So I find myself at an impasse. To many it may seem totally unimportant and stupid, but it is important to me. I love to scrapbook. I really do. Everything about it. The paper, the stickers and embellishments, the cutting and arranging of the photos, and most importantly, the photos and memories themselves. I have spent thousands of hours (and probably thousands of dollars) pouring myself into creating these photo books that hopefully will be enjoyed and treasured by my family (and hopefully others will want to see them and enjoy them too). However, with the addition of Riley to the family, there have been more photos than ever to scrapbook. I don't mind that, but my photo books by year have gone from being maybe an inch thick when it was just Matt and me, to being 2 to 3ish inches thick. I also am doing double to albums with one for the family and one for Riley. I started thinking that I can't go on like this. One, Riley is a boy and because of that alone he most likely won't want to take his photo albums with him...I am already counting on his future wife to want them at her house. Two, if we had no more children that would mean at least 2 thick albums per year (plus vacation albums that I do separately) every year until he moves out of the house. Three, we are planning on having one more kiddo someday, which will mean 3 of everything! I don't have room for that, not to mention that will be buying triple the albums, paper, page refills, stickers, embellishments, photos, etc.
To remedy that situation I was thinking about just doing our yearly family albums (plus the someday baby's first year album) and all the vacation albums in hard copy (I need to feel it with my fingers, I really enjoy it), and doing the childrens' yearly albums digitally so that they will be thinner.
I began to get pretty excited about it and have been checking it out online. It is a whole new and very intense world. Overwhelming really. I have been looking at various software programs, some made specially for scrapbooking, and others like photoshop elements, that are made for photo retouching but that are used widely in the digital scrapbooking world. There have digital paper, embellishments, stickers, etc., so I wouldn't be missing out on any of that stuff. But firstly, the software is annoying to try and figure out. I have decided that if I do go for it, I will need to get some sort of scrapbooking tutorial program, especially if it's with photoshop elements, which I currently have the trial version of and
a love HATE relationship with. Secondly, I made a page for Matt today with some of the papers, embellishments, and PSE tricks that I had been figuring out and I don't know if it quite does it for me. It took forever, and I know that once I really got the hang of it it wouldn't take me as long, and the feel once it was printed out is SO different from what I am used to when I make it in hard copy that I don't know if it will ever be something I can really enjoy.
So there is my problem. Face (someday) triple everything scrapbook related and with 2 kiddos probably have yearly books that are 4-6 inches thick (x3, remember that!!!) or go digital with some books and get used to a different feel, look, and way of doing the "art".
I don't know what to do. Any opinions?
As long as you have some that you're making by hand, I think that's the key. You can keep up on your origional hobby and then start a new one. You can always go back to the old one if you decide the digital stuff is too much work.
ReplyDeleteI have been converting all my blogs (starting back in 2006) into "scrapbooks" at blurb.com. You create it, and then they bind it into a real book for you. It's been tedious- but definately less work than REAL cutting (like with scissors) and pasting (like with glue), and it will also look more tidy.
ReplyDeleteBut I agree about photoshop. I have been using it since my senior year of highschool, took courses on it in college, and I STILL learn new things about it every now and then. You could maybe check out an elements book at the library that secifically addresses photo retouching, and scrapbooking.
I will have to check that website out. Thanks for the photoshop input. I like it and have decided to stick with the elements version, but I will definately have to either take a class on it, get a book, or buy a program. SO complicated!
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