Does the amount of digital photos on your computer intimidate you? In today’s episode for the Premium Subscribers, you’ll see my system for getting photos from my camera to my computer and then to print. Maybe I have a few tips you can implement to make the process easier for you.

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For my basic scrapbook albums I vary the size of my layouts from 12×12 to 8.5×11 to 8×8. Someone recently asked me how I choose the size for each layout. While I don’t spend any more than ten seconds to decide this, there are about five factors that help me determine what I choose.

Go With The Flow

Sometimes I just feel like I want to do a certain size. Maybe I’ve done a lot of one size recently and I’m ready to do something different. There’s not always a specific reason and I like to allow my moods to dictate what I do. I don’t dwell on this decision.

Smaller Means Faster

There are days I like to spend a lot of time on a layout and other days I want to whip through it. When I am in my fast-scrapping mode, I often choose a smaller layout size, like the 8.5×11 you see below.

I also like to work with 8×8 pages when I’m scrapping from a short journaled story instead of a photo.

Saving Space and Resources

A big size determinant for me has to do with how much space I really need. If I can tell my story and showcase my photos with a smaller size, I do it. Single-photo layouts don’t need a 12×12 sheet, let alone a two-page spread.

If you watch Paperclipping Live or have seen Episode 2, Brainstorming A Layout, then you know that I like to determine my photo placement before I choose my background paper. When doing a multi-photo layout and I’m not in the mood for lots of embellishment, I’ll pack all the photos onto one 12×12.

If I do want to add lots of designs and I can crop my pictures smaller than 4×6, then I can go with a double-page 8.5×11, which is why I chose the size for the layout below. The butterfly design wouldn’t have fit with a one-page 12×12 but a two-page 12×12 would have been more than I needed.

The Paper Is Screaming For A Debut

I prefer to let my photos and stories lead my product choices, but once in a while there is paper or a product that I want to play with. This was the case for the layout at the top of this article, High Places.

While going through my paper I realized that I really didn’t like the look of the original blue design and I was tired of passing over it. It was time to do something about the paper to make it more interesting. After adding the Stickles I fell in love and then it was all about finding a photo that would work with my paper.

Filling The Gaps In My Albums

As I get close to filling an album, I will have some gaps to fill, especially the back-sides of some of the smaller pages. When that time comes I will look for photos that will work specifically with those sizes.

Allowing variety in your scrapbooking keeps the hobby fresh and exciting, just like it was when you first started. 12×12 albums allow you to put all those different sizes together.

While I gave you 5 factors that help me determine which size I choose for a given layout, there is no “right choice.” Don’t want to waste time weighing the different options. Make a quick decision and trust it.

Related Articles:
Varying The Size Of Your Layouts
Five Tips To Scrapbook Your Stories

A Leftover Photo

The main photo in this layout is a leftover from last year’s Easter and didn’t really fit on the layout I made for that holiday.

I decided it was time to make a decision about whether or not to scrap it on its own page or put it into my box of categoried pictures (pictures I took out of chronological order and put into topics and sub-topics, according to Stacy Julian’s system).

I thought about the possibility of the photo featured in a single page layout. It struck me that with all the cousins present to play with, my kids, Aiden and Trinity, decided to sneak off together to their own quiet place.

Making A Connection

Suddenly it occurred to me that I had just done a layout about these two and how sweet their relationship is. I wondered if I had other pictures of the two of them interacting. I scanned through one of my photo albums (of photos in relative chronological order that I hope to scrap) and found two applicable photos that I don’t need for other layouts.

Then I went to my categoried photos and found two more behind the tab, Us Together. I now had five photos that tell a beautiful story. It took me about two minutes total to conceptualize my topic, locate my photos, and plan a design scheme.

Easy. Meaningful. And fun to look at.

* * *

Location of Layout: In the “Us, Together” album, which fits into my “This Is Us” category of albums.

I have a feeling this book will be my choice for Best Scrapbook-related Book for 2008.

Photo Freedom is the book I’ve been waiting for since I read Stacy Julian’s previous book, Big Picture Scrapbooking. In that one, Stacy described her philosophy of focusing on the pictures, stories and memories, and letting go of the pressure to scrap every photo and be “caught up.”

She introduced a system called, “Library Of Memories,” which she developed for the flow and management of photos. That system allows her to live her scrapbooking philosophy.

Since then, many of us have been trying to figure out how that system works. In Photo Freedom, Stacy shares the exact details of her system.

Stacy’s Instruction on her Library Of Memories System

She shares the details in a way that is fun and easy to learn. Sharing the details of any system can be tedious, but not with Stacy.

She made use of visuals–mouth-watering visuals–to give much of her instruction. She gave just enough information, but no more than necessary to get how it works.

I blew through the book in one night and then began it again the next day.

Stacy’s System Can Help Improve Your Scrapbooking

A fun part of the book is a section that showcases some of Stacy’s layouts. It outlines exactly how her system enabled her to develop her stories (or identify patterns) and put pages together in less time than it would without her system.

Not only is it fun to see her layouts and read her stories, it also clarifies why Stacy’s system works so well. It simplifies the scrapbooking process, helps you identify some fabulous stories you wouldn’t have thought of otherwise, and allows you to find the photos you want much more quickly than a standard chronological system.

A little time up front to implement her system will save more time later.

Who Is This Book Good For?

I recommend this book to all scrapbookers. Because we’re all different, I never recommend a book just because I like it. I recommend books based on how you scrapbook. When I review a book, I state who will most likely benefit from the book. Rarely do I think one book will benefit all scrapbookers. Photo Freedom is one of those rare ones.

Stacy’s system is so flexible that anyone can adapt it to their own situation and ways of thinking. One of the best things about Photo Freedom is that Stacy dedicated a section of the book to showing how thirteen different scrapbookers incorporated and adapted the system to meet their own needs. Even if you want to continue scrapbooking and storing photos chronologically, you will likely find many parts of her system that will help you.

What if you already took her Library Of Memories class? Even those who took her class in the past are saying they understand it more having read the book. Plus, Stacy has added some new features to the system that are quick and easy to implement and will make scrapbooking certain pages faster than ever.

My Recommendation

Basically, what I’m saying in review of Stacy Julian’s book: Buy it. Just go buy it. See for yourself. It’s fabulous.

Paperclipping 36 - Dedra Long’s Scraproom from izzyvideo on Vimeo.
You’ll love this tour of Dedra Long’s scrapbook room. I just wish you could see all the details in person. It’s an inspiring place to sit down and scrap.

You can see those details better in the high-quality version. I apologize that there aren’t any show notes for this week.

Those who participate in Paperclipping Live on Tuesday nights know I have a new scraproom. I moved into about a month ago and I’ve gotten it to where it’s fairly functional.

I took a whole bunch of really bad pictures (tiny room, low lighting) and uploaded them into a set on Flickr. I gave detailed descriptions under each photo regarding what is and isn’t working for me and what I hope to change.

You can click here to see the “Evolution Of A Scraproom” set and click on the individual photos to read my comments about each one.

As I make changes in the decoration and organization of my room, I’ll post my progress, both in my Flickr set and here on Paperclipping. If you’re trying to make your scrap area more functional, I hope the comments in my picture set will give you some ideas.

If you have your own ideas to share, please leave a comment.

Paperclipping 32 - FRED from izzyvideo on Vimeo.

In this episode I review a fabulous product that I’ve been testing all week. I can’t wait to introduce it to you.

For better viewing, download the high-quality version. I also have show notes available.

Ali Edwards blogged today about her current project, transitioning layouts from 28 albums into a new format. The photos of her stacks of layouts are amazing. Since she started scrapbooking she has always scrapped in a random order and then put her layouts in her albums in the order that she designed them. They were a hodge podge of topics and time periods. She is now in the process of arranging her layouts into a more sensible order: chronologically by topic.

My Album Topics

Reading Ali’s post reminded me that I wanted to share my album topics with you after releasing the Video, Inside The Album. Ali and I are using a similar system, which Stacy Julian inspired. I have multiple albums that fit into a series of topics. Here they are:

This is Us
1. One for each member of our family. (For example, “This is Trinity”).
2. This is Us, Together. (Layouts about more than just one of us).
3. Israel and I. (Anything about the two of us together, including our travels, gets its own special place).

People We Love
1. Grandpa Jerry and Nana Debbie
2. Grandma and Grandpa Buckland
3. The Hyman’s (Layouts featuring extended family on my husband’s side. Currently this goes in the same album with his parents. I will separate them if the album gets too full).
4. The Buckland’s (Layouts featuring extended family from my side).
5. Our friends
6. Keim ‘N’ Hyman (The Keims are our closest friends of almost 11 years…we have lots of pictures with them so they need their own album).

This is home-Layouts about our home.

Places We Go/Things We Do
1. Around town.
2. Vacations
3. Adventures In Geocaching-Geocaching is one of our favorite family activities. I bought a smaller 8×8 album for it. I could mix this topic into one of the other albums, but we have so many pictures of this activity alone, I think it deserves its own book.
4. School
5. Extra-curricular Activities

Holidays
1. Christmas
2. Halloween
3. Darwin Day-This will be a smaller album.
4. Random Holiday Memories-I am still unsure about this one, but I think it will hold layouts of all the other holidays not listed above. I will eventually separate Easter if there are enough layouts).

Allow For Flexibility

I need to go back through my first albums and reorganize them, just like Ali. But there are a few years in the middle of my scrapbooking life when I used Creative Memories albums and I can’t switch those to my new system.

In my opinion, Creative Memories has the highest quality albums in the industry, but I regret having used them. They are inflexible when it comes to switching the order or location of your layouts because you work directly on their pages, back to back. I would like to separate those layouts into my separate album topics, but because the pages are back to back with random topics, I can’t do it.

And that is why I have learned to look for flexibility in the albums I use. By using 3-ring binders with page protectors, you can easily rearrange your albums if you ever change how you want to arrange them. It’s a wonderful quality to be able to get a new perspective and change your mind. So even if you are sure you will always do things the way you are doing them now, remember that I was sure, too. I’ve changed my system three times now.

I hope it was helpful to see how I arrange my layouts. Do you have album topics that are different from mine? If so, please leave a comment and share with us!

Update: I added a couple topics that I had forgotten but remembered when Kari Daverson left her comment. I will probably separate the Places We Go and the Things We Do albums when they get full enough. Kari mentioned a topic she has that I really like. She said, “My favorite section is the Home Time section in the Things We Do albums. That covers everything from game nights, family movie nights, laundry day etc. My kids love those layouts most of all it seems.” What a great idea!

You see thousands of layouts online and inside magazines. But you really want to take a peek into someone’s actual album, don’t you? Come on, admit it. In today’s episode, I take you through one of mine.

If you had problems downloading some of the most recent episodes, please try them again. We made some changes so they should be more easily accessible to anyone.

This episode is in the archives. To learn how to access the archives, please visit the membership information page.

And I have provided show notes for the deaf members of the Paperclipping audience.

Are you planning goals or resolutions for the new year? How about making a mini-book where you can evaluate your progress, share your thoughts, and even add photos?

The picture above is a sneak-peek of my own book, still in progress. I will have it ready to share with you later in the week. So if you think you’d like to make your own, you might want to begin preparing your goals.

The mini-book is in a format that works with my own method for a year’s worth of goals, so I’ll share that with you now.

2008 Focus

I chose four areas that need my focus this year. They are:
1. Health & Fitness
2. My Home
3. Scrapbooking & Paperclipping
4. My One-on-one Relationships with my Children

Ali’s One-Word Challenge

Last year Ali Edwards chose one word to describe what she wanted for the coming year rather than making resolutions. I did this as well, and really liked the direction it gave me. This time I’m returning to resolutions, but I also chose a word that illustrates how I see my focus for 2008. The word I chose this year is BUILD.

I made “build” statements for each of my areas of focus:
1. I am building a healthy and fit body.
2. I am building a home that inspires and celebrates creativity.
3. I am building a scrapbooking resource that provides constant and regular inspiration to others.
4. I am building deep one-on-one relationships with each of my growing, evolving children.

Steps For Accomplishing My Goals

Once I chose my areas of focus, I made a list of things to accomplish or evaluate throughout the year so that I can progress in those focus areas.

Make A Schedule

You know how I am about schedules. Schedules are vital for accomplishment. I also believe that a person only has the capacity to focus on one or two big things at a time. So I assigned a month (or two months) to each of my bigger goals.

I also have smaller things I want to evaluate. For example, for one month I will focus on drinking water every hour. Hopefully one month of doing this will make it a habit. But in my experience, it probably won’t be enough to stick. So I’ve made that a side focus for some of the other months throughout the year. Most months have a big project to complete plus some smaller side things to evaluate.

Evaluate

Because some of the goals are subjective and require on-going reflective evaluation, I am designing my mini-book to allow me to write down my reflections, evaluations, and adjusted plans for improvement.

I will also be able to add photos if I want. In all, this book will be a reminder of all my goals, a place to reflect and track progress, and will eventually become a visual record of my direction and accomplishments for the year.

If you’re interested in joining me, you can begin formulating your goals, too.