Album Challenge

 Scrapbooking doesn't have to be all about birthdays and holidays, you can do albums about other things too such as a traumatic time in your life.  Mine was a time line, wanting to showcase the drama end of things in a simple time line, and then how I got out of the funk through the pictures and journaling I used.  My problems stemmed from not having enough of a support system to be able to deal with said "problems" in the first place, so scrapbooking was used as a therapy tool, only it wasn't something I knew until much, much later. 

As I was planning this album, I had an old planner which I wanted to use, you might recognize this one from 2000.  I used the planner the entire year, planning out things, and keeping track of other things like you do every planner.  It was a time in my life where I needed it, and now am glad that I did keep track of certain things!  I loved the colors in the pages itself, so I wanted to use colors in the papers I selected that would match as well.  Sometimes this takes a bit of time to plan things out perfectly in order to create the best item for YOU! 

Start to look at papers you like, embellishments, and think about your journaling too.  Part of the art of scrapbooking is looking at how you want the album to look and feel, before you even start the album in the first place.  You might not use each and every item you choose to pull out, simply put them back when you are done, or make a card with the papers and stuff you have pulled out!  Look at how you scrapbook in the first place, is it by manufacturer, color, or a bit of this and that?   This will help you in planning things out and pulling out items that you know you will use! 

Find a page planner design, or create one of your own that you like.  I will be making a few and putting them on the blog and web site for you to download soon!   This way you can plan your project out at different times and have one place in which you have all the information on.  Take it with you shopping so you are able to purchase what you need.  Add a few small pieces of the paper you are using to be able to match your embellishments.  The time line was done in handwritten journaling in order to get the information down on paper - using colored markers for the journalling.  I used the dates at the top of the item, with what happened underneath it.  This was a fun and easy way to showcase the two pages.   I wanted to use fun papers, at the time Chatterbox was huge, so all the papers in the album are from them.  I also used nothing but Chatterbox embellishments to create a uniformed look and feel, with a bit of ribbon, brads & eyelets extra. 

For my journaling, I used vellum and my computer to create the look and feel that I was searching for.  I wanted the readers to be able to see where I was at in my life dealing with an ex who committed suicide and then my dads death 5 years to the day later, a tornado, and a sociopath ex from hell, among other things.  This album taught me that I truly AM ok, in spite what others wanted for me.  The album includes a few pictures, but mostly journalling to give people an idea the mindset I was in at the time.  Scrapbooking, when used as a therapy tool, truly does help you, not hinder you!  I didn't have a therapist to help me, only my husband and my talents.  Use this with therapy to truly get where you want to be in life. 

Scrapbooking is about getting your memories down on paper, to help future generations to see, of the things you have been through (good and bad) and where you are heading now!  A way to make sure people do not make the same mistakes you did...or choose the paths you chose.  It's not that we are bad people, we just beat to our own drummer!   Using a style such as this helps with continuity, one place for everything, and helps you plan other projects out easier too.  Twist this album up, using it to showcase a month in your childs life, or an entire month of your life in one album.  The album size I chose to work with was 8 x 8 so I could use the extra paper on the other pages.  Each section was a different set of colors and pictures to allow for the album to flow good. The colors I chose were brighter - more perky so to speak!   

Albums such as these are easy to do, being able to finish them up in a weekend or less, depending on how fast you scrapbook!  It can be very cost effective, grabbing 12 x 12 cardstock, using the extra colors or the other side (if you get double sided paper) for other aspects in the album such as matting, or embellishments.   I hope you have enjoyed this project, and I challenge you to find a small project such as this where you can make it in a weekend!  Challenge is to use up some of the stuff you have at home, and don't shop...except for the necessities!  Enjoy and share your projects with me to share with others! 

Lynda Jeffs

Memories in Tyme