More album sorting done

Well I've sorted more albums today. My order of page protectors from Scrapbook inner circle arrived (well part of it did), I understand mistakes happen, and I can deal with them, but to only have an email as form of contact isn't on really. I paid for next day delivery and now I won't get the main part I need until after easter weekend. Ho Hum.

Anywhooo, I've been sorting Megan's albums today and boy does that girl get loads of certificates...which I'm in the process of scanning while I type this post. A few will get developed at Boots tomorrow as I love that they do 3x4 and the rest will head off to PhotoBox soon as they're cheaper and quicker (to upload than wait for them to print)

What I must say has helped me in this process was writing down the years each child was in school. I've also been through and dated all my layouts (which yep, from now on I'll do as I create) takes some of the headache out of it all.

This is what my bookcase now looks like and I have finally located Carys' Aqua albums in stock, and I must say they're now out of stock again. Ooops So this will be looking a bit fuller tomorrow.

I'll try and take some more pictures of the completed pages soon once I've got some scanned items in them. That and when I get the page protectors I need.

Chat soon.

How pretty...

Everything you buy should arrive looking like this:

How gorgeous is this? What a lovely surprise it was when I opened the box containing the albums that I'd ordered from The Craftz Boutique this morning. I must say it was nothing short of excellent service, equally in notifications, response to emails and dispatch times.

I haven't got much done in the way of albums today, I did pay a quick visit to staples for a couple more packs of Martha Stewart A4 page protectors and came out with a few more when the packs were 40% off! I also nipped to Boots to print out a few of the scanned items I'd done as they do pictures in 4x3 which is perfect for the Project Life page protectors.

The rest of my day consisted of Asda, school runs, ballet class, washing, making tea etc, etc... Maybe I'll get a bit more done this evening, time will tell.

And so it continues...

The album organisation has continued today mainly in the form of Lewis' Nursery and Reception work.

These are the boxes I'm working from, they take work bigger than A3 and they're full! Or at least they were when I started. Baby items for all children have now been dealt with and I'm onto their second or third album.

I work in semi organisation...i.e. take over the kitchen sides - all of them, page protectors on one spread out so I can see them, and artwork etc on another. I've trimmed sugar paper to an inch of it's life, and scanned even more items today to be made smaller.

These are some of the completed pages, Lewis came home from his last day of nursery with a big sugar paper scrapbook of his time there so at least that organisation was done. All I had to do was get it unglued so I could compile it. Maybe that's why I've only started doing it even though he's now 11 to give the glue time to degrade and let me get at the work. LOL

I've been glad I have a variety of sizes of page protectors today, otherwise it would have been much harder. I'm going to need to order some more soon though - it's amazing how many I've gone through, and I've run out of sizes I wasn't even sure I'd use when I started.

A few more little touches need doing on some pages, backing with card stock or neatening up a little bit, but the back has been broken.

The later years in the albums I must admit are getting harder, mainly due to the break I took from scrapbooking. I don't have any layouts. (boohoo) I do have a plan though - I think. Once all the children's artwork etc has been compiled, sorted, scanned and is together I will be working through the photos I have. Putting copies into their albums with no panic about having to create a layout.

Only once this is done, will I scrap a page to suit the album. If it's got a lot of artwork or pictures together then I'll pick a favourite photograph or 2 to scrap and include in their album. Going through this process has shown me how I have sometimes scrapped an event/occasion a lot and missed the smaller moments that mean so much now.

Right time for a nice brew and relax now, I'm out of the page protectors I want to start Carys' next album, and I have artwork galore and only a few layouts so I need a clear head to start that period of time. (lets call it the 'missing mojo' years)

How my Mission Started

My decision to reorganise my scrapbook layouts and combine them with all the memorabilia collected over the years was made easier by my choice of album. WeRMemory Keepers I must say make delightful albums that have been a pleasure to complete, (which is good as I have quite a few more to go).

This post is meant to show the items needed and the process I went through to get to where I am now. Baby cards, pictures drawn by my children, photo and layouts all in one place. 

I've purchased these albums from a few different suppliers: Craft Superstore, The Mad Scrapper & The Craftz Boutique. Each colour album is for a different person or event. Black is family layouts/trips, Navy is one off events; my sisters wedding or trips to Australia. Megan's albums are Grape Soda, Carys' will be Aqua when I find them in stock, Lewis is Kiwi and Kate's are Plum. All are housed on my Expedit shelving unit, which I bought especially for them. (You've got to treat them right)

Page Protectors - I have purchased many different sizes for this project. Quite a few were purchased from Project Life 12x12 ones in bulk lots of 60, 10x8 and 7x5 are great from here as are the 8 1/2x11 horizontal which show off the layouts in the way they were created. Due to being British I also needed A4 for all those pictures the kids had drawn, Martha Stewart @ Staples provided those along with divided ones for certificates and variety for 6x4 photos. I also got some A5 ones that did need an extra hole punching so they fit, but worked for many items.

The next mission was the sort out the many layouts I've done over the years. I took them all out of my old albums and organised them into 5 piles. One for each child where the layout was all about them and one for family (so everything else) this will get divided up at a later date I'm sure.
Once this was done, 1 child at a time I put them into date order. How many went into each album was determined by how many other things needed to join them. On occasion I included a 'family' layout in an album where the artwork/layouts ratio was a bit lop-sided. (Mainly with the 2 older girls who were young pre-digital and pre-scrapping)

The next step was the take control of the piles of artwork, cards etc that I have collected for each child. I visited Staples ALOT, not only to pick up extra page protectors but also to scan those items A3 size down to a more manageable level. Once I'd had a painting for example scanned down, I cut out a section of the 'real deal' to include with it. I think their artwork has been looked at more in the past few weeks than it has since it was created. I scanned all the baby cards and sent them off to Photobox so the insides could become a 6x4 picture which fit perfectly in the WRMK or Project Life page protectors.

Assembling the albums was more enjoyable than a chore and the kids love looking at them. Once I'm finally up to date I can add artwork as it arrives and concentrate on scrapping my favourite pictures while still including all the others I've taken in the divided page protectors. All the pictures I have all of a sudden don't seem as daunting as they once did.

The concept doesn't have to just be for child related items either, keep those ticket stubs or brochures from places you've visited and include them in your album without having to incorporate them into a layout which can be very challenging.

Thanks for looking and if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

My New Mission

It might have been a while since I blogged and even a while since I scrapped, but I've reset my password, found my Mojo and been on a mini mission to get organised with my scrapping. I'm a very organised person and work the best when things are that way (not that you can tell around my house as the other 5 people aren't). I had quite a break from scrapbooking (a few years) due to lack of time/motivation etc but I missed it.

After watching a clip on Project Life - Get organised with kids stuff, I got re-inspired, finally I could get the boxes from under my bed that had overflowed and I never looked at but couldn't part with. My new mission was born.

The pictures below are snippets of Kate's album of her first year of life. I've used WRMK Faux Leather Ring bound albums with some Project Life and Martha Stewart (british A4) page protectors.

 It's great to get 81/2 x 11 pages in the orientation that they were scrapped in.

The Martha Stewart page protectors (which I got from staples) are great for A4 items. Many things which were A3 or bigger I got scanned down onto A4.

I've also scanned all cards and while I have the front and inside on my Mac, I've just put the insides in the album as they mean more. Special handmade cards I've tried to include the original.

I even had Kates first outfit that she came home in, which I've put into a 12x12 page protector right there in her album

Layouts are mixed in with photos that haven't been scrapped (big sigh of relief from me, finally I don't HAVE to scrap every photo I take, I can just mix and match)

Art work drawn for Kate by her big sister fits lovely into the page protectors as there are now so many sizes and they all fit in the same album.

I've even got little 7x5 ones from Project Life, which were great for the first shoes photo from clarks.

This is just one of the albums that I've finished. Hopefully I will get more on soon,  as I've completed one album per child now, with more albums having just arrived it's onto the next.