Scrapropos

I recently created a photo timeline for my church’s 10th anniversary. The timeline focuses mainly on the building we use, from its original use in the early 1900s as a boarding house, to its current home of the Fortress Youth Development Center.

I had a lot of fun sorting through the 100s of photos from years past and selecting ones that help tell the story of our building. It’s a local cultural and historic landmark, so this timeline is a neat thing to look at.

I chose a neutral colored background paper, because I knew that having so many photographs would make it busy enough. I used black to mat photos that I wanted to stand out. Overall, it’s a simple design that will stand the test of time. It’s not trendy, but it still looks current. I need to go buy more sheets of the background paper, because I already envision a fourth installment.

Working with 12″ paper made this job a cinch. I bought 6 sheets of paper for each 24×36 frame, and taped them together on the back to make one 24×36 sheet. Then I arranged the photos and journal boxes to cover most of the seams.

I kept embellishments to a minimum, mostly due to time constraints and budget. I might go back and add some eventually, but again, I might elect to leave it as it is. I think I’ll definitely go back and add more journaling and dates, though.

For this project, I sorted and chose the photographs on Thursday, picked them up from Costco on Friday, laid the photos out Friday night, and put the whole thing together Saturday. All told, including sorting, choosing, scanning and uploading the photos, I only spent about 16 hours on it.

It’s neat hanging on the wall…. 9 feet of history and photos. I love to see people standing there, pointing at photos and reminiscing about the stories behind them!

To see the photos in a larger format, follow these links:
Frame #1
Frame #2
Frame #3

I do a lot of hand lettering for titles. I have die cuts machines and rub ons and foam stamps and rubber stamps and paint and ink and and and… but sometimes, it’s just so nice to be able to whip out a hand-lettered title and move on. No paint to clean up, no stamps to wipe off, no die cut letters to adhere.

My number one piece of advice for those who are timid about hand lettering is this: Stop thinking so hard! Let your wrist relax, loosen up your grip on your pen, and write fast. Seriously, when you try to be slow and precise, it never looks as good. Just stop thinking about it and WRITE.

One of my favorite lettering styles is what I call Stretch. (Clever name, ain’t it? LOL!) Use your regular cursive (that’s important. YOUR regular cursive. Don’t try to imitate anyone else’s.), but instead of going immediately from letter to letter, stretch that connecting stroke out a ways. It’ll be difficult to train your brain at first, because your hand automatically loops up for the next letter. Pay attention (just this once, I’m asking you to think about it), and remember to streeeetttttttccccchhhhhh out that last stroke. Exaggerate it all you want. But you don’t have too; even a little stretch goes a long way.

My second piece of advice? Practice, practice, practice.
I did. Still do.

I love it when my scraproom is clean. My paints are all lined up on the wall in their little spice rack. My ribbons are all wound neatly and hanging from the spice tins on my magnet board. My pens are organized, my paper is filed, and everything’s in easy reach. It’s lovely to look at… all the colors and textures.

Only problem is, it only looks that way when I’m not working. When I’m between jobs or when I’m having company. My scraproom sits between the kitchen and the family room. When we have a dinner party, it makes a natural traffic flow solution. I should entertain more so that my scraproom will get cleaned regularly!

‘Cause what happens when I scrap is, I pile. I never file paper away when I’m finished with it. I pull out stacks of it, paw through it, then pile it next to me. I pile stamps and punches and stickers… rub ons and embellishments and photos. It’s a precarious pile, too. Whoa to the child who brushes against it on his way into my studio!

And there again is THAT question. What to call this mess I spend most of my time in? Sometimes I refer to is as my office. Sometimes my studio. But most often, The Scraproom.

Methinks I should just call it Messy.

Below is an example of one of the pages I “scrapped for ME” last weekend.

I was shopping at my local scrapbook store (LSS), completely minding my own business, when this paper starting calling my name.

“Staaaaaaacy. Staaaaaaaacy.” The exhilarating ripple of its voice was a wild tonic in the rain. I had to follow the sound of it for a moment, up and down, with my ear alone, before any words came through. Okay, so those last two sentences are a complete plagiarism of F. Scott Fitzgerald. But I SWEAR, it was almost like that. I saw the paper from across the store, and it called to me, beckoning me to come closer. I did. I was in love. But I knew I had no photos that would match it.

So I moved along. And still, the paper called to me. I went back. I fondled it. I moved along again.

At last, I thought of an excuse to buy it! There was this photo I took of the boys last winter. It was blurry, and had already been delegated to the reject pile. I decided that if I printed it in sepia, and pretended not to notice the blurriness, it would be FABULOUS with these papers.

And so it is. You’d think I’d picked it out specifically for this purpose! I’m in love with this page, because I’m so in love with the papers. I scrapped it for ME, and it makes me happy. Blurry photo and all.

12×12 papers and title blocks, Bohemia by MME.

TIP:
When you see paper or embellishments that speak to you, don’t be held back by your photos. Print them in sepia or black and white, and use that paper!

Really. Sit down and think about that for a minute.

Why do you scrap? Why do you WANT to scrap?
Is it the creative outlet? Is it because you’re documenting your life for your children?
Is it that you’re trying to preserve family history before it’s all forgotten?
Maybe you’re satisfying the compliment beast that lives inside of you, and you scrap for compliments?
Perhaps you scrap for other people because you love giving meaningful gifts?
Do you scrap for others because they PAY you?

I gotta admit, I’ve scrapped for all of those reasons.
I love the creative outlet. When I go without it, I get cranky. Truly. It’s like a drug that I must have.
I want my children’s childhood documented. I want them to know the stories.
I want my past written down. I want future generations to know me.
I’m a compliment hound, I’ll admit it. I love when people ooh and ahh over my pages.
I do love to give scrap-related gifts. The reaction is always over-the-top, and I can’t tell you how happy that makes me.
And of course, I scrap because people pay me to do so.

Sometimes I let that get in the way. This weekend, I had the opportunity to attend an annual scrapbooking retreat with some of the best scrapping buds on earth. One of them asked, “Why are you behind on your albums?” I replied, “Because I don’t pay myself enough.”

Isn’t that pathetic? There have been numerous retreats when I’ve actually taken client photos with me because I needed the paycheck. I hated working on those albums each time, because scrap retreats are supposed to be about rejuvinating ME.

But this weekend, even though I desperately need a paycheck, and even though I have a new client job to start, I took my own photos. And I scrapped. FOR ME.

I didn’t scrap for my kids. I didn’t scrap for posterity. I didn’t even scrap for compliments. (Indeed, I haven’t even posted my layouts online yet. UNHEARD of for me. I usually post them as soon as the ink’s dry!)

I scrapped for me.
It was rejuvenating.
Invigorating.
I scrapped out of order. I allowed myself to save the journaling for later. I mixed colors and used blurry photos and broke all kinds of rules. But I did it for me. ME.

I dare you to do the same. Go scrap something for you.
You have some lime green paper you love, but no photos to match it?
Who cares. USE IT.
Is there a story that just doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but it makes you laugh?
SCRAP IT.

Scrap for you this week. I DARE YOU.
Then come back and link me. I wanna see what you did.
There’s a prize in it for you!

I’ve been a scrapbooker since my high school days, when I used construction paper and rubber cement with ticket stubs and restaurant napkins—all in a looseleaf notebook. In the mid-90s, I discovered archival scrapbooking, and I knew I’d found my calling. In the years since, I’ve come across two types of people: those who say, “WOW! I want to do that too! Show me how!”… and those who say, “WOW! There’s no way I could ever do that!”

This blog is mostly written for the latter. I want you to know that you CAN do what I do. It’s just a matter of finding your own style and going for it. Being comfortable with it. Feeling PROUD of it.

I scrap professionally for people who don’t have the time or inclination. I’m overjoyed to have a job doing what I love to do, but really, I think it’s important that your albums be alive with YOUR personality: your memories, your stories, and your little things and big milestones. I want your finished albums to evoke tears and laughter, sighs and snickers. I want you to preserve your legacy.

You can do it! Whether you’re a seasoned scrapper who’s looking for new techniques and ideas, or you’re a beginner who feels paralyzed by the task, or you’re that person who keeps saying, “I’d love to do that, but I’m not creative enough”, this is for you:

You can do this. Let me show you how!
Welcome to Scrapropos!