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Old 05-16-2019, 04:35 PM
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I'm kind of stuck... I am a beginner scrapbooker that just can't see to find her groove. I have completed 2 Album projects - 1 was a recipe book and the other was with a Project Life Kit. Both of these were paper and now I prefer to work digitally. I tried to continue with PL but found that the cards didn't have much 'flair' so then I explored other options and found SSD and love the kits - and I can use as much or as little 'flair' as I want! I have tried to play along with the games - bingo, passport and the birthday month but can't help but feel overwhelmed!

Ultimately I would like to put a book together for each of my nieces - with all of their childhood adventures. But what do you do if you have a bumblebee page (blacks & yellows) right next to a unicorn page (pastels, pinks & purples)? Or when you use a Brooke Magee 1-2 pic template right next to a LJS Photo Focus?

What do you do with your pages after you scrap? Is it ok to have memory books that don't have 1 color scheme/theme and/or format throughout? Am I totally overthinking this??
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Old 05-16-2019, 05:03 PM
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Jen....you are totally over-thinking this

Take you time and get to feel comfortable here...I promise, you'll fit right in!

As for mixing and matching colors, themes, etc....I have seen albums that matched and some that don't....I love it both ways.

One thing about mismatched, if they are all mismatched, that kind of makes it a theme of a sort...KWIM?

I've done matched up 2-page color schemes but if they are not completely, it was ok. I tried to at least match up by color vibrancy or warm/cool tones and subject.

I don't think there is a right or wrong answer on this. It's whatever you want to do.
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Old 05-16-2019, 06:09 PM
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My kids love seeing every single page in my albums, no matter if they "match" or if they're totally different styles (and they're always totally different styles). Scrap how you want and put your albums together in a way that works for you/your audience. I bet your nieces will love what you create for them!

If you want facing pages to coordinate, what about using the same background paper on both? Then you can add as many elements/photos to either page but you'll have that "base" to kind of ground the spread. (This is only a suggestion: you do you and scrap how you want. This is your hobby. If you are like me, then your albums will resemble the scrapbook version of a crazy quilt lol, and they'll look fantastic that way.)
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Old 05-16-2019, 06:43 PM
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I've seen books done both ways - with the facing pages matching, and others where they're totally different.
I think that the main point is that the memories are captured and can be looked at.
Coming from a paper background myself (Creative Memories), I was paralyzed trying to figure this out. I started getting a lot more pages done when I found that I had the freedom from that mindset and can work on whatever I want, whenever I want!

I know you'll find the groove that works best for you
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Old 05-16-2019, 09:27 PM
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I print 8x8 softcover Shutterfly albums by year. I do that when they have their unlimited pages sales -- $40 for 2 volumes that are between 85-115 pages each.

My albums never match. My facing pages don't even match. It's all good.
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Old 05-16-2019, 10:20 PM
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I never really did a matching pages scrapbook. So I'd say you're overthinking it. Relax, sweetie, do what you want and like, it's your creative outlet
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Old 05-17-2019, 07:21 AM
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Ditto what everyone said. I think by not matching pages, it makes each page more interesting. But, I can also see how pretty it would be to have matching pages. I just don't have the patience and planning skills to do that.
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Old 05-17-2019, 08:43 AM
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While the challenges can be fun, they are also meant to be challenging! You may need to just scrap for yourself for a little bit! Pick a photo or grouping of photos you want to scrap, and work on those. Once you are feeling confident enough, jump into the challenges. Pick out the ones that are inspiring to you! The point of digiscrapping is to get pages scrapped! It doesn't matter how you are doing that, or how fast. The worst thing to do is to compare yourself to others! Everyone scraps differently...everyone!

As far as pages in albums, the memories and photos are what's important! Not colors, not design, not overall theme or look (persay). You can try to organize your albums so that pages compliment each other. (pastel next to pastel, bright next to bright etc. I have moved pages out of order before so that they flowed better).

We scrap to preserve the memories...but we can be our own worst critics. This is supposed to be fun! Take a few deep breaths, pour your heart into your pages, and just scrap! See what happens!
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Old 05-17-2019, 09:38 AM
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I definitely don't worry about coordinating colors/styles/etc. throughout an album or even facing pages. In my ring binder albums, I have paper pages next to digi pages, busy pages next to simple pages, bold color pages next to pastel pages, etc. It doesn't bother me, and I don't think it bothers anyone who has looked at my books either
Just do what you like... it's either for you or a gift for a person who loves you!
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Old 05-17-2019, 10:40 AM
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Unless it's a very specific topic - like an album I did for my husband's grandma with our son to be displayed at her funeral... then I used one kit through out - man, was that hard - I get bored easily. haha

My everyday albums aren't matchy pages... unless it's a double spread. Each single page is a separate memory and I don't want that memory to be confused with the next one - I want each page to stand on it's own.
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Old 05-17-2019, 12:52 PM
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The only rules in scrapbooking are the ones you make for yourself.


That said, I completely understand where you’re coming from. For years, my own layout creation was stymied by my brain over-thinking the bigger picture, trying to scrap chronologically when my inspiration doesn’t happen in date-order. What finally helped me break out of that paralysis was coming up with an overall plan for my memory-keeping, guided by Stacy Julian’s book & class about a Library of Memories (LOM).

When I scrap, my pages are either for themed albums or for our family’s LOM. A theme album is something like a trip to Hawaii, or my stepson’s wedding ... something that has a definite beginning and end. I get these printed as a bound book. Everything else goes in our LOM albums.

Our Library of Memories is grouped into four categories: About Us, People We Love, Places We Go, and Things We Do. Each category is assigned a color, and the pages are stored in a 3-ring album in that color. So if we want to look at photos of People We Love, grab a red album. Places we go ... green. Things we do is black, and About Us is blue.

Then inside those albums, I have section title pages to divide it up further. Places We Go is divided into Around Town, Around the State, Around the Country, and Around the World. So if inspiration strikes to create a single page layout using photographs I shot on our trip to Amsterdam, it gets filed in Places We Go/Around the World. If my next inspiration involves photos of my darling nieces, that layout will go in People We Love/The Flinn’s.

For me, just knowing that every page has a home frees me up to create as inspiration strikes. Something about the 3-ring format makes individual pages feel like a single entity; whatever is across the rings doesn’t feel like it has to coordinate ... not the way a bound book does, where the two pages are literally right next to each other. (Does that make sense?)

When I go about making a themed album, I choose a single set of templates, a single set of kits (what I like to call a Frankenkit), and a single set of fonts. That basic design scheme makes the book feel cohesive and look professional. It also makes it quicker to scrap since I’m not making those decisions for every page.

Sometimes, I like having a set design scheme to work with. Other times, I want to be able to use any kit and template and font that inspires me. Having this kind of structure to our family’s Library of Memories makes it possible for me to do both.

I hope this helps! If you’re interested, I’ll be happy to share more about the sections I’ve set up in each set of 3-ring binders. (That’s what helped me wrap my head around the system way back when ... seeing how other people had set theirs up.)
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Old 05-17-2019, 12:54 PM
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Enjoy the process and the pages you create! I've been doing this a really long time and have only a small fraction of pages compared to many others. I don't really do thing in any sort of order I just am happy each time I have a page made and have that one keepsake/memory documented. I always say years and years down the road it isn't going to matter how perfect things are or how they coordinate all that will matter is that you have those memories down
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Old 05-17-2019, 03:28 PM
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I agree with a lot of the above! My family/everyday albums do not match, and that's ok! Although I would admit that when I first transitioned from traditional scrapping, I always wanted to do two page layouts so they would coordinate. I let go of that and I've never looked thru my books and thought... wish those pages matched!! Now I will say that if I make a themed album like a Disney or other vacation book, I do like to be more consistent.
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Old 05-17-2019, 03:36 PM
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Such a great question!
I've also done it both ways - I've purchased kits that all color coordinated and are super matchy/matchy and ones where each page is different!!

I print 12x12 pages and put them in binders. I think I like them all to be different
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Old 05-17-2019, 03:41 PM
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Thank you to everyone for the words of encouragement!! I think the general consensus is not to matter about color or theme, basically have fun and get the memories scrapped!


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Old 05-17-2019, 09:29 PM
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Jen you have the total normal "newbie" questions.

This is my take on how I put together my albums...
when we grew up, everyone had those photo albums with ALL the photos in them. There was no theme, no rhyme or reason most times, just as my parents took pictures they'd get them developed and stick them in, usually chronological, but sometimes depending on money to develop that didn't work out either.

So that's how I approach my albums. I don't match anything. I have 2015 photos/stories in albums with 2018 photos/stories. I have Halloween next to back to school or summer pages. As long as my memories are getting printed so that we can enjoy them physically and look back on all the memories I don't really care if they match. I actually think it's more nostalgic that way. But that's me. Everyone finds their groove!!!!
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Old 05-17-2019, 11:42 PM
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my themes are all over the place throughout the album but i make the pages that face each other match - so when you're looking at the album each page you look at is made from the same kit and mostly has at least one element or paper in common but turn the page and you'll get something completely different. You can sometimes see in my gallery where i have made 2 pages to go together.

I make my special even albums (big holidays and weddings) all from 1 kit so the whole album is cohesive

I have no idea why i need my special albums to match but i just do lol
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Old 05-18-2019, 01:29 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ~*Kiana*~ View Post
when we grew up, everyone had those photo albums with ALL the photos in them. There was no theme, no rhyme or reason most times,
Yes! My "theme" is "stuff about our family" so pretty much anything fits!

Quote:
Originally Posted by ~*Kiana*~ View Post

So that's how I approach my albums. I don't match anything. I have 2015 photos/stories in albums with 2018 photos/stories. I have Halloween next to back to school or summer pages. As long as my memories are getting printed so that we can enjoy them physically and look back on all the memories I don't really care if they match. I actually think it's more nostalgic that way. But that's me. Everyone finds their groove!!!!
I was re-thinking when I decided to switch from printing single pages to printing photo books (and I haven't actually printed one yet, other than PL, so I may re-think a few more times!) "If I'm printing books, do I have to make sure that I'm 'done' with a whole year before I print it out? What if later I decide to go back and do a page with a photo from a year that's already bound in a book!?!?" But I agree with you, I think there's something sweet & nostalgic about having a mix instead of a progression. I like the "surprise" of not knowing what will be on the next page. My memories don't come in chronological order, so I'm not stuck to the idea that my memory books need to be.
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Old 05-19-2019, 05:07 PM
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Originally Posted by Jlmurrell View Post
I'm kind of stuck... I am a beginner scrapbooker that just can't see to find her groove. I have completed 2 Album projects - 1 was a recipe book and the other was with a Project Life Kit. Both of these were paper and now I prefer to work digitally. I tried to continue with PL but found that the cards didn't have much 'flair' so then I explored other options and found SSD and love the kits - and I can use as much or as little 'flair' as I want! I have tried to play along with the games - bingo, passport and the birthday month but can't help but feel overwhelmed!

Ultimately I would like to put a book together for each of my nieces - with all of their childhood adventures. But what do you do if you have a bumblebee page (blacks & yellows) right next to a unicorn page (pastels, pinks & purples)? Or when you use a Brooke Magee 1-2 pic template right next to a LJS Photo Focus?

What do you do with your pages after you scrap? Is it ok to have memory books that don't have 1 color scheme/theme and/or format throughout? Am I totally overthinking this??

If you look through my gallery, that's what my printed albums look like---jumble-bumble. But that's all my family has ever known---no same color album, no same amount of photos, etc.

Maybe I'll video one of my albums and share it with you so you see that they don't look terrible
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Old 05-19-2019, 05:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Neverland Scraps View Post
If you look through my gallery, that's what my printed albums look like---jumble-bumble. But that's all my family has ever known---no same color album, no same amount of photos, etc.

Maybe I'll video one of my albums and share it with you so you see that they don't look terrible
I would love to see this, Wendy!!
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Old 05-20-2019, 03:52 PM
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I would love to see this, Wendy!!
This took some figuring out, but I did it!
https://youtu.be/Rs6FvwIkMaQ

There's my review of Winkflash as well as what a few of my printed/bound albums look like NOT using the same kit throughout the entire album.
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Old 05-20-2019, 03:59 PM
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Thanks for sharing that, Wendy!! Those are awesome!
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Old 05-20-2019, 04:03 PM
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They look great, thank you for sharing!!

To your point about printing multiple books, that is my plan for my 3 nieces. Instead of 1 book specific to each of them, I plan on making 1 book that includes memories for the entire family and then printing it 3 times.


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Old 05-20-2019, 04:07 PM
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Wow Wendy! Your albums are awesome.
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Old 05-20-2019, 05:18 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jlmurrell View Post
They look great, thank you for sharing!!

To your point about printing multiple books, that is my plan for my 3 nieces. Instead of 1 book specific to each of them, I plan on making 1 book that includes memories for the entire family and then printing it 3 times.
I'm doing the same for my 3 kids. Some pages that are very specific to each kid will only go in their scrapbooks, but most pages will go in all 3.
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Old 05-21-2019, 08:10 AM
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I used to have matching pages next to each other. But it took me soooo much time to try to decide what kit to use and what page comes next to each other. So I don't do that any longer.
I just want to scrap and not think about every.single.page!

I sometimes use the same background paper for matching pages (usually a woodgrain or a solid one), but not all the time.
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Old 05-21-2019, 05:36 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by knittingbec View Post
Yes! My "theme" is "stuff about our family" so pretty much anything fits!



I was re-thinking when I decided to switch from printing single pages to printing photo books (and I haven't actually printed one yet, other than PL, so I may re-think a few more times!) "If I'm printing books, do I have to make sure that I'm 'done' with a whole year before I print it out? What if later I decide to go back and do a page with a photo from a year that's already bound in a book!?!?" But I agree with you, I think there's something sweet & nostalgic about having a mix instead of a progression. I like the "surprise" of not knowing what will be on the next page. My memories don't come in chronological order, so I'm not stuck to the idea that my memory books need to be.

I too love the idea of not having any rhyme or reason. It's always a surprise and I don't have to be done with a whole year unless I want to. Like I mentioned ..many of my albums dates vary page by page.
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Old 05-21-2019, 06:33 PM
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Quote:
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Wow Wendy! Your albums are awesome.
Thank you! They are OLD too...last time I printed was in 2012! I am LONG overdue and cannot wait until we move so I can print more albums!! The kids aren't going to know what to do with so many new albums! But at least maybe this way, they'll stop monopolizing my computer to look at the layouts!
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Old 05-22-2019, 05:11 PM
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I never have matching opposing pages in my regular books/layouts. My PL layouts are 2/week so those do match. But prior to PL I literally never had matching opposing pages.
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Old 05-22-2019, 05:21 PM
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Thank you for sharing your album Wendy!
I love it, especially that the first page is baby page then she's 2 years old

I haven't printed my kids baby album because of the photos that I haven't scrapped creating gap here and there but maybe I should just print it and if I scrap them later, I print in another album
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