Preparation is Key

Ever worked with kids at your side? Gives you a feeling of what ADD is like, doesn't it? Each given moment someone needs your attention/patience/mediation skills/advise. Not that I would like my kids to seek advise elsewhere, I just would like some time to myself every so often, so I can play in MY sand box or, rather, scrap box.

So I came up with the following system:

1. I need full attention for the initial scrapbook design. I design when I'm alone (school day mornings) or at night.
2. When I'm happy with the theme, idea, color, size and everything else that will concoct the final look/design of the scrapbook album, I write it down in details. Writing the scrapbook design plan down is essential because it keeps me on track when I get distracted. I write sizes, keep color swatches, ribbon bits etc. The goal is to eliminate complicated thinking processes from now on as much as possible.
3. Now it's time to cut scraps to size and place them neatly on the space I cleared on my ever-so-crowded scrapbook table.
4. When everything is cut and counted, I'm ready to paste and place. I try to do this only when a short interval of uninterrupted focused time is at hand. A few mistakes with the glue have proven this to be a mindful task, commanding its respect.
5. Scrapbook embellishments come next and if you have the design all laid out before you (or sketched) and the embellishments ready at your side, it's a breeze.
6. Congrats! - you have just finished a scrapbook layout/mini scrapbook album while watching your family grow! You are now a mighty multi tasker:)

5 steps to creating the right scrapbook layout for you.

1. Choose photos. Not every photo you took has to wind up in an album. You may choose to place photos in your album by theme (holidays, the great outdoors, vacations we took); timeline (infancy, early childhood, grade school, middle and high school, higher ed., professional life); milestones in one’s life (birth, growing up, achievements, family); repeating subject (Christmas throughout the years, our Hanukkah traditions), etc.

You may choose photos by viewing them on your desktop and printing only the ones you like (less expensive), or you can print out a 'contact sheet' to better see which photos are the ones you want. That way, you can cut out photos and play with the actual images on your table, matching them with various papers and embellishments.

2. Tell/show a story. Treat your album as if it was your personal magazine or book. What would you like to know about? What would be tedious and should be left out? What’s important to the story?

In this example, I knew already I had many photos I wanted to use to tell my story and wanted to keep it at one layout of 12x12", so I printed all my photos out at 2x3" sizes (wallet size).

Here I chose 8 photos that tell my story. There are still too many of them and I know already they won't fit into my layout, so I ordered them in the order of the story to look for duplicates or unnecessary photos. Those will eventually come out and I'll be left with only the most important photos, the ones that 'move the plot'.

3. The layout should upstage your photo. It should help your photo stand out, be the center of attention. If there’s too much glitz and glory

around, the eye gets tired and wonders off the page.

On the left are the photos paired with the various materials I'll use the make the final layout. I chose 'earthy', natural papers as the scene is our visit to the farm.

4. Use color to emphasize your photo. Use the color of attention in the photo - in your layout. Or, if the layout is very colorful, consider presenting the photo in black and white or sepia tones. In this case I used red for background as my daughter is weaing, and dark green to match my son's coat.

5. Use shape to focus. By repeating the same shape or angle in your photo, you will help viewers focus on the goings-on of the photo.

Here the bars of the cow's habitat are repeat in the corrugated cardboard to the left, the hey shapes are repeated on the background paper on the right and the roundness of the cow, plus the cow's eyes are repeated with the bicycle wheels and the matting patterned paper of the cow's photo, as well as the 'farming' title to the right.

Materials credits: Background cardstock 'birthday' by MME; dotted cardstock princess by MME; Glitter cardstock by DCWV; Sticker letters by Memories Complete;Font: Calibri.