(The first six tips are listed in the article “Finding Time to Scrapbook Part 1″)
7. Make your scrapbooking time enjoyable and something you can look forward to. For some, that may mean time to themselves, where for others it means time to socialize. For myself, I know that it helps if good food and tea or a Slurpee are involved! Perhaps for you, scrapbook time is more relaxing if your favourite music or movie is playing while you design your pages. Whatever it is that will make the time a treat for you will also increase the amount of time that you will dedicate to it.
8. Take the pressure off yourself! Scraplifting (that’s scrapbooker speak for copying someone else’s layout) is considered flattery and completely acceptable in most scrapbook circles, so if the creativity juices aren’t flowing, just copy a layout. Don’t compare yourself to someone else. I am a fast scrapbooker, but my pages are nowhere near as artistic and intricate as the pages of others. It would be depressing for me to compare my layouts to theirs and depressing for them to focus on how many pages I had been able to complete compared to themselves. Instead, celebrate your own accomplishments. If you’ve already set realistic goals for yourself, that should be easy to do.
9. Pre-plan your layouts. Put the photos you will be using for a page, along with the paper, any stickers or embellishments, and a sticky note with a rough sketch or journalling ideas together ahead of time. Before I go on a weekend retreat (see #12), I lay out all of my pages this way and stack them in a box. It increases my productivity and makes me feel more organized. It also cuts back on the amount of “stuff” I have to bring with me.
10. Have an area to scrapbook. Most of us are not fortunate enough to have a room set aside just for scrapbooking (though it is an added bonus if you do!), but having an area in your home where there is a clear surface that you can work on such as a coffee table, kitchen table, or desk will enable you to pull out your project and do a page here and there at home.
11. Get into a routine with a friend or group of friends where you meet to scrapbook on a regular basis. This will work on two levels. The routine will become a habit, and having a commitment with friends will ensure that you keep each other accountable.
12. The hands-down best way that I have found to enable me to work on my scrapbooks is to go away on weekend scrapbook retreats. I make sure that I do this at least once a year. I am a fast scrapbooker and by being very organized ahead of time (see #9), I am able to complete between 80 and 100 pages per retreat. I have to keep that in perspective by saying that as the mom of seven children, when I have a weekend away to scrapbook, I scrapbook! I don’t sleep much. It is just as acceptable to go away on the retreat, read a book, sleep in, and complete ten pages.
Good luck and happy scrapbooking!!!
Written by pocketsofchange
mother of seven children, freelance writer
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