Scrapbooking...It's All About Timing...

Today's tutorial is something that has everything to do with your layouts and nothing to do with Photoshop.  I don't even know if you can call it a tutorial per se - but it is something we all need to learn and then remember on a regular basis... Scrapbooking is all about timing...

So I have finally reached the point where I am running out of photos to scrap - or so it feels...  In reality I have hundreds of photos I could scrap - but that would require browsing DVDs of digital files or photo-box diving into film-based photos - which takes time.  Today I am completely immersed in the digital immediateness of snapping a photo and being able to come inside and scrap it instantly - it is like a novel digested into a two hour movie - right here and right now - quick as you can get it.

But is that really the best way?  Case in point - two layouts with photos from the same shoot - I can tell you which is my favorite - but I will let you see them both first....

Layout #1 - papers are by Shabby Princess and Michelle Coleman - green and brown matched to the grass and the little guy's pants for the border.  Font is Bengothic

Layout #2 - papers are by Jessica Sprague - step by step instructions for this layout are from her Basic Photoshop Class.  Font is Anthology.  Transparent letters are Snap Frame Alpha by Katie Pertiet.

The photos for both layouts were taken in May 2007.  In the whole process of an hour I snapped the photos, ran inside and created layout #1.  I loved the photos and I wanted to scrapbook them quickly so I did - but I was never quite satisfied with how I captured the memory...

The second layout was done today - and granted the design was already configured for me (thanks to Jessica Sprague's Up and Running Class) - so all I really had to do outside of going through the motions was think about the photo, title and journaling.  Which really pushed me.

Why?  Because I only had so much space for that title - it had to be around four letters.  "Hangin' Around", "Monkey Boy," and "Wild Child" just wouldn't fit what I wanted this layout to be.   So I thought.  I opened up Word and began journaling about that day - I wrote and re-wrote until I knew I had hit it on the head.  The second layout's journaling reads...

One beautiful June day I found you
Swinging like a monkey from my favorite peach tree...
You were giggling and swinging...back and forth
Knocking precious unripe fruit from the branches
But it didn't matter - because 100 peaches
Would never fill my heart with the pure joy
I felt - watching you in that moment.

Then and only then - after I captured that memory - was I able to fine tune the title and make the layout come together.  Which really got me thinking - If scrapbooking is really about memories - then what we really should be focusing on are the photos, titles and journaling - how we are capturing those moments.  When you can capture those moments and have beautiful elements and papers that accent them you have a masterpiece that will be treasured for generations.  I guess what I learned is that all these awesome kits, papers and pieces are truly accents to what matters most in scrapbooking - our memories.

So today I challenge you to forget about design.  I challenge you to find one favorite photo and then write about it until you capture the memory.  Then create a layout around it and email me your results  (thelegacylady @ gmail dot com)  Out of all the layouts I receive I will draw one random winner who will win $5 paypal credit that you can spend anywhere they take Paypal!  I will also spotlight my favorites in an upcoming post.

So what do you have to lose? Nothing.  What do you have to gain?  A memory captured and a chance to win $5 to spend anywhere that takes Paypal Money - the deadline is this Thursday (July 19th) - 11:59pm Mountain Standard Time.  I will draw from all the entries and post the winner Friday July 20th.  So go capture those memories...  I can't wait to see them.

Comments

[Andilynn]

Thanks for reminding me, what scrapbooking is really all about! As a designer it is so easy to forget the important feelings and memories beyond the layout and get caught up in the design...

[Hannah]

Nice to be reminded about why we scrapbook. I try not to scrap "just for the sake of it" because I'm usually all about capturing the moment. I will scrap old photos because I have blogged and journalled (on paper) about the moments that have been special in the past, and I can always go back to find what I wrote. In case my memory fails me!
Great challenge - I hope I'll find time to do a page for it :-)

[Karen]

Great post Kayla. And so absolutely true. And those two layouts are evidence. There is clearly so much more feeling in the second one. Thanks for reminding us.

[Kara]

This challenge was an awesome exercise for my brain-really through me for a loop to journal THEN scrap! Thanks Kayla:-)

[DreamScrapper]

Interesting read . . . funny I just blogged about journaling on my blog tonight! Really nice layout you created.