Sometimes things change. And sometimes it affects your memory-keeping.
Memory-keeping is essentially preserving photos and memories. You make a record of life's events that you and your loved ones can look back on. And when you do, these kinds of things happen:
Memory-keeping is literally a feel-good activity. It's truly self-care. So getting back into it (or into it in the first place) really matters.
FALLING OUT OF THE MEMORY-KEEPING HABIT
There are so many reasons you might fall out of the memory-keeping habit.
Maybe your schedule changed. Maybe you had a life-changing event.
Maybe the system you used to use and love isn't so loveable for one reason or another. Maybe you're looking for something better.
Maybe you feel overwhelmed. Maybe you just need to get excited about it again.
I've been a memory-keeper for as long as I can remember, and I absolutely love it, but this happened to me! A big change that was out of my control required that I go looking for another digital scrapbooking option. I didn't fall out of the habit as much as the fun was just sucked out of it and my go-to method went away. I needed something amazing and reliable and fun.
GETTING BACK INTO IT
I think the most important thing you need in order to get back into memory-keeping (or get into it) is options. Everyone wants a high-quality book that's *guaranteed, but not everyone enjoys or wants the same process to get there.
*Yes, a 100% satisfaction guarantee for the printed product goes without saying, but I'm also talking about the longevity of the digital version. Some companies delete your projects after a certain amount of time, some companies charge you for a PDF version, etc. We all definitely want some guarantees for our books. Beyond that, we often have different needs, interests, available time, etc., for actually getting a book done.
If you haven't done scrapbooking, digital scrapbooking, or photo books for a while, this 30-minute class will get you back into it! You'll come away with both solutions and tools, and you'll have options.
Here's the Get Back Into It checklist, too! It includes all the live links and details for how to DO everything you learned in the class.
GETTING ON TOP OF IT
Getting back into it can get you on top of it! Once you get back into a memory-keeping habit, you'll be having fun with it, and that makes it easy to do. You ditch the overwhelm that way.
What's made you fall out of the memory-keeping habit? Which of the tips or tools I shared here do you think will help you the most? Tell me in the comments below.
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NOTE: I am a Forever affiliate, called an Ambassador, because I love Forever so much! This means I make a commission from any purchases at my website, and as your Ambassador I'm here to help you, too.
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It's pretty amazing that we now have the capability to digitize an old scrapbook! Isn't it? Something that used to be a one-of-a-kind object can be duplicated.
This can come in handy for several reasons. Maybe you want to have multiple copies to share. Maybe you want downsize and take some of the bulk out of old scrapbooks. Maybe your scrapbooks are so old they're on magnetized pages from the 60s or 70s (which are acidic and eating away at your photos as we speak) and need to be rescued.
Whatever the reason, if you have an old photo album or traditional scrapbook that you would like to digitize, you definitely want to do it with care.
NOTE: When I say "digital book," I really mean a book with a digital version that you print. I know some people stick with digital-only versions, but photo experts maintain that a printed, hard-copy version is still one of the best ways to preserve photos and memories. A digital, shareable backup is smart, too.
In my experience, Forever is the best place to do it. That's because their digitizing services are rated highest in both quality and customer satisfaction, and because the quality of their print products is the best in the industry (including nearly indestructible spine bindings).
NOTE: I am a Forever affiliate (a decision I made because I love it so much), so you will find affiliate links in this post, from which I earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.
So, if you've been looking for a high-quality way to convert your traditional scrapbooks or old photo albums to digital books, you've come to the right place!
There are two parts to converting a traditional scrapbook to digital books, so let's get right to it.
FIRST, DIGITIZE
Digitizing your scrapbook pages means having them scanned. You can certainly do this on your own if you like. Be sure you use a high-quality flatbed scanner, saving your images at a minimum of 300dpi resolution as JPG (or JPEG) files. Be sure the glass on the scanner is free from lint, smudges, etc., for the best scan, and make sure your pages aren't dusty. Be sure to set aside some scanning time on your calendar, too.
If you'd like to save time AND let the pros dust your pages (and remove them from the book, if needed) and use their top-quality equipment and skills, I definitely recommend Forever Digitization because I've used and loved them multiple times. They actually have the highest rating on Trustpilot (an independent platform for business reviews), too. Plus, security is an enormous deal:
For more details beyond that quick, 3-minute introduction, I made this video for you.
By the way, if your book is already a digital PDF, you don't need this digitizing step to print your old book, but you do need to convert the PDF file to individual JPG files (one per page). This is an easy, free resource for converting PDFs to JPGs. When you convert, select the best quality (300dpi or above).
SECOND, UPLOAD AND PRINT
Now you're ready to upload the scans (or the JPGs you converted from the PDF) and put each page into a book page. You can do this easily with Forever using AutoPrint, an auto-fill method of creating the book. The pages get placed automatically for you, and then you can adjust as you like before submitting it for professional printing.
Note: All of the designs you'll see in Forever's Create & Print platform are free to use. The ones labeled "AutoBook" or "Make it fast" are the AutoPrint templates that make it easy to convert your traditional scrapbooks to digital books. The other templates you'll see just don't auto-fill, but if you'd rather place pages one at a time yourself, you'll just need to find a template with "full bleed" pages, meaning there's no border around it, so that your whole scrapbook page can fill the whole book page. I can help you find those non-AutoPrint full-bleed page templates if you like--just reach out.
I was so happy when the home office at Forever made this 13-minute tutorial video, "Traditional Albums to Digital Books," walking us right through these steps!
The software programs you're seeing here are free and available to you right from your Forever account (which is free, too). Get started here.
And, yes, you can make brand new digital books at Forever, too!
THAT'S IT!
Follow the DIGITIZE and UPLOAD & PRINT steps, and you've got an old, traditional scrapbook saved digitally. With Forever, you can share it digitally, too, with a simple link, and you can print it (and re-print it) to share with as many people as you'd like, too.
I'd love to see your end result--share photos with Photo & Story Treasures Fans, our Facebook group. Join at that link and then show us photos or even a video of your new digital book so we can celebrate together.
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If you've got photo problems, I promise you that it's way past time to solve them. So let's just do it! You're just about to feel SO much better!
The biggest photo problems I hear people talk about are organization (including knowing where photos even are) and knowing what to do with them (store them digitally? preserve them in print?)
Today I'm going to teach you how to solve your photo problems once and for all in three do-able steps.
And, as a bonus, if you prefer, you can skip steps 1 and 2 and do everything at the same time in step 3--I'll help!
Step 1: Learn a Little About Photo Organization
With so many digital photos floating around these days, it can be easy to be overwhelmed, but it can also be easy to not even know where all your photos even are. You may have some on your phone, some older ones on a flash drive, and maybe some even print photos in boxes or old photo albums.
So, in order to solve your photo problems once and for all, learn a little about photo organization. Don't DO anything yet, just learn. Choose one of these videos to watch (or you're welcome to watch both).
This is part of the photo organization & preservation class I taught a couple of years ago. The main meat of the video is a little less than 30 minutes, but there's some additional Q&A recorded at the end as well which you can choose to skip or watch.
NOTE: I am a Forever affiliate (a decision I made because I love it so much), so you will find affiliate links in this post, from which I earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.
Step 2: Learn About Preserving Photos
Again, we're just learning here. We'll start doing in the next step.
The first thing to know here is that there's a difference between storing and preserving photos.
I think about it this way:
During the summer, you might store winter clothes somewhere that's out of the way so that you can have access to them when you want them.
To preserve something like a cell phone, you might put it in a protective case, keep it away from water, etc., so that it will last as long as possible while you're using it every day.
When you're talking about photos, you really want to do both. I think sometimes people assume that storing photos away somewhere in the cloud or on an external hard drive is preserving them. Not necessarily.
If they're shoved away in either a physical or a digital "box," they may be put away, but they're not kept alive.
Keep this in mind as you learn this advice from photo experts:
This advice is basically about not having all your proverbial eggs in one basket.
Experts recommend storing photos 2 ways digitally (one onsite [at home] and one offsite [in the cloud]). That way, if there's an emergency of any kind, from a fire to a simple water leak onto something electronic, you've got a backup.
Experts also say we should store our photos in print. I assume this is because technology changes, you don't have to have electricity or a full battery in order to look at your photos in a book, etc. But I believe that a book is the best way to preserve the memories behind the photo. Without the details of the photo, its value dramatically reduced!
Those photos, for example, mean nothing to you. They carry a lot of meaning to me and my family.
If you just have photos without details, your loved ones will look at your photos the same way you're looking at mine because they won't have any meaning behind them.
Step 3: Get a Tribe at a Forever Gathering and Do What You've Learned with Your New Photo Circle
Now that you've learned about the two biggest photo problems out there, take what you've learned in steps 1 and 2 and identify your biggest memory-keeping problem. What do you need to tackle first? What is the biggest thing in your way?
And if "not knowing where to start" is your biggest problem, that's OK, too!
Grab a scrap of paper right now and write down your biggest problem. We're going to start there as we help you move to the doing part of solving your photo problems once and for all.
Anything that seems like a big task is made easier with a friend. Going on a daily walk or painting a room feels more do-able when you've got someone there doing it with you.
In almost 20 years now of coaching people on photo preservation and memory-keeping, I have learned that if you could do it on your own, you probably would have already done it. There is a lot of power in both getting some help and getting a tribe.
Here are 2 different options for you to consider here in this last step where you'll do what you've learned. #1 is geared toward just getting help and #2 more toward getting a tribe. Click each one for more information:
Get a personalized help with your biggest memory-keeping problem, and create a group you can work with moving forward at the same time. Email me your biggest memory-keeping problem, the one you wrote down on the paper, at photoandstorytreasures@gmail.com and think about people you know who have photo problems, too. Who do you know who would love getting some photo solutions, too? We'll meet at a Forever Gathering to learn tools, tips, and strategies, and then you'll have a Photo Circle you can meet with regularly on your own so you can keep doing what you've learned!
We'll pick a date 4-6 weeks out that will give me some time to create a class personalized to your needs. I teach these at no cost when at least 4 attendees are present (including you, the host). I'll provide you with invitations to send to friends and family--and remember, since it's online, you can invite your old college roommate who lives on the other side of the country, too!
And as you may have noticed in the image above, inviting other people who begin using Forever as their memory-keeping tool (as I will introduce in the class) will give you a $20 coupon (for each person!). The key is for me to provide each of your guests with your referral link, then once they make a purchase of any amount, you'll receive your coupon, which is good for 60 days.
By the way, sometimes when I talk to people about "hosting" something, they start thinking about "parties" and "sales pitches." My Forever Gatherings are sales-pitch-free. Because: ew. (That's just not me.)
In addition to all those coupons, you even get a thank-you gift for hosting a Forever Gathering!
Choose the mug or the planner, and I'll mail them to you if you're not local to me!
Remember, hosting a Forever Gathering gives you and your friends personalized information and help to solve your photo problems once and for all. Your friends become your Photo Circle. You can get together regularly and work with friends to accomplish your goals and stay caught up!
Here's some additional information:
Once you've started your memory-keeping journey with friends, it's very easy to get together in-person or online for a monthly Girls Night or a weekly Lunch & Photos time. This is your tribe. You're all working and enjoying your photos, getting your photo problems solved once and for all!
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