WHY do we do this stuff to ourselves?

[SplshMtn99]

I started a similar thread on the Scrapbooking board. But really, this seems to be a recurring thing with me in many aspects of my life.

I told DH tonight I want to go back to 35mm film, drop it off at CVS, pick it up, throw out the bad ones & shove the good ones in an album. Done.

Nooooo, instead, we take hundreds of digital pics. Keep them all. Try to fix any bads ones. Crop. Upload. Order prints -- LOL, if I even get that far. They sit because I INTEND to scrap them into some fabulous album YEARS later that no one else will even care about.

And this year alone, I've added learning a newer digital camera, learning PhotoShop Elements 5, organizing & tagging 7 yrs of badly labeled & organized digital pictures, & NOW a Wishblade cutting machine to my self imposed torture.

Over the years I created a computer address book I update & reprint beginning of each year. And lots of other stupid useless stuff.....all thanks to computers entering our lives.

I'm a perfectionist. This must be it. No other sane person would do stuff like this.

Someone please stop me.

 

[momm2four]

That's funny! Since I've started using a digital camera, I never get pictures developed. They just sit here on my computer waiting to be printed out. At least now I don't have a pile of pictures staring at me, making me feel bad for not scrapping.

Lori P.

 

[MomofKatie]

I am incredibly lazy, and am terribly uncreative. I take my cheap, point and shoot, $20 35mm camera to WDW, take 4 or 5 rolls of photos, and make sure I get them to the Wal Mart the day after I come home. I do the 1 hour developing, so I don't have to remember to pick them up later.

When I get home, I stick them in a plain photo album. I try to write a brief, one or 2 sentence blurb next to each pic. That's it. By this time, I have reached the limit of my time and creativity. If I'm in a real creative mood, I put them in chronological order.

Hey, at least I will have something to look at years from now! It ain't pretty, but it's my picture album!

 

[SplshMtn99]

I am incredibly lazy, and am terribly uncreative. I take my cheap, point and shoot, $20 35mm camera to WDW, take 4 or 5 rolls of photos, and make sure I get them to the Wal Mart the day after I come home. I do the 1 hour developing, so I don't have to remember to pick them up later.

When I get home, I stick them in a plain photo album. I try to write a brief, one or 2 sentence blurb next to each pic. That's it. By this time, I have reached the limit of my time and creativity. If I'm in a real creative mood, I put them in chronological order.

Hey, at least I will have something to look at years from now! It ain't pretty, but it's my picture album!

I used to be like that. But somebody got into my brain, gave me a computer, ....well, and I don't remember much after that.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

And then its not just the pictures staring at you, its the pretty paper that you need, the 50 stamp sets so you can use that one stamp in the entire freakin set, the embellishments, the cool organizing things so that everything can stay neat while its collecting dust...........shall I continue?

 

[SplshMtn99]

And then its not just the pictures staring at you, its the pretty paper that you need, the 50 stamp sets so you can use that one stamp in the entire freakin set, the embellishments, the cool organizing things so that everything can stay neat while its collecting dust...........shall I continue?

Ahhhh, another one of my kind. (no stamps though. ) Of course, can't use the pretty paper. Its just, ummmm, tooo pretty to use.

 

[Rachie0507]

And then its not just the pictures staring at you, its the pretty paper that you need, the 50 stamp sets so you can use that one stamp in the entire freakin set, the embellishments, the cool organizing things so that everything can stay neat while its collecting dust...........shall I continue?

I'll continue ...don't forget the right adhesives, cutters, tools (yeah, I have a hammer for a scrapbook), the albums, and everything else. I really do enjoy making the scrapbooks but it takes so much time! I am going away this weekend for a Cropping event...I can't wait

 

[Rachie0507]

Of course, can't use the pretty paper. Its just, ummmm, tooo pretty to use.

, so true. I've done that!

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

Of course the paper is too pretty to use, that's why its collecting dust!

And I just don't have the hammer, I have the whole tool kit in its own little zipper pouch. And my lovely stampin' up consultant had this neat set of tools that I just love to play with and actually used it once. (don't tell DH - but it was $16 and I've only used it once )

Oh and don't forget the photo organizers that you need to keep the pictures "organized" until the day you actually get around to putting them in the stinking scrapbook!

I'm going to the NJ scrapping expo the weekend after Easter. I'm going to both the Friday and Saturday night crops. I've never done this before, I'm so excited!! I think I'm going to get more then one layout done this entire year.

 

[diznygirl]

I'm here to solve all your problems:

SHUTTERFLY PHOTO BOOKS!!!

I used to be like you - printing photos, cropping, putting them in carefully designed pages - running out to buy more stickers, more adhesive, more paper.......

But then I discovered Photo Books. Do you know I no longer print photos? No hard copies of photos anywhere! I download from the camera, upload to Shutterfly, arrange them in a photo book and buy it. It arrives three days later! OMIGOD - IT'S THE BEST!

 

[bigmerle1966]

That's funny! Since I've started using a digital camera, I never get pictures developed. They just sit here on my computer waiting to be printed out. At least now I don't have a pile of pictures staring at me, making me feel bad for not scrapping.

Lori P.

That would be me too.

And OMG do I take more pics now that I have a digital camera. I have over 3,000 pictures I've taken since I got the camera 2 1/2 years ago. All on my computer and if it crashes I am so gonna cry.

Eeyore'sthebest- I have been to an all weekend crop, from Friday night to Sunday afternoon and I got TONS done. I am going to an all day this weekend, just working on all the 35mm pics I have.

 

[SplshMtn99]

I'm here to solve all your problems:

SHUTTERFLY PHOTO BOOKS!!!

I used to be like you - printing photos, cropping, putting them in carefully designed pages - running out to buy more stickers, more adhesive, more paper.......

But then I discovered Photo Books. Do you know I no longer print photos? No hard copies of photos anywhere! I download from the camera, upload to Shutterfly, arrange them in a photo book and buy it. It arrives three days later! OMIGOD - IT'S THE BEST!

That could work. One book each year. I am actually about 4 yrs behind in printing out any photos. lol

My BIGGEST problem is technology advancements. They are great for industry, but not always a good thing in homes. I really don't need to learn to become a great photographer, photo editor, clipart designer, color expert, & so on....yet I do because I bought these stinking electronics.

 

[SplshMtn99]

And OMG do I take more pics now that I have a digital camera. I have over 3,000 pictures I've taken since I got the camera 2 1/2 years ago. All on my computer and if it crashes I am so gonna cry.

Well, at least my computer is backed up automatically every Mon pm. I've lived thru 2 crashes long ago. Won't let that happen again. Never lost photos though, just banking & budget info. grrrrrrr. NOW, everything of value is backed up on Mon pm.

 

[diznygirl]

That could work. One book each year. I am actually about 4 yrs behind in printing out any photos. lol

My BIGGEST problem is technology advancements. They are great for industry, but not always a good thing in homes. I really don't need to learn to become a great photographer, photo editor, clipart designer, color expert, & so on....yet I do because I bought these stinking electronics.

Well, it's a little more than one per year for me...... I just get carried away!

I just made three books two weeks ago when they had a sale. At about $80 to $100 per book I know I am actually saving money by not printing photos and buying scrapping supplies.

And by doing the photo books, I only use the photos I use. No more throwing away prints, or keeping them out of guilt.

And I'm not limited to size. I can fill a page with one 8x10 photo - which I do a lot!

Oh, I could go on and on about the benefits.......

 

[bigmerle1966]

Well, at least my computer is backed up automatically every Mon pm. I've lived thru 2 crashes long ago. Won't let that happen again. Never lost photos though, just banking & budget info. grrrrrrr. NOW, everything of value is backed up on Mon pm.

What do you mean by backed up? Onto what? I really need to have a secure way to store my pictures.

 

[SplshMtn99]

What do you mean by backed up? Onto what? I really need to have a secure way to store my pictures.

We have a DVD drive (2 actually, but you only need 1), but you could do it on CD-roms too. A DVD holds more. We use Stomp - BackupMyPC software. I think DH downloaded it off the web, not sure. He's my computer techie. I don't ask.

All I know is we leave a DVD+R in that drive. The software is set to back up files we picked every Mon at 2am. Each wk, we have it do just anything that CHANGED (or was added) to those files. It does that automatically. BUT once a month, we manually do a full back-up of the same files. That takes 3 DVD+Rs at this point because I have so many photos & things.

I can tell you we have all the My Documents (pictures, word & excel stuff....), all my fonts, all drivers & software updates or patches files, download directory, all our favorites & emails, all my free downloaded digital scrapping supplies. Basically all the data in the computer. Not programs.

If we have a crash, software can be reloaded. Then all data can be reloaded.
Same type of thing any business would do. Where I worked, we backed up every night.

Once I get my photos all re-organized & labelled nicely, I'm going to burn the oldest ones to DVD, and purge them from computer to make more room. And I'll make an extra copy to put in the fire-proof safe.

 

[grlpwrd]

This is why I cut back on scrapping and now just develop and place pictures in albums. I used to spend a lot of my money on scrapping and I used to go to a lot of forums.

Sorry, I just look at it as more clutter, not using my time productively, and spending too much $$$.

Now storing data for safekeeping - that's smart. I do that regularly and I try to keep up with it accordingly as technology changes. That is what I read is a good thing to do.

 

[MoniqueU]

I store all my pics on shutterfly and make books out of the good ones. I hate scrapbooking but making these books are so cute, cheap and easy that I love making them.

 

[SplshMtn99]

I store all my pics on shutterfly and make books out of the good ones. I hate scrapbooking but making these books are so cute, cheap and easy that I love making them.

Just remember, online sites are NOT meant for being your ONLY STORAGE. I can't remember the website "photo something" a few years ago that disappeared one night & everyone lost their photos. I was a member, but only used it for sharing.....not storage. It was a BIG site too. I just couldn't get over all the people crying all over the web who LOST their photos. They didn't have any other copies of them.

 

[Amlee]

Oh dear lord! I got a nightmare phone call about 2 weeks ago. My mother wanted a program that would let her edit her photos. Which translated means, My sd card is full. So I need you to come download it and I need you to get a program that you can teach me to use.

I know photshop elements so I got her the 5.0. I have spent a couple of days teaching her the basic of it. I also downloaded her pictures. YIKES! That was about 800 pictures.

The best thing I have found is CVS.com. I can edit my pictures, toss the bad ones. Upload them to their website and pick them up in an hour. LOVE IT! It's great!