Fast, Beautiful Album Pages

I did a whole album using this method.  It caught me up really fast--the layout pictured above is a good example.  This process will help you get your scrapbooks done FAST in seven easy steps!

1. Sort your photos for each scrapbook page so you can work on an album in short time increments:

a. Eliminate blurry photos and duplicates.

b. Separate photos in chronological order by the events they depict or perhaps into pages (5 to 7 for each page).

c. Store them in separate envelopes or files.

2. Be selective so your album is a showcase of your best photos:

a. In order to save time and space, choose only the best of what is basically a series of the same shot.

b. Put the rest aside to create additional albums for family members or friends.

3. Use "speed tools":

Rotary trimmers, personal trimmers, and a mat and blades to cut circles and ovals are all you need to crop most of your photos.  

b. If you limit yourself to these cropping tools for most of your layouts, you will save a lot of time and effort.

4. Have a plan when you crop:

a. Train yourself to quickly select one or two photos that will look good cropped as circles or other patterns and cut them out.

b. Straight-cut the rest and move on!

5. Crop your photos first and make layout decisions later so your pages go together more quickly:

a. Presort your photos into envelopes for each album page.

b. Grab an envelope and crop the photos whenever you have a free minute watching television or whatever.

c. Worry about layout, journaling and page decorating later.

6. Make journaling a priority:

a. Words add meaning, depth and value to your scrapbook photo album.  "Who, What, Where, When" journaling gets the job done in no time flat.

b. Bullet journaling is making a list of descriptive phrases or sentences that capture the essence of the photo or group of photos.  Mark each thought with a bullet such as a small sticker or punch.

7. "Done is better than perfect":

a. Remember this motto and don't get bogged down.

b. People love looking at the pictures and reading the journaling.

c. Getting too caught up in the fun of the "craft" of scrapbooking obscures what is fundamentally most important--to preserve your precious photographs and memories.

(Adapted from Creative Memories' Fast Formulas 1998, pp. 4-5).

The album design I used for fast pages (yet attractive pages) involves strips and triangles of card stock.  Then you embellish with stickers or die cuts.  Voila!  You're Done!

Creative Memories' Fast Formulas 1998