Well friends, Christmas has come and gone in what seemed like a flurry of preparations, sparkley lights, gift wrap and holiday outings. What's left is really fabulous: lot's of beautiful memories, telling photos, and well, gift wrappings. Oh, let's not forget the tunes still being joyously caroled about, and those Christmas cards!
This weekend I managed to devote some time to cleaning up my current albums. Current, meaning, these are the albums I'm currently still filling in with printed pictures and pretty papers. I always have two albums going; my most recently semi completed, and one that is current to the actual date and season. There are lot's of unfinished pages in albums I started prior to the beginning of fall, but these two are the one's I'm focusing my attention on. This week at least :-)
So what does album clean up look like? Alas, I have no video, but I couldn't promise that if there were one, it would be very entertaining! Basically, I start with a stack of photos. Strike that, first I thumb through my album and try to put myself back in time a few months to remember the feeling of those days and some of the stories I'd intended to tell.
I've been hoarding our children's artwork as long as they've been making it and have started including some choice pieces within our family albums in clear plastic sleeves. There are gingerbread men drawings from school, fall leave wreaths, and then for our most recent pages, colored reindeer, snowmen, and holly berry clusters. Slipping those in, where they seem to fit, ended up being a big part of what I accomplished too.
With my photo stack, I go through the pages already created and slip extras in behind completed layouts. I can always add pages later, but I will not allow unused photos to hold me back (or taunt me by being on show). If there are empty spaces, I look for a large paper background that fits the feel of the photos, and put that in the sleeve too. Sometimes, I even go looking for the memorabilia I know I have lying around...somewhere.... okay, I'll go back for that later too.
There are times when I find I have all the necessary items for a page within an album sleeve. And so I stick it all together and call it done! And it doesn't always look "perfect"- so I turn the page and move on! Cause I'm in production mode, people! My glue is flexible, too if I need to go back and revisit that mess.
I was having such a good time scrappin, I hardly noticed that my few hours were up, and when I showed honey what I'd been up to, he commented, you did all that? Just now? and gave me the look... the one that says both, How did I get such a talented woman to document our lives, and How did you just spend 3 hours playing with paper? I had jazzed up 5 pocket page spreads, finished/completed 3 12x12 single pages, and even created three more from thin air. Thin air being comprised of tiny plant fibers. I used supplies I'd obtained at the Creating Keepsakes Convention last month. I didn't overthink or over embellish because I didn't want to travel the 25 feet to my craft room haha.
Best of all, I was having a really good time... like, unwrapping Christmas presents good time. Oh who am I kidding, it was like the WRAPPING presents time- I love the thrill of anticipating, what will they think of this?! so much more than, oh, that didn't go over well.
When my album is looking finished (to the untrained eye), I look for any more of those empty sleeve spaces. Our books almost always start right in with photos as opposed to a title page of any sort, but there are a few that have one, and this fall album I worked on ended up with a fun opening page. It's so simple, and lovely, and a great reminder, that all those things I have in the craft room do not have to go onto one page. There is one sheet of 12x12, one sheet cut down to 5x12, and a chipboard title that reads, Celebrate Together and a matching chipboard banner in the corner.
I love the way it looks so much, I went a little app-happy and filtered it to this sepia image. Now this pretty background has an extended viewing platform: my phone's lock screen! Next time you have a page you love and want to show it off, upload it as you facebook cover image- you may have to play a little bit to get your details on show, but any play is good play when its a scrappy -appy- day!
Now I want to know, friends, how do you transition from the happy holidays to the New Year and all the promise of that date change? Are there photos involved? Pretty papers (please say some sparkle)? Would you rather pull the blanket over your head an hibernate until the flowers bloom? I want to know, comment below~
Cheers!
Anna
So what does album clean up look like? Alas, I have no video, but I couldn't promise that if there were one, it would be very entertaining! Basically, I start with a stack of photos. Strike that, first I thumb through my album and try to put myself back in time a few months to remember the feeling of those days and some of the stories I'd intended to tell.
I've been hoarding our children's artwork as long as they've been making it and have started including some choice pieces within our family albums in clear plastic sleeves. There are gingerbread men drawings from school, fall leave wreaths, and then for our most recent pages, colored reindeer, snowmen, and holly berry clusters. Slipping those in, where they seem to fit, ended up being a big part of what I accomplished too.
With my photo stack, I go through the pages already created and slip extras in behind completed layouts. I can always add pages later, but I will not allow unused photos to hold me back (or taunt me by being on show). If there are empty spaces, I look for a large paper background that fits the feel of the photos, and put that in the sleeve too. Sometimes, I even go looking for the memorabilia I know I have lying around...somewhere.... okay, I'll go back for that later too.
There are times when I find I have all the necessary items for a page within an album sleeve. And so I stick it all together and call it done! And it doesn't always look "perfect"- so I turn the page and move on! Cause I'm in production mode, people! My glue is flexible, too if I need to go back and revisit that mess. I was having such a good time scrappin, I hardly noticed that my few hours were up, and when I showed honey what I'd been up to, he commented, you did all that? Just now? and gave me the look... the one that says both, How did I get such a talented woman to document our lives, and How did you just spend 3 hours playing with paper? I had jazzed up 5 pocket page spreads, finished/completed 3 12x12 single pages, and even created three more from thin air. Thin air being comprised of tiny plant fibers. I used supplies I'd obtained at the Creating Keepsakes Convention last month. I didn't overthink or over embellish because I didn't want to travel the 25 feet to my craft room haha.
Best of all, I was having a really good time... like, unwrapping Christmas presents good time. Oh who am I kidding, it was like the WRAPPING presents time- I love the thrill of anticipating, what will they think of this?! so much more than, oh, that didn't go over well.
When my album is looking finished (to the untrained eye), I look for any more of those empty sleeve spaces. Our books almost always start right in with photos as opposed to a title page of any sort, but there are a few that have one, and this fall album I worked on ended up with a fun opening page. It's so simple, and lovely, and a great reminder, that all those things I have in the craft room do not have to go onto one page. There is one sheet of 12x12, one sheet cut down to 5x12, and a chipboard title that reads, Celebrate Together and a matching chipboard banner in the corner.
 |
| Some simple photo editing courtesy of my Samsung Note3 |
Now I want to know, friends, how do you transition from the happy holidays to the New Year and all the promise of that date change? Are there photos involved? Pretty papers (please say some sparkle)? Would you rather pull the blanket over your head an hibernate until the flowers bloom? I want to know, comment below~
Cheers!
Anna
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