A Little Sketchy

I have realized that I actually look forward to sketching layouts and packing crap up.  I know this is not a revelation to many of my friends...many of whom accuse me of "prepping" a bit too much...but, since a portion of what I scrapbook is my chronological-one-album-per-child-plus-one-for-family-oh-lookie-how-90s-she is, I find great pleasure in this process of mine.

Many may shake their head (OK, maybe a lot will) at not only the chronological-old-school way of thinking and scrapbooking but for the fact that I enjoy sketching it all out so much...I just work better if I have put pencil to paper, even roughly, when I sit down to create.   And, because I enjoy this process, it isn't a chore or something I should try and eliminate out of my life.  I do it because I love it.  To me, it isn't causing me more stress or adding stress or making me stressed out.  To me, it is relaxing and satisfying.  In my mind it allows me to get more pages completed and to bring out the creativity during all facets of the scrapbooking process.

With that, I have come up with a new game plan for my sketching and packing up.  Because I scrapbook on a fairly regular weekly basis, and sometimes we are not at my house, I need to be effective at packing up.  I have always enjoyed a well packed bag that isn't carrying my kitchen sink and dining room table.  Now, this plan of mine may not be Oscar worthy but in my little world, I think it is mighty dandy.

I will first tell you how I used to do it so you will recognize and applaud my changes, K?  I used to sketch each layout (I now do all our chronological scrapbooking in "monthly review" type pages so, for instance, I do a two-page spread for each month of the year and use only the highlighted photos for each of us) and then pack up each layout...cardstock, pattern paper, embellishments, alphabets, photos.  Stacked them, boxed them, boom, ready and done.  However, not only did it take an obscene amount of time to do this but it took up a lot of space too.

This new idea came to me a couple of weeks ago and yesterday I put part of my plan into action.  I decided to pack up entire months instead and what would normally take me a long ass time to pack up layout after layout the old way, took me about an hour to pack up August-December, times four albums.  Awesome, yes?

I realize this is not rocket science here.  All I did was pull cardstock for one month, in this case August, grabbed some pattern paper that I thought I might want to use...then, I pulled out my summer boxes and grabbed a miscellaneous handful of summer-related embellishments.  I purchased a few more clear alphabet stamps and about thirty black and white alphabet letters (to better streamline this whole thing).  I put all the cardstock, pattern paper, and embellishments into one large plastic see-through scrapbook bag.  Done.  See?  Or, am I the only pathetic one who finds this to be incredible and earth shattering?

I will go forward assuming you all agree with me that this is marvelous.  Tonight I will put the new plan into action and see how it all works out from a scrapbooking point of view. 

The second part of my plan, which I still need to execute, will be using a small carrying-case-tote-thingy that will have hanging folders for each month of the year.  I will then pull from my overflowing supply of STUFF and fill the months with embellishments and pattern paper.  When it is time to sit down and scrapbook, I will grab my cardstock, my sketched notes and this carrying-case-tote-thingy full of supplies, separated by months, which is the way I scrapbook those chronological photos, and get busy completing layouts.  This way, I will actually work through some of the old(er) embellishments, it won't be overwhelming, and packing up won't take the better part of a weekend to accomplish.

Off to scrapbook now...

Comments

[Lori]

Oh my gosh, my head is spinning with all of your planning! I am the polar opposite of you! Ok, I 'fess up, it was me. Now give me my damn tea towel!

[sara c]

Please come organize my life!!!!!

And then you can tackle my scrapbooking room.

[Corinna]

I love your way of doing things... I just wish my brain worked that way. LOL.

As for the tote. I know I suck!
I will get it too you soon. Promise... maybe tomorrow! Or Tuesday when I come and pick you up. Non the less... soon.

I had a fabulous time scrappin' with you last night and again today! Thanks for hangin out with me... It is always an adventure.
***giggle***

[natalie]

The tote! You need a serious NOTEBOOK!!!! Sheesh. Maybe a stick-it note to your damn forehead. Such the LLCOOLJ!

Hee Hee...pick me up...Hee Hee...I can't tell you how I already feel like 120% BETTER not having to worry about the snow on Tuesday. You rock LLCJ.

I can't believe how many pages I completed between last night and this afternoon...I think I did about 15 pages last night and another almost 8 today. It has certainly been one bumpy ride, alright! Wow.