Kitting Tutorial (with pictures)

[rlovew]

1. I gather my photos- I generally choose a specific theme (a disney park, Christmas or other holiday, school, ect). This may be digitally or with actual photos depending on what I have.

2. I divide the photos into the pages they will go on.

These are photos from our trip to Boston for my brother's wedding about 5 years ago.

3. If I want typed journalling on the pages I will note the topics of the pages in a list I can bring to the computer. I will also add to this page any titles I want to print/cut out for the pages.

4. I look at the colors in my photos and choose a background paper (solid or patterned).

I kept trying different papers with the pictures till I found the one I liked best.

5. I pull out swap items that match my theme- so I would pull out my school swap if doing school photos and maybe things from a color swap. I add any swap items to the piles of each pages. I don't have a particular swap that matches these items so after I choose my background paper I look at my color swap items and other general mats and such to add to the pages.

If I was ktting something like DHS and I had swap items- they would have been in the piles with the pictures before I choose the background paper. I generally put the items for the page in a medium sized baggy.

6. I choose out 1-2 colors of solid or small patterned paper for accent colors and add it to the stack.

7. If I have any other special embellishments for the pages then I will add them to the stack with the photos.
In this set I had a ship's wheel to add to one of the pages. I pulled out some ribbon and some chipboard embellishments for another page.

This is the set with the chipboard embellishments.

8. I put each set in a pocket of my 12 by 12 file folder or in a 2 gallon ziplock bag. Sometimes I will put the layout photos/embellishments in a quart bag and then put them layered between background and accent paper in groups of 5-6 layouts in a 2 gallon bag.

layouts that went in.

bag ready to go to a crop or be pulled out when I am ready to scrap.

9. Once I type journaling and print it out as well as creating any title I need I add them to the bags.

10. When I am ready to scrap I grab a bag and then just have to mat things and glue them down.

Some questions I have answered about this:
Do you make mats ahead of time to go into the kits?I don't, I may add mats that are already made- for swaps or that I ight have made with swap scraps that fit the photos- otherwise that is what the accent paper is for making mats as i put together the pages.

How many kits do you have at one time?It depends - right now I have less than other times- i have an entire folder that is my MGM/DHS studios pages (probably about 40 layouts) and some Disney hotel kits but not much else made up- When I went to SDV for the weekend I had more than 150 layouts kitted- varying from 1-4 pages each

 

[AlexWyattMommy]

Thank you Rebecca.

I am sure you will convert many others to this wonderful way of getting things together.

 

[Arizona Rita]

Thank you Rebecca! I am a visual learner and that really helped.
I dont think Im too far off from what youre doing, I just have to make time to kit. While watching telly last night, I did put 3 sets together.
I think youre great for doing this and Im sure its going to help alot of other scrappers!

 

[believen]

Rebecca,
You have such a gift for teaching! Thanks for sharing.
Vicki

 

[aroyer]

Thanks for sharing your process Rebecca. It is helpful for me to see other people's processes to perhaps spark some creativity on my part.

 

[SharonLovesMickey]

Thanks for posting this! I didn't realize how easily this worked for me until a few months ago...I would encourage everyone to do this...it makes it possible for me to go to crops and actually get something done! I like your breakdown best and I didn't even think about using 2 gal bags. Thanks for the tips!

 

[rlovew]

You are all welcome. I learned to kit from things people said on the board and found a system that worked for me.

Rebecca

 

[party of 3]

thank you Rebecca. that was a great help. maybe i should try that. it might make it easier for me to get stuff done.

just curious how many of you do this??

 

[PrincessNancy96]

I'm going to add this to the tip/techniques sticky!!!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Nice Job Rebecca!! That is just about how I do it too, usually I pick my embellishments before paper but we all have our own system. I also don't journal until the very last step so I usually carry around my box of journal paper with me.

Kitting keeps me focused and not overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I need to do. It also keeps me from bringing to much stuff to a crop.

 

[Doot Fan Mommy]

Thanks! This will help me organize a lot!

BUT - I spent a good amount of time looking at the title of this thread wondering what KNITTING had to do with scrapbooking!

 

[jennyL]

Oh I read it that way first too and then I read Kiteing (hmm not sure how to spell that - as in flying a kite) Finally I figured out what it was. LOL

 

[AlexWyattMommy]

Okay, I first read it and wanted to know what on earth King Tut had to do with scrapping.

 

[rlovew]

Nice Job Rebecca!! That is just about how I do it too, usually I pick my embellishments before paper but we all have our own system. I also don't journal until the very last step so I usually carry around my box of journal paper with me.

Kitting keeps me focused and not overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I need to do. It also keeps me from bringing to much stuff to a crop.

I didn't have much in embellishments for this as it didn't fit a swap I had done so I picked the paper first but when I do a Disney kitting I pick embellishments first.

Rebecca

 

[rlovew]

I love the way everyone read the title. Kite(ing) would be spelled kiting. You all make me laugh.

Rebecca

 

[estherhead]

Thank you, thank you!!!!

My sister is coming over today and I think I will practice this with her and spend 2 hours getting her kitted so she can take it all home with her and scrapbook on her floor. She has very basic equipment and no papers or anything as she normally does it here but she'll be iced in tomorrow and it would be awesome if she could work on pages at home.

THANKS!!!!!!!!

 

[123SA]

Rebecca,

I can tell that you are the type of organized person I wish I was!

My question:

The crop is over and you have completed layouts from your kits. Now you have stuff left over - -the ribbon you decided against using, the left over paper, a photo that didn't work out. How do you handle the left overs from 10-20 kits?

 

[AlexWyattMommy]

Oh Susan, she just makes MORE kits.


Me, I just stuff the stuff in a drawer. Which why I can never find what I'm looking for later.

 

[rlovew]

Rebecca,

I can tell that you are the type of organized person I wish I was!

My question:

The crop is over and you have completed layouts from your kits. Now you have stuff left over - -the ribbon you decided against using, the left over paper, a photo that didn't work out. How do you handle the left overs from 10-20 kits?

After I finish with a bag (I always have more than 12 bag with me) I start using that to collect the extras from each kit. Ideally when I get home I would sort things back out. I try to keep a spot for paper scraps that need to be cut and sorted- I have them all in one iris box now and I am trying to continually put them there until I have time to sort them out.

Swap items I didn't use go back into their drawers (again ideally right away but sometimes it takes awhile to sort out that bag. I just did one of my bags from SDV the other day.

If they are ribbons and other things I keep by color I put them in an empty box until I have enough collected that I am going to sort and put away.

Rebecca

 

[bearbear]

I have been doing this for my scrapbook weekend the end of this month. I have about 25 kitted pages and hopefully I will get to all of them and more. It is a full weekend friday, saturday and coming home sunday after 5. My goal is 50 pages for the weekend, but I found that if I kit I may get more done as I have when I have gone to crops. Wish me luck
Cindy