Taking Too Long To Scrap!

[caprimom]

I am having a really hard time finishing a LO in less than 5 hours. Sometimes life intervenes but mostly I think I'm nitpicking too much. It's driving me crazy because I don't have that kind of time to spend scrapping but I really really love making LOs. So, I'm wondering what do you all do to speed up the process? TIA!

[sprinklz]

Only 5 hours - wow i'm impressed! LOL - seriously though sometimes my layouts take for-e-ver because I keep trying just one more thing.

 

And then i'll go through spurts where everything goes quickly too. Sorry, I know that's not helpful, but that's what happens with me.

[Guest sfcgijill]

I stick to one or two pics- if it's an event, I make sure to get the best ones. And I try to stick to one collection- that makes the coordinating go much faster (it's the part that takes me longest), and I have one folder that has my stuff I use all the time, like brads and staples and what not. Many times I'll personalize the papers with SS paper templates or make coordinating embellis with those templates or the LYO brushes. And I'm not afraid to significantly edit a pic to fit my "vision"- although that's rare these days.

 

Also, if I find myself foundering on the layout, I use a layout template as a jumping- off point. I start with that, and maybe leave things off or rotate things around. The templates help tremendously with my second biggest time eater- the geometry of the layout itself.

 

I do try to keep things simple. Simple always works best for me. That super-collage-y look just isn't me to begin with (being military, I like my things dress-right-dress) and I feel I sometimes lose my pictures when I pile on too much other stuff.

 

Just my thoughts. Good Luck!

[CC from AZ]

That's me too it takes me forever to finish one I'm still working on my DC trip and that was last July. I guess we are just too hard on ourselves. I was going to try and set a time frame and then its over its over, but that I feel don't work.

I'm better at cards.

One thing to remember just enjoy what you are doing cause it should be fun.

[ruralscrapper]

I'm afraid I won't be of much help either Ashleigh. Some layouts take me forever to do too and some layouts just seem to fall together. I do use a lot of templates too, makes it much easier for me to place my pictures and also know that they will look good on the layout. I have to agree with CC just try to enjoy yourself because it should be fun, if you start to make it "work" then I think you will lose your interest quickly. Just my 2 cents worth.

[Guest siraacsa]

I have the same problem as well, some take ages and others still at least a couple of hours. I even have the situation which I am going through right at this moment where I have 2 soon to be threee versions of a layout and I cannot decide which one I like the best.

I've never used templates but if you want to speed up the process I think that would be your best bet, it helps when someone else has gone through the design process for you.

[schmoo]

Yes me too. It seems to take me forever to finish some and then others just seem to fall into place. I use templates/sketches all the time as I am hopeless with laying out the elements. I use to start with a template and then select photos and then build from there. Now I am trying starting with the photos and spending some time thinking about the layout, how I want it to look, the message I want before I actually get to the computer. I also like simple layouts without too much clutter.

 

Happ Scrapping, Sue

[Tina M]

Well, I guess I can say the same as most everyone else... I can take forever, and yup, some is just learning photoshop , but even more is trying trying until it "HITs" me in the head . I think if your LO can do that to you then its ready to finalize. Simple or busy..whatever goes! If you like it then that THAT!!!!

 

ps just my opinion..I am no way an expert from anywhere, LOL T

Love what you have already

[Guest Sharebear57]

I am the exact same way. It takes me FOREVER to finish a layout!

I wish there was some magic way to just speed things up, but I guess the only thing you can really do is tell yourself that your layout is good enough and let it go at that. You can always go back and change it later if you decide it REALLY wasn't fininshed, but usually once I give myself permission to consider a layout finished I am pretty happy with the way it came out. It is just getting to the point where I can consider it done that takes forever.

[iwillfly525]

Try using the SS templates. I love them. My LOs get done so much faster with them. I use them on about 98% of my LOs. But there are still some that still just take forever.

[Guest firecracker55]

I'm like everyone else? I thought I was the only one that took forever! I do find that if I get up and leave the computer and come back after a bit, what seemed to be clogging the creative flow has vanished and I look at the LO with new eyes! Of course, this doesn't always work and I have to just let the LO go and consider it done.

[bandwife]

Some pages do take longer. I like to start several and work on them at different times to make sure I like how it all goes together.

[TallCool69]

Usually I get a basic idea of what I want to do by just looking at my photos, and when that happens I work very fast.

But just as everybody else, I get stuck sometimes! Then I just save that LO and continue with it later!

I've also found that there's no use moving things around too many times!

Once, twice, three times tops.

If it hasn't come together by then it never will!

Then I just change embellishments or abandon that plan altogether...

[ningwulan]

i often take forever, too - cos i keep thinking that i need a little oomph or maybe the colors just don't work. but like Becky said, i like to keep things simple - so i focus more on the photos and use little embellies - saves me time from picking this and that!

[sunnie2004]

welcome to the arist gang Carpi's mum we all make creations & lets face it rembrant did not make his creations in a hour so why should we!!!!! LOL no really I take forever also I actually know when 1 of my lo is done when I look at it & look at it & think there is not a thing differnt I can do to change or make it differnt . so I am so glad you joined our club hhheeeehhheeeehehehehe..

 

Caren

 

ps i still have my shoes lo in the desk top as a psd so i can finish some day

 

caren

[Karooch]

I'm with sfcqijill. I spend sooo long picking out papers etc. Now I try to to stick to a single collection. I have to say that with the large number of elements in a collection it's a lot easier to fine several papers to coordinate together.

 

Also if I'm struggling with coming up with a layout design I'll go to one of the sketch sites to get a layout plan or I'll scraplift one of my earlier layouts and make some changes to it.

 

But overall I don't worry too much about how long a layout takes. After all I do it for fun, not for a living.

[caprimom]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Keeping it fun is what I try to do but I don't want time to become a reason I don't scrap and a lot of the time I have time to scrap but I end up doing something else because I know once I start I won't stop until I'm done and baby needs to eat and mama needs to clean. [wow..that is such a long run-on sentence LOL] I'll definitely try out some templates and Karooch and someone else mentioned a sketch site. Could you tell me what sites you are going to?

 

I'm so glad to see I'm not alone. I guess it seems like everyone is creating so many LOs because of the sheer volume of people posting here. It sure provides a lot of inspiration. Who else will be joining our club?

[lvich]

I think you need to figure out if you are more concerned with the "end product" or the "process." For me, some layouts take more time (I can work on a layout on and off over a period of days) while some I can complete in one sitting of a few hours. I enjoy the process or the "journey" to create the end product because I view scrapbooking as an art form. I want to have a nicely designed page when I am finished. I am not concerned that I don't crank out X number of pages per week or month or whatever. This gives me a chance to live with the actual memory longer than by just throwing stuff down on a page. I am an experienced Photoshop user and layouts do go much faster as you learn how to use your chosen program but faster is not always better!

[nicole_j]

Oh good to know it takes even the "Pros" a long time depending on the LO... thought it was just me cuz I'm still learning.

TFS!!

[KellyChron]

I also try to stick to a single collection. If I really like or want a color scheme like a collection, but don't have a paper I'm wild about at the moment, I make one from a scrap simple paper template. I use the eyedropper tool to pick colors out of the collection, so the embelishments will still match.

 

I read above that someone had a folder of elements that they use often (brads, staples, etc). That is a wonderful idea. I waste a ton of time looking for that one staple... (I know, I sould sort everything using a metadata when I get it, but the size of that task is daunting for me right now!!)

 

I do also take FOREVER on some LO's and others seem to fall right into place (and quickly). I also think that when I learn a new technique, that I seem to take longer...

 

I'm sure that sooner or later it will go faster for us all (hey, you can't blame me for having a dream).

 

~Kel

[Rose Ann]

I still take a long time to make most layouts because I am learning so many new techniques that I want to try to use. I, too, find that things go faster if I stick with one collection. But they go really fast I use one of the SG Easy Pages. They are LO's already done and you just add a photo and an embellishment or two if you want.

 

Also, I have several LO's in process at a time so that if I have no inspiration on one, I can play with another or start a new one. Sometimes stepping away is the best cure for over thinking something.

[theskirt]

I also take a long time on some of my layouts, especially if I am working on a new technique (and since I'm new this is often), but others I can put together in no time...

 

I keep all of my elements and photos organized in ACDSee, but any basic organizing system where you call pull up all of your brads, or staples, or blue striped papers at once, will help shave off time.

 

Also, on big album projects I set little goals, and I don't expect to get a layout done from start to finish in one sitting.

An extreme example, my SIL's baby shower album: I made a master folder called baby shower, and then I made little folders for each page with the photos I decided I wanted to scrap. The next day I just laid out the photos in my editor and chose just backgrounds for each page, next day I put in the journaling, next day titles, next day elements... and then I did the final tweeking before I had it printed... it took less than a week to put together 16 pages which was a total record for me...

 

I guess I decided to give myself permission to move on to something else if I was stuck,or just walk away, and also not expect sheer perfection from every page. It has taken me years to get up the courage to scrap my wedding album because I thought that if it wasn't perfectly done it would somehow tarnish the memories of that day... until I gave myself permission not to be perfect and therefore not expect utter perfection. I'm not saying I'm cranking that bad boy out in a week or two, but I'm no longer going to agonize over whether each page is perfect either.

[gaillovely]

This all takes a long time for me too, but I have found that doing the "one hour crops" REALLY helps me focus on getting something done!

 

Hang in there!

 

Gail

[Guest Debbyo]

It sure is great hearing from everyone on this subject. I thought I was so non-prolific because I was learning everything on the fly. But this site has really sped me up. I did a couple of LO's for my grandson's 1st birthday and I'm quite happy with them...and I even used some new skills! ie: the lifted photo biggie is wonderful, makes you look like you spent hours. But like someone said, I agree that its about enjoying the process.

[giggsster]

I am glad to know that it takes a while to creat a page for everyone. As a beginner, I thought it was just me also! hehe

[jennk]

What a great thread this one is! It takes me a long time too for some LOs. Of course, I am new to digital scrapping so I spend half my time trying to figure out this or that. My problem is tryign to do too much. The last few nights I have just focused on one layout with a few pics and I have gotten through them and am happy with the results. Glad to see how others deal with this issue.

 

Jenn

[Deborah]

I just recently started digi-scrapping and I was not a paper scrapper before. My first LO took a few hours but I am also learning the program as I go. I think as time goes and I get the hang of the whole process and especially how and what all I can do with the program I use (PSP) the LO's will take less time.

 

I keep my LO's pretty simple as the picture is the main focus and too many elements and one can loose the focus of the LO. I have now finished about 12 pages and that last two only took about an hour. Knowing what I want ahead of time helps, colors, and elements. I don't spend too much time looking through everything I have that could be used but just go with the look I want and find those elements and go for it. I have only changed a couple pages thus far from what they were the first time through.

 

Sometimes I end up playing around with settings and changing things within the program to see what it does and that takes up time.

 

Deborah

[Betsy]

Try heading to a High Noon Crop on Wednesday at Noon eastern time or another chat event here on the boards - they are one hour and you'd be amazed what you can get done in anhour when you really, really try!

[mickelle]

I totally know what you mean by having LO's that take a lifetime! (And it's sooooo nice to hear that others understand, too!) The thing that first attracted me to digiscrapping was how many options you had. Now sometimes they drive me crazy!

[Laurel Lakey]

I know what you mean! Sometimes I take forever to finish a LO! But the one thing that I do that helps me is that I will save what I've been working on, leave the layout for a while, and then come back to it later, sometimes even after going to work on another LO. I seriously have about 15 LO's in my "to finish" folder and it's so fun to go back into it and see what I've started. Then sometimes when I browsing through the unfinished ones, I'll get a hit of inspiration and be able to finish 2 or 3 in a row, just because I left them for a while. It works for me, at least! Hope it can work for you, too!