When I Want to Scrap Fast!

Lately I've really been feeling the need to finish up Matthew's Album, and with my limited time (hello: 5 kids, homeschooling, running a business, etc.). I have just a couple of hours to scrap a week. In that time I NEED to scrap fast. I've come down with a system that helps me crank out the pages quickly. I thought I would share it with you in case you have the same problem with time that I do.

Using Time of My Life by Down This Road
Kraft Papers by Happy Scrap Girl

Here are my steps. I usually do one step a day, about 4 days a week.

1. Organize and edit pictures first (30 minutes).
For Matthew's Album, I'm focusing on one day worth of pictures at a time. I delete the pictures I know I won't use. I group them by event or outing into separate folders. Usually, those separate folders represent a single or double-page spread. That way when I'm ready to scrap I know what kind of template I need.

2. Place pictures in templates (30 minutes).
Then it's time to place a bunch of pictures into a bunch of templates. For Matthew's Album, I already know that I'm using my Double Monthly Challenge Template Bundle.  I scan those templates and pick one that works with the photos I'm using. I place the pictures in the template, save the file (with a different name of course) and then I move on to the next grouping of pictures. I usually do about 6-8 pages like this in one sitting, which is about one day's worth of pictures. I know, I know, that's a bunch of pages and pictures, but he's 5 and we have a lot of catching up to do. :)

3. Make sure I have kits to go with each page (10 minutes).
Then I'll scan the pages I put together and the kits I have to see if I might need anything new. There's always an excuse to go shopping. But truth be told, I save a lot of time if I use things I already have. And goodness knows I have enough! If I do buy anything new I download, unzip and organize it so it's ready to go.

4. Scrap, scrap, scrap and simplify the template! (1 hour) 
Now it's time to add all the fun stuff to the page. With Matthew's pages, I've actually been deleting a lot of the extra stuff on the template and telling myself I don't need a lot of extra elements (although they are very tempting).

Check out these two pages: Minimal elements and they are some of my latest favorites. I know some of you can scrap super fast using a lot of stuff, but I just can't. So I keep it simple. Do what works for you.  I'm just sharing what works for me.

Double Monthly Challenge Templates 13 by Scrapping with Liz
Ninja Addict by Dream Big Designs and Laura Banasiak

Double Monthly Challenge Templates 1 by Scrapping with Liz
Time of  My Life by Down This Road Designs

With these steps laid out like this, I can scrap about 6-8 pages a week in about 2-3 hours. Not too bad.

I have 6 templates with photos of Matthew in them just calling my name. It's time for a scrapping session.

-Liz

P.S. After searching on my blog I realized I've blogged about this before. Still using almost the same exact process 3 years later.




5 comments

Jenny said...

Great tips! I like to use just a few embellishments also. Do you use any shadowing layer styles? I find that is a great time-saver also. :)

Liz said...

I do. I use some from Megan Turnidge, but I also have some of my own that I saved. Definitely a time saver.

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for sharing your tips. They are very very helpful!!!

Zsuzsi said...

Wow! I always wanted to make a scrapbook album, but I never had enough time for the layouts. I will try to use your tips. Thanks for sharing them! :-)

Liz said...

I hope they help, Zsuszi!

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Maira Gall