Here and Now

One of the challenges we could take as part of the “Becoming More” class was to create a layout using no photos and just text. Initially I thought that this was just not possible for me to do as normally my journaling accompanies a photo. But I remembered a challenge set in Library of Memories calendar last year to create a layout using numbers as part of our every day lives. It was the “Finding Memories” class that made me finally take the plunge as I experimented with different styles and journaling. And so the “Here and Now” layout was born.

 

I used WordArt to create the title and a good old fashioned blue pencil to colour it in once printed off.

I think this may be a layout which I redo every year or so to get an update on the latest numbers in my life and capture how some things may of changed.

Lessons Learnt

1. My scrapbooking layouts are created by the use of the photos and the story(s) I want to tell connected to them. 
2. It is possible for some subjects to be all journaling but this is the exception. 
3. Word Art can make some great titles if you want to play around with it for a different look.

Email to Karen

Karen gave me some advice on the boards and asked me to show her those layouts I had picked which I did like. I sent her the following:

 

I for the life of me could not see similarities at all. But Karen came back with so many observations! (I have written my thoughts in italics)

• You like long titles and often use questions; they are the focus of your page and are big in size. (I never realised they asked questions. I am experimenting with titles at the moment to try different things (none, one word, sentence etc) so I will be interested on how this experiment pans out.)
• You use plainer background and then mount square/rectangle of pattern paper on it so it looks like the cardstock creates an outer frame.
• You do a lot of layering of strips, and use strips of paper in general (I never thought I was a layering kind of girl I think it may be because when I first started scrapbooking layering meant LOTS of paper and embellishments and really bulky pages.)
• You prefer 4x6 or bigger photos (I do mainly get this size printed and thinking about it this is the size I do normally feel comfortable scrapbooking with.) 
• Mostly single photos but even when more, generally bigger photos not tiny (I didn’t think about this before but it is so true. Where I scrapbook multiple photos I still tend to cut down 4x6 photos rather than use smaller photos – even where I have had them printed in both sizes) 
• Mostly asymmetrical (Asymmetrical? Wow that’s a real shocker to me. I always considered myself a symmetrical person needing things to be mirrored for them to look balanced to me.) 
• Flowers appear in many layouts and so do ribbons (Now if someone said I used and liked flowers I would automatically say “No I’m not a flower kind of girl”. But relooking at my layouts I can see how flowers crop up so many times in my layouts. As for ribbon, I have stacks of ribbons which I never thought I used as I still have stacks. Guess that means I really had lots and lots and lots of ribbons to start with!) 
• Layouts are definitely story focused (Totally agree with this one, the photos always have to have a story of some sort related to them for me to consider scrapbooking them).

Advice received from fellow class members

I still want to scrapbook and store the photos and their stories by having asked I the big “Why bother scrapbooking?” question I needed some guidance and help. The good thing with Big Picture Classes is that the support and advice you get from the class when you post on the message board. This is the advice I got from my class mates,

1. Check out the articles in the issues at http://www.simplescrapbooksmag.com/index.html this magazine is no longer published but there is a wealth of info on-line from the magazines. I like your LO's.

2. If you have been scraplifting most of the time, but aren't happy with the end result, it sounds to me like maybe you have been trying to be something you are not.

3. Everyone has trouble with embellishments so maybe ask yourself the following questions: “Why do you use embellishments? Do you like the look of embellishments on your page, or do you try to use them because you think you should? There's no rule that says you have to use them. Hope this helps! :) And know you're not alone. I think many of my layouts are "good" but not "great" and I realized recently almost all of the ones I'm not thrilled with are copies, in someone else's style that I wasn't totally comfortable with. Thanks to this class though, I'm learning to be more specific in what I copy, and as a result I like my layouts more and more. They are becoming more authentic to me. But it's been a slow process. It does take time. So I hope that you can find your way too, as I am. :)

4. Cathy Z. types her journaling because she has so much to say. As a professional graphic designer she finds hand writing hard on the eye when it is extensive (I'm paraphrasing here). If you look at other people's LOs, those that have extensive journaling usually type it. Cathy Z, Nic Howard are good examples. Look at Stacy's LOs and you will see that her handwritten journaling does not take up that much space.

5. Break up your journaling as Karen does using that adorable journaling stamp. That way you can still handwrite, but it won't all be clumped together.

And not only did they give me loads of advice but also encouragement and compliments on both my layouts and my handwriting.

Why Bother Scrapbooking?

During the “Finding Your Way” class one of the tasks you were given was to look through a pile of layouts to find similarities on your layouts and the ones your really like. I went through my four American Craft ring binder albums which have samples of layouts done over a period of time. I found something very depressing; I don’t like the majority of the layouts in my albums!

The majority of layouts I found were not visually pleasing.

Those layouts which tell stories and more meaningful journaling I do not like at all!

The layouts didn’t say “read me” more “turn the page quickly and hope the next one is better!”

The result is asking me the BIG question: “Why bother scrapbooking?”