Method to the Madness

Like many folks, I love to scrapbook. Alas, it's a hobby that I'm not always able to dedicate a lot of time to. However, I was able to finish a ton of scrapbooking at the Hayley scrapbook studio in Tyler, Texas, last week. I think that, altogether, the finished product was around 20 pages.

There are several approaches to scrapbooking. These fall in a continuum ranging from having a perfect scrapbook to having a scrapbook.

My mother-in-law enjoys the process - the latest techniques, designs and tools. My good friend, Stacie, enjoys the creativive detail - creating beautiful works of art on each page. And me? I like to have a simple, clean, well-designed, finished scrapbook.

I have a process for making sure I'm able to use my limited scrapbook time effectively.

1. I keep a running list of topics/themes that I want to scrapbook. My list right now reads: Monthly scrapbook pages January-June 2008, Places in England, Christmas 2007, Ireland, Kitties Theme album, Vacation 2008
   
2. I work on one topic/theme at a time
3. I maintain a tear file of sample page layouts, color themes and other ideas that I have pulled off the internet and out of my favorite magazines. These become a reference for future page layouts that I will put together.
4. I have a box which holds all of my "mementos," organized by the above listed themes. Mementos include ticket stubs, information brochures, confetti, give-aways, etc.
   
5. I do not print digital photos until I am ready to scrapbook a particular topic/theme. I also do not purchase specific background paper until I am ready to scrapbook a particular topic/theme. (I do, however, keep a stock of rather generic background paper.)
   
6. I only print a select number of photos to scrapbook - the "highest and best" images, if you will, for that particular topic/theme. I've found that digital cameras allow us to capture so many things that if I tried to scrapbook them all, I'd never get done.
   
7. Once I start a topic/theme, I try to break it into sub-sections that allow for 1-2 hour worksessions that will give me a finished product. For example, I just scrapbooked our 2005 vacation to Scotland while in Tyler. The sub-sections were: Scotland Overview; Alloway, Scotland; The British Open; Glencoe and Grey Mare's Tail; Iona; Places We Stayed and Things We Did; Loch Ness
8. I cross things off my list as soon as I finish them. Talk about a feeling of accomplishment!

What method works for you?

I'll post more photos in the days to come of some of my favorite personal layouts. Maybe there will be some inspiration for you!