PRT 007 – The Process of Scrapbooking

You can use this audio player to listen to the show:

You need Adobe Flash Player to view this video.

If you want, you can also right click this link to save the show to your computer manually.

Subscribe in iTunes (iTunes link) right now so your computer will automatically download each new episode. (If you don’t know how to do that, you can watch a video here that shows you how.)

The Panel

Product Picks

Do you have feedback for us? Any comments or questions? Leave them in the comments for this post… We’d love to hear what you think!

Tags: Scrapbooking

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 at 9:43 pm and is filed under Roundtable. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

kimstrotherkdgirl

I enjoyed listening to your different approaches on starting a page. However I did wonder how the “average” (meaning someone not in the industry) scrapbooker would answer this question. I'm sure there would be many answers, maybe some would not even know they have a process. I'd love to have you add an additional member to your panel, someone not in the industry, to add another perspective.
Pingback: Paperclipping Roundtable #7: The Process of Scrapbooking
rosann

this was a great show as usual. I agree with kimsthrotherkdgirl that it would be cool to have a non industry member as part of the panel on occasion.

IN discussing your process some of you discussed blogs. And most industry insiders seem to have blogs as part of their overall process. Could you talk a little bit about that piece of your process. what is the goal of your blogs? how can an “outsider” start a blog. how important is the blog in your process?
http://www.paperclipping.com Noell

I think a lot of people non-industry scrapbookers have blogs, too, although
I don't know how prevalent it is to include them as part of their
scrapbooking process. I think this sounds like a fun thing to talk about.
We'll see when we can work it in! Thanks!

I want to remind everyone, though, that although we work in the industry
we're just normal scrapbookers. In fact, all but one of us created our own
businesses in scrapbooking, so it's not like we're employees of a scrapbook
company. We're not part of any mysterious “inside” clan with inside meetings
or anything. Just wanted to say that since the comments so far are
differentiating us as if there's a big difference between us. We're just
normal scrapbookers, too. :)
christineherrington

I did not listen to the entire video. It doesn't take 70 minutes to tell us “consumers” that we aren't suppose to go the CHA and are in fact not welcome there. CHA should just let people know that.
http://www.paperclipping.com Noell

Sounds like our explanation and apology just made you feel worse, Christine.
I'm sorry about that.
http://www.paperclipping.com Noell

You know, since we won't be talking about this particular topic again in an episode any time soon, I would love it if people shared their processes right here in the comments. I've noticed others do that with previous topics and I love reading what other people think about them.
mcleslie

Hi, I just listened to this issue of the round table and I really enjoyed it. You have given me a set of new ideas to work with in developing my strategy for scrapbooking. You all seem to really understand me and the roadblocks I see in scrapbooking. I am learning alot from you all!!! Thanks so much.
http://www.craftysuz.blogspot.com Suz

Thanks for another interesting show.
http://www.debbiehodge.com/ Debbie Hodge

I want to love this show but I found the last two episodes slow. When I hear “mailbag” I expect to hear several letters and brief responses to them, not a hash-through of the panel's response to them. As far as process — I'm not interested in the process of each person who happens to be on the panel this day — I'm interested in several *different* processes. The conversation seems to be more of a turn-taking or question answering than a back-and-forth. I love hearing the news from Nancy. I think the composition of the panel lacks diversity — and I don't mean in gender or race — I mean in origins and approach. Angie, Stacy, and Lain are all from SS and Nancy's first page was published in SS. Everyone is coming from the same (and quite wonderful) place — but–>redundancy. Tell me what's going on with scrappers in Australia and Europe. Bring in art journalers and digital scrapbookers. Bring in business owners. Again, I love the concept and I'm always eager to download the show — but it's slow for me.
SEA

Hello again. I am so pleased (and a little shocked) that the panel took the time to address my concerns about limiting attendance at CHA. Thanks for listening and for explaining that there are actually two parts to CHA – a trade show and a consumer show with different objectives. Truly, I know many of us would hope to attend CHA one day. In the right context, those comments now make sense, and don't have the connotation that they first had for me. Keep up the good work, informing and inspiring scrapbookers, both novice and industry insiders alike.
Lynnette C.

I've loved listening to the shows thus far and realize it's an evolving process. I really like the panel-style set up and while I love the idea of 'evolution' of my craft — I still have to say that I like the way I started and I want to keep doing more of that because it's what made me feel good when I started 12 years ago and still makes me feel good now! On a different note — I have to agree with the product pick of the “Child's Year” cricut cartridge – it's AWESOME!!! I've done a ton of projects with just the font choices alone!!!
CindyS

Noell,
Just so you know the website you have linked here is spelled wrong for Nan Scott. It should read:
http://www.nanscottdesignstudio.com
Cathy R

After listening today to last week's roundtable, I find I have to agree with the comments of both Debbie Hodge and Lynette C. I think their comments are spot on. I am a long time scrapbooker who is interested in what's new and what's going to work for me. My scrapbooks are made for me and my family. I have no desire to be published. Scrapbooking is for my enjoyment and as my husband says “it's cheaper than therapy” (only he doesn't know how much I spend! LOL!) I have enjoyed listening to your show while scrapping, however, the last two show just became background noise. I, too, love the concept and will continue to download it, however, I would be interested in seeing what an average scrapbooker would add to your mix.
marcy

I think this was my favorite week of Roundtable so far. I have been scrapbooking for 15 years and never thought about “my” process.. made me realize that I too have a process!! I am photo driven. Marcy
Jane

While I do like this show and the entire panel concept and I am still listening every week, I am starting to find that it is only giving a very narrow perspective on what is fundamentally a massive industry. I'd really like it to focus less on the individual panel attendee and more on the issues at hand. The topic this week really only gave us your slant on the scrapbooking process (and you are all very similar in your approaches) – so much more could have been done with this by looking at a diverse range of approaches from scrappers from very different backgrounds, lifestyles, countries of origin and crafting style.
http://www.scrapbookupdate.com/ Nancy Naly

Kim, because I'm a writer in the industry and don't do professional design, I really would consider myself more of a consumer level than a professional when it comes to topics like how I make my pages. Making pages isn't what I do professionally – and I think that was reflected in how different my process was from a lot of the other people on the panel.
NancyNally

Rosann, the wonder of the internet is that anyone can start a blog and then start promoting it using methods detailed on sites like problogger.com. Most designers and other professionals in the industry use their blogs as a promotional platform to promote their work and products they sell. My case is a bit different – my website is my actual business.
valencianc

I thought today's topic was really interesting. I am the average scrapbooker — I know what I do. I want to hear what other people do and how they create. It was sooo refreshing to hear someone like Stacy stay she struggles with patterned paper! I love to buy it, but I also struggle with incorporating it on my pages. Noelle makes it easy and I've gotten better watching the paper clipping videos. I also liked the idea of doing a quick 'warm up' page. Not every page has to be this 90-minute masterpiece…they're our stories. I start with a collection of pictures and decide what I'm trying to say or what I want to highlight. But now after hearing this show, I may make some notes of stories I want to tell and find pictures to help tell that story. I like it!
http://www.paperclipping.com Noell

In the episode, I had mentioned that I started a blog with the partial purpose of preparing my more in-depth “stories,” as a new part of my scrapbooking process. It's not for promoting my scrapbooking business. It's just for my personal scrapbooking.

For example, right now I'm bringing together a whole bunch of different stories and memories about my son's natural drive to find out how things are made and how to make stuff. This tendency drives him to break other non-material things down and find solutions: he learned to count musical notation. He figured out at 4 years old that Mom is Santa, etc. So I'm trying to take all these different things and bring them together into one story. I'm using my personal blog as my “notebook.” I'll also go through my photos and add those to post.

So I'm getting the writing and the searching done on my blog. When I'm ready to get hands on with it, it'll all be ready for me.

Rosann–this subject of scrapbookers using blogs as part of their process might fit in with a future topic we're considering. I'll see if we can work that out!
Susan

Thanks for helping me decide about A Child's Year cartridge. I've picked it up and put it down so many times and now I am going to buy it. I also bought a Gypsy finally, and truly love it. I can design anywhere/everywhere and then cut later.
NancyNally

Glad I could help! I do love that cartridge!
http://www.papertopages.com/ Laura P

In response to Noell response to christineherrington I just wanted to be a little supportive of your apology! I know as a retailer, I appreciate that CHA has made both venues for us! Retailers, and consumers, and by the way CHA sends out info on each shows. All you have to do if you want in on that is to visit their website; http://www.craftandhobby.org Plus I love that you have made me try and figure out what I start with at this point of my scrapbooking process. I am really not sure… because I like doing it either way, just to keep me creatively hopping…
Diane365

I thought I'd share a link to my blog that has my thoughts on process. I am a high school teacher and passionate (or lunatic- depending who you ask) scrapper. I adore your podcasts and look forward to both the roundtable and the tutorials. I feel like I'm hanging out with my girlfriends. Keep it up.

http://diane365.blogspot.com/2010/02/thoughts-o…
Terri in MD

I'm just catching up on all the episodes. But I just wanted to say that when Stacy talked about the benefits of having a deadline to keep you motivated — all I could think about was BigPictureScrapbooking. For me that's the biggest benefit of BPS workshops. Besides learning new stuff and the great inspiration that the teachers provide — it's the deadlines that keep me signing up again and again. That's why I especially like the BPS classes that focus on layouts (DYL, YT, etc.) and not theme albums. I just get so much more done when I have the motivation to meet a deadline every week.
dreamscrapper

I am a digital scrapper (former paper scrapper from the early 90's) but I greatly enjoy listening to your podcasts. I am gradually listening to all the episodes that I missed. On this episode, it was said (I forget by who) that she wants to get her photo placement first before any papers, etc. enter into the equation. To me, this is similar to using either sketches or digital templates . . . both of these are traditionally featured in shades of black and white which allows you to focus on the design of the layout, regardless of patterned papers, etc. Lately, however, in the digital world, layered templates are being created using colors . . . I find these greatly distracting and if I purchase some, I immediately convert the colors to shades of black/white and resave the template.

As far as my own process goes . . . it can vary from layout to layout. Sometimes I have been perusing my photos and have wanted to scrap a particular one (or more) for some time but just happened to purchase the perfect kit with which to do the layout. Another time, I have purchased a particular kit in colors I know I will use but wait until the right photos present themselves! Some layouts, I journal a lot, others get simply a date and a title, etc. Whichever way I start, though, to me the most fun is in the process, not necessarily the end layout. As I describe myself to others, “I am a “journey” scrapbooker not a “destination” scrapper.

Keep up the great discussions! I hope digital gets featured more and more as time goes by!

I love to hear Issy's input in the discussion . . . I have also edited video so it is nice to see his approach to particular topics.
dreamscrapper

As a teacher of digital scrapbooking, I often hear from my students that they don't know where to start . . . sometimes it appears that there are so many choices that a layout can “stall” before it even gets started because newcomers are overwhelmed. I tell them that when they first begin, one of the easiest ways to start is to use a template and set a time limit. Also, using a digital kit (coordinated set of papers, embellishments and sometimes an alpha) also helps because picking papers, etc. will be easier because everything is designed to match. At the end of the time limit, they quickly finish up and then resize the layout to post in an online gallery and also print a copy. After doing a few initial layouts this way, they seem to get over being overwhelmed and never starting.

Paperclipping: The Video Podcast | Design Your Story