This is Frederikskirke in Copenhagen, an absolutely beautiful church, however, I’ve never been happy with these photos. You can’t see it in the image, but the photos just aren’t a great quality mostly because of excessive graininess. I think I was expecting a bit too much out of the poor little point and shoot camera I used to have.

I’ve probably pulled these photos out a dozen times, and finally a few days ago, I said to myself “Self, this is it! You are going to scrap these photos!!”. So I did. And you know what?? I’m so much happier with these photos now that they are scrapped. They seem to look better now that they are adhered to patterned paper. It’s a simple layout, but I’m happy with it, and do you know why? Because now I real feel like I’ve overcome a hurdle in scrapping. Because there are so many photos that deserved to be scrapped. Because these ‘not so great’ photos are as much a part of my memories and my life as any good photo.

So the moral of the story. Scrap your memories, no matter how good the photo or how bad the photo. They deserve to be scrapped. To quote a famous trainer company “Just Do It!”

Okay, I normally don’t get that excited about finishing a layout, but this was no ordinary layout—it was white. I’m not really sure what it is about white that I don’t like, but it’s just not me. However, I’m happy about this layout… and funnily enough I may even do it again sometime!! I drew inspiration from all over the board, and knew I just needed to keep it clean and simple for it to work for me.

The paper was simple… I really didn’t have much choice on that account, which in the long run was probably for the best. It meant that I couldn’t think about it. This is all I had (but big thanks to Lynette, cause the paper was a gift from her!!). The main colours of the photo were white, brown and this beautiful golden yellow, so that’s where my colour inspiration came from.

The arrow. I really like that arrow, and it goes really well with the SEI Be-Bop paper I used, however the inspiration for that came from an article I read on ScrapJazz about using arrows in your layouts. And the three dots. I love those three dots, and many of my favourite scrappers use that same technique including Cari Locken, and Carrie Owens, among others. Besides, I learned a long time ago if you are going to have accents to make sure they are an odd number. It just looks better.

Other than the SEI paper, it’s just cardstock (the brown is bazzill, the gold is worldwin) and Making Memories Heidi rub-ons (large caps). That’s it.

I’m really happy I tried my hand at this challenge, because the more I look at this layout the more I like it… although mostly because I tried something completely different and way out of my comfort zone. Thank you Flavia for posting this challenge!!!! :)

Several days ago on Scrap That Moment a member challenged everyone to do a white layout. As someone who is always up for a challenge, I thought GREAT! I know white is not exactly my favourite ‘colour’, but here was my chance to experiment with something new and different. At least new and different for me. You see, I have never scrapped with white. I’ve been known to use white photo mats on occassion, and I love those fanatastic ‘lil Davis white chipboard letters that I can’t stop using, but beyond that, white is foreign territory.

So here I am, sitting with every piece of white and white-like paper I own. 3 pieces of mainly white pattern paper (given to me as a gift) and a piece of white cardstock I actually had to go out and buy yesterday. I’m in need of inspiration. I need to know what to do with these colourless pieces of paper. I need a drink….

...so with a Pepsi in hand, I went in search of inspiration and I found Jen Lessinger. Now that woman knows how to scrap with white!!! I’ve been through her galleries several times over and have found easily a dozen layouts that I would like to scraplift (or at least be inspired by). Do I know what I’m doing with my white layout yet? No. But I think I might be able to pull something off. Must scrap now….

It’s been a busy week, albeit quite fun. Last week I was photographing non-stop, this weekend working on DT layouts, and yesterday I managed to attend my first crop. It was a bit of a trek (about 1 1/2 hours to get there), but I got to spend 3 hours with some very friendly scrappers, and of course, drop a few £s in their shop.

Many there were just beginning to scrap—- no surprise, really, scrapping is only now really starting to take off in the UK. One girl was working on her 8th page. Another girl had done about 40. Others had done quite a few, and this made a nice mix of experience levels. It also brought me back to the days when I started scrapping. Ahh, nostalgia…. and that was only 2 years ago….

However, this crop made me realize many things. I am very thankful I have all my photographs sorted by date and event or person. When I saw these ladies pull a 6-inch stack of photos out of their bags and start sorting through them to decide which photos they wanted to scrap, I think my eyes nearly fell out of my head. Maybe it’s just because of the sheer number of photo I have, but I couldn’t do this. And because of the sheer number of photos I have, this would never work for me. Besides, it’s nice and easy for me to simply pull an envelope knowing what’s in it, or search for a particular photo because they are all there… nice and organized, and I know that all the photos from that event are together. But really, it’s whatever works for them.

The crop also made me realize that I am really happy to have found places like Two Peas in a Bucket, and friends like Lynette who brought me into groups like Scrap That Moment, and Cari who challenges me to think out of the box, and sometimes out of my comfort zone with new (and sometimes radical) ideas—most of which have turned into some of my favourite and most treasured layouts. These groups have provided me with insight, inspiration, friendship and encouragement to keep going, keep trying and to keep aspiring. Without these online influences, I probably wouldn’t be a scrapper… or at least not the scrapper I am today. I thank them for that. Having a community to go to and participate in really brought this hobby to life for me.

I also realized how precious my layouts are to me. Before yesterday, the only person who had ever seen my layouts ‘in real life’ was my husband. A general “that’s nice”. It was really nice to hear comments from other srappers on my layouts, and hear their questions of how I did this or that, or where I got my inspiration, and generally be able to discuss beyond the layout itself. As I boarded the train home, I realized how tightly I was clutching my album so I didn’t drop it, because it would have devestated me to have lost my layouts. These are not just photos organized on to some pretty paper. These are my photos, my memories and my life. My albums are truely a piece of ME… and it took until I attended my first crop to realize that.

I was surfing around today, and stumbled across a CHA article on ScrapJazz.com, and thought I would pass it along. Some of it is stuff I mentioned here on SheepSpace the other day, but there is also lots of other products I hadn’t even seen. Check it out!

Compared to a lot of scrappers, I don’t spend all that much on scrap supplies. I guess it’s because I’ve never understood the idea of hoarding supplies, and without an LSS at my fingertips I don’t have the temptation to nip in and ‘get a few items’. Maybe this is for the best.

But I also stick to a spending rule… 1 page per £1 (or dollar). This is something someone mentioned to me a long time ago, and I’ve always used. I was recently reminded of it again, and I thought I’d share this here. Basically, the idea is the I need to make a page for every £1 I spend on an individual item. If something is £5, then I need to be able to use it on 5 layouts—- it’s as simple as that. I find that this system works in two ways. It means I avoid buying a single item that is expensive, but promotes things I might have found expensive but once I broke it down they seemed much more reasonable. For instance, I love the ‘lil Davis chipboard letters, but at £8 for a package of 26 letters it seems a little bit steep. Then I realized that I could probably use a single package on about 18 different layouts (assuming I spell out a few words) —that’s now less that 50p per layout! So I bought 2 packs. :) Same goes for tools, stamps, and other scrapbooking staples.

I also try to avoid hoarding supplies. I have less than 3 inches worth of paper, and I find that’s far too much for me. I’m trying to wittle it down a bit. It’s not that I don’t like having lots of choice for papers, but rather if I have less paper then I can justify buying more of the new stuff that is coming out from CHA…. or at least that’s how I can justify it to my husband. :)

It’s that time of year—- all the companies have come out with new products which were launched at the CHA trade show this past weekend. With so many new things it can be overwhelming, but I must admit, I have my favourites.

The first on my list is the new Chatterbox. What can I say? I’m in love with this stuff!! I’ve loved almost all the papers they have released in the past, but they are just getting better and better every year! And as always, Den is my favourite room.

Another one of my favourites, BasicGrey, is releasing three new lines of paper, as well as a line of rub-ons. I’m quite partial to that new Fusion line—I just love those colours!!

Among others on my “must buy” list are Gin-X, Arctic Frog, and some Heidi Swapp, especially anything alpha! Speaking of alpha, I think I’m going to need some Technique Tuesday alpha stamps, and I hear that Maya Road is coming out with some new foam stamps, although they currently aren’t up on their website.

As always, I’m sure there will be more to add to my list of ‘must haves’ as they begin to appear in the shops. So let the shops get their new goodies, and let the shopping begin!

I decided when I started scrapping that I wanted to keep a running page count of what I had accomplished that year. In January, I look how many pages I scrapped the previous year, and in the previous months, and from that I determine a reasonable, yet challenging goal for the year. For 2005, my goal is 200 pages and I’m currently sitting at 122 pages for the year. I am very happy with that.

I count every page I do, whether it is for me or somebody else. Size doesn’t matter. And a 2-page layout counts as 2 pages. Every single page counts.

The question then becomes why do I do this??

It keeps me motivated. Knowing that I’ve scrapped 122 pages this years means that there are 122 more pages my family and I can enjoy. Since I have so many photos to scrap, it makes me feel that I am actually making progress, especially since I don’t scrap chronologically…. I have lots of gaps in my albums, and I have lots of layouts that don’t even have albums yet. I can see that stack of homeless layouts, but because they aren’t filling albums, they don’t (in my mind) seem to count as progress. But numbers don’t lie, and those numbers keep me going.

It also gives me a goal to work towards. In my mind, I know I will probably never catch up with all my photos, and that is fine to me. As long as I manage to scrap the majority of my photos, especially the most important photos, then I’m happy. But there’s always that little voice in the back of my head that wants all those photos scrapped. That voice sees the stacks of boxes of photos and sighs in despair. Having this goal to work towards keeps that little voice quiet. I have enough voices in my head, I really don’t need one reminding me about my stack of photos.

It also gives me a sense of accomplishment. Knowing I’m making as much progress as I am makes me feel good about myself, and gives me the incentive to keep scrapping. So if you’ll excuse me I have a two-page layout to finish. Make that 124 for the year.

And the inspiration and motivation I think I need to accomplish it!!! I’m going to complete an album before the end of the year!!! I’ve tried to pick an attainable goal, so I chose to complete my Belgium album. It’s only 48 pages, and I’ve already completed 14 of the pages (soon to be 16 as soon as I glue the title down on the layout sitting on my desk). This is a very realistic goal, as I only need to scrap 32 more pages (or so)... if I only scrap layouts for this album, I should be done by September, but I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on myself. I like the variety when I skip from one album to another, and will continue doing so, however when my efforts are spread over 14 or so albums (I’ve lost count) it means that albums don’t actually get completed. Even if every second layout I do is for my Belgium album, then I will complete it before the end of the year.

I’ve also joined a Yahoo! group called Scrapper’s Challenge. It’s mostly about organizing and being productive about your scrapping time, with a layout challenges thrown in for good measure. It’s set up a lot like the Flylady Method, in which you get organized in 15 minute spurts. You literally set your timer and clean and organize as fast as you can (and not just make piles, but really put things away.) And you know what, it works!! I’ve come up with some great ideas, and looking forward to implementing them in my scraproom.

I’ve been browsing through quite a few online galleries today, and noticed that very few people are still scrapping 2-page 12×12 layouts. I know there are people who still do them, but they seem few and far between. I do admit that I do scrap the occasional 1-page layout, in fact I did this one today, however most of my layouts are 2-pages. I like the look, and quite frankly, I just have a lot of photos. Maybe once I’m no longer scrapping mostly travel layouts, and I’m doing cute child layouts, the allure of the 1-page layout will take hold, or rather the necessity of the 2-page layout will decrease.

1-page layouts do have there bonuses, though. They are easier (and sometimes faster) to do because you do not have to co-ordinate a second page, or consider how to place 7 different photos. This is not always the case, but I’ve generally found that 1-page layouts are easier to design. Of course with the plethora of people doing this type of layout there is also a lot of inspiration. I just wish that they were more folks doing double pages. Sometimes I just need the inspiration. ;)

Supplies used on the layout: all patterned paper is by Fancy Pants, the foam stamps are Making Memories (the corner stamp is from the dingbat collection, the alpha stamps “laying” are misunderstood) and ‘lil Davis (for “chess”). The chipboard letter is also Li’l Davis, and the alpha stamp under the main photo are from Ma Vinci.