Preparing

I once knew a lady who found a roll of film in her desk drawer so she took it to the store to be developed.  When the pictures came back they were of her daughter's fifth birthday party...but her daughter was in college.

Sound like you?

Well, you don't have to be that extreme to need a photo album makeover.  Maybe your pictures are in a shoebox, stuffed in not so sticky albums, or are all stored on CD.  Don't panic--that's what we're here for!

If your only goal is to get them into scrapbooks with as little work as possible Designs of Mine can organize your photos for you.  There is an hourly charge (see custom projects) for this service, but it can be well worth it when you see those adorable baby layouts of your fifteen year old.

If you would like a little more control over how your pages are created you can use this simple method to organize your chaos.  Find some envelopes (the package the pictures came in works well), a pen, and your photos.  Choose pictures you want for a specific page (say all 1st Birthday or 12 years of school portraits) put them in one envelope and label the envelope.  It's nice to know the approximate date, name of the event and who is in the pictures.  Include as much information as you'd like on the envelope.  Make note of a favorite you just have to have in the scrapbook.

One problem many people have is "random" photos.  Cute pictures shot in the living room on an ordinary day don't necessarily fall under a category worthy of its own layout.  To solve this problem, create an envelope for the extras.  These can be used in collages or grouped together for a fun look.

Some pointers:

• Do not paper clip photographs.
• Only use a pen labeled "photo safe" when writing on pictures.
• Keep memorablia separate to avoid damaging photos.
• Think outside the box.  Disneyland was an important trip, but don't forget to send photos of the dinosaur your son carried everywhere for two years.
• Damaged or imperfect memorablia and photos can be used as well--don't throw them out just yet!
• If you develop pictures for this project consider choosing some different sizes.
• Cards can be cut to create personal embellishments.

Still not sure what to do?  Contact me today to have your questions answered and your scrapbooking needs met!

 Back