Why Two-Pagers?

[field of flowers 2006]

It was because I had so many pictures. You know, the reason I was so drawn to the two-page layout. Double the space-double the potential. Room for all my pictures and ribbons. I loved have the giant cavas on which to plan, design and glue. I embraced the two-page layout with gusto. I really gained momentum when I got a hold of Becky Higgin's Sketch Book. Pages and pages of two-page ideas. The two-pagers really offered me the freedom to keep the three pictures that looked basically the same. It also gave my endless supply of standard 4x6 prints a hope of seeing the light of day. The extra space was so much more forgiving of my novice skills and lack of technique. Some of my experiments were more successful than others. The title split across the page seemed to be okay, but the funky fiber frames intended to tie the two halves together was awkward and still gets a, "What is that supposed to be?" look every time I see it.

One way of thinking of the two-pager is as a space saver. With the space for so many pictures, I could tell a multi-faceted story. In Summer Cabin Fun! I consolidated most of the visit into a single layout: cousins at sunset, girls swimming, fishing net game, big fish catch, and a highlight photo for each kid. (And still have room for fun patterned paper and a couple of ribbon embellishments.) It's not quite a masterpiece, but I am pleased with the storytelling with a clean presentation.

[Summer Cabin Fun! 2006]

[Bananas for Your Birthday 2006]

[February Fun 2006]

Lately I have been looking at the at the accommodations on the two-pages with a different eye. Maybe I've just been taking better photos. When I see two or three really strong photos capable of telling a rich story, I think about how best to showcase them. I have been experimenting with larger photos and more space. The field of flowers layout was a challenge. I really loved the photos and didn't want anything to distract from them. I wanted the layout to represent expanse of the field of dandelions. Now I can use the real estate to enhance the story rather than just hold a pile of photos and hope a story emerges.

[Snow Dog 2007]

While I feel like I've put together some great stories in my two-page layouts, I've begun to realize that not all my stories need that much space. I'm enjoying a return to the single pagers, and taking lessons about highlighting the better photos. Just ask, "What's the best way to tell this story?"

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All Done But the Journaling

Artist at Work [April 2006]

It seems like every page has a story to tell. The photos have been carefully chosen to present the event, action or emotion. The papers were selected to bring together the colors of the photos with the theme of the layout. The title somehow comes through with a nice little punch. It's all there-a terrific layout. All there except the journaling.I have entire albums completed to the last button and brad, sans journaling. I know a some scrapbookers who do little or no journaling, letting the pictures speak for themselves. Their pages may be silent, but they certainly communicate volumes. Others pen their stories and comments in their own handwriting on carefully crafted journaling blocks. My layouts usually include a dedicated design element for my thoughtful, computer generated journaling recounting my remembrances and anecdotes. I plan for them and integrate them carefully into my pages. I just never seem to get around to actually printing them and getting them on the page.

I have grandiose plans for completing the albums and putting them away on the shelf. Truth is I haven't put in a new piece of journaling since fall 2006. I do have the journaling done. It's typed out and sitting in the computer waiting for me to format and size to the individual spaces on each page. Once that is done, I will print them on vellum or clear sticker paper and add them to the pages. It's just that I've already put the pages in the plastic page protectors and put the album on the shelf. I know I need to finish them, but I just want to move forward. My favorite part of scrapbooking isn't the finishing, it's the doing.

Here are just a few of the pages waiting for the final touch. I will get to them; I will finish them. Just not now; I just got a great idea for a page.

Chocolate Smiles [April 2006]

Autumn Style [September 2006]



Our Little Mermaid [November 2006]

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It's All About the Glue, I Mean the Adhesives...

When I first started scrapbooking, I had a really nice gluestick. It seemed like it would be all I needed. Sure, my fingers got a little sticky, but I was just gluing pictures and background paper. Very simple. How could I have been so naive and so wrong?Then I was faced with the challenge of a button and some ribbon. The gluestick, no matter how awesome, just couldn't do the job. That's when I looked around the workroom of the scrapbook store, and I realized there was an entire adhesive mileu that was just beginning to touch my awareness. First was the mini glue dot-so much power packed into such a a tiny little flat circle. The roll seems never ending so I could feel free to use as many as I want. There's no such thing as too many mini glue dots. From there I borrowed a few pop dots from someone. These little pre-cut pieces of double stick foam raised the item on the page to create layers and dimension. What about those little tiny die cut letters? I spent 20 minutes individually cutting out the 1-inch letters for a title; now I had to glue them on the page. Use the glue pen, of course-precision glue, but lots of sticky fingers. (It would be two more years before I entered the, "Oh, duh! A Xyron!" reality.) With those basics in my tool box, I decided to jump the canyon and got my first tape runner. This was so cool! The speed. The control. The clean fingers. The wipe off removal of excess. It just couldn't get any better than this. What!? And it's refillable? Woohoo! Until I actually had to refill it. What a speed bump that was. A few months later and I was still adhesive-challenged at refill time. I could go on and on about my trials and tribulations, but suffice it to say that I continued to carry the glue stick for the times when my frustration hit it's peak, and I tossed the entire runner, refill, box, and the little square of folded directions with a diagram violently into the bottom of case with a string of very, very bad words. Took me a long time, but now I can run through the refill process and be back to the layout in less than a minute. I do admit that I do have a gummed up permanent tape runner tucked in my tool box, but my removeable is almost two years old and still running strong. Four years later and along with my tape runners, mini glue dots (still awesome!), pop dots, and glue pen, may horde includes the much needed vellum dots, big glue dots, big Zots, Zips strips, liquid glue, and the 1/8 of inch double-sided wonder tape (can't face ribbon without it). And I don't want to forget a quick shout out to the the amazing Xyron. Without doubt or hesitation, I need them all.
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The Book of Inspiration

Where to get ideas? Sometimes I sit and stare at the pictures sitting on top of the paper and wait for the layout to jump up and slap me. Rarely happens. The truth is I love to look at other people's great layouts and scraplift them. Sketches are one of my favorites things. I get really jazzed by the concepts and work to make it my own. For a while I felt like I was doing something wrong. The group that I scrapped with always seemed to have a steady flow of original ideas for layouts and embellishments. I was the only one with idea books and magazines. Then I started reading about scraplifting and seeing invitations to take layouts, design elements and techniques and apply them to your own pages. I hate to turn down an invitation.



I look through magazines and scour the internet to find examples of great ideas. At first I tagged the pages in the magazines, but they got so bulky. Sometimes the magazines had so many single photo layouts, that I skipped over a lot of examples. I always have way to many pictures to focus on too many single photo pages. I decided to start cutting out things I liked and and keeping them in what has been dubbed "The Book of Inspiration." It started out organized and labeled: layouts, techniques, mini-books, tags. I put the examples and sketches in plastic sheet holders so I could flip through it quickly. Lately the Book has become quite cumbersome. Since I only add to it and never take anything out, it's now overstuffed and exploding. Right now I have at least 30 pages of examples and pictures that they are all jammed in the front. At the last two crops I just thumbed through the loose pages until I found what I needed.

As an post script, I was surprised when I one evening the Book of Inspiration offered me nothing even after three trips through every page. Then I reached over to put a completed album back on the shelf and opened it up. Even though I had completed the album over a year and a half ago, looking over it reminded me of things that I hadn't done in a long time. Crazy, I know - I scraplifted from myself. Doesn't mean I've given up the Book of Inspiration-it's only going to get bigger.

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Scrapbook Weekend Getaway

Catch and Release [May 2007]

Just got back from another outstanding weekend at CJ's Creative Cottage. Every visit to CJ's is great. The accommodations are super - lots of great cropping space, good lighting, excellent tools. The computer and printer are new. I really like the printer; it is a true 12x12 color printer. I thought it was awesome to be able to print directly onto my full layout even after I had glued down the background papers. (See "Worms and Olivia" below.) I've been visiting the Cottage for about three years now and have NEVER been disappointed. There are fun new Cricuit cartridges as well. I know I should just break down and buy more for my own Cricuit, but I do enjoy trying them out ahead of time. The Cottage is only 35 miles from home; just far enough to feel like I'm getting away and close enough that I don't dread the trip. I spent the last couple of months getting prepared by selecting photos and matching them up to paper. It may sound dreary and tedious, but it is one of the parts of scrapbooking that I really like. I especially like separating it from the actually time building layouts. I like to savor the decision-making. Laying out all the pictures from an event and sorting out the "must have in a 5x7" from the "never see the light of day" pictures. Once that's done, I pick the paper. I LOVE this part. I am a paper freak. Getting a chance to browse through the florals, strips, circles & dots, and holiday & theme paper is very engaging. It reminds of the paper I have purchased ("What was I thinking?") and gives purpose to the money I spent. It also lets me lounge and dilly-dally on the choices; something that I feel guilty about when I am actually cropping and gluing. It's just feels luxurious to hem and ha over three shades of green knowing that when I'm sitting there on the marathon weekend of cropping, the decisions have been made and path set. For this weekend, I had over 30 layouts prepped. That is pretty ridiculous, I know, but I knew that they would never go to waste. It's all about me FEELING organized. I did finish 17 pages over the weekend. A little disappointing because it is fewer than the last weekend I was there. However, I do like the results.

Most of the layouts were from summer. I felt like I spent a long time scrapping pictures from Fourth of July vacation.

Summer Splash [June 2007]

Big Fish [June 2007]

Morning's Catch [June 2007]

Golf with the Girls [July 2007]

Driving Lesson [July 2007]

Worms and Olivia [July 2007]
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