Creative Memories Croptoberfest

I recently presented the following mini-workshop at a Creative Memories scrap-booking "Croptoberfest."

The key to maximizing your time scrap-booking and minimizing your time searching for things is organization. Creative Memories has some amazing tools to help you do just that, but first I want to talk about the basics.

Sort: Know what you have, then you’ll know what you need.

Gather all your materials into one place if possible. Not everyone has the same amount of space in which to work. Some of us are minimalists, while others have a collection of every available tool. It is important to chronicle what you have, then find storage systems to accommodate and in some cases grow your tool collection.

Once you’ve gathered your tools, you’ll want to do the same with paper. When I first started my albums, I would buy things I liked, accept freebies that came my way and save all my scraps. Before I knew it I was overwhelmed with paper I didn’t necessarily like, product I would never use and scraps that took up too much space. So I…

Purged:

Yes, purge. Go through every sheet of paper you have and be honest with yourself. If you’ve had it for a year, two years or more, chances are you’ll never use it. It might be leftover from another page layout and you just couldn’t stand to throw it away. Or it was a freebie that seemed like a good idea at the time.

Your paper supply or tote should contain full-sized sheets or “scraps” that are at least 4 x 6 or larger. Anything smaller is most likely going to be damaged over time. Small scraps take up a lot of room and are only occasionally used.

One caveat to this is if you are working on a themed album. You’ll want to keep coordinating supplies till that baby or wedding album is complete. Consider keeping all the pieces together in the Power Pallette™ Organizer Folders or the 12 inch Deco File Folders.

Containerize/Organize:Daisy Collection

Creative Memories recently rolled out the Daisy Collection. They’ve improved on all of the storage options, incorporating a beautiful design as well.

New:

Daisy Tools Caddy: This is a versatile tools caddy. The top portion zips off, and can be placed on your work table with the cover tucked neatly below. The bottom portion has Velcro dividers, allowing you to create different configurations (one large compartment, the large compartment divided in half, two small and one medium compartment or four small compartments) to house punches and other small tools.

Daisy Case: They’ve improved on this case by lining the interior in a bright, contrasting color so you can see what is inside. They’ve also added an attached pouch on the outside to accommodate pens or additional tools.

Daisy Racking System: This racking system serves a dual purpose; it keeps your paper organized and contained in your rolling cart *and* it can be removed and set up on your work table. No more bending over your cart looking for paper. It can be viewed from eye-level.

Time Honored:

Power Pallette™ Organizer Folders: These are a fabulous way to organize your Power Pallettes. You can sort all the coordinating papers and stickers in these folders. Stickers stay intact and you can view the product front and back.

12 inch Deco File Folders: I love these! I have “running” albums of the cats, the garden, vacations, etc. I use these to keep materials together for those specific albums.

Leftovers:

Now that your tools and paper supplies are sorted and organized and accessible whenever you need them, you’ll want to find a home for those leftovers. Here are a few ideas:

Scrapbook Island holds a flea market once or twice a year. Why not set aside the tools you’ve outgrown and consider selling them there.

Others put surplus items on Craig’s List or eBay.

Ask a teacher if they might like your unused tools. Art teachers, especially, may be interested in your items.

Paper scraps. You can save these in a separate bag or bin and pass them on to a pre-school or Kindergarten teacher. I keep a pile of paper strips in my nightstand to use as book marks. I recycle the rest.