Scrapbooking Strategy

Well, I got the house in order thanks to my list (didn't do the floors, but I can do that tonight) and we all enjoyed the movie!

My goal for the day is to create my scrapbook pages for the month.

I love to scrapbook and I have lots and lots of supplies . . . however, what I don't have is lots and lots of time. In fact, the whole scrapbooking thing was getting to be a big stressor for me. So, this year, I took control and made a plan! Instead of having a scrapbook for each child, a travel album, a Disney album, a family album, etc. I decided to do two books this year - and each one would only get one new layout (two pages) a month. I can commit to two pages a month! Stress level went down a bit. To make it even easier on myself, our local scrapbook store does a monthly layout - it's $10 for an 8x8 layout and $16 for a 12x12. With all my supplies, at first I couldn't justify that - if I did the 8x8 that would be $120 for the year - wow! It does get a little better - if you bring in the completed page for the month before you get $1 off - so now we are down to $108 - still a lot! And forget the 12x12 $180!!!

Then, I thought about my busy schedule, and the hundreds of dollars I used to spend on supplies throughout the year and decided to try an experiment for one year. I chose the 8x8 because it cost less and bought the October kit (the kits started in October). It was cute, easy and took me 1/2 hour to complete! Plus it looked great and was totally different than something I would have done. I still wanted more than an 8x8 for the year, so I decided I would also do a 12x12 BUT I would do that one myself. What I've ended up doing is using the scraps from the 8x8 kit along with supplies I already have and been able to easily create a nice layout using my own creativity each month. Stress level went down even more!

How's it going? Great! Both albums have five (after today six) layouts. I use different pictures for each album, so I can cover two events or topics each month. My goal is to not purchase anything at all this year except for the kits. So overall, I will end up with two completed albums for $108. Not bad if that is my annual scrapbooking spending! Plus, the stress level is GONE. I enjoy the scrapbooking I do, I save money over what I would have normally spend and I am always "caught up." Even after both pages are done I still usually have a few scraps or stickers left over that could be used for cards, later pages, etc.

Next year I think I'll splurge on the 12x12 pages - based on what I've seen I could easily get everything I need for both the 12x12 and the 8x8 out of the one kit.