Adventures in Organizing Albums.

This is what it looks like when you remove all of your layouts from the hodge-podge of albums holding them:


Layouts1


This is all of them.


All of my layouts from when I began scrapbooking in late 2002 to today. I haven't counted them yet but they came out of 28 12x12 and 8.5x11 albums.


Layouts2


This is something that has been on my list to do for awhile now. In between doing all those things this week that go along with caring for my sick guys (so much laundry, the never ending dishes, pushing liquids, and dosing meds) I decided to pull out all my albums and finally do this.


This, for me, is getting my layouts in order and organized by date (for some of them) + by theme for the others. Prior to this they had all been in albums pretty much in the order they were completed. (And I was definitely inspired again by reading Stacy's new Photo Freedom book. ) 


Here' s the process I am going through (I am about half way through - I figured with everyone sick no one was really going to be sitting at the table for meals so this was as good a time as any to tackle this project):


1. Remove all layouts from the hodge-podge of 12x12 and 8.5x11 albums and place them in piles. My piles included 2002-2008 by year (each year was a pile) focused on Simon, a pile of layouts about me, a pile of layouts about Chris + I (and our friends + travels, etc), and a pile of layouts about general family (some about me as a kid, family reunions, my parents, Chris as a kid, etc). It took me a couple hours to remove the layouts from all the albums.


2. Next I began the process of putting them back into albums. I began with 2002 and inserted pages in date order (as close as I could). Note: I wish I would have ordered additional page protectors. I can fit twice as many page protectors inside each album. It took two albums for 2002 and 4 for 2003 (2003 + 2004 have the biggest piles).


3. Having a piece of paper + pen nearby to document my thoughts + observations was a really great way to collect all the thoughts going though my head as I went through this process (see observations below).


Layouts3


It was really a pretty amazing experience to handle each and every page I have created over the last five years.


Here's some observations I jotted down as I was going through the process:



  1. I loved looking back over everything. I kept coming into the living room and showing Chris and Simon and saying remember this + remember that. This is the first time I have gone back and actually looked at each and every page I have made since 2002. Most of these books have just been in my closet waiting to be organized. I was flooded with memories - not only through the stories being told on the page + the photos - but the memories of what was happening in our surrounding lives at those times. I love scrapbooking.


  2. There were many pages that I really just LOVE plain + simple. I had the overall feeling that I am so thankful that this has been such a big part of my life. There were also many (too many I think) that really said nothing other than showing a cute photo (more on these below).


  3. I liked looking at the overall evolution of the pages. From the very simple beginnings of cardstock + photo + pen to the addition of stamps to metals to bunches of different products to a much looser/more eclectic style. It was like looking at the history of scrapbooking products as much as the history of our family.




  4. Many of my favorite pages are ones that tell the story of my own childhood using the photos that my parents took of our family. Many of those pages feel more thought out and complete (especially in comparison to others that simply show one photo of Simon + a quote).




  5. There were lots of pages I don’t love - lots with no written story, no sense of balance - ones that just felt incomplete and/or hurried. I looked at them, noted on my piece of paper what I felt was missing and then put them in order and inserted them into the page protectors and moved on. (Note to self: make sure to include words to complete the story.)




  6. I have done a good job including my own story and that is important to me (the pile was nice and tall).


  7. I had to staple a bunch of chipboard letters that had come unstuck and were just hanging out inside the page protector. That was a bummer because I love the look of them. Most everything else was still in place.



  8. I liked that there is an overall balance: some single page layouts that highlight a certain photo (more-so back in the beginning) + others that were two page spreads with lots of photos and a more complicated design and a more complete story.


  9. After 2004 there was a drop in the number of layouts I did for the year. This is either because I began creating more about my own story, doing more “other” work such as writing, blogging, traveling & teaching, etc., or because I had started making minibooks.



  10. I am including both 12x12 and 8.5x11 layouts into the 12x12 3-ring binders from American Crafts. I have a few smaller ones in there (a couple 8x8's and 6x6's) that I decided to adhere onto 12x12 white cardstock.




  11. 2002 + 2003 were almost all single page layouts. There are a few 2-page spreads included in there that were created later on (you can tell by the products + the style). I love the double page spreads - again, most of those seem more complete + actually tell the entire story of an event, moment, time, place, etc.


  12. I love seeing the photo compilation pages. Some of my favorites were ones that showed a bunch of photos from a single year or a season or that compare and contrast different events + times. Here's a good example of this from 2003:

    282568

    If the layout included different years I put it in the later year's album.


  13. I was also really drawn to the pages that included specific information such as Simon's height, weight, what he was saying (or not saying), etc. There is simply no way I would remember those details if I had not recorded them in some way.   


Those are my thoughts so far. I imagine there will be more as I complete the process. One of the biggest benefits of this entire adventure, in addition to simply getting organized, is that it is solidifying for me again the sorts of pages I want to spend my time doing.


I'll try to do another follow-up with additional observations as I finish getting everything in place.

Related Posts

Sign in or sign up to comment.

163 thoughts

  1. Megan says…
    02/07/2008

    your thoughts about your pages that felt incomplete resonated with me. I am a digital scrapbooker, and I frequently go in and change a file (keeping the original, of course...it's ALL history, after all!) to improve a thought or an idea...and I told you you'd love the ones with date, height, etc. try my refrigerator idea!

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. Carole says…
    02/07/2008

    What a great idea - thank you for sharing , it will inspire me to work on my piles of pages ( when I make pages for the store , they sometimes are not in order , thus the piles in my scrap room ) ~ will do when I return from CHA - or this spring - or this summer - but this year for sure !

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. cathy walters says…
    02/07/2008

    Thank you for sharing this! What an amazing list of thoughts and your process. I love it. Your generosity completely floors me. :) Blessings!

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. Joscelyne (Joscie) Cutchens says…
    02/07/2008

    that is some undertaking! Good For you! and I love hearing your thoughts too. I love hearing that I am not the only one that has made pages that you don't just love. and I love that you have started the plan to finish/improve them. also, did you just staple the chipboard letters, regardless as to how they were adhered before? I have several layouts with chipboard letters floating in page protectors.

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. Betsy Gourley says…
    02/07/2008

    Ali
    Are you putting them back into the same albums they came out of or are you moving to a new kind of album or a single color for each set?
    Betsy
    Liberty MO

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. Anne Marie says…
    02/07/2008

    What an amazing collection and what an amazing job you have done in reorganizing you layouts. Love your LO style!

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. suetreiber says…
    02/07/2008

    I really want to do the same, just haven't braved the transfer...

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. Trina says…
    02/07/2008

    So amazing that you are doing all that, Ali! What a big project to take on. Good for you! I wish I could look back over the years and see how many pages I'd made for the length of time I've been scrapping but I think I ended up with more products and paper than actual pages! Your latest book has freed me from this problem and I have been in the creative mode ever since reading it! I'm giving myself permission to use all my favorite products and papers and I am getting rid of things I know I will never use to make room for more products I will use. It is all due to you and that fabulous book of yours! I have read it many times so far and I will continue to read it again and again. I am slowly finding my own style and an learning to be okay with whatever that is. The most important thing (as learned by you!) is that the memories and stories are preserved. My boys will appreciate that when they are older.
    Thanks so much for sharing! You are such an inspiration to so many people...me included! Hope Chris and Simon are feeling better, take care of yourself, too.

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. Debbie Poe says…
    02/07/2008

    Thanks for explaining your process so precisely.
    I'm not very organized about scrapbooking events as they happen, so I finally just started doing what I felt like doing and putting the page in a book with no worry about time or order.
    I think something you wrote in your blog finally got me motivated to just not worry about it and just do it!--Thanks again.
    My point is that I can always go back and organize it all later.

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. Lisa says…
    02/07/2008

    I have been going through all my layouts and pictures and organizing my overall system. It is a huge process. I agree that the words written about the moments are crucial. The photos are an important part but the telling of the story is key. I remember going through tons of my grandparents photo book and wishing desperately to have more info about the event and what was happening. Sometimes I like to just make a layout about the memory...no photo necessary. Scrapbooking is really story telling. I will also say thaat I had proposed the idea of making some adjustments to some early pages I had made to my daughters first 3 or 4 scrapbooks that I did about 8-10 years ago and she was mortified. She said she didn't want anything changed and that she loved them. I am for the most part good at journaling so it was really just a matter of the look of the pages. I really had no clue what I was doing and it shows but she loves them dearly and I can't argue with that. So I have decided to move on from that and to me it is an evolution of my work and sort of a scrapbook of my scrapbooking. I can always create a new book or new layouts later but I think moving on is best.

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. Laura Melohn says…
    02/07/2008

    WOW! You are prolific. I love going back and looking at old pictures and layouts and remembering the times associated with them. And what a great record you have of Simon's early years. I just have some pictures from when I was little and would love to know the stories and details behind many of them. Thanks so much for sharing and I hope your guys get better soon!

    Reply 0 Replies
  12. Melanie says…
    02/07/2008

    Love it! I "started" this same process last week. I had purchased 1 AC ring binder a month or so ago - and just got brave enough to start filling. As a digi girl - it makes me happy to think about just how many layouts I'll be able to fit in 1 album! Then throwing in some 8x8 and 8.5x11 sizes AND some (dimensional) art projects from my son ... what more could a girl ask for? LOL!

    Reply 0 Replies
  13. Kirsten says…
    02/07/2008

    You just never cease to amaze - if this is what happens when you make some 'down time' to take care of your family - wow you put me to shame. That and inspire me. Shamefully inspire me, how's that? You are so good at getting your thoughts organized and then sharing them with us. thank you for that. You should be so proud - what an amazing body of work! Oh, and ummmm...that's just a portion of your accomplishments - can't wait to see what else is simmering in that creative soul of yours!

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. DM says…
    02/07/2008

    Ali, one of the things that I truly love about you is how you always explain everything that you do so well. That is so helpful to some people. I also love how you share so much of yourself. What an awesome person you are!

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. BLo says…
    02/07/2008

    very cool and inspiring post. Thank you for taking the time to share items such as this with us.

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. Holly T says…
    02/07/2008

    I need to do this. I loved it that you were drawn to the LOs that gave out specific info (height, weight, details)...you are right, if we don't document it, we forget it.

    Reply 0 Replies
  17. Jenna says…
    02/07/2008

    wow! i wish i had that many layouts! sounds like an amazing process. reflecting, organizing, remembering. you are so inspiring ali. i love your perspective. you have been one of the most influential scrapbookers/bloggers for me inspiring me to tell my story. thank you for sharing. :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  18. scrapfairy says…
    02/07/2008

    wow that is amazing, so many layouts, way to go. That is something I need to do, but I still have so many to create in between so I guess it will have to wait.

    Reply 0 Replies
  19. Kelly Libby says…
    02/07/2008

    VERY COOL! I haven't even touched my scrapbooking stash in months and months and months. This inspired me to make a layout tonight. Awewome!

    Reply 0 Replies
  20. Tracy (in Alberta) says…
    02/07/2008

    Good for you for taking your pages out of the closet! I think it's sad that people have their pics and or albums unavaliable for themselves and others to enjoy. I think it's great that you've recorded all these memories, but if they are in a closet, spread all over your house randomly, in piles in your scrap room that is such a shame.
    Not that I am 'caught up' but the scrapbooks that I have completed are in the living room along with recent photos I have in photo albums. The only pics that are not avaliable is the current book I am working on, it's on my scrap table.

    Reply 0 Replies
  21. Tracy (in Alberta) says…
    02/07/2008

    Good for you for taking your pages out of the closet! I think it's sad that people have their pics and or albums unavaliable for themselves and others to enjoy. I think it's great that you've recorded all these memories, but if they are in a closet, spread all over your house randomly, in piles in your scrap room that is such a shame.
    Not that I am 'caught up' but the scrapbooks that I have completed are in the living room along with recent photos I have in photo albums. The only pics that are not avaliable is the current book I am working on, it's on my scrap table.

    Reply 0 Replies
  22. Carrie says…
    02/07/2008

    Sorry I didn't read through all the comments...but....are you going to convert them into all the same albums if so which albums did you choose to use?? Love the inspiration & determination!!! Thanks for sharing ;O)

    Reply 0 Replies
  23. Teresa says…
    02/07/2008

    I call that a big job...wow...I would have been very tired in the middle of it or got distracted.

    Reply 0 Replies
  24. nichole says…
    02/07/2008

    wow. do you really read all these comments?
    i have just started scrapping... and it was so good to read what you enjoyed about the process and what stood out as important and non-important. SO GOOD TO KNOW!
    i have been trying to go back and do the layouts about my first marriage (my husband passed away a day before our forth month anniversary) and have just been lost as to if I should record the moments in the pictures or how i feel about the memories now... any thoughts?

    Reply 0 Replies
  25. Ileana says…
    02/07/2008

    this is so cool! I would love to sit there with you looking at all those pages. i so admire your work even the early pages you posted on 2ps. thank you so much for sharing so much from your daily life. it's truly an inspiration.

    Reply 0 Replies

Sign in or sign up to comment.