My Secret for Making Scrapbooking Faster and Easier

You may already know from your visits here before that I'm typically not more than a month or two "behind" in my scrapbooking.  (I don't really count a month or two as "behind!")  I know that's in large part to the happiness and relaxation and grounding I get when I spend Me Time with my photos and memories, and also in large part due to the fact that I use a scrapbooking system that I love (which makes an enormous difference).

I realized recently that there's one more thing I do that really makes my scrapbooking easy and quick.  So, I definitely want to tell you my secret!

Take 'Em With a Phone, Preserve 'Em in the Cloud

First, I take photos almost exclusively with my phone these days.  I can't remember the last time I took my digital camera anywhere.  

Second, at the end of the day, I back up those phone photos in the cloud.  (See my 10 Minutes Daily Plan for ideas on developing that habit.) The cloud I choose is Forever Storage because:

• It's not a true sync.  (A true sync means that I couldn't delete anything off my phone without also deleting it from the cloud.  Most cloud services, including iCloud, are a direct sync.)
• Metadata stays with it.  (Any tags or descriptions you add to your photo is called IPTC metadata.  Most metadata only stays with the format you create it in.  For example, if you add some details to a photo in Google Photos, you can't download it or send it to your sister without losing everything you added.  Same goes for Apple products--Apple calls itself "non-IPTC compliant.")  
• I don't pay monthly fees for it.  (I buy it, so I permanently own it.)
• It's private.  My photos are guaranteed private, and my information and photos will never be sold.  (That's extremely rare, believe it or not!)
• It's guaranteed to keep my photos and videos safe for my lifetime plus 100 years.  (That's not found anywhere else.)

Photo experts recommend preserving photos in print, digitally in the cloud, and digitally onsite (like on your computer, phone, external hard drive, etc.).  By putting my photos in the cloud, I've got them in two digital places, AND I'm ready to put them in print.

You can learn more about cloud storage syncs here.

I thought metadata was over my head until I learned the basics.  
Metadata isn't scary after all.  It's SO helpful, so learn a little here.

I put my photos (and videos) in Forever Storage using the app, which is so convenient!  And it's where my secret for making scrapbooking faster and easier comes into play.

My Secret:  Descriptions

Once my photos (and videos) are in my Forever app, I add descriptions to them.  I do it same-day (or maybe the next day if I've taken a lot of photos) because my memories are still fresh.  That makes it easy.

Here's what that looks like from my app:

   

Those two screenshots above just give you an idea of how I've organized my photos in Forever Cloud Storage.  On the left you see my 2024 Album, (I organize chronologically, but you don't have to), and all the Nested Albums inside it.  On the right, I've scrolled through to December 2024 and clicked the Nested Album inside THAT to get to all my photos I've put there.

These two screenshots below show how I add details to the photo--descriptions of what's going on in the photo and, basically, why I took it.  On the left, you can see that I've tapped the photo so I can do something with it.  I can send it to someone using the arrow in the box at the bottom left, but to see and/or add information to the digital file itself, I click the "i" in the circle ("information") that I've circled in red.  From there, all the information you see at the right pops up, and it's all editable.  (LOVE!)  So, I can type in a description about whatever I want--there's no character limit!

 

Once I'm home from the vacation or the holiday is over or the celebration is in the rearview mirror, I'll sit down with Artisan, my favorite digital scrapbooking software, because I love how creative I can be with it.  (Create & Print is my recommendation if you want it done faster!)  

To clarify, both of these are created digitally using a computer (or a phone, if you're using Create & Print), but are PRINTED, satisfying the photo expert recommendation to preserve photos in print.  There are lots of benefits to a printed book that you don't get if you just keep it digital, though you do have a digital copy that's easily shareable saved in your Forever account.

Why Descriptions Make My Scrapbooking So Easy and Fast

Copy and paste, my friends.  Copy. And. Paste!

That's all I have to do.  

If I sit down to put photos and memories in pages a month or two after the fact, I don't have to think about what to write.  I don't have to try to remember the details.  I don't have to work to get in the groove of whatever that moment was.  

I already wrote it when it happened.  So I make a page, then I go to my photos in Forever Storage, open the descriptions of the photos on my scrapbook page, and copy & paste the descriptions.

It makes everything SO FAST.  It really helps me stay caught up on my scrapbooking, and it makes it feel so easy!  Faster still would be to use Create & Print instead of this Artisan program I love so much, I know, but I *bask* in the creative me-time it gives me as much as someone else might bask in the get-it-done-but-make-it-pretty-for-me they get with Create & Print.  

My Final Step

The last step here doesn't have anything to do with making scrapbooking faster and easier--I already did that with that secret I told you about above--but it does complete every recommendation photo experts give for preserving photos.

Remember I mentioned two digital ways and one way in print?  I technically have two digital ways, the Forever Cloud and my phone, but I'm always so nervous about dropping my phone over a waterfall or just losing it (which is so common).  

Plus, I'd like to free up space on my phone.  That stuff gets expensive!!!

So, I open my Forever Cloud Storage on my computer and download photos, saving them to my computer.  Some places don't store full-resolution photos, but since Forever does, I've got the best of every possible world.

Then, I'm free to delete anything from my phone that I want to.  I tend to save VERY FAVORITES on my phone, but my computer and Forever Storage have them all.  

Let me help you not have any photo problems!  No overwhelm.  No "getting behind" so it feels like too much to "catch up."  This secret weapon is phenomenal!

Who do you know who would love this secret for faster and easier scrapbooking?  Share this with them using the share media buttons at the left or by Pinning this image to Pinterest.  

NOTE:  I am a Forever affiliate called an Ambassador (a decision I made because I love it so much), so you will find affiliate links in this post. I earn a commission from anything purchased at my website, and being your Ambassador means I'm here to help you with questions, too.

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