I have a list in the back of my mind that holds the tasks that I really want to get to, but continue to put on the back burner. Here is a peak at that list:
1. Vacuum out the car (especially the car seats).
2. Organize receipts for taxes.
3. Clean out all our closets.
4. Get rid of old magazines.
5. Do something with all my photos.
The list goes on and on, but it is #5 on that list that has been lurking in my mind lately. It seems like this time of year with all the holidays, traditions, family gatherings and festive moments breeds great photos. I see these great photos, and I swoon over them. And then, I get busy and they sit inside my computer waiting for some exposure in my home and in our photo albums. Here is my confession: I love scrapbooking! I love taking photos that are precious to me and journaling next to them and creating a book that will be cherished by me and my kids in the future. However, I cannot seem to motivate myself to actually stay caught up on this endeavor! My daughter is 5 years old and I am still working on her first year of life in her scrapbook!
We would love to hear from other mamas on this topic. Whether you are a scrapbooker or not, do you have a system in place that gets your photos into books, albums, or frames in a timely manner? How do you stay on top of it? What are your tricks?
For those of us that do scrapbook, here are some tools that have motivated me to jump back in and attempt to get caught up. I have scoured my friend, "The Internet", and tracked down what I think are some pretty snazzy products that are sure to inspire creativity and motivate us to get those photos onto the pages that will catalogue your memories before they are as distant as the babyhood that quickly transitions to toddlerhood and then preschoolhood... Clip it Up
Clip It Up is a unique and simple solution for organizing, storing and using all types of scrapbooking & craft products and embellishments. Stickers, ribbons, brads, rub-ons and many other items are right in sight and at your fingertips. Since one Clip It Up can hold hundreds of different items, you can quickly access your collection and make your scrapbooking more efficient, fun and creative. I love this because it gets all of the crafty stuff that I have out of my storage boxes and drawers and into one spot, where I can see it all at once. For me, when I have a small window of time to be crafty, I want to maximize that time. So often, it seems like just as I get everything unpacked, my window is up. Having these items organized and on display is amazing!
Clip It Up’s handle and light weight make it completely portable. Set it on a table, move it to a countertop or floor, store it in a closet or take it wherever you go. The optional cover is easy to pull on and off and helps protect your products.
Here is another thing I love about this product - it can be used to clip up photographs so that it becomes a place to display all your photographs that you love. I am using mine to display all my Christmas Cards right now, and my kids are thrilled with how it can spin to display all our loved ones.
Cocoa Daisy Cocoa Daisy is an online scrapbooking supplies store, as well as a melting pot of inspiration for scrapbookers! They offer new and exciting scrapbook products as well as products that wouldn’t necessarily, at first glance, be seen as scrapbook products. Their best seller is the main "kit" that is offered monthly. This always includes a wide variety of products from different manufacturers. Each kit includes at least 10-14 sheets of patterned paper, 4 cardstocks, an alpha, a stamp, ribbons and several different embellishments. Additionally, they also have at least one project kit a month. The beauty of the project kits is that they include everything you need to complete that particular project as well as detailed instruction. The project kits are great for customers who would like to do something crafty but don’t necessarily want to have to come up with the idea on their own.
Additionally, for women looking for “scrappy” ideas, they have a monthly newsletter that always includes a project to help give that inspirational boost for women looking to jump in!
I think the beauty of these scrapbook kits and all the coordinating papers and embellishments is that they take out the guesswork for scrapbookers and allow us to spend our time jumping into our creativity instead of wasting time on trying to find the right products. With just the basics – a paper trimmer, adhesivies, craft scissors, and a kit, a scrapbooker of any level is ready to dive in!


I love love that clip it up..that is just great!!! I need one of those.
ReplyDelete-sandy toes
I've been a scrapbooker since college but am not as on top of it now with 2 kids but I so want to be! The hardest part for me is that living in a small place there's no room to leave things out to do a quick page or 2 during naps or in the evening. So, if I dive into it, it's over the kitchen table which is too accessible for little hands and a space I use all day long. I've been getting into a hybrid scrapbook, some pages done by hand and some digital. That way I can still add some personal touches but then have some pages that were a little easier to put together. Love the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteYea...that clip it up is just the cat's meow!
ReplyDeleteI use a Making Memories Carousel for my storage needs and it's great but I want that clip it!
We live near a Farmers Market and I use a lot of canning labels in my scrapbooking. They have really cool retro looking ones!
my boyfriend always calls me the BAG LADY- i have all sorts of projects organized in bags, whether it be shopping bags, tote bags, beach bags, you name it. this would help organize my photos, scrapbook and card making accessories wonderfully!
ReplyDeleteKeep all scraps in a ziplock. You never know when you'll need them.
ReplyDeleteluckydolls123[at]verizon[dot]net
I can't say I'm current on my scrapbooking, but normally I try to schedule a night once a month with my scrapping girlfriends to get together and just scrap. It gives us a time to catch up (with out scrapbooking AND with eachother), share resources and ideas, and make time to relax and have fun. That's what it's all about right? :)
ReplyDeleteI've only been scrapbooking since Laina was born (about a year and a half). I'm doing her book the traditional way, but it's slow going. My new favorite thing, which I will probably do with future kids, is the online photo books. I got some through Snapfish as Christmas gifts for the grandparents last year. You upload photos and set up a book online. You can pic backgrounds and add text and everything. They came out great!
ReplyDeleteI buy a lot of my supplies at the Dollar Store. They have pretty good supplies for $1!
ReplyDeleteI started scrapbooking when my son was born and produced a fantastic book that we love... that was the first year. Now I have a gap from years one to eight. The task of catching up seems a bit daunting. I think I need some good inspiration
ReplyDeleteMy favorite resource are the scraps, never throw anything away, you never know what you can use them for
ReplyDeletemy favorite one are punches
ReplyDeletefreecyling2 at gmail.com
mine is a circle cutter, any as long as cuts circles :)
ReplyDeleteceda3free at gmail dot com
My scrapping tip is to buy big ziplock bags (2 1/2 gallon size) and as you develop your pictures sort ones you want to use on a particular page into the bags, along with the paper that strikes your fancy (which is why I like the BIG bags- 12x12 paper fits in them) and your embellishments. When I have 5 or 10 minutes I can then create a page because everything is right there, ready to go. Using kits of the month make it so easy to throw stuff together into these bags and then assemble as you have spare moments. I also bought cute photo storage boxes that sit on a shelf in my crafting area, I sort my pictures into them as I get them (one for each of my kiddos, one for the family album, one for extra mat and scrap paper). It makes me feel better to have the pictures sorted and makes those 5 or 10 spare minutes I have time that I can actually use to create a page. I know that one day I will have time aplenty to create these books- I also keep a journal going so when I do have the chance (sadly I am sure it will be when my kids have grown)I will remember all of the things I wanted to SAY in their scrapbooks.
ReplyDeleteI am the same way, need organization ( or maybe it is just the time). My biggest thing is not starting another album until one is completely finished or up to date. Okay, okay, so I have two albums going. One from our trip to Jaimaica a year ago and the other is for my husband and his career.
ReplyDeleteSo any type of organization will help! I have seen those clip it ups and look great... it is like a dangling reminder and organization all in one!
i use jars for almost all my scrapbooking storage....buttons, scraps, metal embellies, ribbon, everything. it's functional and so so pretty. much prettier than plastic boxes. :)
ReplyDeleteI love scrapbooking and have been doing it for about 15 years now. I am chronically 6 months to a year behind, but I have to allow myself to be okay with that. I see my Creative Memories consultant about 4 times a year when she hosts a big crop. Those times really help me "keep up" with my projects. I will usually work on organizing my pages a week or so before the crop so that when I'm there, I can spend most of my time just scrapping and not trying to figure out which picture should go where! I've sorta of come adopt a simple approach to scrapping. I have sooo much stuff that I feel I need to use what I have, and it goes so much quicker when I just use a little paper and move on! Because really what I want is to enjoy my pictures in my album, not spend 5 hours agonizing over a page that has only 3 photos on it! I jam at least 5-7 photos on each page!
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts by all the comments and loved the products and ideas shared in post!!! :) Julie Lawrence
I am one of those who wants to start but never does. I have my pics organized on my computer but not printed out. I'm stressing just thinking about it!
ReplyDeleteJennifer
Hello! My friends and I have a small monthly get together for card making, scrapping and sharing our ideas with one another. If any of us happen to find a great sale on papers, embellishments, etc., we purchase enough and share/give our finds to the other members. We also share our stamping and scrapbooking magazines with one another. Please enter me in your delightful giveaway drawing. Many thanks.....Cindi
ReplyDeletejchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com
My friends and I go to Scrapbook night at our local Archivers and get so much done!! Some will work on a page, some will organize photos, others work on whatever random project they have.
ReplyDeleteIt's great because we borrow eachothers tools and supplies to keep costs down!
dcbehlmer(at)hotmail(dot)com
MFJ:
ReplyDeleteI carry my camera everywhere and snap as many candid pictures as possible. Since they are all digital, I download them to my pc and immediately burn them to CD and date it. I then jot down the events of the day and any stories for journaling in a notebook with the date. When I'm ready to scrapbook, i just go to my scrapbooking notebook for that day and pull the CD. It helps me keep organized for when I can print pictures and start scrapbooking. The jounaling notebook helps me recall stuff to journal.
watson(at)zerostreet(dot)net
I am a HUGE scrapbooker! I eat, drink, and sleep scrapbooking! LOL! One of my best tips is to understand that you do not have to scrap every photograph. Do the stuff that inspires you and that makes you smile! Those are the things you will want to be looking at later, anyway!
ReplyDeletejinglesells at gmail dot com