...I'm cooking MC's like a pound of bacon!
You know you’re going to miss those wicked rhymes LOL
Now I can’t believe that my week here on the blog is about to come to an end. It’s been fun co-hosting with Vanilla Ice this week and looking at ways to tackle fairly common problems we all experience as scrapbookers.
Hopefully I have shown you plenty of examples of how to tackle things in different ways, as time and enthusiasm permits. Still, it’s not just about the end result. It’s the “getting to” that often poses the problem.
Today I will be looking at the systems I have set up that support my crafty endeavours; systems that make things a little bit easier to get in and get some scrapbooking done whilst still living that crazy busy life we all seem to have!
Now these are the things that work for me:
Be Organised:
Oh yeah, sounds so obvious. That’s all good for you over achieving type A’s who would rather clean and sort than sleep I hear you muttering LOL (ok, I will admit there is a teeny tiny kernel of truth in that statement) but I really do see being organised as the solution to time poor scrapping (actually, time poor anything).
Yes, I know it sounds as much fun as having your taxes audited, but the time you spend getting things ship shape will be paid back to you many times over in productive scrapbooking hours.
Keeping
and working with the supplies you love makes things so much simpler. You know
the statement…can’t see the forest for the trees, well it applies to your
scrapbooking stash as well. There is nothing like a good sort and purge to get
my creative juices flowing!!
When everything is sorted, labelled and accessible it makes it so much easier to grab a few supplies and get working. My clear containers allow me to locate an item, use it and then put it back easily.
It also means that if you have a big mess, it can be packed up quickly. As I don’t have a dedicated scrap space I do have to pack up after I scrap and if I can make that as painless as possible, I am more likely to get the supplies out in the first place. I can also take these containers with me when I go to scrapbook away from home.
If you need any help with getting organised, you should take a look at our Spring Cleaning Week for lots of good ideas from the wcs team.
Without
a doubt the thing that saved my sanity when it came to my albums was adopting
Stacey Julian’s Library of Memories approach. This was my “aha” moment because
I could not sustain chronological scrapbooking (I'm all about the new set of photos in my hand!!).
By setting up four 12” x 12” albums (people we love, all about us, places we go, and things we do) I was free to do as I liked, when I liked! It doesn’t matter what I choose to scrap, there is a place to put it. I also put all size layouts into these folders – 8.5” x 11”, 8” x 8”and of course 12” x 12”. Brilliant. Easy. Love it more than chocolate…ok, maybe not that much.
Now
these are not my only albums. These albums may be the backbone of my system,
but there are other formats that I use to make life easier.
I have set up a series of albums for my 2 sons Oscar & Byron. They
have an album (or two), which is just about them. They have school albums for
Primary and High School. Byron also has a Preschool / Daycare album. I set the
albums up exactly the same (keep it simple) and then just add each year.
Byron's Daycare album was the first album I ever completed and it works in fine with his other albums.
The
mini book should have a place in the scrapbooking hall of fame. They are just so
do-able and time friendly. I have lots of mini’s and I plan to make many more.
These are some of the albums that I have been showing you this week.
Subject
albums are like the ones we have looked at this week, dedicated to a topic such
as a holiday. Once they are done
you can move on or they can be open ended, where you add to them when you want.
Back to Basics: Find a place to work, whether is's a dedicated space (lucky you) or a place you can call yours till dinner is ready!!
Cardstock,
patterned papers and your favourite embellishments should be in an easy to get
to place. If you have to go hunting, you know you will probably talk yourself
out of it! Have
a set of tools ready to go. I have a bag that contains the basics and it also
holds my ruler and cutter. If I need to bring in the heavy artillery –
crop-o-dile, zyron etc - I can go to my cupboard and retrieve the items.
Let’s
face it, our photos are the jumping off point for most of our ideas so having
them available makes sense. Sort, purge, print and file your photos so you have
things ready to go when you need them. Make use of Special Scrapping Time:
I
usually get to about 2 scrapbook weekends away a year. I love these getaways
and catching up with friends, checking out people’s work and eating great food.
In fact, if I am not careful I could spend the three days talking and eating
chocolate!! When
I do have dedicated scrapbooking time I plan before I go, so I can maximise
what I get done (and still leave plenty of time for talking and eating
chocolate). I
have been known to bring my computer, my printer, and my own office chair (sitting
for 3 days can do you in without a little comfort LOL). I pick a project and
gather all the things I need so that I can hit the ground running, or scrapping
as the case may be.
I
usually come home with my project completed or very close; happy that I
achieved so much and tired from laughing, eating and little sleep. Have Fun:
I
can’t stress this one enough. If you are not having fun then you have to wonder
why you are doing it. I love to get my supplies out and work on a project. I
love the people I have met through this great hobby. I
love that when I’m not feeling the love so much I can take a break, re-energise
and then when the enthusiasm strikes, dive straight back in. So
how are those problems looking now? Do
ya think we have solved them? Or given you some new ideas to get moving on the
solving? Word
to your mother…it’s been a great week and thanks for all the great comments and feedback. Now I have to stop pretending to be a
90’s rapper and I think I’m going to miss it!! If
there was a problem yo I'll solve it Check
out the hook while Jody revolves it. Ice,
ice baby…
The spine labels are clips that slid on and inserts so you can write on them. They are from a company called "Smiggle" and I use them all the time. With my "big" album I used one sideways on the cover. Very versatile.
