I'm so excited!! I was invited to write a guest post on a website called "Advice Sisters" in their lifestyle column, and my article went up today! Please read and share! EVERYONE needs to be inspired to do something meaningful with their photos!
(P.S. I knew it would be edited, but I didn't see the final copy before editing, and there are several mistakes in the editing, so please overlook those. Hopefully you're not as Type A about those as I am.) :)
UPDATE 2023: You'll see references to a wonderful company called Heritage Makers in this article, but it was purchased in 2013 and had some technical issues and new management which resulted in some changes. It is now YPhoto, a template-only platform that does not offer photo cloud storage.
For heirloom-quality books and permanent digital photo storage that is secure and guaranteed private, we recommend Forever. For preserving photos and memories in print, Forever offers three different software platforms: an "easy button" option to beautiful & fast done-for-you templates to fully creative and flexible digital scrapbooking. Learn more here and see what is the best fit for you! Plus, Forever offers permanent digital photo/video/audio storage, digitizing services (like old VHS tapes or slides) and more.
You know keeping them on your SD card or computer isn't the way to enjoy them because you never look at them there, and your children never look at them there, and you know that all it takes is one computer crash or one newfangled technological advancement to make your digital files harder to access. (Hi. Remember floppy drives? Or are you too young?!)
You know it's wise to have your photos in two digital places as back-up and (and at least) one printed place. (That link has the best digital photo storage around!)
Just knowing this much is a step in the right direction! But now you need a direction. And you don't have all the time in the world. Come on.
What you need to know is how to scrapbook faster.
All righty, then! Let's do this. Let's get a handle on the photos, let's get them published, and let's not spend an arm and a leg, shall we? So, where do we start? Here are 3 keys to scrapbooking faster.
TIME
Like most things, you don't usually "find time" to sort photos or scrapbook--you MAKE TIME. (That link has some helpful suggestions from experts on how to do that.)
I suggest calendaring it! Set aside 15 minutes every day or a couple of hours once a week. Put it on your calendar and keep that appointment with yourself like you would keep a dentist appointment or a piano lesson. Even small spurts of time contribute to the big end goal.
PRO TIP: Team Up! Work with a parent, child, or sibling. Or find a friend in the same "I've got lots of photos and I need to do something with them" predicament and work together! It makes it more fun, and it helps you keep your appointments. The second part of the Two Final Tips below can really help!
I know time can be hard to come by sometimes, but I love this wisdom I received from a client a few years ago. She told me she was going to prioritize her photos and make time for preserving them, "because it's important for me to do the things only I can do."
And, yes, I do hire out to help now and again, but they're still YOUR memories so I can't ever do it on my own! :)
PHOTO ORGANIZATION
The best way to start is to organize. Know what you're dealing with. I have an excellent 3-part series on Photo Organization and Preservation that you can take a lot of tips from--just click that link to watch the series. Part 2 is the main organization one, but parts 1 and 3 really round out the series.
I personally suggest organizing chronologically (as shown in the video above).
It makes it easy to know what to do with a photo. I personally have photo files on my computer by year and month. So I have a folder called 2012, then inside that folder I have folders called "January 2012," "February 2012," and so on. Then when you come across photos from Halloween 2012, you know right where they go. More importantly, you'll be able to find them faster when you're putting them in your scrapbook later.
Even if you are working with older photos that need to be scanned, chronological organization is still good way to organize them. You'll need to go through the additional step of scanning first, of course, (unless you click that link to find a white-glove scanning service) but once they're scanned, organize them this way and they will be much easier to find and publish.
If you have a preferred way of organization that works for you, do that. Doing what comes naturally to you will help you be more successful.
(photo credit: www.tjinternational.ltd.uk)
It's also very important to not feel like you have to use every photo you take. Digital is great because we can take lots of photos, but it can make scrapbooking feel very daunting because we end up with So. Many. Photos. Choose your favorites. Narrow down. Don't feel bad about not using every photo. There's no rule that says that just because you took it you have to save it or print it!
PRO TIP: Don't get overwhelmed. Just do one thing at a time and focus on that one thing while you're doing it. Enjoy yourself. Don't worry about what else you still have to do. What they say about eating an elephant is true: one bite at a time! Here are some additional tips to help with Photo Overwhelm.
(the best part!) THREE IDEAS FOR DIGITALLY PUBLISHING YOUR PHOTOS
Once your photos are all organized, you are ready to publish them so they can be enjoyed! Digital scrapbooking removes the steps of printing the photos, buying paper, buying adhesive, buying stickers, buying pens, buying binders & sheet protectors, etc. Digital scrapbooking is hand-in-glove with digital photos.
Over the years, I've discovered that the most important thing in preserving photos and memories in pages where they can live and be shared is to find something that fits your preferences and needs.
If you want to just get photos and memories in pages quickly, you might not want something with a million creative possibilities and options.
If you love creative time and full flexibility in your pages with digital scrapbooking software, you might not want to be limited to pre-designed templates, beautiful as they are.
That's why I love these three options. Have a look and see which one is the best fit for you (or maybe you'll like more than one)!
You can't lose with any of these options because they are all printed on heirloom-quality products (pages and bindings), not the bargain bin options so common these days.
My recommendation for how to scrapbook the fastest is the Yearbook with Design & Print (now called Create & Print):
PRO TIP: Focus on the photo and the memory associated with it. Papers, backgrounds, and embellishments can be fun and pretty, but they are always secondary to photos and their stories. If you enjoy creating, go for it. But if you don't, stick with simplicity. "Done" is better than perfect because in reality, done IS perfect!
A good scrapbook is valuable to you and your family not because it's full of cute, but because it's full of YOUR photos and memories.
TWO FINAL (awesome!) HELPS
#1
So this is all well and good, but we weren't going to spend an arm and a leg, right? Is there a way to get top-quality memory books without spending an arm and a leg?
Well, yes. There are two. One is to take advantage of Deals (sales), and the other is the (free) Club program. (There's actually a great third way listed at that Club link.)
#2
Many people find that working with others has great benefits. We have fun and get things done! Hold a Memory-Keeping Girls' Night or a similar activity--just bring your laptops or tablets and snag some wifi. I can even help you get your own group together with this free service.
This post was updated in 2025. I made the three original designs for perpetual calendar blocks that you see here a decade ago in a now-defunct software program called Studio. You can see just a few examples of crafting I've done using Artisan here.I have created a new design for these blocks which you can easily order using an amazing digital scrapbooking software called Artisan by FOREVER, which is doubly wonderful because FOREVER also offers professional printing that is top-of-the-line. Just follow the updated instructions below.
Back before my digital scrapbooking world was a thing, I made some holiday/calendar blocks with some friends. They were this cool design where four sides of a block had letters and you could spell out different greetings. I've had them on a display shelf for about 15+ years!
I really like them, but I didn't do a fabulous job painting with stencils. I realized about a year ago that I could probably just make the block "faces" with a digital scrap page, cut them out, cover my bad paint job, and come out with a much cuter end product!
That's when these blocks were born:
This is the full set. I think they're so cute!!!
They are 1 3/4" blocks painted an off-white. I used to be able to find blocks like this at my local craft store, but I can't really find them any more, so I order them from http://caseyswood.com/, although there are other places, I'm sure. Order with a friend and split the shipping! :) You will need 21 wooden 1 3/4" blocks for this set.
UPDATE 2025: The new block design is shown below and available here to order, this time created in neutrals. When you open the link, you'll see directions on how to order the scrapbook page prints, then just follow the tutorial steps here.
See all three of the pages you'll need for the project here, with details at the right.
You'll just cut out the little squares and stick them on the corresponding blocks, and you're done! The directions are right on the scrapbook pages, as you can see above.
I actually use permanent double-sided tape for this, but you could use spray adhesive or a Xyron sticker machine or whatever you like best. You can find step-by-step instructions here.
And then you get cuteness like this, all year long:
...And wouldn't this set make a darling gift??
(Only 113 days left until Christmas!) :)
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