Design question

[Susie Roberts]

Hi Pam

I'm sorry for confusing you a little about scrapbook pages! When I talk about coordinating pages for a themed album, I'm referring to printed Shutterfly Photo Book Albums. I too have printed out my own unique and individual scrapbook pages and placed them in 8 x 8 albums with plastic sleeves. They are not tied together in any way - all the kits are different. But I like to have them printed out so other people can look at them like a photo album. And my family loves those too. We don't all have time to make a 20-page or more themed album. Sometimes we're lucky to find the time to make one or two pages each month. So it's quite okay to print them out and put them in an album for everyone to enjoy. If I'm setting out to make a printed photo book with a theme however, I do make sure that all the pages are tied together in some way, usually with a coordinating kit! That's why we create the themed albums every month for our Premier members. It helps you on your way to that goal. Our 'rules' if you can call them that, are simply design principles to help you make decisions. As we said before, it's a personal choice as to how you design your own books.

[Grand Scrapper]

Hi Susie,

I don't think I was really confused. I posted because I seem to be in a different category than most others. I am the person at the all the meetings you attend that points out alternatives others may not think of. Sometimes it annoys you while other times it makes you think. People still ask me to serve on committees. My mind is constantly on the move. I am attempting to make my life story into a scrapbook. I'll still use the same style album, but am attempting to stick to one kit for the most part—at least on facing pages. I haven't created many pages yet—another work in progress. By using the albums I do, I can see and hold in my hands, the work as it progress. I can always change the order or a page. It's the perfect way for me.

Thanks for the space to share.

[Susie Roberts]

Pam, I love the idea of an album that grows! I'm sure a lot of other people scrap in the same way that you do! I have a friend who is an avid photographer and does a 365-page Blurb book every year. One page for every day of the year! She uses Blurb for this project because they will print up to 440 pages. She does minimal scrapping on that particular project but obviously can't see the fruits of her labors in print until the end of the year. But what a lovely book it is! So there's yet another way of documenting your life. Aren't we lucky to have so many options in this wonderful digital world?

[Grand Scrapper]

Susie, I've never heard of Blurb. It's an interesting web site. I'm not ready for something like that, but it's always nice to have more ideas and alternatives. Thanks.

[MissouriStar]

Each of my granddaughters has what she calls her "adventure book". I scrap events as they come along and am also working on past events. I use kits that suit the events, color schemes, etc., but the books themselves have no coordinating theme. These are books that will expand over the years and will include many themes and kits. If I were doing a printed Shutterfly album, I would stick to one particular kit, but for these pages, anything goes! There are too many beautiful kits out there not to try them all!

[Thejage]

When I started making a two-page monthly LOs (about what happened during the 30/31 days) I used Linda's yearly scrapbook from her CD for PSE 7 (I think), but after two years that got old. This past year I used a two-page LO made from each DS monthly kits. It was much more interesting to view, I learned so much doing it, and I'm glad all the monthly pages aren't so coordinated for each stands out on its own. I agree with Susie that a two-page LO should coordinate, but it's fun to see something totally different when the second page is turned.

[johndavisblue]

Hey Chan, it will be good to give new scrapbooks at every special event like birthdays, Christmas or something else. Because its encourage children to write their work on colorful scrapbooks and also give them pocket folders printing because they can use it at school to write daily home work stuff and it’s easy to carry everywhere

[Wendy]

Pam ...

Books don't have to co-ordinate ... its entirely up to you which way you do them

Wendy

[johndavisblue]

Since your books cover many events throughout the year, I would choose any kit I liked for each event. Most likely, I would stick with one kit per event (i.e., one kit for Christmas, another kit for Halloween, etc.); but that is a personal preference. Scrapbooking is all about personal preference!!!

Yeah agreed Mam, one kit would be perfect especially for young children. have used just one kit to add all events for children scrapbook because they need very easy not much complicated so if you will used just single or not more than two it will be more easy to use for children

[rikkid]

Pam, you are not alone at all!

I make printed photo books per year (I end up with about 70 or 80 pages and have them printed in the new year) and they NEVER coordinate! I use for every page whatever goes with the photo, my mood when I create the page and what I feel like using right now. Even two pages next to each other look totally NOT coordinated and I and everybody who looks at the books love them.

When I started my 2011 book (the one I am working on right now) I first decided to use a more coherent look but quickly realized that would be way too limiting for me and now my pages and techniques are all over the place. The only thing I try to do with this book is use the same look with the maybe 2 or 3 pages that use photos from one event, but that is as far as I am willing to go.

Themed, coordinated albums are beautiful to look at (I did one photo book about a three week holiday with one kit and a number of ready made quickpages from that kit and the album looked really fabulous), but for me they really are the exception.