Monday, September 26, 2011

How I Scrapbook

Recently I was asked if there was a description somewhere on my blog of my “method” of scrapbooking. In case it would be of help to someone, here is a brief and general description of how I scrapbook.

First of all, although I do some digital pages just for fun, for my “real” scrapbooks, my method is traditional/paper. I scrapbook chronologically, rather than topically. I take pictures of most everything that happens in our lives, and I scrapbook most pictures. I complete 2-3 albums, 12x12, each year. So far, I have almost exclusively used Creative Memories albums. (I do topical albums for vacations/trips, and usually use K&Company post albums for those.) I started scrapbooking in 2004 and have about 30 albums, stored on several shelves such as this one:

Some of my albums

I have a hobby room with lots of supplies, laptop, printer, Cricut Expression and Cricut Imagine. I have a table to sit and work on embellishments (inking, stamping, for example), and another table where I stack some things in process. But I stand to scrapbook. My husband made a raised box that brings my work area up closer for me, for comfort for my neck and shoulders. This is my main scrapbooking station:

Where I stand and scrap

This is my process: When I have a group of photos (I order from Snapfish), I organize them by “event” and try to keep each event to 5-8 photos (for a two-page layout). I label each group of two-page layouts with the date. Each of these “stacks” represents a two-page layout.

01 Organize the photos by 2-pg layout

For a layout, I spread out the photos on my work mat.

02 Lay out the photos

Next, I think about the colors I want to use for the layout. I tend to let the colors of the photos, and the “mood” of the “event” determine what background paper (actually cardstock) I will use. Foundational to my scrapbooking style is the use of color. So, I look through my Die Cuts with a View card stacks. Some of them are here:

Cardstock Packs

I pull one or more stacks and/or a few sheets from the stacks to play with, laying out the photos to see how they look on the different backgrounds.

03 General papers that might work 

04 Several possible paper combinations

I narrow down the paper/cardstock selection until I’m down to a couple of sheets per page.

 06 use these

Then I play around with placement and paper use. I work some with simple embellishments (Cricut die cuts, etc.). For me, the pictures really are the main thing, followed by journaling. So there is not a lot of room for elaborate embellishments.

07 possible layout

I mat some of the photos (using white cardstock in this one), add some buttons with baker’s twine, ribbon, etc.

08 final layout

I usually use the Cricut for the letters of the title, but occasionally I revert to my old method of self-stick alphas.

This layout came together quickly. Sometimes I do more elaborate layouts and spend much more time. I was putting together an album on our Florida trip and had about 80 photos to scrap, so I wanted direct and simple, with focus on the pictures and journaling.

It’s difficult to give a brief description , but this is a general overall picture of how I scrapbook. If you have questions, email scrappermamo@gmail.com.

2 comments:

JenE said...

Love your description of creating a LO! Very easy to follow or utilize for a beginner. I've been scrapping for 4 years and this is pretty much how I determine which paper and cardstock to use for my LOs too! TFS your thoughts and methods :)

Terri Christie said...

Barbara, I just have to say that I have looked at a lot of your blog today and I LOVE the whole thing! This scrapbooking description is awesome, you have a beautiful house, and it looks like you have a wonderful relationship with the Lord! My goal right now is to be more like you :) I want to be more active with blogging/journaling and scrapping, and spending time with God.
You are AWESOME!