[galinjapan]

I've wanted to do an adoption book for my son for a while now. I've millions of pics but I'm not sure how to put everything together in order to get his story to develop from page to page.

So here is what I'm wondering...

1. should I stick to one collection throughout the book and let the journalling tell the story?
2. do I let the pictures tell the story and use scrapbooking and journalling to complementthe pics; but stick to preselected colors, or style?

Any thought on this would be very appreciated...

[Sara Arell]

I did Scrapbooks for all of my foster children and have done and still am doing one for the son we adopted - I used many, many different collections for each of them - and my journaling is what told their stories - Every page is such a different story that I just couldn't have imagined using one collection throughout the entire book - they change, they grow, and it makes a much more fun and interesting scrapbook when you used different collections. Some of my pages have long journaling on them with just one picture and lots of embellishments and things that apply to the story I am telling - other pages have many pictures on them and less journaling and on those pages the pictures do tell the stories, but since you are doing this telling an adoptive child their story, I would imagine that like me, you would be doing a fair amount of journaling. I did - and my son loves his scrapbook because it describes our feelings when he first came to us and how excited we were when we were finally able to adopt him and things like that -

I hope this helps you a little bit. Just remember that you are putting your heart into the scrapbook and it will all fall into place for you.

And, I also have to kind of agree with what Mary Lou and Jennifer said - you definitely can go so many ways with this - but just try and remember that you are having fun with this - don't try and make it such a chore if you can help it - the mood of the pictures always helps me decide on the collection I want to use - but as I said, the kids grow and so the collections you use are going to change with their growth and usually the picture will give you good hints about what collection you need to use.

[JenniferZ]

When I've done wedding albums as gifts, I usually pick three or four coordinating kits (I ask for advice on the boards here and the gals have never steered me wrong! ) So, I would try to decide on the mood you want to set and then look for kits that match the mood and coordinate with each other. For instance, if you want a fun and joyful book, look for bright colors with whimsical elements. If you lean more toward sentimental and nostalgic feel, then look for vintage-y kits with muted colors and more realistic elements.

Good luck! And remember that scrapping should be FUN, so don't stress it too much and make it a chore!

[MLLatscrapgirls]

What do you use for your organizing? I use Picasa, which gives you another option. (This one is from taking Anna's journaling class.) I went through and chose generically (papers, frames, etc) items I liked or that fit my concept or that I just liked together, then tagged them with the name of the album I was making. This way, nothing actually moved, but I could pull up that whole category and then choose what I wanted for that particular page. I could also see everything I chose in one spot and could make sure it all coordinated, whether or not it was from one kit.

Sounds like a great project! Have fun with it! Remember it is easy to make changes digitally so just try things out!

[Smiles]

You have some great advice here, so I'll just add there is no right or wrong way to do it - just follow your inspiration.
If you don't cover something, you can always add it to a different album.
If this is the adoption story, you could do other themed albums such as a school year, holidays etc.
there are no scrapping police!

[BarbaraC1977]

Josee, I applaud the desire to have a unified look, but I find it easier to let the pictures guide me on colors and styling. For a large album I'm working on, I do try to do double-page layouts, and have a unified look across both pages, at least. I also do a "weather/date/location, etc" block on each double-layout, as a small unifying feature.

That said, I fell in love with TallCool69's album Santorini. She used a very simple palette throughout that suited her subject beautifully.

One idea I've been thinking about is to use a single or few sets of scrapsimple templates, and let the texture/design be the unifying feature, and still use the colors that seem to work on each layout.

[galinjapan]

Thank you very much for all your comments. It's was a lot of help. Now, the best part starts... shopping...

[Sara Arell]

Yea! Shopping is probably the most fun of it all - buy that Boutique out now and start scrapping! Good luck to you! Can't wait to see some of your layouts!

[KarinaS]

MLLatscrapgirls, on 08 September 2010 - 10:20 AM, said:

What do you use for your organizing? I use Picasa, which gives you another option. (This one is from taking Anna's journaling class.) I went through and chose generically (papers, frames, etc) items I liked or that fit my concept or that I just liked together, then tagged them with the name of the album I was making. This way, nothing actually moved, but I could pull up that whole category and then choose what I wanted for that particular page. I could also see everything I chose in one spot and could make sure it all coordinated, whether or not it was from one kit.

Sounds like a great project! Have fun with it! Remember it is easy to make changes digitally so just try things out!

That is a great idea, MaryLou! Thanks for sharing!

I agree with what most have said. Sometimes it is easier to use a coordinated kit throughout (if all your pictures are of scenery with similar colors, lighting, etc.), but for the most part I let my pictures dictate the colors and the subject often influences the embellishments that I choose. I would try to keep facing pages somewhat coordinated (I usually do a 2 page spread anyway, so this is easy since the pictures are related), but if they are NOT related, just try to use coordinating colors or use the facing page as a full journaling page (it can be only text or have a few of your embellishments from the facing page to tie it in).

Most of all, I agree that it should be FUN, a labor of LOVE, and that YOU should be the one who is pleased by it!