I have too many photos, too many options and not enough brain cells. Here I sit in Nancy's killer scrapbook room with more choices than I can handle. Thank goodness she gives me her consultant discount. Now I just need to make a decision. 
Where should I start? What kind of book should I use? Believe it or not, I used to be a Sr. Consultant with Creative Memories? Rhonda Anderson would be so NOT proud of me. I have let my photos accumulate in digital world and now I need to get them preserved before I forget where we were, who we are and how blessed we've been.
If you are a non-scrapbooker, I bet you're about to leave my blog just about now, but hang on maybe you can help me. Look at all these photos (little stacks with 4-5 photos in each pile). These are from our surprise ski trip to Vail and I want to tell the story of how no one but God got us there.Why am I doing this? I could be watching football with my husband. Aren't photo boxes and computer hard drives sufficient? Well, I used to think so. I have been operating in that reality for a few years since retiring as a scrapbook consultant.
But this week I posted a P31 radio show Lysa did about preserving our memories. In it I re-read verses in the Bible that reminded me how important it is to God for me to pass down our stories and memories to future generations so they will remember His faithfulness to our family. Here's one of the verses I read:
Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. Joel 1:3Our photos tell so much of God's story. And in telling His-story I am inspired to live it. My photos remind me of the legacy of faith and family traditions I want to leave for my children and grandchildren .
So, here's my dilemma. CM has this new kind of scrapbook called a Picfolio where you can slide the photos into sleeves already on the pages. You don't need adhesives, page protectors and you don't need to be (or get to be) very creative because there isn't as much room on the pages. But being creative was one thing I used to enjoy.
Then I say to myself, "I don't really have time to be all creative like I used to be. Maybe this is a good option for those who have a gazillion photos to preserve before the memory of them fades and all hopes of journaling about them is lost. Maybe creativity was for another era in my life and now it's time to click into historian survival mode.
What is my self saying back to me? "Ask your blogger friends."
Tell me, what would you do? Have you ever used a picfolio, or are you a traditional scrapbooker? The kind that loves decorative papers, tape runners, stickers, punches and the satisfaction you get when a page is done and you slide on a page protector that has not one fingerprint smudge on it.
Or, are you like me (until recently), resigned to thinking that it's too much so why even try? Maybe you need a Picfolio, too. Well, before we both give up here's another verse I read about the One who gives us memories to keep!
Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD Psalm 102:18
7 Comments:
Hi Renee! I recently found your blog somehow--I can't even remember how! It has been such a long time since I cropped. And MAN, do I have a lot of pictures. I think I'm going to stick to the tried and true for now. I'm so glad I found your spot here on the web. I'll be back!
Renee, Oh how I feel your dilemma. I got that great CM photo storage box a couple of years ago for Christmas. It is so full that I've had to start stacking pics on top of it. I love to scrap, it is very therapeutic but I'm so far behind that I think the picfolio is a great idea, for now. My kids are always wanting to look at the pictures and I'm tired of thumbing through the box or scrolling on the computer. If you are really wanting to crop for some therapy you could always do a 7X7 album. Nobody says you can only do one copy of each picture. Use the picfolio for your whole family and use the 7X7 for a quick brag book. But wait, does that mean double the work now? Oh golly, I'm sorry, it's just a big vicious cycle!
I'm a traditional scrapper, so I say to go for it with all those photos. You'll never be caught up. Remember - there is no guilt in scrapbooking. Just a bunch of fun! Also, for your vacation pictures, why not consider making an 8 x 8 album for that trip? I have done a couple of those and it's so easy. Best of luck to you!
I haven't done the picfolio, but I think they look easy. If I were you, I'd go for the computerized versions though. Creative and quick. I think that's the stage of life you're in! Me too - the pictures will just sit in a pile until next year unless I find a way to get them done quickly!
Renee- Right now I'm just trying to concentrate on living fully and loving firmly so that I can make memories. Taking the photos of these memories and arranging them in a scrap book is still way down on my list of things to to do- along with organize my bedroom, closets, and my life in general!
So scrap away with abandonment- whatever form or style you choose. You are ten steps ahead of me!
Sweet Renee~
You are wonderfully creative. That is how God made you. I think if you use the picfolio you will always feel like you settled instead of enjoying what God has gifted you to do. So, I say enjoy the journey sister. Do a regular album---maybe a smaller one like those suggested in the other comments. And, let's schedule a scappin' get together where we can both take a little break from work, work, work and have a little fun with photos!
I hope you are having a total blast!
Love you friend!
Hi Renee... I feel your pain, girl, I feel your pain. I am a "traditional" scrapbooker, but loyal to only CM products. One thing I do to stay within a reachable distance of "caught up" is to schedule to weekend getaways a year. These are totally croppin' weekends with the girls for 48 hours and we have a blast. The second thing I do to keep my pages flowing is I do my journaling on the computer and I do it all before I do the pages. I also do very few embellishments and extras on my pages and put as many photos as possible on each page. Additionally, I try to fit the best pictures from each occasion and the journaling on a two-page spread. Then, for each month of the year I do a miscellaneous spread. Lastly, you're already capturing the memories with your camera -- start journaling for those pictures now. Send a set of pictures to yourself in an email and tell what was important from that day, time, event. Don't forget to capture the everyday moments too! Each month print off the photos you want to scrapbook and do your journaling. (Use your emails for notes or simply copy/paste.) This way, when you have the time to scrapbook you'll be all ready roll and be productive. For me, I continue to scrapbook the old fashioned way because it fulfills a creative need for me AND it serves my family. Best wishes to you!
Liz (elizabethrferguson@charter.net)
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