time in the
future. Instead, buy stuff you
love, and use stuff you love! And
if you don’t love it, get rid of it.
Donate it to your kids’ school or
a homeless shelter. But don’t let
it clutter up your scrap space.
If stuff you don’t love is just sitting there, it’s taking up psychic and physical
space. And that slows you down. On the other hand, if you love everything
you see, you can grab ANYTHING and it works, just like having a closet full
of clothes you adore and look great on you.
Find outside inspiration. Whether it’s from a magazine, a blog, or
a book, look for a jumpstart from an external source. For challenge
books, I love Elsie Flannigan’s 52 Scrapbook Challenges, as well as
Lisa Bearnson’s 50 Moments that Matter Most. Most recently, I’ve
fallen in love with Elizabeth Kartchner’s 52 More Scrapbook Challenges.
There are also tons of online challenges – something for everyone! Goo©True Scrap LLC
gle “Scrapbook challenge” and you’ll find everything from challenges to use
specific products, to journaling prompt challenges. And most of it is free!
Go with your gut. Once you make a decision on a particular
photo, element, or color, take it live! Sometimes I even give myself limits, like choosing only things from a certain manufacturer,
or a certain shelf of my storage area. That way, I further limit the
amount of information (and choices) available to me. I also play games like
once I touch it, I have to use it. That sure makes things fun!
Just get started! If all else fails, pick a photo and GO. Sometimes
once you’re actually committed to something, the page starts to
flow. Remind yourself that it’s just paper. If you hate the result, you
can always rework it or (gasp!) throw it away! Or you might just
want to do what I do – hold onto it so you have a reminder of what NOT to
do next time around.
©True Scrap LLC
I
hope some of these tips have been
helpful. I hope you’re inspired
to scrapbook. But most of all, I
hope I’ve suggested some ways
to keep scrapbooking fun! Getting
40 “so-so” pages done in a weekend
doesn’t mean anything if you didn’t
enjoy yourself or like the pages you’ve
completed. The most fulfilling experiences – in scrapbooking and in life –
come when you enjoy the process and
feel like you’ve created something of
value.
If you have any questions or comments on any of this material, please feel
free to contact me any time (except really, really late at night or when I’m
watching CSI)!
Lain Ehmann
Web site: www.layoutaday.com
Twitter: lainehmann
Email: lain@layoutaday.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/layoutaday
P.S. If you want to learn even more of my fast scrapbooking tips, check out my video
class, Scrap Like the Wind!” Because you’ve purchased this Super-Secret Guide, you’re
entitled to an exclusive discount. Use coupon code SPEEDY to save $5 now!”
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