Conquering Scrapbooking Procrastination

If you've been with us for awhile or if you've seen my wedding projects on the website, you might know that I was married in 2000, and that I made many of the items in my wedding. With help from family and friends, I made my invitations, shower and wedding thank you cards, centerpieces, bridal party gifts, quilt blocks for a guest book and more.

So it may come as a surprise that I've never finished, in fact, hardly started, my wedding scrapbook. I bought the album, covered in mulberry paper and pressed flowers, and picked up wedding theme papers, stickers and other stuff through the years. But, I never started. The photos sat in their folders from the developers and the photographers and the memorabilia was piled in a small shopping bag.

During this time, I've scrapbooked other events, from blizzards to birthdays. I just couldn't tackle the big wedding project!

Today, I can proudly say that I'm halfway done with my wedding scrapbook; it's looking great, and I'll be done in just a few more sessions.

Here's how to conquer the procrastination that scrapbooking a big event brings on. Let's take it in small steps.

1. Gather all the photos in one place.

2. Think about the sequence of events. Write down a chronological or groups list. I had events before the wedding, before the ceremony, the ceremony, the reception. I also had photos of family and friends that I split into mine and my husband's side.

3. Buy a few photoboxes with the little dividers and scrapbooking or office files for the bigger photos. Whatever you find or buy, make sure you can divide the space into your categories.

4. Sort your photos. This will give you a good idea of how you can tell the story of your event. You may need to split up large categories to make the idea or event clearer.

5. Sort any memorabilia. If it doesn't fit in your storage box, jot a note on an index card and put it in the right category.

6. Look at your supplies. Now that you've been through the stuff that you're going to scrapbook and refreshed your memory, decide if you need more paper, cardstock, stickers, etc. You will not use every photo in your box, so don't over-buy.

7. Pick an overall mood or color family. My wedding used pink tulips, so I used pastel florals. When faced with the daunting aisles of scrapbooking stuff, I only looked at items that were pastel or floral. At scrapbooking sites, you can search on your themes or the event.

8. Buy some stuff. Hee, hee. Seriously, you want a good selection to choose from. I like to mix and match from different brands for a unique look. Though, if you find one series that is perfect, buy it all. It will probably look fabulous and reduce your scrapbooking anxiety.

9. Pull out one category of photos. Pick the best ones. Put the junkers back behind its divider. You could always cut them up for a border or background technique. Find the logical order for the good photos, and start deciding which ones belong on the same page. Here's some tips: I know scrapbooking single photos is trendy, but I want to get my book done, so I have 2-4 photos per page. Also, start with a less important and less intimidating group first. I began with my wedding shower, not my ceremony or formal photos. This helped my creative juices flow, and made starting the book much easier.

10. Keep it simple. I used more photos and less techniques than I have in the past. The story I'm telling is important, so I'm keeping the focus on the pictures and the journaling. I want the book to flow, so I think a simpler style will be more cohesive. Lastly, I want it done, and simple mats on patterened paper are quick and easy.

11. Pick your journaling style. If you are hand-writing the journaling, have your pens and ruler handy. Rub-on letters and stickers are easy, too. I'm doing computer printed journaling, so I've been doing it in batches. I've left spots and even put some mats for the journaling on my pages. Then, I layout all my journaling blocks on the computer and print them on one sheet.

Have fun scrapbooking! Now that you've got the project under control, and your photos and supplies organized, it's much more enjoyable. I pull out the boxes once or twice a week, and scrapbook for a few hours. It goes fast, and I can see results.