Craft With May

Once upon a time I’d just pick a photo at random, sit with it and think about what I wanted to do design wise, and work a scrapbook page up featuring it. Then one day I realized I had a very random stack of stories and images that really don’t tell a cohesive tale, nor did they particularly work together within an album. I mean, they went ok… but it was very obvious that different trends and timelines were at play and it was a bit jarring. What is my point? My refusal to have any kind of system or boundaries actually ended up with me creating a lot of projects that I didn’t want, didn’t like, and some of which I ended up redoing.

A good use of time? NOPE! This is where work flow and strategy come in – and I am a believer that you can thrive with a very large to very small amount of organization and planning in your scrapbook, but that some amount at some point is definitely key. In this article I will touch on a few different approaches I’ve taken that I liked as well as some tips.

1: TBS stands for to be scrapbooked, and this was a huge game changer and the one constant you’ll always find in my studio now. At the most basic level, have a single box (or many, if you’re feeling wild!) of photos divided by topic that you’d like to scrapbook. This gives you the bare bones framework of “here are stories I want to tell” while not telling you an order, which goes where, color, or any other restrictions. Quite simply you are setting up “start here” point. The benefits are easier to grab and go, as well as much easier to NOT accidentally tell the same story twice. If a story is told, it’s not in the box anymore. Any excess photos you didn’t scrapbook go into “photo storage”. Sound simple? It is absolutely the simplest form of photo storage I’ve found, and one that really keeps me knowing where my “to tell” stories are. I’ve been trying to get more specific, have specific vacations or years within their own boxes/bins and that helps me even more.

2: Keeping up the album. Where do your scrapbook pages go when done? It might sound obvious – but into the album! For a long time I made stacks of pages, and what ended up happening was me forgetting what I had, me not saving space for pages, and basically just a big ‘ol mess. The other added benefit to this is you can visually see the progress of the scrapbook project, which makes it all the more encouraging to keep at it!

3. Keeping sketches, plans, mood boards, etc. To be honest I don’t often get this deep, but you could in theory mark out every page and what story will be told (within an album), sketch designs and plot in depth every page, have a color scheme for album continuity, etc… however this can at times become all you would do, leaving no time for actual creating. I believe strongly in this (it’ll get a future article!) within reason and for certain occasions. For example, right now I have my Europe 2018 album labeled with which pages go where because there are 2 full albums with about 10 spots left and knowing where I scheduled space for the few remaining pages really helps me know what is left and where to put it.

That’s organized… now what?

Work flow and batch processing is something I am working really hard on for myself to “work smarter, not harder” as they say. With specific application to scrapbooking what I say is, use the time you have and make the most of what you’ve got. For example:

1. I was up early and so I loaded photos from my phone onto the computer and ordered prints on Saturday morning before I left for the day. Monday at noon they’d already been delivered, all because I took 30 minutes and used it in a way that suited my energy level and location.
2. Today I felt really disorganized and not really sure what to pick, so instead I tidied up my supplies with my scrapbook time.
3. I didn’t have enough time to finish a full page. Does that mean do nothing? Nope! I selected photos, thought about the story, and gathered some supplies. The next day when I had a few minutes I worked on the placement and journaling. Day 3? Embellishing. The point here being that 3 days of “no time” to scrapbook and I actually finished a page!

These are just a few examples from my life over the last seven days. As you can see – there are a lot of ways you can group your work together in order to make sense of it as well as get the most from your time and supplies. Sometimes time and other times mood dictates what I do with my available craft time – the key is making sure I did something when I can as that really adds up.

When it comes to the flow of my crafting I do not tend to start many projects for example – journal on 10 cards, then attach those cards, etc… unless I am working in a format such as pocket page where that makes sense and advances my progress vs just starting lots of seemingly random projects. There is however one way I start almost every scrapbook page.

I take out the photos and place them over a sheet (or two) of 12×12 kraft color cardstock (or whatever size format I’m working on) and I think about the story, the photos I want to use, and possible ways that will fit together on a page.

This is how I begin every page because it allows me to imagine within the size confines what might and might not work. Eliminate potential designs. See what ideas pop into my head. Then once I have a good vision I grab whatever I choose to work with and run!

I hope you’re enjoying this series – do stay tuned and watch later this week as I share a page “let the colors run the show” – that I’m super happy with!

The end of the school year is upon us, and it’s time for some thank you cards once again! I opted to hand write notes myself to the teachers because my middle school kiddos WILL deliver a small card (with gift card) vs flashier gift without embarrassment or feeling self conscious. What’s a mom to do? Why I got out my ScanNCut DX and got to work! The usual disclaimer here- I am a paid consultant for Brother, though all ideas and opinions are my own. This is a machine I love using and sharing ideas with you!

I ended up deciding on a heart covered in washi tape, some vinyl stickers for the sentiment, and a few buttons and do-dads to finish up the fun. You can watch my YouTube video here.

I love creating layered shapes like this with my ScanNCutDX! One tip I have when die cutting shapes is to make sure they’re very well adhered. This is what makes washi tape so ideal for this kind of a project because it is tape and so none of the edges should lift or cause issue when cut. If you are working with paper or other such material I recommend using all over adhesive vs a few spots to make sure you are well covered.

This kind of idea works so far beyond thank you cards as well! You can create scrapbook embellishments, ornaments, banners, and more! I hope I’ve inspired you today, and that you do share if you create some cards of your own!

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Where do I begin? I’ve got one kid graduating Elementary, the other moving Jr High to High School and life is crazy busy!

We got a new ice cream place in town called “Cream” and they are pure evil! And by that, I mean so tempting and sinfully good and they don’t just serve ice cream – it’s a whole experience! First you pick a base like a donut or a cookie or pie even… then add ice cream and toppings and… well let’s just say I’m proud I’ve only been once in the 2 weeks they’ve been open!

We’ve been trying to eat lighter, make veggies and light healthy choices more the norm vs forcing ourselves to eat good stuff. It is a constant struggle and especially with the aforementioned busy-ness well it is a struggle. If you’re someone who balances a very hectic schedule I’d love your tips! We’ve been looking to places (like above) where we can order off menu and not struggle to be healthy as well as home cooking. Always learning and growing, trying new!

We went and saw the lightning thief last month and it was so fun! Becca’s new obsession? Musicals! Her hope is to do a few days in NYC and multiple shows… that is a few years off to say the least! But I love that she has a new passion and that she is always developing interests.

These four are doing quite well! This photo was from a picnic outing in the country and it was such fun! Elizabeth finished out her track season, but will begin her High School career as a runner next week. What?! YEP! Jumping right on in with cross country conditioning sessions all summer, every weekday! I’m more than a little grumpy about the 6pm practice time as I’m one who likes to be CHILL in the evenings… but I’ll deal!

So that just about sums it up. We’re heading into the final week of school as I post this and my schedule is down to the minute busy – but it’s all so worth it! Time really does fly and I’m doing my best to be present, enjoy, and just keep doing my best in all ways.

While I don’t often blog about products, I wanted to do a quick one about this! I just received my pre-order of my Pipsticks planner. This will be the second year I use this brand, and I’m a fan!

The planner is available (free shipping!) on Amazon – here’s an affiliate link. What I like about it are a few things. First and foremost – it’s happy, bright, and really simple. It sets me up to actually want to use it! Secondly, it runs August 2019-Dec2020. I’m a really big fan of planners that start mid-year (I never have time to start new things in January!), and I like my planners to overlap – what I mean is, I’m going to be switching to this in August, and anything “August and beyond” will go in there. But the things I needed marked before then are in my old planner, so up until this one arrived I had a place to put those notes other than a post it.

Sound too complex? Well I manage a three ring circus around here! So here are a few notes about this planner:

• Monthly view comes first
• Then weekly view for each month
• It comes with some fun stickers
• The ring binding is really stable – I take mine everywhere and beat it up and it stays strong!
• It is very simple/clean design, so you can easily customize it to your own needs

Above you can see the sticker packet – so fun! There are also different designs, but I’ve been really partial to rainbows and happiness plus my whole studio theme is a full rainbow so it made sense for me.

With one kid going into Jr High, the other in High School, and both full of activities – well let’s just say life won’t be slow or boring around here! I’m happy to have planners (this one is my work one) that help me stay organized and like I can indeed manage all that goes on here. You can purchase these directly from Pipsticks, but I found Amazon.com to be the much better price and shipping. If you have any favorite new products or things keeping you organized lately- I’d love to hear about them!

Last month I posted about getting started, and the minimal amount of supplies needed (here’s a link). Now I’d like to talk about some reasons for scrapbooking, and why your motivations do matter!

Your own motivations and goals will matter for your scrapbooking for a few reasons:

• What size album works best (12×12, 6×8, odd shaped mini books…)
• What supplies you use (archival)
• What format you work with (pocket page, digital, etc)

To be clear, there is no wrong answer. I scrapbook for many reasons but the #1 is this: I enjoy it. I love documenting moments, vacations, stories, and I adore playing with stickers and papers. It is FUN to me, and that in recent years has circled back around to being my main focus: it is a hobby I enjoy tremendously. For you, what you want to do with scrapbooking will guide you in different directions, and you should ensure that it is your own desires, not what you think is correct that leads the way. This will ensure a lifetime of something I’m a big fan of: happy crafting.

Scrapbooking is a choose your own adventure, and I’ll remind you that you can change your style album to album! In other words, if you’d like a slow moving, loads of techniques and tons of time invested album for your last vacation… great! Want to just plug photos in and print a photo book in 2 hours for the next project? Cool! You should never feel that you are trapped in one style or way of doing things. The motivation and the “why” and “how” can change even within a project.

So why does your motivation matter so much and determine your format for scrapbooking? It is about style, and maximizing your joy in the experience! For me, I want to avoid computers (I do enough computer work already, thanks!) so you rarely see me do digital scrapbooking or printed elements that require a computer. Likewise, this choice to avoid computers means that I print photos about 3x a year, and I print them all 3×5 or 4×6. I print the photos that I want to have copies of, and scrapbook the ones of those that suit my needs. In other words, my preferences and goals guide how I scrapbook. I do not scrapbook in a way that I feel is trendy or “cool” – I have done that in the past with disastrous results. It simply messes with my head and is not at all fun! So what will be fun for you? What style should you try? Here are a few ideas…

Digital Scrapbooking covers a large range from creating your own digital scrapbook pages to printing your stories in computer fonts. You may find you want to use a little technology, or entirely go digital. You can utilize digital photo processing site templates to create photo books if you like, or take your time with effects and custom work in a program like Photoshop.

Pocket Page also referred to as Project Life style, the immediate benefit here is working in small compartments vs a whole page. If you do not enjoy design, if you want a very packed album with no wasted space, if you prefer to work in compartments and the look appeals to you – this is your spot! I tend to use these a lot in my small (6×8) albums, and occasionally in my other scrapbooks. You do not see a lot of these in my albums because the one and only drawback is that the pocket design on the front side of the page will be the same on the back side.

Above you see a 6×8 pocket page album. I love these! I also incorporate what I call faux pocket pages in my larger albums. What I mean is, I lay out the sections as if making a pocket page, but I use a traditional page holder with just one large pocket. This lets me have a similar look, but does not dictate the back side of my page. There are lots of 3×4 and 4×6 decorative products made (bonus! quick and easy!) for this style of scrapbooking. I enjoy them for the time savings, incorporating more photos into a page, and for the ease of use. You can see a whole series I did called “Project Hawaii” on my blog here.

“Traditional” scrapbooking is what I call the pages where there is a full (blank) page the size of your album page, and you fill it with papers, embellishments, and words. For the purposes of this article (we’ll break it WAY down in future pieces!) I am including mini books, traveler’s notebooks, and all other scrapbooks here. This is a lot of fun in my book- you have the most “hands on” approach vs any digital play or pre-set designs. If you want to try out different techniques and embellishments this is a great choice. I will point out you can always bring a pocket or digital page out and include it in a more standard page type album.

Alright so… what do you choose? Remember last month’s article and lesson: start SMALL! Keep it basic and investment of money low and see what you find. Add slowly, as needed, and enjoy the journey! What you select will also depend on your goals! How do you want your scrapbook to look? How much time do you want to spend on it? And so on.

“THE WHY” will also determine how you’re scrapbooking within the style you select. If story telling is your goal perhaps you will mix typed stories (more space efficient) with handwritten notes and just a few photos. Aiming to preserve all of those photos? Perhaps a more photo-centric, verbally sparse direction is what you take. All about the archival quality and preserving old pictures? You may keep it very minimal, with only archival safe products.

While it can be a lot to consider, I’d urge you to start simple: Why are you scrapbooking? What is the appeal? (Or, what do you want from it?). Knowing your why will help guide you through, and help you be more pleased with the results you get. Just remember – there is no wrong answer, and it’s ok if you have a few answers or multiple thoughts on the subject!

Once you have your answer(s) what do you do with them? How do you work into a good system and flow? We’ll dive into that next time! Also in future articles I will dive into scrapbook layout designs (yay!), in depth look at products and choices, and so much more! If you have any questions or requests let me know – and happy crafting!