This is a huge task for a few very good reasons. Lets name a few...
1. This vacation was in 2009
2. I took around 1300 photos
3. I printing a lot of those (honestly, don't remember how many - though if I did, I might not admit it!)
4. I started on this book a few different times, working on it here and there
5. It is just time to "git'er done"
Starting this project I have 22 pages done (11 two page layouts), and 10 photo pages filled with pictures.
Step One: Organize Space.
I recently had my friend K over for scrapbooking. I left the 4 6 foot tables up and set everything I needed up. It is best if you can leave this project up for the duration, however if you do not have the space, it is best if you put it in a spot where 1. you can see it so it will bug you to work on it, and 2. it is easy to access.
Step Two: Organize Photos
You could organize by date, topic, location, etc. I'm choosing to first organize by location/topic.
Things I noticed in this step: I had WAY to many photos in a few of the piles. Seriously. How many photos of the following does one need:
1. Clouds / Land from the airplane
2. Trees
3. Random birds, buildings and flowers I have no idea why I took that photo
Step Three: More Sorting
Starting with the largest pile, sort into the following categories:
1. Scrap - the favorite of the favorites
2. Photo Pages - these will go in the photo pages. it saves tons of time
3. File - whatever your version of file is. Mine happens to be the shredder. (oh, you just shuttered... don't worry, I have the photos backed up many times - just no room to store the printed ones).
One of my finished pages was the "best of the best", (if it would not have been, I would have simply put these 5 photos in the 12x12 photo pages for scrapping later) therefore....
I only had to sort into photo pages, and shred.. urgh... file. What I did during this step was further sort this pile (happened to be the "flying" pile) into more categories (cities, lakes, rives, clouds, mountains, etc).
I went through each pile and picked out the file picks. Then, I laid out the remaining photos. I chose a couple more for the file pile, and then began putting them in photo pages.
This entire process took a couple of hours. It should go more quickly as I become used to the process. I'm feeling really good about this. 27 more days and this book is going to be finished! I'm quite excited.
There is a lot of sorting involved, however I'm leaving the fun stuff, actual scrapbooking, for after the majority of the sorting. It keeps me a bit more motivated to keep up the sorting and filing at this pace.
Are you trying to finish a scrapbook, or photo sorting project? Let me know how you organize! I hope you join me this month in finishing your project!
I'll be posting weekly updates of this project!
Wow, that's complicated. Or maybe I'm just sleep deprived. ;)
ReplyDeleteI do have a photo sorting project going on, but it's going to take me ages. Ages, I tell you. I should just hire a personal assistant.
I love how methodical you are about the sorting. That's a system that will definitely help you get it done.
ReplyDeleteI think my scrap projects are going to be about the babies in the near future...I have a couple of grandbabies coming soon, so I'd like to have two brag books decorated and ready to put snapshots in. One girl, one boy. Should be fun. So far, I just have the books out and the ideas rolling around in my head. I should look at what paper I have and start matching up embellishments, and figuring out phrases to use on the pages and using my Cricut to cut the words out.
Thanks, Kim, for helping me sort that process out a little further. :)
Wow, you are organized! How inspiring! I need to do some sorting and organizing of some of my trips.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about some of your photos. I do that too, look at them and wonder, "Why did I take *that* picture??"
I wish they would invent a camera that you could record notes on as you took photos. Wouldn't that be cool?
Melissa~