I love scrapbooking, but as a busy working mom, I can only grab half an hour here and there to make my layouts. These scrapbooking shortcuts have not only enabled me to finish my children’s albums, but also have ended up saving me lots of money, since I don’t buy supplies I need—and use everything to the last square inch! Hope these can help you too.
Scraplift yourself
Scraplift means to copy ideas—and there are no better ideas to copy than those that you have already used. Part of it is knowing your own scrapbooking style. If you see yourself gravitating towards certain layouts, then by all means adopt
the template for your other work. This also creates a visual consistency in your albums! I have two or three templates that work best for my style of photography and my love for journaling. Narrowing down things to just those templates takes out the guesswork, the artist’s block and also tells me immediately if I’m going to use a material or not (ex: I use journaling stamps again and again but will probably never use a butterfly stencil, even if I think it’s adorable).
Identify color schemes
One of the things that totally wastes my time is trying to mix and match papers and embellishments. So I’ve learned to use kits, or at least papers from the same color family. Again it means that I don’t have to worry about how to make a color work, and that leftover scraps from one page will immediately work with the next one I make.
Prepare for the next layout
While I’m finishing one layout, I try to trim leftover scraps so that I can use them in the next one. I’ll use a square stamp to cut leftover cardstock, or (since my stamps are already out) create journaling tags with the leftover paper. It keeps my paper stash neat and also cuts the work on the next layout. Plus, I actually get to use my sraps instead of hoarding them for an unidentified project.
Do your pages in sections
Sometimes for more elaborate pages (or on very busy days) I’ll work in sections: maybe do journaling while dinner simmers on the oven, or stick photos on cardstock while my daughter naps. I keep a shoebox on my desk where I can store these odds and ends until I’m ready to stick them on a 12×12 paper.
You can also read about ideas on how to find time to scrapbook!