Friday, August 19, 2011

How do you organise your layouts?

Well its my turn to start a bit of a discussion here on the blog. The SAG team love discussions and we love hearing from all of you, so make sure you join in!

So what I want to chat about is "How do you organise your layouts?". By this I mean chronologically, what sort of albums you have, layout sizes etc. Now before I fill you in on what I do, let me say there is absolutely no right or wrong way. It is whatever works for you.

So now for a bit about what I do. Firstly, I use American Crafts D Ring albums. I love these albums and I love that it is easy to take layouts in and out and rearrange them if needed. All my layouts go in the albums, I don't have albums for each child or anything like that. It all just goes in these albums and I figure the kids can fight over them when I'm gone! I did consider having an album for each child, but for me that would have been way too daunting and off putting to scrap one event 3 times to cover each child. So I went for this option and I'm happy with it. Sure I want the stories to be there for my kids, but its also for me and I have to do what works for me at the moment. The one thing I do have is a seperate album for more personal layouts. This album is not in the bookcase, its in my office. Its not really one that I show people. Generally its the layouts about myself or my husband and I.

I do not scrap chronologically. I started scrapping about 6 years ago when my youngest child was 1 and my eldest two were 3. There was so much of their lives that I hadn't scrapped and I wanted to start from the beginning so they would have everything in albums. But there was so much and I knew I would never be caught up so to speak. So I decided that scrapping for me is about recording the story. So I got over my fear of not being caught up and focused on telling the stories or using photos that inspired me at the time. So when I sit down to do a layout I might use a photo from yesterday or a photo from two years ago or a photo from 8 years ago. It doesn't matter to me, as long as there is a story. I will never get everything done and I am ok with that.

So I know many of you will be horrified, but I also do not store the layouts in my albums chronologically. They just go in the order that I do them. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, because I don't scrap in order, it would be too hard to keep them in order in the albums because I'd be forever moving the layouts around to make them stay in order. The other reason is that my family (inc. extended family) really like looking at the layouts I do. So it makes it easier for me to just pull out the most recent album. This way they always see the new layouts I have done and they don't have to flick through lots of layouts to find the new ones.

Lastly, layout size. I know we have touched on this on the blog before, but I thought I'd cover it again as its relevant to this topic. I use 12x12 inch albums, but I scrap in both 12x12 and 8.5x11 sizes. I love the versatility of this. I did start off as only doing 12x12, but after awhile I realised that I like both sizes. So when I saw that Ali Edwards (and Nicole!) put all different sizes in her albums, thats what I did and I love it. It really doesn't worry me that its a bit all over the place, I like it like that, it has more of a hand made feel about it!

Well that covers what I do, now I really want to hear about what all of you do. This subject really interests me. I'm always open to new ideas, so let me know what you do.

Thanks for stopping by our blog and have a good weekend.
Emma

14 comments:

  1. great topic!
    1. I use 12x12 Print Blocks D ring binders - they are nice and sturdy but far cheaper than the AC ones, which is a winner in my book. they come in a heap of different colours.
    2. I DO have an album for each child - I started scrapping when I was pregnant with #2 and so my first album was about #1, and its just happened that way. I sort of wish I hadn't, but I think I will pick an age and scrap for each child to that point, and then all layouts will then go into the "family album" which I also have, where layouts about other things go.
    3. I scrap both sizes, haven't always, but when I realised that I "could", it was a light bulb moment. I love the versatility being able to do whatever sized page fits my story or that I feel like.
    4. I do scrap and store my pages chronologically, its just the way that makes sense to me - and the way I print my digital photos. If I happened to do a page about an older photo, it would go in the album by the journalling date. The pages go on the albums from oldest at the front and newest at the back, although with "family" albums it totally makes sense to have the newer ones at the front (even though I haven't done so).

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  2. I love hearing how people organize their layouts. I did a blog post about this, and you can read it here:
    http://gallorganico.blogspot.com/2011/03/lets-talk-scrapbook-albums.html
    There's some interesting comments, too.
    Rinda

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  3. My albums are 12x12's and I prefer WRMK leather in black, for me they are sturdier and I really love their page protectors too.

    I scrap in 12x12, 8x10 and 8x8 size and they all go into the same album. All layouts about all topics are bunched in together apart from WITL and DYL.

    I started scrapping when my first child was two, I made a few pages about his infant years but pretty much started from that point on and I just add the pages as I make/print them ... so I suppose they sort of end up in chronological order. If I make a page with older photos I just plop it into the album at the time of making it - I don't feel as though it needs to be in a particular spot .. and, where would I put a page about my childhood otherwise.

    I am considering converting to making photobooks as a space saving alternative though - we will see!

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  4. 1. I use 12x12 U-Tucan ringed binders...the company sadly no longers exists so once I fill the ones I have I will be looking for a new brand but will stay with ringed binders.
    2. I have albums for each child (pink for my daughter and dark blue for my son), family albums (black) and a BOM (silver)
    3. I now scrap 12x12 and A4 and put them all in the 12x12 binders...like Sharon it was a real lightbulb moment when I realised it was ok to do that (thanks to Ali Edwards)
    4. LOs go in the binders chronologically and I am caught up enough to scrap pretty much chronologically too...meaning I am up to date as of December 2010, so am currently scrapping photos from 2011 but won't necessarily do them in order.
    I started scrapping when my daughter was 2 (and she is now 11) So I have scrapped photos since she was born but not photos before she was born, apart from those in my BOM.

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  5. 1.I now use AC 12x12 D ring binders, though still have older work in 'actual' photograph albums.
    2.I made an album for my daughter, for her 18th Birthday(all scanned photographs, as I've kept the originals in the family albums) and updated it for her 21st, last year. Unless she specifically asks, everything else will now go in the family albums.
    3.I scrap 12x12...unless it's a mini-album
    4.I don't scrap chronologically, but I do store in as-near-chronological-order as I can

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  6. I began properly scrapping when my daughter was born. She is 45 now. there wasn't the range of acid free paper and stuff so a lot of my original stuff is in those paper scrap books that were sold in woolworths and places. Fortunately I used photo corners so I have been able to move the photos to safer stuff. I scrap in no particular order. Sometimes the old stuff into new pages sometimes the pictures I took yesterday. I do have a scrapbook for each year as well as other specific ones. When my Dad died I did an album about his life as I knew it and I have added pages as I go though the boxes of his stuff. When Mum died I started one about her. I also have family tree albums because I am researching my ancestors and several "Misc Grey Bits" albums where pages go until I decide if they need to be moved to a new home.

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  7. I'm experimenting. I scrapbook as a way of recording life now, as it unfolds.
    I want to keep the process as simple and uncluttered as possible. I have a horror of leaving shelves full of heavy albums that no-=one will know what to do with.
    This year everything is going in together into my own homemade soft-cover spiral-bound albums, sized 24cms by 30 cms. I've just bound one, so am about to start another.
    I'm thinking of using archival quality double-sided paper for the next one - and am posting about this soon.
    Great topic, Emma!

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  8. I use AC albums and I love to mix up the sizes inside. I also simply put pages in in the order I have made them, all dated on the back. I don't scrap chronologically at all - I hop backwards and forwards in time, but as long as I have the date on the back I don't mind what order it all goes in the album.

    I do love to read how others organise!

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  9. I have 2 children and one on the way, my eldest is now nine and I started scrapping when he was 3. I have a 12x12 album for each child and a family album too. LO’s that involve both kids that I only scrap once are in the family album but if I do 2 LO’s then the kids get one each. I have back scrapped for the first born but don’t remember a lot of details so his are mainly a few words and pictures up to age 3 where as my other child has very detailed LO’s as Ive scrapped from birth. I don’t scrap in order I print photos every few months and have a scrapping weekend where I pump out heaps of LO’s that I feel like doing, eg I did all of my 9year old sons school layouts up to year 3 at one time. I do store them in photo date in the album.

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  10. Great reading!
    I print 500+ photos at a time to get me a year or more of photos. I don't scrap them chronologically, but I leave them in a pile until I get back on the computer to write the photo date on them, then I file them chronologically.
    I have a BOM album, our wedding album (my first venture into scrapbooking!), and one album for each child's first year (4 kids!), then all layouts go into the family albums (by year).
    I have also scrapped a few albums for specific times eg, our snow holiday, Holidays in Hand, school photos.
    My layouts are all SUO nowadays and all are 12x12 (can't see I will ever change that).
    I am yet to tackle any pre-kids photos...

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  11. I use 12 x 12 d ring albums and scrap in a range of sizes, including divided page potectors.

    I have 4 subject based albums - been there, done that; family and whanau (Maori word for extended family, including close friends); this is me; just for fun

    I also each year do an album on a particular theme - the year I turned 45 the album was 'me at 45'; last year the album was photo a day;

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  12. I am loving reading everyones different processes. Its amazing how many different ways there are! Thanks to everyone that has commented so far and to those that havent commented yet, we'd love to hear from you!!

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  13. I use both AC 12 x 12 and Love You More albums. the Love You More are similar to the W R Memory Keepers album and come in lots of colours.

    I have an album (well many) for each child and a family album.Even my 19 yo has her own album still. I also have a holidays album. And a special album for Mark and Dani.

    I scrap every size possible and love it!!

    And I am pretty much a chronological scrapper and pages go into the albums in date order. I do have a large pile of older photos that I go back to now and then. I have scanned lots of Dani (the 19 yo) that where on pages in the old CM style. I like to re-scrap some and include a more detailed memory for her. My pages of the younger girls are so detailed so I like to do these pages fro Dani. I also have a pile of Marks photos I take out when I am feeling reflective or can see a connection between him and the girls.

    I think I might need to do a post on this!!

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  14. Horrified? Not at all, because I do something similar. I was thinking of rearranging, but now you mention about the rellies looking through it makes sense to leave things as they are. Thanks for saving me a job.
    I do, however, do separate albums for big holidays and those are stored chronologically in the album, although I don't scrap them chronologically. Rearranging gives me an excuse to sit and look at the pages again!

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