Page 1 Fast Scrapbooking: 43 Things You Can Do in 15 Minutes Or Less Even if you only have 15 minutes here and there, you can still get your scrapping "fix. Through years of experience, I've honed my fast scrapbooking skills to the point where I have a list of tasks I can accomplish, even if I only have a break between the laundry and homework duty. Here are 43 things you can do to keep on scrapbooking. 1. Upload photos to your online photo processor. Don t you hate it when you sit down to scrap and you don t have any photos? Remedy that problem by taking advantage of small spots of time and uploading photos regularly. You may not have time to scrap, but you can start thinking about your pages as you choose your fave photos. (By the way, one of my favorite processors is York Photos. They have fantastic specials, like this one: 40 Free Prints & 4 Cent Prints.) 2. Download photos from your camera to your computer. If you don t regularly transfer photos to your computer from your camera or iphone, how are you going to be able to scrap them? Keep it moving, people. Keep it moving. 3. Make page kits. Pull complementary patterned paper,
Page 2 cardstock, and embellishments together into a large-size plastic bag. Then add photos, and you're ready to scrap. 4. Scan or photograph your layouts and post to an online gallery. Half of the fun of scrapbooking is sharing your results with your scrapbooking comrades-in-arms. Scanning or photographing in batches makes it much more manageable. 5. Make a list. Go through your supplies and write down what you're running low on. You don't want to finally sit down to scrapbook, only to discover that you're out of adhesive and kraft cardstock! 6. Purge your supplies. Take a few minutes and weed out old supplies that you don't think you'll be using again. Everything you get rid of makes it easier (and quicker) to find the stuff you will use in the future. 7. Glance through photos on your computer, adding tags and deleting as necessary. Wouldn t it be great if you could go into your photos folder and search for pizza to find all the photos of you and your kids eating a pie? Yep, would be nice. But to get that functionality, you have to tag your photos! Doing this task in batches is much more manageable. 8. Clean. No one likes to spend their precious scrapping time cleaning, so grab a few minutes now to straighten your scrapbook space so you're ready to go when the family all falls asleep watching "It's a Wonderful Life."
Page 3 9. Sort. Only have 60 seconds on the way to the bathroom? Grab the next three photos you want to scrapbook, and set them out on your scrapbook table. Start mulling over products, titles, journaling, etc., so when you can scrapbook, you'll be ready to hit the ground running! 10. Brainstorm page ideas and sketch page layouts. The next best thing to scrapbooking is dreaming about scrapbooking! Spend that time productively by sketching out layout ideas or creating a list of pages you want to scrapbook. 11. Jot down a funny conversation you had with your toddler (or your husband or your sister or yourself ). Capture your memories when they happen! Carry a notebook with you and take advantage of time in the checkout line or at baseball practice. Then when you have time to scrapbook, you re ready to roll. 12. Place completed layouts in page protectors and albums. One of my worst scrapbooking habits is not filing away my finished layouts. Leaving completed pages out for a while is fun I get to admire my work! but my work should be placed in page protectors quickly. Otherwise, embellishments can start falling off, and photos can become discolored. No fun! 13. Set up an appointment with your grandmother to interview her about her childhood. Get input from your family members while you can. It can be overwhelming to think about interviewing everyone in your family, but if you break it into chunks,
it s much more approachable. Start by making appointments, then write down questions, and then conduct your interviews. Page 4 14. Color-correct a handful of photos in Photoshop Elements. If I have extended time to scrapbook, I want to scrapbook, not mess with my photos. But if I only have 15 minutes, I can easily get the red eye out and adjust the lighting in a couple photos. (Of course, I use Photoshop Elements, THE program for scrapbookers! Get a $30 discount here: Photoshop Elements.) 15. Put away your recent purchases. You DO buy scrapbooking supplies, don t you? I once got an email from a woman who had a half-dozen shopping bags around her scrap space she loved to buy but wanted tips on how to get herself to USE what she bought. My recommendation #1: PUT IT AWAY. You won t use it if you don t know you have it! 16. Watch a video. Learn something new by watching scrapbookrelated videos on YouTube.com. You can learn everything from how to create an adorable mini-album to how to tie the perfect bow. 17. Make a card. Even if you don t have time to create a whole layout, you can easily whip together a greeting card from scraps. Cut an 8.5x11 sheet of cardstock in half, and you ve got two perfectlysized A4 cards just waiting for you to embellish! 18. Punch some shapes. I never have enough circles and arrows on hand, so I take advantage of small bits of time to punch extras from scraps of cardstock and patterned paper (Note: This is a
great task to get your kids involved in. Even the youngest wannabe scrappers get a kick from using punches! Page 5 19. File inspiration pieces in binders. I keep all my inspiration filed by category in my inspiration binders. I usually just pull pieces from magazines and pile them up until I take 10 to 15 minutes to file a whole stack of articles, pictures, layout ideas and color swatches all at once. 20. Leave comments in a gallery. Everyone loves to get comments on their layouts and projects in galleries. Pay the love forward by taking a few minutes to type in some compliments in your gallery of choice. (Note: Compliments are most appreciated when they re specific, so try, I love the position of the photo and flower, rather than just, I love your page! So cute! ) 21. Find a new blog to drool over. Instead of just reading the blogs in your blog reader, follow the breadcrumbs to a new scrapbooking blog. You never know what goodies you might discover by checking out some of the links on your favorite blogs to see who inspires them. 22. Leave blog comments. I know first-hand how great it is to get comments on blog posts, but with more and more people using blog readers, the comments are fewer and farther between. Break the cycle by leaving a few comments just to let your favorite bloggers know you appreciate them and love their work. It ll make their day! 23. Copy some of your favorite status updates. Your
Page 6 Facebook and Twitter status updates can be great journaling for future scrapbook pages. Review your past few weeks of updates and cut and paste any particularly telling results into a separate Word document to use later on your pages. 24. Try a new iphone camera app. There are tons of great iphone apps for camera-type functions, such as Snapture, Hipstamatic, Instagram, and Best Camera (and many are free!). Try em out and create some funky effects for your next page. 25. Join a group. Find a scrapbook-oriented Facebook group to share your joy with. (Warning: Some are just spam in disguise, so choose carefully!) 26. Enjoy your work. How often do you take the time to enjoy your albums after you ve created them? Pull a little one up on your lap and take a walk down memory lane. 27. Look for clues. While you re looking through your old albums, look for clues as to your scrapping style. Which pages do you like the best? Which ones do you wish you d approached differently? What is missing? Take all these pieces of information into account in your next scrapping session. 28. Call a scrapping friend and set up a time to crop. I often don t get together with crafting friends because I don t plan ahead. Remedy that by pulling out your calendar and blocking out a girls afternoon for next week or next month. Then start spreading the word.
29. Listen to a podcast. Podcasts are web-based radio shows delivered directly to you. Find a new way to feed your scrapbooking jones when your hands are otherwise engaged like when you re driving. Hit itunes and search for scrapbook or craft. 30. Find a new class. Online classes and challenges are Page 7 supremely convenient, and you can find everything from photography to journaling. Check sites like Big Picture Classes and Get It Scrapped, or stop by my blog for my suggestions. 31. Look at really great photography. You can learn a lot about photography just by seeing what the professionals do. Check out Flickr, Katrina Kennedy s blog, and Shutter Sisters. 32. Read your camera s manual. I know, no one likes to read the manual for ANYTHING. But just 15 minutes invested now can pay off big. Try it, you won t be sorry. 33. Learn one trick in Photoshop Elements. Don t try to learn something like a complex software program all in one sitting; instead, try to figure out just one thing like how to turn photos to black and white, or how to add text to photos. (Note: This book by Renee Pearson is a great introduction into photograph manipulation in a non-overwhelming, easy-to-understand manner: Special Effects for Digital Photos.) 34. File your photos. I keep way too many photos out, and as a result it can be a little troublesome to put my hands on the ones I want to scrapbook NOW. I m working towards a system suggested by
Page 8 Stacy Julian, where I keep my favorite photos accessible, and file the others in three-up or four-up photo albums. That way we can still leaf through to enjoy them, but they re off my scrapping desk. 35. Start your own Book of You. Amy Krouse Rosenthal made a splash with her book, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life. She presented the A-to-Z of her life in a quirky and fun manner. Open a computer file and start typing is A for Adventure or Anemia? Or maybe both? 36. Finally figure out how to take a good photo of yourself. Whether you use the bathroom mirror or the self-timer on your camera, being able to shoot yourself is an important scrappy skill. Now s the time to figure it out! 37. Flip through a magazine. I have a stack of scrapbooking and crafting magazines by my desk that rarely get looked at unless I m on the way out the door to the doctor s office or another locale where I know I must wait! Then I grab one or two to toss in my bag. (Note: I also keep one in the car for emergencies. You never know when you need a scrapbooking fix!) 38. Teach someone a scrappy skill. My girls always want to scrapbook with me, but I m hesitant to let them use my tools and supplies because they don t know how to use the trimmer or Crop-A- Dile correctly. Now I try to teach them so I can not only share the scrapping bug, but be more comfortable with them borrowing my supplies (at least until I buy them their own!).
39. Send some photos to someone you love. I often get duplicates of special photos made for neighbors, friends, and family Page 9 members, but I m notoriously bad about sending them off! I now keep blank cards on hand (see suggestion # 17) and as soon as I get a chance, I jot a quick note, enclose the photos, and send them on their way. (Note: An A4 card is the perfect size to hold 4x6 photos.) 40. Create sketches based on your own layouts. If you love sketches, have you ever taken the time to create sketches from your own pages? Find some layouts you ve created with basic designs, then recreate them blue-print style. Have them at the ready for the next time you need a jolt of inspiration. 41. Create embellishments. I love the look of handmade embellishments but don t always want to stop mid-page to hand-cut a heart, embroider the wings of a butterfly, or punch several different flower shapes to create a layered blossom. But sitting down to play with your supplies without a page in mind, even for only 15 minutes, can be enough to come up with some fantastic goodies to add to your next project. 42. Eavesdrop. One of my favorite ways to come up with journaling for my pages is to tune in on the conversations going on around me. Listen to your kids in the back seat, to your husband as he watches the big game on TV, or to yourself as you go through your daily routine. Take a few minutes to write down the results. 43. Take a quiz. I love filling out quizzes in magazines; who doesn t? But this time, save the results for your next scrapbooking
page. Journaling, check! Pair your answers with a cute photo and you re almost done! Page 10