It's okay to be simple.

So I've been reliving the past 18 years via photos. I'm making a scrapbook for my daughter's graduation open house.

It's been incredibly life affirming, I must say! If any of you know my background...that I used to be a major scrapbooker, you'd know I've done this for a long time. In the past 15 years I've sold the products in my retail brick and mortar store, taught classes at scrapbook conventions, and had many layouts published in all of the big dog scrap magazines. Designed lots of scrapbook products, too.

I should have taken a photo of all the scrapbook albums (12x12) I have. It's a tumbling tower...well over 15 fat huge albums filled to the brim with bright colored pages and embellishments surrounding the photos and life stories of our family. THIS scrapbook that I'm working on this week is very different from those.

My daughter and I created a digital scrapbook on Shutterfly a few weeks ago, and it by far our favorite of all. It was so easy to create, and the completed photo album looks like a hard back book. It's not trendy...very classic and will be in style forever. I'm so glad we did that! She's got her high school years (family, friends and sports) in that album and will enjoy sharing it at her open house--and forever, really.

But we still had the earlier years of her life to cover. The photos that were taken before we had digital photos. I'm not about to drag out all of those 15plus plus family albums to show guests. Who would want to see that? I mean...it'd take forever. SO, I'm doing a scrapbook for her to take with her on her life's journey, and it's got a few photos of each year of her life (I'm a totally chronological scrapper). 

See how simple the pages are? Minimal embellishments. Very. I'm using a Kolo album, and limiting photos to one on a page. A couple have two photos, but mostly just one. I'm loving the use of all of the white space. I've never been a simple scrapper, so this is new for me. I've always pushed and pushed myself to be very creative with the layouts...it was a form of creative expression. So this is album is a no-brainer and comes together very easily. I'm not dreading doing it either, and no creative stumbling blocks! Minimal supplies! Minimal mess! I'm using the Fiskars photo splits (that's what I call the adhesives--old school, see!?) They were inexpensive and work great.

 

Best of all, when we put this book in someone's hands to view, they won't be overwhelmed. It's simple, it's going to be easy to peruse, and won't leave them cross-eyed from sensory overload half way through it. And, the focus is on THE PHOTOS!!!! Imagine that!

Throughout all of my teaching, I always told the beginning scrapbookers to focus on the photos, not the embellishments. I still believe that. My family has never ever said to me "Mom, I love that sticker on that page!!" or "Wow, that alphabet stamp is awesome." Nope, never said anything like that. They pick up our scrapbooks

• to see themselves,

• to read the stories,

• to relive their lives.

It's never about the embellishments...even though it often was for me. I mean, I even planned my son's 1st birthday around the Mrs. Grossman's gingerbread boy stickers for cryin' out loud.

While I've been working on this album, I've thought about lots and lots of things about scrapbooking and photo storytelling. If any of you are into taking photos (of your life or your family) I'd love to give you a few tips/discoveries I've made along the way:

I wish someone would have told me this stuff..and if I still taught beginner scrapbooking classes I'd advice these...I'd scream it until they got it. I wish I'd taken closer photos of my newborn daughter. I wish I hadn't cropped her baby photos into little (blurry) 2x2 hearts and circles. Now they have the visual value of the sticker in the border beside them.

I think a fabulous gift to new parents would be a nice digital camera (if they already have one), and a lesson at a photography store on how to USE the camera....and some photo editing software (Photoshop). I couldn't be anymore serious about this...thus the large print above.

The biggest part of this week's project has been sorting through the photos. The early years are in boxes which I did have organized thankfully. Then around 2000 I got my first digital camera so all those photos are on the computer. Somewhat organized, too, even though I didn't know how to organized those on the computer (folders, dates, etc.) for quite a while!

Anyhoo....thanks for reading my rants and I hope that there's been a bit of advice for folks in this post. And if you already do/have all of the above, then I guess I would like to give you permission to use good archival scrapbooks and to keep it simple. Couldn't be any more serious about that either.

Now don't go thinking I don't use scrapbook supplies anymore...I do! I love many of them. I just am keeping it simple. I wish all of our photos were in Shutterfly books, but that's just me.

So now that you know my thoughts on all of this...have you any tips to share? To help out those new to capturing life via photos? Spill them in the comments if you do!

Comments

[Kirsten]

Well said, Teresa! Just last week I met up with an old friend for some scrapbooking - she bought some CM stuff about 6 or 7 years ago, when we both started scrapping, and she never picked it up. So my *style* (if you can call it that) has evolved a bit, but is very simple. My friend kept asking me for the "rules" and I kept saying there are no rules, just tell the story. And she wanted to cut the pictures up and I wouldn't let her. I love your idea - might have to steal that as my own 18yo son is graduating next month - excellent thing to have out at the open house :)

[Gail Mc]

Excellent post!!

[Bev]

Great advice about not cropping out the backgrounds. I love looking back at old photos and seeing the dated furniture or toys hiding in the background. They're little hidden clues of what life was like 'back then.'

[tina]

Hi there,

gosh I am totally with you on this...I am not usually fond of the white space on scrapbook pages (i started with CM and white space was the way to go way back then) but I am a color gal and love embellishments too...but I agree in this album your duaghter is the main focus and to mussy it up would take away from that...in this case I think you hit the nail on the head - SIMPLE is best and the white makes it all about her.

hugs

[Karen B]

I think your album is so beautiful. I am definitely not as organized as you obviously are and am WAY behind in my "regular" scrapbooking. But, I just made my first digital album through shutterfly and am planning on more. Thanks for the tips. I seriously need to take a class, or even reading the manual would be a good start. I think an album just about your daughter is priceless.

[luckygirlgifts]

Thanks so much. Now I feel (a little) inspired to get out my mountain of photos and all of my supplys and scrap again. I was overthinking all of my pages and they were taking too long. Now, Maybe I can do it.
Thanks again,
very inspiring.

[Suezi gurzi]

great advive.
although i love me my embellishments! :)

[Jessica Canham]

Teresa, you are SOOO right about not cropping out backgrounds!! I haven't done much scrapbooking since the late 90's but that's when cropping was all the rage. I sure wish I'd left the photos alone. Oh well. I love embellishing but I think the magazine layouts are way over the top. I'm sad to see Simple Scrapbooks go out of publication just for that very reason.

[Kelly Jones]

My mom used to be an avid scrapbooker, but she found shutterfly about 4 years ago when my first baby was born, and she hasn't looked back! She even made these really coll photo collages of her travels to Europe, had them enlarged and framed for her bedroom! The look like she paid a fortune for them, and she did all by herself!

Your daughter will be so happy to have that beautiful album for many years to come!

-Kelly

[Pearl Maple]

Congrats on your daughter achieving another mile stone. As you say sometimes our scrapbooks do not need lots of decorations, telling the story is the imporant part.

[lonnie jenck]

Oh no look what you started! Boy did you motivate me to go through the drawers and drawers of pictures, newpaper clippings, school stuff and so much more. I've never been a scrapbooker so thanks for turning me on to Shutterfly. I'm working on books for the girls and couldn't be happier. But with that means the other 4 kids will probably need one done too. See what I mean about look what you started. THANKS I needed that.

Lonnie

[Roberta Philbrick]

Teresa this post is to right on...I've been scapebooking since I was a young child...still have my original album with all my birthday cards and memoriabilia and I'm about to be 49 this year...yikes! Anyhow I wanted to tell you about my similar (somewhat) experience w/scarpbooking four years ago when my father passed away (I said somewhat)...anyhow...we had finally got all the BOXES of photos from my mom a few months prior to my dad's sudden passing (things happen for a reason). For his funeral we did a major album of his life...I had seven eight foot tables laid out in my home...each one for a decade in his life. We "power" sorted the photos...literally "threw" the photos onto the tables by decade. Then we purged each decade down to six to eight 12x12 pages. Then we added pages for "family", "friends" and "hobbies". We used "simple" stickers and titled each decade and interest...added the same color cardstock for simple corners, borders or photo matts...and tha was it. We did not journal...because my mom still can't remember the stories. At the funderal, 300 people showed up for the services (he has 10 brothers/sisters) and the album was "unbelievable". It was beautiful because it was simply about my DAD and not about the embelishments...like your daughters graduation album. We had blank pages set up for all visitors to sign and comment on the relationship they had or special memories of my dad...so many people participated...it was wonderful reading these messages after the funeral and remembering the good times. I know these two events are the extreme opposites of one another but the "simplicity" of celebrating is similar and the album brought everyone together to celebrate his life in a positive way during a difficult time. Hope this helps...didn't mean to go on and on...fondly, Roberta

[Geralyn Gray]

I am so glad you were able to take the time to do this. It was on my list to do in December---it never happened. But, with the approach of High School graduation of my twins--When they are off to college I am going to start on those weekends my heart aches for them.....I am hoping it will make me feel better with an empty nest. Thanks for your helpful hints....simple is better!

[gabrielle]

Great advice, especially not cropping! I'm looking for a great new camera. Any tips on those?

[Jill]

I love and agree with what you have to say...it is my style of scrapbooking. While I totally appreciate the more elaborate pages as well I feel that we have reduced our family's stories so that some pages resemble a product ad. FRESH, FUNNY, WOW scream the titles when i prefer to put in quotes the actually words said or my thoughts about what I have seen. Furthermore, I have read journaling that may be true and amusing but is unneccesary (potentially hurtful or embarrasing)in terms of chronicling someones' life: "Rude Little Boy", "Little Miss Manipulator", "Always Crabby", What???? This is going to be seen by the kid's children!!!!!!

Timeless, classic, simple, POLITE yet honest.
Thanks for letting me share my thoughts.

[paige]

i love this!
much of the reason i didn't like, really didn't like , the scrapbooking style of the past is because of the tiny cropped pictures with loads of stickers....i've always loved photographs and felt that was too distracting.
i love the tips you've given!
i've acquired much scrapping products but haven't done much the last 6 months, really need inspiration
xo

[Jeanne]

I don't scrapbook anymore because that creative outlet has been met in my business. I wish I still put albums together though. We love looking through them. The hard part is that I am so many years behind that I don't even know where to start. Shutterfly would really be great for someone like me.

[Jeanne]

Forgot to add that your new profile picture is beautiful!

[Photo Editing Software]

Great post! I've been into photography for a few years now and just recently stepped up and purchase photo editing software! It's been wonderful messing around with my photos and editing them to my perfection! It's such a blast.

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