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Old 11-03-2019, 03:26 PM
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Default I can't scrap!

I sit down with the intention of scrapping. Then I spend all my time either looking at old pictures or looking at kits. I need some organization I guess.

My scrappy supplies are pretty well organized by theme/purpose. However, I don't remember half of what I have unless it is a holiday or a themed layout then I still have to browse for kits to use.

My photos are a MESS. At some point I started using my phone to take pictures more than my Nikon so things are not easily organized because I have all these photos of random 'phone pictures'. Some are scrap worthy, others are just screen shots of things I wanted to remember!

Anyone have any strategies for getting scrapping done? I was SO on top of it when my kids were little, before I went back to work (and now school).
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Old 11-03-2019, 04:11 PM
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I am usually an organized mess! I have a scrap night coming up and am trying to figure out and prep so I can be productive. I think I am going to pick 1 project to work on/complete and spend the next couple of days gathering supplies for that.
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Old 11-03-2019, 04:48 PM
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I rely on my PL album for a guide to what memories I need to remember to scrap in their own layout.
When I have time I'll look through those pages and see what week I have something scrap worthy.
Then I'll make a folder with those photos and date it for later scrapping.
When the scrapping bug hits me I'll shuffle through those folders and find photos that fit my mood.
Que the stash of kits - I make tags/labels for each kit so they're easy to find. Mostly I scrap with either of my two favourite designers kits, only now and then will I go beyond those folders simply because they fit my style best. For when I need them, the other kits are available and I can search the tags/labels that fit the photos and I get all kits that could fit.
My photos are all in weekly folders in my PL folder of each year, then I have seperate folders for special events like birthdays or holidays.

I do end up spending forever picking just the right kit though and often mix and match kits just to get it right.
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Old 11-03-2019, 06:43 PM
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I have no help as I'm a scrappy mess. My photos are so unorganized. I'd say to start there. I wish I had a better suggestion, but I hope you can get some more scrappy time and scrap beautiful layouts again!
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Old 11-03-2019, 07:07 PM
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I ALWAYS find that taking the time to organize results in so much creativity the next time I want to scrap. I keep a folder on my desktop of photos I want to scrap.

But I still find myself spending too long searching for the right template or kit if I'm not starting with a CT product.
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Old 11-03-2019, 10:26 PM
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Kellie, I think that is a LOT of my issue... when I used to scrap with CT kits, I found it a LOT easier. Part of the decision was made for me. Use THIS kit, or THAT template... I then just had to find photos that went with it. It was so much easier. I totally miss being on Creative Teams. I used to scrap a lot more then.

Wendy, I definitely need to organize my photos better. I think I need to make a folder of pictures I want to scrap as well, as suggested by Kellie.

The challenges definitely help steer me in a specific direction. I actually scrapped a layout this evening. However, it took ages to pick out the template I wanted to use, the photo and the kit. Then once I had the kit (or collection, I should say) narrowed down, it took ages to figure out which parts of it I wanted to use. I'm a mess. I used to be able to get a layout done in under an hour while cooking dinner and chasing kids!
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Old 11-04-2019, 12:12 AM
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I don't really organize my photos, except by monthly folders and yearly folders (where all 12 months' folders of that year are in). I just browse them for the photos that I want to scrap at the spot, the same with the kits. Though, for the kits, I put the unused/to be scrapped kits and templates in a separate folder. Sorry that I am not that much of a help. ;/
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Old 11-04-2019, 12:43 AM
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You're going to need to take some time organizing before you can get back to scrapping.

Biancka (?!) has a DigiScrap program that her husband created that she has posted about here in the forums. You can do a search to find that thread, I believe.

If you don't want to do that (or in conjunction with it), you really do need to go through your photos and get rid of screenshots, dupes, bad ones, etc. and at least organize them by year. I have my iPhone set up to automatically dump all my photos into my iCloud account (which I pay an extra 99 cents for per month for more space) + onto my laptop hard drive. I go through this folder on my laptop once every couple weeks (more often if I had several things happen & I'm excited to see the pics) and delete all my dupes, bad pics, etc. right then & there before moving them over to my EHD into their proper chronological folder by year & month. At the same time I'm moving the keeper photos over, I also duplicate the ones I want to scrap and drag them into my "To Be Scrapped" folder into their own subfolder. My "To Be Scrapped" folder is divided into "Cute Pictures" and "Important Stories" and further divided by year. I keep my templates on my laptop hard drive but every couple months will go through my "To Be Scrapped" folder and drag templates in to be used with a particular set of pictures.

When I get a new kit, I go through a similar process and move it over to my EHD into my "To Be Used" kit (unless it is a CT kit which all live on my laptop until I use them).

When I want to scrap, all I need to do is go into my "To Be Scrapped" folder or my "To Be Used" folder and pick out what inspires me. I also have a "Kits + Pics" folder that has, as you can guess, photos already matched up with a kit and just waiting for me to have the time to make the page.

It is A LOT of work at the beginning but once you get the system in place, it is a breeze. I have 2 kids, work 30 hours a week, and volunteer so I generally only create 1 or 2 layouts during the week. My organizational systems make the time I do have to scrap infinitely more productive. I have everything important scrapped from 2002-2017, and I know that because of how organized my photos & supplies are.

Good luck! You can do this!

Last edited by LeeAndra; 11-04-2019 at 12:52 AM.
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Old 11-08-2019, 01:38 PM
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I find that organizing helps me feel more like scrapping. It's kind of like a clean house makes you feel more comfortable.
I have my photos in year-month-date-activity folders. It's usually easy to find what I need.
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Old 11-10-2019, 06:13 PM
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Thanks everyone!

LeeAndra, I have photos saved to my iCloud automatically (we pay $2.99 a month for the extra family storage) but I'm not sure how to have them moved automatically to my laptop. Hmm... I usually have to pull them one at a time then sometimes I end up with duplicates because I don't use them this time and pull them next time. Ugh. I really DO need to organize myself!
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Old 11-18-2019, 06:40 PM
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I have a bit of the same problem. I have so many photos and so little time to scrap that I find myself organizing kits and photos and then run out of time to actually scrap. I think what I'm going to start doing is set aside a bit of time every week to tag and organize in Lightroom and my folders and then separate time for actual scrapping. I'll need to focus to stick with it but I truly think that's the only way I'm going to ever get anything done! BTW, I was on one of your CT's way back in the day lol. It's good to be back to the scrapping world more regularly!
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Old 11-21-2019, 12:18 PM
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I am having the same issue the past month.... I just pulled all my christmas kits and templates in hopes that I get inspired (I like to scrap as many of my Christmas photos past and current during this time of year because I don't like to scrap the holidays once the new year hits)..... so, I've been getting a little antsy that I haven't started playing catch up yet.
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Old 11-27-2019, 11:36 PM
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I haven't scrapped in months! Since I went to work full time vs part time. I haven't found that balance yet.
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Old 11-28-2019, 12:39 PM
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I havent scrapped in about 2 yrs and I miss it all the time.

I look at all my pics and kits and sit but then something else comes along.....
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