Tips: Words of Wisdom

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Michele's Thoughts on "Getting It Done"

Let Go of the Pressure

Random Excerpts from Cathy Zielske

Keep It All In Perspective

Michele's Thoughts on "Getting It Done"

I keep hearing over and over again that people are wondering how they will find time to scrapbook and get it done. I have a few random thoughts on this:

• I hope to never be "caught up" as that means I haven't been out making these beautiful memories! And that is way more important than recording them. Make it easy on yourself right now, and remove that pressure that you have to catch up. (Doesn't that feel good?!)
• Not every photo needs to be scrapbooked. When I look at my photos from an event, I choose the best ones that tell the story and that will help me record the moment. The rest of them I file away in a photo safe environment - either a pocket album or a photo storage box.
• Not every page needs to be a magazine worthy masterpiece. As I keep saying, the next generation is not going to care what technique we used or what company the products came from; they will care that we took the time to record the history of our lives to share with them. Think of what an incredible gift this is and how you would feel if your grandparents had left you a scrapbook of their lives. There are so many predone products, even predone albums, that make it very quick and easy to make lovely albums. As long as you are using safe products, there is no wrong way to scrapbook. Even just placing photos on a page with some journalling is scrapbooking and will be treasured.
• It is important to make the time. Schedule it in if you have to like a Dr. appointment, or grocery shopping. You can make it a regular get together with friends so it also fills a social part. Just make it a regular part of your routine.
• Get organized. This may be the best way to find time - if you have an organized space where items have a home, you are much more likely to go and sit for 10 or 15 min and get something done (and not spend the whole time looking for things.) It doesn't need to be a fancy and expensive organizing system, just something that works for you and your space so that you can easily find things. When you are done, put things back in their home. If the job seems overwhelming to start, just set aside 15min each night (set an alarm clock), to organize a section. Before you know it, you will be done.
• Scraplift - it is perfectly legal and encouraged to copy someone else's layout or idea. Often by the time you use your own products and photos, it looks totally different, but it eliminates that step of deciding what to do. (Please give credit if you are submitting the layout to a magazine or gallery.) There are many great books/magazines/galleries featuring great layouts to copy.
• Not everything needs to go into a chronological album. Sometimes it is great to do a little theme album about an event or a person. Or do a canvas or photo tile to hang on your walls. There are many ways to scrapbook besides chronologically. One of the best books to relieve that "pressure" we put on ourselves is"The Big Picture" by Stacey Julian. I think this is a must read for every scrapbooker.
• Have fun! If you get too stressed out that the colour isn't perfect, or the embellishment is not the right one, you lose the whole purpose of scrapbooking and it will become a chore instead of enjoyable.
• Create "kits" for yourself or purchase kits. Then all the co-ordinating work is done for you, which is a big time saver when you sit down to scrapbook. Check out my Getting It Done class, which will show you how to make "kits" and get the most out of your scrapbooking time.
• Classes and crops are a great opportunity to get it done and meet others with your passion.
  
  

Let Go of the Pressure

As scrapbookers/family historians, it is so important to remove that pressure that we have to be caught up, with the magazine perfect pages, all organized chronologically. This is way too stifling for the majority of us and not realistic. I scrapbook whatever photos I'm inspired to work on - not in any particular order. Sometimes I work on a specific album, sometimes I just do photos I like and want to record my memories and feelings about. And while some of my pages are magazine worthy, I certainly don't do this with every page as I don't have the luxury of that kind of time.

I love the simple clean look that really showcases my photos and journalling. And I am loving the predone pages and album kits that are in the store right now. They make it so easy to get the look without having to spend weeks and weeks accomplishing it. Remember, what we are doing is so important and we need to make the time to get it done while still having time to create more beautiful memories.

Let go of the pressure: the pressure to scrapbook chronologically, the pressure to be super creative with each page, and the pressure to scrapbook all of your photos. It is called "scrapbooking" when you scrapbook the most important photos of an event that tell the story and put the rest in a photo safe box or album. It is called "scrapbooking" when you use the photos that inspire you - whether they be from 10 years ago or yesterday...and to then work on photos from a totally different time period. It is called "scrapbooking" to put photos onto a page with journalling and very little embellishments. You don't have to create a Mona Lisa Masterpiece with each page you create. Your family and friends care more about your photos and your words than they do all the fancy papers and do-dads! It is called "scrapbooking" to just do a little theme album every once in a while. It is called "scrapbooking" to create a page of journalling even without a corresponding photo! Yes - this is perfectly legal! The only "rule" you need to worry about to scrapbook is to use safe, archival products so that all your work won't be ruined in a few years. Other than that, it is "all okay!" Your family and friends will treasure any information and photos that you decide to record, in whatever manner you decide to record them in.

Once you let go of the "pressure", you will find scrapbooking a very enjoyable part of your life. A few other ways to make the time to scrapbook are to make a standing date with a friend or even just yourself, whether it be once a week or once a month, and stick to this date. Mark it on your calendar like an appointment and stick to it! You can also get the most of your scrapbooking time by creating "kits" for your photos ahead of time so that when you do find some time, you can jump right into scrapbooking instead of spending hours deciding what photos to do and what papers to use. If you are unsure of how to do this, come in and ask us to show you how and sign up for the "Getting It Done" class. Use "sketches" whenever possible to give you a starting place for a page - it is perfectly legal and encouraged, to find a layout you like and "scraplift" (copy) it. Often, by the time you are done with your own photos and products, it looks totally different, but it can give you that starting point you need so you don't spend hours agonizing over what to do on that page.

To save time, it is also great to try and organize your supplies and photos, but please don't wait for this to happen for you to scrapbook - you may never scrapbook! You can also take advantage of the products available that will help you get the "look" without taking hours and hours to do a page. All of us at Photo Express have very busy lives, so we hunt out these products for you and ourselves to use so that you can have time to go out and make the memories that are so important. This way, you can record all the memories you want and still have lots of time to enjoy your life and family and make more wonderful memories.

Your photos and memories are one of the most important pieces of your life - make the time to preserve them. Make it a priority.

Random Excerpts from Cathy Zielske

Quoted from "Clean and Simple: The Sequel", by Cathy Zielske:

"...realizing that at its core, this hobby is very simple. Take a photo. Tell a story. Save a memory."

Well said Cathy. You rock!

Keep It All In Perspective

It is so easy to get caught up in the magazines and the latest trends, products and techniques in the scrapbooking world. This causes many of us to forget what scrapbooking is truly about - capturing the memories and preserving them for this and future generations to enjoy.

Scrapbooking is taking the special moments and everyday moments that make up our lives, both good and bad, exciting and ordinary, and putting these stories to paper for others to see and enjoy. It is not about creating 100 albums of your life in chronlogical order with every product and technique included. It is about taking the essence of you and those around you and creating something tangible for others to know all about you and your world. You are important, and though you may never solve world issues, your story is very important and needs to be told. That is what scrapbooking is all about.

I highly recommend reading Stacy Julian's book, "The Big Picture." It will help relieve you of all your stress about keeping up and making it magazine worthy. Neither is important and Stacy has a great way of showing you how to do what is important.