So I'm finally done with all of the shopping and trying to get organized for next weekend (Nicole and I are going to girl scout camp), and I'm finally back in the craft room thinking I'm going to do a layout. But I just drew a total blank. How do I start?
I could start with one of the camp challenges, and go from there. But even that had me at a road block. So I'm taking a poll - and I'm sure it's different all the time, but I'm wondering what you do most often. How do you start a layout? Do you start with photos and pull paper and embellishments? Do you have a kit that you look for photos to match? Do you start with some embellishments you're determined to get rid of and build off of that?
I think I have so many pictures and so much fresh stash in the last month, that I'm overwhelmed. I'm just curious what everyone else does when they're overwhelmed. And, it's been a little dead here lately, so I'm also trying to get some discussion going.
If I've printed off and sorted a fresh batch of photos I'm usually wanting to scrap particular ones first, so I go with that. If I'm not 'feeling the love' for anything in the stack then I look at the sorted piles to see if there's a theme (like a holiday or event) of any sort that I know I have some stash for. Asside from that.... well.... good luck!
No. 28 in the Order of PAO Chief Bearer of the Torch and Admin
For tonight, I decided to pick three photos out of about 500 from our last cruise. I bought a scrapbook on the cruise ship, and intend to do an entire album. But for tonight, I settled on a kit layout from Scrapbook Generation that will go in my annual album, just as a placeholder.
Not sure what I'll do next. I've got lots of layout kits paired with the photos I intend to use them for, but I feel like doing a camp challenge. What to do, what to do....
I think I usually start with photos too, but just now (like, minutes ago), I found a sheet of stickers that were all about "Worlds Greatest Dad". Not really sure what I had in mind when I bought them, but I decided that there was one photo I took at the Blue & Gold banquet that would be great with some of those stickers, so I had to go hunt down those photos.
Now I'm just trying to figure out how to adapt that layout to one of the camp challenges.
For me, it's usually a sketch that catches my attention. Lately, I've avoided two page layouts and for some reason, that works better for me. Sometimes I see someone else's page I want to recreate using my supplies. If not the sketch, then it's the photos. Its not a process I'm aware of at all, I suppose. Like choosing papers/colors - I sort through my stash for one patterned paper and then add from there. Its pretty scary what happens in this brain of mine!
I have been going with the photos lately. I have so very many (a lot of really old ones) I just have been picking a package and trying to get them finished. This is new to me I had been doing ALSB so long, still do it some but really tend to change them up and mix up papers a little more.
This is all very interesting. I think I usually start with the photos, but I think when there are challenges going on, I tend to change my approach. I think my next approach is going to be to build a kit (per the challenge) and then find the photos to go with the kit. Whatever the next thing is, I need to start with the stash. Lord but my stuff is out of control - I need to focus on using it up.
I usually start with the photos...I like to record ideas I want to use in a notebook so I'll often turn to that. Recently I've been heading over to Page Maps.
I usually start with the photos, too. I never have a lot of photos to choose from anymore. I jump around from one event or theme to another unless I am getting near the end of an album and really push to get it finished like that France album.
But sometimes I see a sketch or a technique that I can't wait to try so I'll go look for a photo that suits it. Often those are really the layouts that are the most fun to do and that I like the best.
Jenni - I wish I could be as organized as you! Once upon a time, I used to make notes about layouts I wanted to do or ideas I wanted to try. But now, if I can even get myself down to the craft room, I usually go for whatever I think will be the quickest hit in the pile.
I probably need to just slow down a little, and allow myself to stew over a stack of photos for a while. Give myself a goal of "just one layout" when I get into the room, and allow for time to have fun with just a few photos.
Marianne - I don't take NEARLY as many photos as I used to. Recently, a fair number of my layouts have been done comprised of pictures from my cell phone. If it weren't for my phone, I'd pretty much be down to scrapping vacation albums also. And I'm finding that those ones from my phone are sometimes easier to deal with, because there are only ever one or two photos to work from.
Thanks for sharing your opinions ladies. It's been a while since we've had a general "how do you do what you do" kind of discussion, and I know our approaches and styles change over the years. I find it very interesting to learn how we all approach this. I remember learning the Creative Memories way of doing this all those years ago, and it was so much more simple. Mat some photos with plain colored paper, plop them down with some corners, or a border, and some stickers, and that was it. And now there's so much out there to choose from, one can't help but get overwhelmed sometimes.
