We went to Disney World 18 months ago, and I've been working on the album ever since (so... a year and a half). See, I'm not a fast scrapper. Not at all! The coupon expires July 31st, so I knew I had to get crackin'. Actually, I wanted to finish it by July 24th because July 25th is the start of this year's Week in the Life project with Ali Edwards.
Well... I finished it last night and ordered it this morning!! Woo-Hoo!!! I am so thankful. I'm a little worried that God might be allowing me to be a tad more productive than usual because He knows about some big thing coming up that will take up all my time... But, for now I will just focus on the blessing!
The thought of compiling an entire photo book has always been a little intimidating to me. Here are some tips I jotted down as I was working:
Journal the details as soon as possible. I journaled while we were on our trip (mostly on the plane ride home), and then typed them up soon after we got home. As I was making the album, I had to revise the journaling to make it fit on the scrapbook pages, but I didn't change my original document. There are lots of details that didn't make it into the album that I don't want to forget, so I just made a new Word document for my journal revisions.
Organize your photos. I saved my pictures in my regular organizational system (folder for the year, sub-folder for each month), and then created an additional folder for our trip with a sub-folder for each day. I copied and pasted my favorite photos from each day into their corresponding folders. I did this soon after we got home, so when I was ready to finish the album, all the best pictures were there waiting for me.
Formulate a plan. My plan changed several times (even in the last week), but I knew that I wanted the book to be chronological for the most part. We went to the same parks on different days, so I had to decide if I wanted to do a big "Magic Kingdom" spread, or a "Monday" spread. I decided to go by the days. That's just how my brain works. :)
Create a base template. All my pages use the same background paper and the same layered template.
Keep track of your settings. I figured out how I wanted the shadows to look on one page, and wrote down the numbers so I could be sure that all the pages were done the same way. Sometimes I copied and pasted the layer styles, other times I just entered it manually. Only having to do the "work" one time makes it go faster.
OK, I think that's about it! I had fun with this album, and I can't wait to see it!
Click here to view this photo book larger
P.S. I'm usually really good about posting credits, but I am honestly overwhelmed by the thought of going back through and recording all the digital design sources that went into this album. I will tell you that the kraft background paper on all the pages is from the Shabby Shoppe's Sandbox Kit, the cloud paper is from the Our House Kit by Angie Kovacs and Chrissy W (no longer available), the template I used for the pages is from a free birthday album by Katie at The Daily Digi, and I adapted the cover from a free desktop template by Yin. :)
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