Scrapping a Large Event, or How to Deal with an 8 inch stack of pictures -- Part II

So we left off culling and editing our 800,000 vacation photos.  Now on to the fun part -- printing and scrapping!  Click here for Part I.

Step 4.  Find some sketches, Make some collages and Print

I've found that pre-planning my pages using sketches really helps me from getting overwhelmed with a large project.  It's like putting together a game-plan.  You can find lots and lots of sketches all over the internet, but my favorite two page sketches come from Sketches for Scrapbookers books.  For those pages, I size and crop photos to fit what the sketch calls for.



I still print a good many of my photos as 4x6, but I learned the hard way that with that many layouts, you may end up with a ginourmous, 70 lb scrapbook.  Or two, like from our 2007 trip to Europe.  So I fit more photos on a layout by using photo collages.  Some of my favorites are from Kerri Bradford. You don't have to be a Photoshop genius to use them, and Kerri has some great tutorials.  The great thing about getting more than one photo on a print is that you can wait for a really good print sale and maybe afford to vacation again after you've printed them all!

Step 5.  Scrap a few, Keep the rest, and Get the story told

After 2 rounds of having massive scrapbooks with over 1000 photos in each, I'm trying a new way to reduce book size and incorporate all the fun memorabilia I like to bring home with me.  I scrap a layout, whether its one or two pages, and only maybe use a few of the photos I took for that place/thing/event.  Then I used divided page protectors behind the layout to include the rest, adapting the idea of Project Life to include snippets, smaller photos, ephemera, and journaling, using papers and embellishments that coordinate with the layout.  This also gives me extra room for journaling, and I think helps me tell a more complete picture of the story.






































I can't take all the credit for incorporating divided page protectors into a regular album. I have seen Shimelle Laine, Melissa Stinson, and Noel Hyman do this, just to name a few.  But I intend on these pages take more of a Project Life type turn in this album, rather than just matching additional pages.  We shall see how that goes.

Step 6. Take your time and Have fun
Since I've blogged a little about our trip, and made some notes for friends and family to read on our Shutterfly Share site, I don't feel in a hurry to scrap things before I forget them.  And by using the divided page protectors, I don't feel pressure to put every photo on a layout.  Since our fall trip, I've only scrapped a handful of layouts, but I'm able to feel more relaxed and creative about it, and I'm having fun with the process.

So that just about does it, but come back next Monday for the final installment, and I'll share a little on how I keep all those photos organized until they get scrapped.

More Practice with Sketches

It's pretty obvious if you've followed my blog for any amount of time that I love sketches.  I'm just finishing up a class with Lisa Day over at Big Picture Classes called 28 Days of Sketches.  It's been fun, although I'm really just starting to put some of those sketches to work.

The Good Stuff

Sketch: Lisa Day 28 Days of Sketches

Supplies: American Crafts cardstock, Thickers;  Sassafrass Indie Girls (Pocahontas and me); Authentique letter stickers; K & Co Smash tape; The Girls Paperie diecuts (On Holiday); Cosmo Cricket stickers, lovely bits butterflies and doilies die cuts (Social Club); October Afternoon word stickers; Crate Paper border stickers; Echo Park stickers; My Minds Eye Lush brads; Elle's Studio vintage label; Martha Stewart twine; Ditto Glimmer Mist; Tim Holtz mini paper clips

Accountability Wednesday: Adding in the Tech

Last Friday, the UPS man brought a little box with a present for Mark and I.

This nifty little gadget is the  Fitbit Wireless Activity/Sleep Tracker.  It tracks our sleep efficiency, activity level, steps take and flights climbed, and most importantly for me, calories burned.  Having a science background, I'm all over having more data and charts and graphs to help me on my weight loss journey.  But its becoming a great motivator for both of us.  We're committed to incorporating more meatless meals and we've been active all but one day since we clipped them on Friday night, and that sure can't hurt.

Weight: 140.8 lbs (-3.6)
Activity: 27689 steps taken, 11 flights climbed, 11.34 miles traveled

Scrapping a Large Event, or How to Deal with an 8 inch stack ofpictures -- Part I

Admittedly, I take a lot of pictures, and I love it.  But some events lend themselves to taking more pictures than others.  Take, for instance, a two week vacation.  Whether that's to Disney World or to Budapest, you are gonna take a lot of pictures, and for you fellow scrapbookers, probably more than average.  You get back home and download all those memory cards and think to yourself "How am I going to get all of this done?"  And in the meantime, all of your friends and family are clamoring to see your vacation photos, but don't really want to look at 487 shots of Cinderella's castle at night.  So what's a girl (or guy) to do?  After 3 once-in-a-lifetime trips to Europe, I'm still tweaking my process a little, but I think I've found something that works for me.  In this 3 part series of posts, I want to share my process with you.

Step 1: Take a breathe
Don't let 3500 pictures overwhelm you.  This is not something you have to get done next week.  Or even next month.  I quickly figured out that rushing to scrap everything leads to burnout and I just didn't enjoy it.

Step 2. Find a Way to Share

Like I said, everybody wants to see your photos.  Right now.  But not really ALL of your photos. Select a handful of your best, most interesting photos, do basic edits if you do that sort of thing (I do), and put those puppies somewhere people can see them.  Facebook is a popular choice, or you can blog, but I like to use a Shutterfly Share site.  I'm gonna print those puppies anyway, so I can add to the site straight from my Shutterfly account.  I can send the link and password to friends and family far and wide, and have some privacy control this way.

Step 3.  Edit, Edit, Edit
You do not have to scrap, print, edit, or even keep every single photo you took.  That picture of the parking deck level so you wouldn't forget where to get off the elevator?  Delete it.  Those 487 Cinderella Castle photos.  Pick a handful.  Keep and back up the digital files, but cull down what you plan to edit and print.  You will still have plenty of photos to scrap.

How do you handle scrapping large events?  Did any of these tips work for you?  I'd love to hear what you have to share.  And come back next Monday for more tips on how I deal with large projects.

Some Echo Park Play

Echo Park's new line Note to Self is some kind of awesome.  I had a great time playing with this fun, retro line making a page about Ozzy the Cat and his new "friend" that visits our back porch.

 Frenemies

I realized I needed a pop of navy blue at the top of the page, but didn't want anything very wide.  Then I noticed the overprint on the borders on the sticker sheet.  The blue zig zag sticker over ran with the subtle brown stripe of the scallop, and made a perfect little banner to boot!

I used my nonstick small scissors to snip the little parts on the ends that connected it to the rest of the sticker sheet background, and voila!  A new, perfect little border sticker!

Supplies: American Crafts Cardstock, Thickers (Hatbox), Zing embossing powder ; Echo Park Note to Self (Element Stickers, Grid Dots, Arrows, Borders), Dots and Stripes Alpha Stickers, This and That Charming Brads; For the Record (Noteworthy);  My Minds Eye Miss Caroline Dolled Up 6x6 pad; the Girls' Paperie market trims (kitch); Maya Road buttons; Studio Calico Mr. Huey (Calico Cream); Tim Holtz Distress Ink  (Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, Fired Brick); Distress Stickles

Husbands: Do They Ever Really Grow Up?

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Congratulations to the winner of the Ella Publishing Spring Training Event!  Julie (Mowhouse), please contact me to claim your prize!
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I love my husband, I really really do.  But most days I think I'm married to a 12 year old in a 42 year old body.  Of course, he informed me that all men are perpetually 12 years old.  He has his Star Wars "collectibles" and his Legos, and he loves playing with 4 wheelers and trucks and tractors on his parents' farm!  Maybe I should've done this layout about me being married to Peter Pan!

Country Boy at Heart

The star embellishment started out looking like this:

But the "3" brad didn't really fit with the feel of the layout.  I simply picked another brad from the card that was similar in color and size and swapped them out.  Just another way to stretch your supplies to make them work for you!

Supplies:  My Minds Eye Miss Caroline Dilly Dally (6x6 paper pad, Adventures Fair,  Best Vines, Celebrate brads), Dolled Up (Cute Quaint, Cute brads), On the Bright Side (Grey Wood), Stella and Rose Gerty Girly Doily Stamps, Follow Your Heart Be Amazing Chipboard, Lost and Found Union Square Moments buttons; DCWV Cardstock; Heidi Swapp Color Magic Banner Delights; Martha Stewart Home Office Brown Kraft Labels, Textured Labels, punch; American Crafts Thickers; Cosmo Cricket tiny type; Tim Holtz Tissue Tape; Staz On ink; Jenni Bowlin ink; Glimmer Mist Chalkboard Mist

Just a note

If you are looking for my regular Friday post, scroll down a little, or go here.

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I've been notified that the coupon code FEATHERS, for 12% off any purchase at Stop and Scrap will expire on Monday, April 16.  So hurry over and get the discount while you can!

This ain't Starbucks

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO ENTER!  I'm giving away a seat in Ella publishing's Spring Training 2012!  To learn how you can win, visit this post.

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Even though its a bit shabby, everything in Budapest has that European grandeur.  Take this coffee shop for example: gilded elements, painted ceilings, and chandeliers.  And it was upstairs from basically a Barnes and Nobel.

I loved using the one bottle of October Afternoon sprinklers I own with Tim Holtz kraft resist paper.  I adapted a Sketches for Scrapbooking sketch to showcase only 3 photos and a business card, and the element on the resist paper in the center. 

 Sketch: Sketches for Scrapbooking vol. 5

Supplies: Crate Paper Portrait (Vintage Lace, die cuts, border stickers); Tim Holtz Kraft Resist; Core'dinations Graphic 45; Basic Grey Granola (Trail Mix), letter stickers; 7Gypsies 6x6 paper pad (Venice), 97% Complete stickers (Travel Voyage); Lily Bee letter stickers; My Minds Eye Stella and Rose Hattie "Happy" Label stickers, Gertie "Delightful" decorative brads; American Crafts Mementos ; Imagination Project Cardstock Stickers (Yesterdays Vintage Note); K and Co Die Cut; Bo Bunny  dimensional stickers, brads; Provocraft Etcetera Cardstock Stickers;  Basics by Kaisercraft Pearls; Studio Calico Mister Huey; October Afternoon Sprinklers

***For 12% off any purchase at Stop and Scrap, use the code FEATHERS***  

Accountability Wednesday

I guess after a weekend of Reeses Peanut Butter eggs and strawberry shortcake, I should be happy I didn't gain anything.  But with beach weather upon us, I really need to buckle down and lose 5-10 lbs in the next month.  Should be doable, right?  Right?

Weight 140 (+.2)
Exercise: Walk with hubby x2

A One-Off Layout

I'm giving away a seat in Ella publishing's Spring Training 2012!  To learn how you can win, visit this post.

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I use a lot of inspiration in my scrapbooking: sketches, challenges, classes I'm taking -- and I love it.  It helps free my creativity when I don't have to start from scratch, and helps me work more efficiently.  But every once in a while I'm inspired by something else.  On this layout, it was the red paper (My Minds Eye Lost and Found Union Square "Beautiful Day" Journey).  I knew I wanted to use it and exactly what photos I wanted to use it with, and from there, the layout just came together.

Our Big Trip

Supplies: My Minds Eye Lost and Found Union Square ("Beautiful Day" Journey), Transfer Titles "Our Big Trip"; Pink Paislee House of 3 Daily Junque (Map); Echo Park For the Record (Newsprint, Noteworthy); Teresa Collins World Traveler;  Cosmo Cricket Circa 1934 (Ginger); Ali Edwards for Technique Tuesday ("This One", "Everyday Life", "Are We There Yet"); 7Gypsies 97%Complete stickers (Travel Voyage), Calendar tickets; Crate Paper Chipboard (Restoration), Phrase stickers, Die Cuts; Making Memories Eclectic Metal Signs (Travel);  Bo Bunny Brads; The Paper Studio Spare Parts Epoxy Brads Friends; K and Co Smash stickies; Elle's Studio Red Pennants; Jenni Bowlin Ink; Staz On Ink (Jet Black); Tim Holtz Distress Ink, Tiny Attacher, Tissue Tape (Tidings)

***For 12% off any purchase at Stop and Scrap, use the code FEATHERS*** 

A Big Ol' Box of Fun

I'm giving away a seat in Ella publishing's Spring Training 2012!  To learn how you can win, visit this post.
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This spring's scapbooking releases have my credit card in meltdown!  I couldn't wait to get my hands on a lot of the stuff, remember?  Well, my order from Stop and Scrap finally arrived!  I can't wait to play with my new pretties!


Pink Paislee/Heidi Swapp

My Minds Eye Follow Your Heart 

My Minds Eye Miss Caroline 

My Minds Eye On the Brightside

MME Lush/Pink Paislee

Lily Bee

Echo Park Note to Self

Echo Park Dots and Stripes/ This and That

 I don't think I've ever made an order that big before.  That box was heavy!  Can't wait to share how I use this new stuff!


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I hope you all have a safe and happy Easter this weekend!


***For 12% off any purchase at Stop and Scrap, use the code FEATHERS***