Ok Power Scrappers - Spill it!!!!

[d2vasquez]

Ok every day I go through the gallery looking for the layout of the day and I am absolutely amazed at the power scrappers we have at this board and how each layout is just so wonderful.....so I have to ask how do you do it??? Is there a secret??? Did you actually clone yourself and are now able to do twice the amount of all of us un-cloned girls??? You know who you are - Inlovewithdots (Rachael), Crazygirl (Jacque), Plucky (Katy) and Angela are just a few I know real quickly.....share the secrets with us please....

And for the others - how long does it generally take for you to complete a page before you consider it "done"? And how many layouts do you have in the "I don't know what to do with this layout" pile waiting for you to come back to??

1. Me a layout can take generally 2 hours if I was to sit perfectly still but I get up and down so it is usuallly ends up a day.

2. I have at least 3 layouts in my I will get back to it later pile.....

[Kathy Moore]

Okay, well, I am not as prolific as they are, but when I get on a roll, I can crank out some layouts! I did three in one morning last week...but I have to be in the right mood. If I am not in the right mood, though, I just don't bother because if I have to really struggle to create a layout, I usually end up not liking it anyway.

[AmberC]

oh--woe is me. It will normally take me an entire day --on and off--to do one layout!! I am such a perfectionist that every little detail has to be done and redone. It definitley takes me more time than the average bear to do a "perfect" layout. But i guess I could make them faster if I wasn't so picky. LOL!! I think the one you showed on the blog last week took me about 2 hours.

[busyizzie]

Oh everyone puts me to shame...I usually take all day to do a layout. I was exceptionally fast on a layout the other night. I actually love it, it's called "you have a lot to teach me"

I think I'm going to start going for simplicity and fast.

You know who else is really a speed demon...AngelinaS. She's usually got a new layout or two in the gallery each day. I wish she lived closer so she could give me some good tips!

Ok spill your tips and tricks power scrappers!

[InLoveWithDOTS]

Well my newest secret is having a new PC with lots of RAM...... this is making a HUGE difference in what I can get done! For a while there it was taking me 20 minutes just to save a layout. I found I was avoiding digi scrapping because it was just too time consuming! The new computer has me back on track, LOL

Some other random things that influence my speed/volume:
1. Having LOTS of pic to choose from........ I have taking nearly 13,000 pictures in the past year... this means that I can use virtually any kit and easily find pic to match!
2. Creating for CT assignments... I have found it really helpful to be on several CTs... I love the pressure of having things "due".
3. A willingness to "settle" even if things aren't quite right.... I am like this in my paper scrapping, too....... I am willing to accept something slightly less than the right color/design/journaling if it means having it "done".
4. Adult ADD, LOL...... I swear that having a very short attention span keeps me from working too long on any one layout......

I have always said that my volume is what makes me a pretty good scrapper and has helped me immensely in the publication world..... it's not that my laytouts are "great", but there are so darned many, just the shear numbers increase my odds of having things picked up!

[Tara18]

for me it depens on the LO. if its a more simple LO then it can take like 10-15 mins. i also use DIP and its MUCH faster (creating wise) for me anyway. if the kids leave me alone and my creative juices are flowing i can pump them out pretty fast. i TRY to do at least one LO a day.sometimes its more sometimes its less.

[sinead]

Man, 2 hours is GOOD for me. Rachael told me the other day that she got a new computer and would be way faster and I was stunned! Mine is fairly fast for saving--it's just ME who's slow! lol It's not like I spend forever thinking or looking for papers or stuff, either. Not sure why I'm so slow with it. I'd say my average is 2-4 hours.

Now, once I decide I'm done with something, I'm done with it. I don't have a Layouts to Finish pile. I'm a bit Adult ADD, too, so if I wandered away from a layout, it would never be finished!

Let's hear more from our power/speedy scrappers! (And everyone else!!)

[nbeaudreau]

No way am I speedy! It can take me 1 to 2 days to complete a 'Nikki Original'. If it's a sketch or a scraplift it may take me about 2 hours. Every once in a while I'll have a pic and the perfect kit and that's all the magic I need! I don't have a to be finished pile, I can only handle one layout at a time.

[mamakimberly]

I am fairly fast I guess :) I spend about 30 minutes on an average page. :)

I have a newer computer (bought in January or February?) and I try to do it when the kids are asleep so then it goes faster :)

[noralong]

Well, I have been on a scrapping spree this month. I honestly don't know how many pages I have done this month, but since Sunday I have done 14 LOs which came to 21 pages. Oh, and I rarely post them in the galleries. I don't know why, I just don't.

Normally I spend anywhere from half an hour,if I am really inspired, to a few hours, if I am struggling, or if it is a complicated LO. I rarely scrap my pages in order, but I will give you my biggest scrap booking tip!

I have one piece of paper that lives in my printer tray, so I always know where it is. On it I have all the LOs I want to do listed, like this:

2006-06-02 game night
2006-06-10 picnic

and so on. I actually still have one LO that eludes me, it is dated 2001, but I am going to do it!

How this is handy is that I always know what needs to be done, and when I am flipping through my kits, or buying a kit, when I see one that is perfect for a LO, I just note it on my page. That way I am not distracted from the one I am working on, and I don't have to rely on my memory for future reference. I also write quotes from the people in the pictures on this page, for reminders when I am scrapping the page. I also clip on tickets or other memorabilia that I will want to add to the LOs.

On the back side, I write the credits and font names for the page I am currently doing. Then, once they are documented in the properties of that digital file, I cross them off. When page is done, I cross it off my list. It gives me a feeling of accomplishment to see my list getting marked off.

When the page gets really messy, I transfer over all the new notes and make a clean list. That only takes a few minutes, and the list saves me tons of work. And when new photos are take, it only takes a moment to jot down the information on my list. That saves me time later, too.


Sounds like a lot of work, but it is a huge time saver. Just not having to flip through my photo albums to see if I have done a page makes a huge difference!

That was a lot of writing for a very simple system!

[sinead]

lol about the lot of writing for a simple system!

Sounds like a good idea, Nora!

[pbrooks]

It pretty much takes me all day, too! I am so indecisive! Nora, you need to post more of your layouts!

[AmyK]

I was just thinking of this very question this morning! "How do they do that???" It takes me about 2 hours to call a layout done, but with a 2-yr old and a 6-month old, that means a day or more. I consider myself on a roll if I make 4 or more layouts in a week.

I guess being organized might help - great ideas Nora! :)

[d2vasquez]

Hey Nora why are you posting.....let's see those layouts - I do see some but......

[Rynonut Mom]

For me - I get alot more done when I stay off the internet. Otherwise - I stop to check on the e-mail, blogs, threads, The Chick and everything else, and I never get anything done! LOL!

[scrapsandsass]

...On the back side, I write the credits and font names for the page I am currently doing. Then, once they are documented in the properties of that digital file, I cross them off. When page is done, I cross it off my list. It gives me a feeling of accomplishment to see my list getting marked off.

Man! You are my new hero! :) How organized and cool is that?!?! Now if I could actually follow through with something like that, it would be amazing! :)

[scrapsandsass]

I usually don't spend much time working on layouts and sometimes it bothers me because usually I'm a perfectionist and one of those people who always care what other people think... BUT... I don't have much time to scrap (or do anything else). So I multi-task during work and have one screen always open to TDC and another always open in Photoshop, so if I get a brief minute or two during a phone call, I can switch screens and play around while I'm "talking" or "taking care of business." I guess I also feel that if I whip it out in a few minutes while I'm working or doing something else... if people don't like it, it won't bother me so much because I didn't spend a lot of time/effort on it. (Gee... that doesn't sound needy, does it? <grin>)

But it is amazing to see how many LOs people can get done in a day and post and everything. Keep up the good work ladies!

[HillsCass]

You know, I've never timed it...... I'd say only an hour or two, but do you count time as in, I leave it open on my screen and go do the dishes or hang out the washing and rush back in going - aha THAT's what it needed?.... I do that a lot. Apparently it's to do with left/right brain. Giving the left brain something to do lets the right brain work on the layout in the background and you can fix that bit that's been bothering you.

I don't have any "unfinished" layouts as such... just about 5 that the idea just never worked for. I don't think I'd ever actually go back to them except to steal the picture and try again fresh. Once I get on a track, I kinda stick there until I finish or give up.

Did any of that make sense?

[Charla]

I get an actual page done really quickly. For me it's coming up with the kit, and then usually the layout falls into place. If it doesn't, I've been known to start all over again, with a different kit :)
When I paperscrapped I went to a long one-day crop. It was a blast, but I was so stressed ahead of time. If I don't have inspiration, I can just sit there for a couple hours, looking at my pictures, longing for something to jump out at me. So I did all of that ahead of time, and got something like 12 pages done in one day. It was amazing!! :) Usually now I can get between one and 3 done in a day (4 on an amazing day where Jasmine did nothing but sleep).

It's really cool to see all the different ways people go about it. I agree with Cassie about keeping the left brain busy so the right brain can create :)

[midgetprincess79]

It usually takes me a couple of hours per LO unless I go into it with an exact mental pictires.

I never leave any undone though...I am OCD and that would eat at me till I finished it.

[PLucky]

over 45,000 images in my PC of family and friends and places i've been, the real secrert is fotofusion by lumapix, i cant scrap with out PSCS, use it for word paths and the like, but i've harnessed the power of fotofusion and use it to my advantage. every one of my layouts has been created in it

[noralong]

For me it's coming up with the kit, and then usually the layout falls into place. If it doesn't, I've been known to start all over again, with a different kit :)


LOL!!! I do that all the time!

[RachelS]

you know, i have at least 80,000 some odd photos on my computer. i take photos all the time, everywhere we go. and i still haven't managed to make more than like 2-3 pages a week in a while.

[aggietha]

For me - I get alot more done when I stay off the internet. Otherwise - I stop to check on the e-mail, blogs, threads, The Chick and everything else, and I never get anything done! LOL!

That was what I was going to say too Michelle! If Im connected online, I will never get anything done. Checking mails for only 15 mins will stretch to 2 hrs because I NEED to check on the links inside emails, etc. And seeing galleries will distract me from the original thought of the LO I want to make.

Like Nora, I list all the scrap ideas I want -- and then match them to kits I have. I scrap during weekends only, (before our computer died), and am able to finish around 5 to layouts spread across 4 hrs in a day. Ugh..I miss scrapping! Surfing forums, and checking galleries are not fun when you dont scrap!