Scrapbooking Confessions

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Scrapbooking Confessions

I was up early this morning after feeding Magnus and thinking about my scrapbook confessions, as one does. Magnus just turned one and I was congratulating myself on not needing to use a specific "boy" kit the entire year. I guess my first confession is that I find it very annoying when people ask for "boy" kits. This is obviously an involved topic, and I don't want to get sidetracked into it, except to say you should use the colors you like.

Thinking about this led me to think about how I basically never match the photos I'm using to the kit I'm using. I just use what I feel like. I'm always impressed when I look at layouts where someone has clearly given this some thought. I usually have a kit in mind that I want to use, maybe I've just made one, or just purchased one, and since I basically only do my weekly layouts, I have to use it on the weekly spread I'm working on.

Just wondering if there's something you see other people doing that you're like, "don't have time for that!" or "just not into that!". There are so many ways to scrapbook it's fun to think about the methods we've adapted for ourselves.

Scrapbooking confessions, Ha ha! I like it.

I will admit that I can't seem to do a "cluster" to save my life. Not sure if that's even what it's called, but I see a lot of layouts with one or two pictures and then an artful arrangement of many elements clustered around the photos. Some are quite pretty, but try as I might, I just can't seem to get into creating them myself. I've even tried doing copycat versions... no luck. I end up creatively exhausted and the effort looks forced and muddled. So I've finally accepted that its just not for me.

Another confession... I take forever to complete a layout. I mean, I must be the slowest scrapper around. I can easily spend 4 to 6 hours moving things around on a digital layout, trying multiple color themes, rearranging the photos, adding elements, and sometimes starting completely over with a page if I don't like the way it's going. Which would be fine if I wasn't so gosh darn behind. I'm currently slothing my way through 2007. Perhaps I need more caffeine before I sit down to scrap smiley

Shell, have you tried using a template? Or perhaps a ready-made cluster? Those will help you finish layouts a little quicker. smiley

I agree templates can also give you hands on with the clusters, since so many layout templates have clusters. You can use clusters on the templates until you get comfortable with creating your own clusters. Course not doing clusters is fine too! smiley I don't do a huge amount of cluster work myself. And a LOT of people struggle with clusters, designers included. For me I have to be in a mood favorable to creating clusters or it just isn't going to happen.

Im pretty slow at scrapping myself. Only if inspiration is really hitting can I whip a layout out. Templates do help tho in the instances where I'm moving at snails pace!

My confession would be, for the longest I wouldn't use templates. And when I did it had to have a different spin on it. Now I have finally come to terms with using templates [hehehe]. I don't even have to spend hours making it look really "different". I even participate in a blog train of just templates...something I never thought I would do if you asked me a few years ago lol!

i like learning new techniques but applying them, well ... that's something i have to find time to do

@Jessica: I also used to have something against templates. But then I used them to finish my Kenya photo book and it made the process SO MUCH EASIER. I was like, "this is why people love templates so much!" smiley

Sounds like templates are where it's at smiley

I'm getting ready to start working on photos from 2008, and I'm going to challenge myself to use templates for each layout for that year. Thanks for the ideas and encouragement!

Shell .... templates can be a great place to start and then change them up as you see fit for what you are doing at that time ... after awhile you will become more comfortable with trying to put things together yourself .. think of it as a lesson on scrapbooking where you learn a new skill

My confession is I used to think templates were cheating!

But I do love using them, not all the time, but i do.

Designer confession, I hate making alpha and word art. I don't often use them, so I don't make them, i find them tedious

I'm going to jump on the template bandwagon. I am a hoarder for templates, however, I rarely use them. Same with jiff pages. Most of the time, I like my pages to match the colors in the photo (not always though) so jiff pages oftentimes do not work unless they are layered and I can recolor them. As far as page templates go, they help me if I am in a rut, but I usually have so many pictures on a page that I just layer them myself and add the elements.

Here's my confession: I haven't completed a page since 2016.

I guess my confession is that I've got a box of ephemera and another box of scrapbooking supplies that I don't know if I will ever actually use to physically scrapbook the old photos I've got in a third box. I have a bit of a tendency to just hoard craft supplies and hesitate to use them. ("but what if I find a better use for them later?" or "but then I won't have that pretty paper in the box anymore!")

@Amanda: Hoarding is such an issue with physical scrapping. That's one of the real benefits of digital is you don't have to worry about that. I'm always giving myself a lecture about actually using some of my supplies and not saving them for some mythical project. I also weirdly hoard my photos. I think I'm nervous I'm going to run out of photos. Which is pretty unlikely. But I still have a hard time getting going on projects with older photos and I think it's because I'm concerned I'm going to run out of photos.

@Laura: I rarely used layout templates myself, until I made an album for my trip to Kenya and used almost entirely layout templates to get it done. It made the process so much easier! I see why people love layout templates.

@Trish: smiley Maybe someday we can inspire you to give it another go.

Fun thread. ๐Ÿ˜Š
My confession is that I hardly ever use a single kit on my pages, itโ€™s nearly always items from a bunch of different kits and different designers.

@Anita, same here. My problem is that I always have so many photos on my pages, there isn't much room for a lot of embellishments.

@Laura: Have you tried pocket style layouts? That what I use to get a lot of photos in, and I still feel like there's good space for adding in elements.

I had layouts planned from 2005 and basically said "maybe someday" and started current. If I can get a current layout, then I'll work on an old one. I'd have hardly any journaling for the older pages, except to say the date and location. I'm still debating whether to not do them, it's not like I'm going to give any of them to the kids. Maybe next year, I'll decide.

@Laura: I hear you. I like to make collages and then layout those more on the minimal side....

My confession... I'm a hoarder! I have a huge amount of kits, graphics, clip art, etc. I actually spend more time looking for new digital scrapbooking anything than I do creating layouts. I also "make" my own kits... I find graphics and colors I really like that go together and create a new kit with them, naming each such as "My Baby Kit", or "My Autumn Kit".
Trish... too funny! smiley

I'm the same....I literally only scrap from 1 single kit if it's a CT LO.

I am a serial scraplifter. I spend ages at least once a month going through the gallery, seeing what I like and making my own "template style" photoshop with the modifications that I would do / see as useful to change it a wee bit. And sometimes... I save both versions of said scraplift. I have.... 213 template layouts that I use to try and jumpstart my scrapbooking since I am just disgustingly prolific when it comes to vacation photography.

I also have a hella large "backorder" on old scrapbooks, but I tend to work on the most-current pictures, because I can get journaling down, and that's something I really want to be able to include, especially the funny travel stories and anecdotes- though at this point sometimes I will jot down notes on paper, take a picture, and then I'll have it when I get around to actually scrapping it. It's the "smoothest" way for me to deal with the fact that so-far for my November vacation, I have managed to scrap 26 pages using 130/745 pictures (even knowing that 745 is inflated with maybe 100-175 "explanation pictures" to give me context.

I also have a really hard time not using glitter actions everywhere, because I like the sparkles.

Confessions! I'm not a fan of journal cards with lines. I can never get the wording to fit the lines correctly. I don't scrap chronologically. I scrap in the moment... if I need to use a kit, I find a photo that matches. If I want to scrap a photo, I search for the perfect kit but being I have so many, this can take more time than actually scrapping the page.
I don't like alphas that have different letters different colors in the same alpha (blue A, green B, yellow C, blue D, etc) because than my words have multiple of one color and one of another and that looks odd!

@LilyAnn, I don't like journal cards in general- I just can't seem to fit what I want to say in that little space, lol! Also, I agree with the alphas!

@LilyAnn, with the wording on the lined journal cards, is it that the card itself is too small for everything you want to say, or is it just that it's difficult to get the line spacing to fit the lines? I've had problems with the latter before, before I realized I should be using the leading settings for the text to space the lines just so. Honestly took me way too long to figure that out.

@Amanda, It's the spacing between the lines that I can't get right and when I size my type, then it extends beyond the journal card.

Ah. Which program do you use for putting in text? It may have leading options for your typefaces.

I have to admit I hate templates. I will not use one. They just complicate things for me it is like my creativity shuts down when I see one. LOL BUT I see others that use them and they have such beautiful results....

My confession smiley... I really like using just one kit if I can. I hate digging through my stash because it's so disorganized!

@Nae: I used to never use templates, but then I used them for a project I was trying to finish up and I found them really helpful. Gave me an idea of what people like them so much smiley

@Karen: I usually stick to a kit because it's so much easier, but this really limits the kits that I can actually use for my projects. I have a lot of requirements it turns out. I also love using the random button here on DigitalScrapbook.com and just downloading whatever catches my eye and making a layout that way. Takes a bit more time, but the hunt is fun!

I guess I should breakdown and try one. smiley

I totally agree! I scraplift a lot....so I usually have to go through my entire stash and/or digitalscrapbook.com's entire stash to hunt down the items I need to recreate the LO.

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