Seasonal Shortcuts

eZine image: 

Now that the candy has been consumed and the jack-o’-lanterns put away, our thoughts are collectively turning to the holidays ahead. With all the parties, traditions, and general merrymaking the season brings, our already limited scrapbooking time can disappear faster thanSanta’s cookies. It’s easy to get so caught up in the hustle of bustle of the holidays that we start resembling Chevy Chase from Christmas Vacation (hopefully minus the crazy relatives camping in their RV in the front yard).

I’ve found that for me, making the time to create a layout or two actually helps me stay focused on the joys of the season. When I’m celebrating our life through the pages of my scrapbook, I seem to find more happiness in my daily life. And isn’t that exactly what the holidays are all about? So, rather than putting away the cardstock until the New Year, I use three timesaving tricks to help me make time for my memories. Will you join me?

	Supplies: cardstock (Bazzill) • Helvetica font • patterned paper (SEI) • chipboard letters (Basic Grey) • 12 x 12 Layout by Lee Currie
Click image for larger view

Timesaving Trick #1

Recycle Your Words
I’ve never been able to keep a journal, but for some reason I’ve been able to faithfully blog for over a year now. I believe it’s because blogging—the pairing of pictures and words that capture my life—is scrapbooking in its simplest form. Any time I want to scrapbook a set of pictures that I’ve blogged about in the past, I save time by reusing the words that were captured in the moment.

To illustrate this simple journaling shortcut, I asked my friend Lee Currie to create a layout from a past blog entry. The entry she chose, from October 2009, was inspired by a TGIF (trust, gratitude, inspiration Fridays) idea introduced on author Brené Brown’s blog, Ordinary Courage. This idea, and Lee’s resulting layout, are a beautiful way to keep the season of gratitude present year round.

Don’t keep a blog? Pull authentic, in-the-moment journaling from your diary, your Facebook Updates, your Twitter feed, or a journaler’s notebook.

	Supplies:   club kit (Studio Calico: Yearbook, Pep Rally, Science Fair) • cream cardstock • Traveling Typewriter font (dafont.com) • date stamp • punch (Martha Stewart Double Scallop) • 8 1/2 x 11 layout by Monica McNeill
Click image for larger view

Timesaving Trick #2

Use a Kit
Do you have more scrapbooking supplies in your possession than you’d like to admit? Well, I do and when I only have a snippet of time to devote to my craft, all the product choices can be overwhelming. What’s a girl to do? Change the way she shops!

I’ve been subscribing to the Studio Calico kit club for 6 months, and I love having coordinated, unique products arrive on my doorstep every month. The minute the UPS man hands it over, I empty my kit into a serving tray and set it on my table. When I’m in a crunch, all I have to do is go through my tray, and I’ll find things that automatically match.

Not a kit club girl? Create your own kits from your stash! Grab some patterned paper you love, a few pieces of coordinating cardstock, a couple of alphas, and a smidge of embellishments. Throw them in an extra large plastic bag and limit yourself to those products for your next three layouts.

	Supplies: cardstock (Bazzill) • Bookman Old Face Font (ascendercorp.com) • patterned paper (KI Memories) • brad (Making Memories) • ghost shape snowflake (Heidi Swapp) • metal "Joy" charm (Plaid Enterprises) • 12 x 12 layout layout by Lee Currie
Click image for larger view

Time-saving Trick #3

Borrow a Design
As you flip through the magazines that will no doubt flow into your mailbox this holiday season, take a closer look at the design, color, and typography that catches your attention. Since all good design, whether in a home decoration magazine or a scrapbooking magazine, is based on the same core principles, you can find inspiration everywhere!

Before my magazines head to the recycle bin, I pull out the articles and advertisements that have design elements I would like to try, and I keep the ones that can be easily turned into a sketch. My scrappy friend Lee is the same way. As you can see, the Wyndham ad pictured above was easily transformed into a balanced, unified layout design. Since the ad was vertical and Lee’s layout is square, she left a patterned paper margin on the right and left sides. She was able to finish this layout in no time!

Can’t get enough design sketches?

Whether you like to draw your own sketches or borrow other people’s, you’ll love Stretch Your Sketches: Easy ways to recycle your best designs. Author Donna Jannuzzi will show you new ways to think about your sketches, presented in such a clear and logical way you'll wonder why you haven't been scrapbooking like this for years.