Pages before or after & Dig. Scrap

[TEK224]

I have two questions for all you experts.

First, I am a rookie at scrapbooking. I just can't seem to find time to sit down and get going. I started a WDW book almost 2 years ago. I have 3 pages done. Ugh!

Anyway...

1. Do you prefer to prepare pages before your trip so when you return it's just a matter of putting the photos in? I've thought of trying this, but then I wonder what I'd do if the pics don't "fit" on the page. But if I wait till we return, it gets overwhelming.

2. Do you prefer digital scrapbooking or the regular hands on way? Why?
Sometimes I think I'd be able to get finished easier doing digital (not that I've ever tries digital). But then I think I prefer the hands on way, because I feel like it's more of an accomplishment, cutting, pasting and laying out pieces myself. Plus, I have hundreds of dollars of supplies sitting in my workroom.

Thanks for your responses.

Terri

 

[PrincessNancy96]

Hey!!!



1. I have done it both ways...premade pages and just waited.. to be totally honest with you.. I prefer to wait til I get home to do it... or if I can... premake as much as I can w/o adhering the photo mats.. I find that if I adhere the photo mats... I don't always take a photo orientated that way specifically.. KWIM? Say, I make a page w/ 2 portrait photos...but I only took photos on vacation horizontal...

2. I prefer traditional, hands on scrapping.. I love to feel the paper, try various techniques, move the layout around until I get the feel I really want for that set of photos... I have so much invested in my traditional supplies that I think DH might just have a fit if I decided to go digital any time soon.. I really like the hands on scrapping.. it's like a therapy.. a way to get away from the world and lost in the memories of family, friends, vacations, life...
I also like the traditional scrapping because my kids/family know that mom put effort into it..cutting, adhering, etc... Digital scrappers I'm sure feel the exact same way.... their works are always creative works of art.. I just don't have the computer know how to become one of those creative genious persons...so I show my creative genious with paper/scissors/embellishments..

 

[Lisa]

I am more of a do layouts after the trip type of person. As PN96 mentioned, then I know the positioning of my pictures, how many pictures I have for each layout, along with the embellishments.

I, too, am a traditional scrapper. Like the touch and feel of all that paper. That being said though, I am starting doing digi for recipes for my recipe book. It's a good project for me with the recipes and all those digi embellishments! I am really having fun with it.

Find what works best for you, then get cracking !

 

[hopemax]

I can't say for certainty, on how this would work for my own scrapping. I don't seem to have much time for it. But...this did work for me, really well on a large wedding project for Dcousin, so in theory it should work.

I had about 1000 pictures to work with, so I broke it down into manageable pieces. I would work on say, the rehearsal pics, or the hair/makeup pics. First, I would figure out which of the 2 dozen pics for that event I wanted to include. I would use the computer to create a 12x12 square, and then place smaller squares (5x7, 4x6, 4x4, 3x4, 2x3 pics) to build the layout; make sure all the pics would fit. So basically, I was doing my editing and my layout simultaneously. I would save the layouts, with the sizes marked, and print them as 2x2 squares, with a note of which pics went where.

Then when I had a bunch of layouts ready, I would print the photos. Since I already knew where all the pictures went, it was much easier and faster to build the layouts. I could do 10 pages in a couple of hours. When I just printed all the photos and then had to design layouts, I would spend hours moving things around the page, and being scared to crop. Also, on the large project it was easier to work with a limited color palette. I used primarily one line of Basic Gray, and yellow, red, orange cardstock (wedding colors), with some additional single sheets of patterned paper, instead of having every single sheet of my stash as a possible choice for each layout.

 

[boBQuincy]

I don't set up pages before a trip because I never know what photos I might get on a trip.

Count me as solidly in the digital camp. I tried traditional scrapbooking for about a week before deciding it was not flexible enough for what I like to do. Digital has unlimited fonts and colors, wide open sizing and cropping of photos, instant repositioning, quickly movable layers, etc.

It is not for everyone, some miss the feel of the materials. One of my good friends stays with cut & paste because of the steep learning curve of digital. Also, the high end software like Photoshop is not inexpensive.

 

[nicurn]

personally I am a BIG fan of digital scrapping. I can find whatever I want and for free (free is good) and I can resize the pictures to fit where I want them. Much less of a mess as well. sometimes it can be faster than regular scrapping, sometimes not... just kinda depends. maggie

ps: I never have made up pre made kits to scrap anything, I figured I'd never actually use them.. (and then I discovered digital.... )

 

[mumloveseeyore]

the great advantage of digital scrapbooking to me is the undo button! i hate to think how much i would have wasted in supplies after changing my mind 23 times !. Gill

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

I'm a traditional scrapper. I tried digital a few times, but I prefer hands-on working with photos and elements.

We went to WDW in '06 and '07. When we moved in Dec '08, I had only worked up 4 layouts of our 2006 trip. My things were packed until around Sept. last year when I decided to make gifts for the girls in my office.

For the new year, I joined in a Disney challenge over at twopeasinabucket. Every other week a new challenge is posted and it has motivated me to create new layouts. I have completed 13 new pages so far this year. I still have a long way to go, but I am making progress.

 

[pjlla]

I think your questions about paper or digital is sort of like asking... "coffee or tea"? Everyone has their own preference and their own reasons for what they prefer. You probably need to try BOTH (at least a little bit) before you decide what is right for you.

I am strictly paper. I did try some digital and found it enormously frustrating. But I am not particularly computer savvy and I am not inclined to spend the time to learn the programs. Plus I am not ready to invest many $$ on the necessary program(s). But there are certainly PLENTY of digital scrappers out there who love what they do and are great at it!

As far as pre-made pages... NO WAY! How could I possibly know what kind/how many/what orientation pictures I will be taking on my vacation?? I suppose if you just wanted a few key pictures (the kids with some characters, that type), you could do it in advance, but I think of my vacation scrapbooks as photographic journals. I keep a daily journal while on the trip and then I use it and the photos to create my scrapbook. I do it strictly chronologically (just the anal side of me I guess!) and while I don't include EVERY photo, I use a LOT!

One of the keys (IMHO) is to not worry so much about getting behind, etc. I know you mentioned that you had started a book in the past but not finished it. Are you just concerned that you are too far behind now to get caught up?

I JUST ordered pictures yesterday to start the book for our July 2005 trip to Disneyland. And believe it or not, I feel like I am getting caught up!! Yes, I know the trip was almost 4 years ago... but I have managed to catch up almost a year's worth of pictures in the last few months. If I keep up at this rate, I will be TRULY caught up with a year. But I KNOW that this 2005 trip album is going to significantly slow me down. My 2004 WDW trip took me a YEAR to scrap! And that was scrapping it exclusively.... I did no other pages during that time! Admittedly, I didn't scrap as fast or as often as I do now, but still... a YEAR to scrap an 8 day trip . I know that I can't take that kind of time any more... it just puts me too far behind and I get concerned about getting caught up. Anyhow, my point is that you shouldn't get TOO concerned about the amount of time it takes. Especially if all you scrap is vacations.

Good luck, no matter what you decide to do..................P

 

[RRBB]

I never seem to use premade pages. As nice as they might be, they just never seem to fit the look I ultimately want for the pics I have.

As for traditional vs. digital, I'm a traditional scrapper at heart. I never really thought of digital scrapping as real scrapbooking. When we had an addition added to the house I got my own scrapping/crafting room filled to the brim with just about every scrapbooking supply you can think of. I absolutely love it, BUT I NEVER GET TO USE IT. (My kids through fits if I go in there without them - even though they can see me through the doors.)

So I turned to digital a few months ago. What I love about digital scrapbooking is the flexibility and cost effectiveness.

• location: I can drag my laptop anywhere in the house, car, or even on vacation and still have all my supplies with me. One main reason I'm now digital is that DD naps in the car. I bring my laptop with me out to the garage (or wherever we are) and can use that time to my advantage.
• no mistakes: I don't have to worry about adhering something in the wrong place and then figuring out how to get it off the page safely. And I can try different combinations without making a commitment - unlike paper I don't have to lift anything back up, apply adhesive, and then hope I get it in the right place - the undo key works wonders for mistakes.
• less $$$ (potentially): There are lots of freebies out on the web. But even if you purchase kits, they're much less $ than purchasing "paper" kits. AND you can use them over and over and over again without having to purchase more. Plus, you have the advantage of being able to recolor papers and elements to meet your needs.

Don't get me wrong, I still love paper scrapbooking but I just don't get the opportunity to do any these days. By going digital I've actually been able to start plowing through the thousands (and I mean tens of thousands) of pictures I've taken over the last few years.

 

[JLoane]

1. I've never used pre-made pages for many of the same reasons that others have already shared. I'm sure I wouldn't have used colors that work or have the right number or size of pics.

2. For almost 10 years I scrapped traditionally with paper. About a month ago, I gave digital a try and LOVE it. I don't think I'll ever go back. There are a couple big advantages for me. First, I have 3 children so I was often creating a very similar layout 3 times when scrapping family events. With digital, I can create one layout, make minor changes and print the page three times so digital is a huge time saver. I also like the ability to match colors exactly and try different looks with just a click or two.

I had some reservations about the ease learning a digital program, but I bought Creative Memories StoryBook Creator Plus and it's been great. Very easy to learn!

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Regards,

Jen

 

[skipperkim]

I'm a paper lover too. It's just more creative to me. Somehow I see myself old and grey looking at my scrapbooks in the nursing home.

 

[nicurn]

since going digital, I have been much more willing to actually USE my stash of paper, etc on other projects. actually let dd in the room to use stuff on a history project. and (gasp) even let her go through all my ribbon stash to find ribbon to use in her hair!!! Maybe I'll even let her use my prima flowers next...

 

[Spinning]

no Kate can't go in that room! Lock the prima's up!

Ok now my response...
Never ever did pre made pages. I never know what I may take pictures of. I did do some page kit swaps on here. Lots of fun but took forever for me to use them!

I am paper all the way. But do see the advantages of digital. I really feel more crafty sitting at my craft table than the computer. Plus I really don't have the brain to do it. I have tried. I would love to actually learn so I could make nice photo books from snapfish. I make those all the time for my mom when the codes are good. Would be nice to have them a little nicer.

For me sitting a computer isn't relaxing it feels more like work.

I do think you can combine the two. Love to look at the digital stuff to get fresh ideas. I think the digital people are more willing to fluff up their pages with lots of embellishments and color. I really got away from that with paper. I think because I didn't want to use my pretty supplies! LOL! Now I use them

 

[wtpclc]

Terri - I never pre-do pages. When I print the ones I like. Il ay them out on pages (not in book or use CM Power Layouts) to see how my page breaks will fall and then I start scrapping. That jus thelps me keep things straight in my brain.

As for traditional vs digital. Traditional is thereapy for me and i love it. However, digital can be done quicker and with less up front material costs. JMO.

 

[LindaBabe]

I bought some page kits at CKC - they have set photo mats, just like premade pages. They forced me to think outside the box how I chose, cropped and placed the photos. So, if that's the only way you can get it done, think of some broad themes and get it done. Ie
Title Page - our Disney vacation
Our Resort
Fun with Characters
Memorable Meals
Water Fun
Ride On!
I love a Parade
Fireworks and evening shows
And a pocket page for maps at the end.

Any leftover photos go in an album somewhere.