Need advice about the Scrapbooking Process

S

stamdl99

New member
I have been focused on learning PSE and the basics needed to create scrapbook pages. In the meantime, I've been a collector of kits and they are organized and ready to use. My photos are somewhat organized by year, then month. I'm using PSE Organizer with separate catalogs for each.

Now that I have (finally!) forced myself to get started my biggest challenge is figuring out how to put all it all together. So many questions. As a side note, I have ADHD and have learned that I need a system/process to be successful and stay engaged. The less decisions I have to make the better. Using templates is a big help.

So, other than trips/major events I've decided that I will not be a chronological scrapper. That's too much pressure. But as I'm looking through pics and kits it's taking a long time. Do you pick photo(s) and then a kit? Or do you pick a kit and then look for photos? When I'm quilting or knitting I have a system where each project has a bin or a baggie containing everything including project notes so I know where to start. How to do that when everything is digital? I'm feeling overwhelmed.

Do you keep lists of what you are planning to scrap? How do you sort your photos? What do you do after to keep track of what you've done? Sometimes I've purchased kits with something specific in mind but of course I didn't write it down. Any and all advice please! Or steer me towards threads where this has been discussed. Thanks in advance.
 
I like to have my kits and photos highly organized. But then I put a new folder on my desktop for the start of a project. In it I will copy folders of any kits I might use for that project and photos.. this way the originals stay where they belong but I can play around with the things I want for that project. Most of the time I start with photos first and then kits however when I am doing the monthly challenges I often start with kit selection first and then photos that work well with it. I am not good at being a chronological scrapper either, my pages are all over the place in date. Largely its either very recent photos or something I am in the mood to scrap.
 
I echo Elynnia. I pick a topic or several topics I will be scrapping, then I copy the pictures into a folder for each topic. That way all the pictures are in one place and it makes it easier. You can also separate your activities into activity types (e.g. tonight I will spend creating topics and searching for pictures).

The other thing that is helpful to me is to flag the picture folders with names. I actually have a folder for every event, chronologically and include information in the name (or if too much, in a text file in the folder). That way if I have to search for something it makes it easier. So I might have a text file called stuff.txt and inside I might have a list of word like Disneyland, Cinderella, James, Steven, Karen, Family, Vacation. When you search for any of those words, it will bring up the file in your search list. You can then right click and open folder on a PC to locate the pictures associated with the text file.

My folders would look like
Photos 2020
2020-01-26 England Cousin John
2020-01-27 England Southport
2020-01-27 England Family Reunion
2020-01-28 - 29 England Siler Family
2020-01-29 England Misc

Inside the England Misc folder I would have a text folder listing everything that was in there.

When I search, I can pull up all the folders that have specific people, places and events that are listed in the text file. It is very helpful.

I often append a copy onto the folder name for scrapbook kits, too. For example, a lot of the Disney ones do not reference Disney (for obvious reasons), so I append might append Disney Ariel or Disney Cinderella to the folder name, or Heritage, or Baby or Wedding so they come up on a search.

My 'steps' might be:
  1. Create topic folders
  2. Go through pictures and copy pictures to topic folders
  3. Go through and find kits for topic folders (sometimes you can copy those also)
  4. Create pages
  5. Post pages
  6. Buy more kits as a rewards (haha)

Hope this is helpful.
 
So, other than trips/major events I've decided that I will not be a chronological scrapper. That's too much pressure. But as I'm looking through pics and kits it's taking a long time. Do you pick photo(s) and then a kit? Whether or not I pick photos or kit first depends on why I am doing the page. If I am doing a challenge I choose according to what the instructions for the challenge are. So much depends on why I'm doing it. I'm also on creative teams or CT. For those I have a kit to use so then find pics to match the kit. Or do you pick a kit and then look for photos? When I'm quilting or knitting I have a system where each project has a bin or a baggie containing everything including project notes so I know where to start. How to do that when everything is digital? I'm feeling overwhelmed. Also using templates as you said is a big help. I use a template on almost all scrapbook pages that I make unless what I'm doing doesn't allow for a template to be used. Getting a good supply of templates for me was a must.

Do you keep lists of what you are planning to scrap?s I scrap mostly to whatever I feel at the moment or to challenges or CT. So I just go with the flow unless there is something that I really want to get scrapped. How do you sort your photos?Most of my photos are sorted by the event or else into a category. For instance I put all my snow pictures in a folder divided into folders as to when they were taken. Then if I need a snow photo I know where to go to find one. I do this for many categories. I find that an easier way for me to find what I want. What do you do after to keep track of what you've done?I have a folder that is only for completed pages. I save them there to know what I've done. There again I will often sort them by subject or who is in the photos. Sometimes I've purchased kits with something specific in mind but of course I didn't write it down. Any and all advice please! Or steer me towards threads where this has been discussed. Thanks in advance..

What I would say is don't worry too much about it all in the beginning. I have redone most of the photos that I started out with as I've advanced over the years in my scrapping ability. Just try to have some fun and don't let it stress you out. I scrapbook to relax and have some fun. If I see it in another way then I'm not getting out of it what I really want. If you have any further questions on things feel free to send me a message and I'll help out in any way that I can. I've been scrapping since 2008 so I've had quite a few years at it. I used to use PSE but now use Photoshop CC. I challenge you to just have some fun with it and maybe try to do some of the challenges. I know that is something that helped me out when I was just starting out.
 
Challenges almost always give me the inspiration for a layout. Sometimes the challenge is themed in which case I start with the pictures. Sometimes the challenge is designer specific where I need to use a kit by that designer and I find the pictures that would fit the kit. Either way, I do not scrap chronologically.
My pictures are sorted by year and then by month. I have a fairly good memory as to when a certain event took place... summer, winter... so I can narrow down where to look.
 
Thank you Elynnia. I'm going to try your suggestion about using a desktop folder. I think that will really help me create a "batch" of projects while I'm browsing kits/pics or sometimes I just get in the mood to make decisions. I am finding the same thing as you while doing the monthly challenges - kit first.
 
Oh my gosh Lynnie this is a great help to me - thank you so much! I am very much a steps person, without some boundaries I end up way out in left field for hours. Your pic naming system makes a lot of sense, I have been putting off renaming my pics because I only want to do it once. And also because I figured I wouldn't know what would work best until I've done some pages.
 
Thank you for the wonderful advice Rachel and for the offer to message you. I am doing the monthly challenges, they are giving me some structure as well as learning/play. I'm keeping all of my TIFFs so that down the road I can make some changes. Like you, if my hobbies aren't fun then I'm doing something wrong.

I've started tagging templates that are on the simpler side to use as a starting point for challenges.
 
Thank you LilyAnn. I am enjoying the challenges and am trying to jot down things to remember/think on as I go. And will be spending time in the evenings looking at everyone's pages for inspiration.
 
We all have a different system and you will soon discover which works best for you. If you have some fave or important photos you know you'd like to work with, you might want to put them in a folder. I keep a folder called "readytoscrap" so I know those are ones I'd like to work with soon. When looking at the kits in the store, I sometimes see a kit I really like and will look thru my folder first for photos that would work well with the kit and if not, then I look thru lightroom for photos. I don't tag photos after scrapping with them b/c I may re-use them again some day, maybe with a cluster of other photos, maybe cropping or applying a photo treatment i.e. black/white.

Try Googling or search on youtube for videos on digi scrapping, organizing, etc for suggestions and ideas.
 
Sounds like you are on your way and have a lot of great advice. I'll admit I'm not the most organized scrapper, and fly by the seat of my pants usually LOL. I'd spend all my time organizing and never get to create.

My best advice...have fun! No pressure, just let yourself enjoy the creative process! :)
 
bcgal00 said:
We all have a different system and you will soon discover which works best for you. If you have some fave or important photos you know you'd like to work with, you might want to put them in a folder. I keep a folder called "readytoscrap" so I know those are ones I'd like to work with soon. When looking at the kits in the store, I sometimes see a kit I really like and will look thru my folder first for photos that would work well with the kit and if not, then I look thru lightroom for photos. I don't tag photos after scrapping with them b/c I may re-use them again some day, maybe with a cluster of other photos, maybe cropping or applying a photo treatment i.e. black/white.

Try Googling or search on youtube for videos on digi scrapping, organizing, etc for suggestions and ideas.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your post. That's a good point about using photos again in a different way. Last night I was doing a deep dive back through this thread and found some helpful info too. I think I'll do the same in the blog and also on other digital sites.
 
CindyB said:
Sounds like you are on your way and have a lot of great advice. I'll admit I'm not the most organized scrapper, and fly by the seat of my pants usually LOL. I'd spend all my time organizing and never get to create.

My best advice...have fun! No pressure, just let yourself enjoy the creative process! :)
Click to expand...

Cindy - I'm laughing because I HAVE spent way too much organizing while procrastinating about, you know, scrapping! I am having fun once I get going on a page and I think just like most things I'll find my way. Everyone has been so helpful here.
 
Do you pick photo(s) and then a kit? Or do you pick a kit and then look for photos? I usually choose my photos, then choose a kit - either based on theme or color.

How to do that when everything is digital? Organization! :) I have all of my kits in one folder, but then again, I only use the kits I design so that makes it easier because I can go to my Facebook page and look through the album of kits.

Do you keep lists of what you are planning to scrap? I have a list of layouts to do. I do layouts for each of my 6 kids and then family layouts so I have 7 lists going at one time.

How do you sort your photos? I sort my photos by year, then by which kid, my granddaughter, event, etc.

What do you do after to keep track of what you've done? I print my pages to go into physical albums, so I upload finished layouts to Scrapping Simply for printing (when they have a coupon - LOL) and keep a list of what needs printed yet.
 
BoomersGirl said:
Do you pick photo(s) and then a kit? Or do you pick a kit and then look for photos? I usually choose my photos, then choose a kit - either based on theme or color.

How to do that when everything is digital? Organization! :) I have all of my kits in one folder, but then again, I only use the kits I design so that makes it easier because I can go to my Facebook page and look through the album of kits.

Do you keep lists of what you are planning to scrap? I have a list of layouts to do. I do layouts for each of my 6 kids and then family layouts so I have 7 lists going at one time.

How do you sort your photos? I sort my photos by year, then by which kid, my granddaughter, event, etc.

What do you do after to keep track of what you've done? I print my pages to go into physical albums, so I upload finished layouts to Scrapping Simply for printing (when they have a coupon - LOL) and keep a list of what needs printed yet.
Click to expand...

You have a great process in place. 7 lists - wow! Thanks for laying it out for me.
 
I've been digi-scrapping for almost 15 years and I paper scrapped for over 30 years before that... every since high school!! I have everything in one digi-scrap folder on an external hard drive (EHD). I organize my kits by designer and my photos chronologically. If I buy a kit with certain photos in mind, then I automatically move them into a new folder with the kit so I can find the photos easily. I don't scrap chronologically, though. I guess you could say that I work mostly from kits and then find the photos that are themed like the kit or maybe that are colored like the kit. But then again, sometimes it's totally random!! LOL Hope that helps :)
 
I scrap by kit as I mostly scrap for CT team requirements. I think what photos would go well with the theme of the kit, and put copies of the photos in my folder for that particular kit.

My kits are organized by designer.
GS MFT BLENDY BACKGROUNDS would be the kit name, it tells me it releases at Gingerscraps by miss fish templates it’s name is blendy backgrounds
i have a folder in Dropbox for Gingerscraps and within that folder are folders for each designer and within each designers folder I have all their kits and templates.

It works for me because i dont scrap chronological, I typically don’t scrap using multi kits, and I don’t scrap subjects.

i love challenges they inspire me. I do most likely 85% of all my pages by ideas from challenges. Modified for my needs.

If if I am scrapping a particular thing, like cruise to Alaska, I have those photos organized by day, activity, location, and in their folder I have a number of cruise scrap kits, maybe some winter kits, or a chocolate kit.


My photos on the other hand are disasters. I had two hard drives crash and getting the photos back lost their ingrained exif wizard data dates. 2007-2009 all run together and have dates of 2005 embedded in them. Then a similiar thing happened in 2012 and 2011-2013 are all lumped with a weird date. That coupled with a faulty memory, I literally have no idea of who, what, where when, photos from 2009-2013 are. I just make them pretty and go with it. My strongest bit of advice get into the habit of dating your scrap pages.

And lynnie I want to know how to do the text file thing. I’ve been thinking about rather than trying to separate my screwed photos into dates, which has paralyzed me into inaction, that I just separate into things. Alexis, rabbit, car, cruise, austin, school, etc. That’s five years to do. Maybe once separated that way a progressive time might become more obvious.
 
Gosh Sherri, that would be a huge undertaking sorting the photos! Time line of events that happened during the time period might help. Also, haircuts would help me a lot with my daughter. Random pictures like the ton of selfies my daughter adds to my phone would be a problem putting them chronologically.
If you don't scrap chronologically, I'd just group the same events together. Good luck with that undertaking.
 
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