Scrapbooking difficult times...

Title: 6 Stitches

Pavadinimas: 6 Siūlės

(*This post contains some great ideas on including meaningful journaling on your layouts, and scrapping your life as it is happening now...This is not a post for those who scrap chronologically).

Some may think it's odd to record such unpleasant and graphic photos in one's scrapbook albums, and judging by an overabundance of idyllic, romantic portrayals of majority of scrapper's and their children's lives, this page and choice of topic does seem unusually strange.

I do not dwell on the negative. Being our family's self-appointed journalist and historian, I document the accidents, the struggles, and trials of our life. I give the 'bad' as much attention as the 'good' stuff in my scrapbook pages.

This unfortunate event happened just a few days ago. I do not wish this on any parent, as there is no greater pain than to see your own child in pain.

*The positive that came out of this event, is that it revolutionized the way I scrap.

Before, I dreaded the entire process of ordering photos: the post-processing, editing, resizing, uploading over 300 shots, so that I may have enough photos when creativity inspires me. By the time I got around to scrapping those photos, I needed a different size, or a black & white instead of a color shot, etc. (by the way, I do not print my photos at home).

Tips on scrapping and capturing your current life as it unfolds:

• For this layout, I wrote the journaling in an email to myself, the night after the even while the emotions and memory of the even was frame-by-frame accurate. I recorded word-by-word the sweet conversation between me and my son, while we waited in the ER for him to be stitched up. If I had waited a month or even a week, my journaling would not have been as poignant, and probably not as accurate.
• Instead of worrying whether design constraints would allow for such lengthy journaling on the layout, I simply printed this self-emailed journaling, and place it behind the page with a noticeable 'Pull' tab.
• Redefine 'perfect photos': As an owner of a digital SLR, this has been a challenge for me. I used to shun photos taken with a point-and-shoot, or mobile phones, having convinced myself they're of inferior quality. The photos featured on this layout were taken by my husband's iPhone, and without it, this page would not have existed.
• Upload only a few photos (for 1-2 layouts), and pick them up at a local photo lab. There is no written rule that to place an order it has to be a huge 300 photo order. This was a big change for me, but now I'm able to precisely select the photos I have planned for my design, instead of guessing what I'll need for future layouts.

I hope some of my readers would leave their tips on how they have simplified their scrapping process. Hope to hear from you!

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Štai šviežias skrebukas, su šviežiom, prieš kelias dienas darytom nuotraukom. 

Šokiruojantis, nesmagus akim, bet tai yra žurnalistinio skrebinimo stiliaus ašis - užfiksuoti gyvenimą lyg dokumentinį, taip kaip veiksmas vystosi...neapglaistant cukriuku.

Tik prieš kelias dienas, Adomuko kakta trenkėsi į laiptą, ir pralošė šia dvikovą. Adrenalino nešami, nuskridome į reanimacinį skyrių.

Vakare kada sugrįžome jau užlopyti ir truputėlį nurimę, visi sumigo, o aš parašiau šio nelemto įvykio aprašymą el. laišku sau. Jaučiu jeigu būčiau atidėjus šį skrebuką 'kitam kartui', niekad nebūčiau sugebėjus taip tiksliai atsiminti to jautraus pokalbio tarp manęs ir sūnelio, kada jį laikiau reanimacinėj. Netgi liaudies patarlė teigia kad blankiausias rašalas yra tikslesnis negu auksinė atmintis :)

Antroj nuotraukoj pavaizduoju 'journaling' aprašymą. Didžiausias man (+) talpinti aprašymą blogoj skrebuko pusėj, tai kad tuomet neturu galvą sukti kaip man įkomponuoti viską ką noriu papasakoti ant puslapio paviršiaus, jeigu dizainas daug vietos tam neskiria.

Nuotraukos darytos vyro iPhone mobiliu. Man tai buvo nemažas barjeras - peržengti įsitikinimą kad nuotraukos darytos su muilinėm ar mobiliais yra vertos įamžinimo skrebukuose. Bet juk jei skrebinu žurnalistiniu stilium, tai įamžinu realų gyvenimą o ne išglamūrintą foto sesiją, ar ne?

Dar viena permaina mano skrebinimo eigoj, tai kad pradėjau užsakyti nuotraukas tik 1-2 skrebukam. Daugiau savęs nekankinu su 300 nuotraukų redagavimu.

*Tikiuosi mano skaitytojai taip pat pasidalins patirtim kas skatina Jūsų skrebinimo eigą? Kaip nekomplikuoti šio proceso?

Irma

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Supply List:

*Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper
*Patterned paper: Cosmo Cricket, Jenni Bowlin (die cut ledger).
*Paper borders: Doodlebug Designs Inc.
*Alphabet stickers: Basic Grey.
*Metal tag, chipboard shape (clock), Metal number plate, epoxy bubble: Making Memories.
*Brad: Pebbles Inc.
*Text sticker strip, canvas label, and rub-ons: 7gypsies
*Stickers: October Afternoon (spool and date).
*Metal pin and date stamp: JoAnn Scrap Essentials.
*Ink: Colorbox Clearsnap.
*Pen: Kuretake ZIG Millennium.
*Thread: Coats & Clark.
*Adhesive: 3M Scotch ATG 714, Thermoweb Zots.