At Simple Scrapper we relish in moving you towards a more peaceful balance between making memories and recording them.
These 21 tips represent the foundational principles of the most joyful and easy memory keeping you ever imagined.
UNDERSTAND YOUR STYLE | Consider your home, your closet, your previous crafting or scrapbooking. Identify common trends and what styles call you name most strongly. Don’t try to be someone you’re not.
USE COMMON SENSE | Don’t over think your scrapbooking. Keep your wits about you and your goals in mind when you get started. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
CONSISTENCY | Decide on the simplest solution that will work for you. Do it. Do it again. Consistency will keep you from feeling buried.
FOLLOW THE RULE OF ONE | You have permission to pare down to the basics. Start with one dream or one goal. Work towards that, giving your all. Then choose another.
LIVE YOUR VISION | Are you getting enough exercise and eating the right things? Take stock of your world and make sure that scrapbooking in balance with the rest. We’ll still be here when you get back, promise.
STOP YOURSELF | Do you have unused supplies just waiting in the wings for you? Skip some of the sales and put that hot new item on your wish list.
HONOR YOUR MEMORIES | Are you making excuses and letting your photos fall to the ages? Focus on the personal rewards of scrapbooking and use that to move you to progress.
ASK FOR WHAT YOU NEED | You don’t have to go it alone. The online scrapbooking community is there to lean on when you are stuck on a page or just plain stuck.
EDIT, OFTEN | Consider what you really, truly need to hang on to and let go of the rest. Donate, give away, sell or throw away anything that is weighing you down.
BE REAL | Think about what is a reasonable amount of scrapbooking for you. Know your reality and be OK with it.
STOP COMPARING | You cannot compare your scrapbooking skill or productivity to that of others. Everyone’s plate is full of different things and their sliver (or chunk) for scrapbooking will be different.
BE GOOD ENOUGH | It’s hard to change how we feel and a little less hard to change our reaction. Try taking the easier path. It’s not so much letting go of the feeling behind that is necessary, but changing your definition of caught up.
FIND SHORTCUTS | You don’t have to give up on big projects if you get creative with your approaches. Find shortcuts to make your desired end result a reality.
CHANGE YOUR MINDSET | Make “caught up” whatever you want and need it to be to stay a happy and healthy memory keeper!
HAVE PATIENCE | Developing new skills or getting organized takes time. Enjoy the journey and celebrate how you learn and grow in the process.
KICK EMOTION TO THE CURB | Don’t let guilt run your life – even if you’re wondering whether to get rid of a product you purchased with good, hard-earned money. Divorce productive scrapbooking from worry and emotion.
REVISE YOUR SYSTEMS | Take a fresh look at your memory keeping workflow and see if its working for you. Balance structure that makes sense with limiting unnecessary complexity.
USE LISTS | Are you so overwhelmed that you don’t know where to start? Get out the pen and paper and make a list. Even better, use an online to-do list or spreadsheet.
WORK BACKWARD | Don’t think about the hundreds (or thousands) of photos you need to scrapbook. Start with your most recent memories first.
SEEK INSTANT GRATIFICATION | Alternate long-term or ongoing projects with quick mini albums or hybrid artwork. Choose small projects you can complete in an hour or a weekend to feel more satisfied.
CHOOSE SIMPLE | There will always be too many choices in front of you. Narrow down, get practical and look for simplicity at the core of every memory keeping activity.
I love this list!! Thanks I need to remember some of these more often!
I appreciate, and need to remember, your tip to “stop comparing”. I can get so caught-up in all the wonderful layouts found on blogs and Pinterest, compare them to my CAS style and get discouraged. I need to find inspiration and let it inspire me to create in my own, unique way. Thanks for the reminder 🙂
Yes! So glad you took this away from the lesson.
Love this!
I love this post and found myself saying – wait that would help my life in general and not just scrapbooking. Thank you for the reminder to start simple and give myself permission to pair down. A recent episode of “The Art of Simple” podcast discussed the amount of time we spend on stuff management and how that can be motivation to pair down. I found myself thinking about that again in relation to scrapping because of this post. Thanks for sharing in an easily digestible way.
Most welcome! I will check out that podcast, too.
Do you happen to remember the name or date of the podcast? I checked out the website but I don’t know which podcast to choose. Thanks!
great, great list!!
Thanks Keely!
It is sad that so many of us hear a voice in our heads saying that we ‘need’ to be ‘CAUGHT UP’! As I heard someone else say, I belive it was on Paperclipping Round Table’, I NEVER want to be ‘caught up’ because that means there is nothing for me left to scrapbook!!!! It is ridiculus to put that type of pressure on someone, often causing someone to WORRY about a craft that we should be LOVING.
Brilliant post!
Incredible list! Love it! Most of these I’ve been telling my students for years. The only thing I’d add is to make notes in your list of items that can be done in 15 minutes so you always have something you can work on when you have a few minutes to spare.
Nice concise list. I’ve been coming to many of those same conclusions recently. Thanks!
Thank you, Jennifer. I always find myself comparing my efforts to others, and I am always lacking. What I fail to remember is I’ve only been doing this for a couple of months! I need to give myself a break, look for inspiration, and stop comparing! You are awesome!!!
This is a great list! The ones that spoke to me the most were:
Stop Comparing – This is key for me, as I tend to want to make my work look a certain way or achieve a level of visual greatness it doesn’t seem to live up to.
Be Real – I don’t have a lot of time with a 16 month old, so I need to scrap in smaller increments of time, which means Choose Simple and Edit are the others that are key for maximum productivity in those small moments.
Consistency – Though this ties in with Choose Simple, I really related to a post by Ali Edwards I saw a long time ago where she limits her main colors for her physical layouts to black, white, red and kraft. She has a specific style and sticks with it. She gets a lot done and it works for her.
Honor Your Memories – This to me is most important. This is why I do it – why I record the stories behind the photos. I know my daughter and other family will appreciate them and they’ll be a record of my “voice” and who I was while I was here, not just memories.
You are such an encourager! Bless you and your family this coming year.
I love this list Jennifer. I wish there was a printable version that I could put up in my scrap room.