So you want to create a scrapbook album...

10. Consider who your reader will be. Are you creating albums for your kids or for yourself, to nudge your memory, or to be creative and just enjoy the process?

9. If the thought of starting is overwhelming set a timer and have at it for just 15 minutes at a time and then walk away and rejoice in having made a start.

8. Keep a list of layouts that you want to include. 

For example in my year long family album we have some that are the same every year.

·         A cover page

       My word for the year

·         back to school preparations and first day of school

·         the new routine, a list of activities with times and places

·         Valentine’s Day and anything special I did to celebrate it.

(with the Scrap Matters store unavailable at present I am unable to add the links for you, however under ScrapMatters.com you can click through on designers - MemoryClips by Ramona and find her templates and kits.

·         My 2^nd son’s birthday at the end of Feb. (his party will go into his album)

·         Easter

·         Oldest son’s birthday

·         Our wedding anniversary and what we did to celebrate or the flowers hubby gave me or where we went for dinner

·         Any special day trips, outings or family visits.

·         Mother’s Day (either us and my Mom or the kids and me)

·         Pets, their ages and stages, any new additions

·         Family night or game night, the routine, any fav movies we went to see, games we played

·         Father’s day and gifts Dad was given

·         The July school holidays, an overview or places we visited

·         My birthday

·         Any changes to the house, I keep a running folder on changes, painting, new purchases etc

·         Anything else like my daughter hatching out butterflies or my oldest getting his drivers license and his new car

·         Hubby’s birthday

·         A week of dinners, size of portions, lists of favourites etc

·         Daughter’s birthday, from the wake-up to the hide and seeking of prezzies – the whole shebang of traditions

·         Any family get together’s, meals shared, thanksgiving

·         End of years preparations, December daily, last day of school

·         Christmas

·         New years Day

       A year in review single page to end off the album

7. Be realistic about the time that you have to scrapbook and what you can achieve with your life right now. Small kids, working full time?

6. Write it down, keep a journal or blog. Take photos and pair them with stories so you can come back and scrap them when you have the time and lack the inspiration.

5. Scrap what you feel like, not what you feel you have to. ~Inspiration is fickle, go with your gut feel and do what makes you happy not what you feel obliged to do. Nothing kills the flow of mojo faster than doing what you don;t feel like doing. Life is tough enough without taking the fun out of your hobby.

4. It’s your life and you must do what works for you. Whether you’re a project scrapper, or an emotional scrapper. Don’t look at what others are doing and try to copy that. You have your own style and you know what you like – stick with that.

3. Get involved with a group of like minded souls. Look through galleries, take part in speed scraps or challenges at the store whose products you like the best, or your fav designer’s.

2. Don’t forget the everyday moments, the things that happened, the change in plans, the funny things that were said. Life happens while we’re waiting.

1. Be present sometimes. Enjoy the people, the settings, the food. Don’t feel that you have to photograph everything. It is totally ok to just be and savour. I promise that you can create a LO with only one photo, or gasp and horror, none, as long as you have the stories, the what, where, how and whom and the way it all made you feel.

There is no right or wrong way of doing it.  Just enjoy it.