Monday, 12 July 2010

Realising That Everything Doesn't HAVE To Be Complicated!

For todays post I wanted to write a little about how we sometimes create pressure on ourselves to make every layout a showcase of our skills, our stash and our creativity.

A couple of years ago when I was heavily pregnant with Olivia I had an evening where I sat down and looked through my "To Scrap" photos and felt utterly overwhelmed with how much I had to scrap.

First step was to come to the realisation that not every photo has to make it into the scrapbook, not even every good photo has to make it in. Just the ones that speak to you and inspire you.

The next thing was to understand that every layout DOES NOT need to be an advert for all the techniques you can use or all the complicated design ideas you have. Sometimes a layout can be quick and simple but still please you for many years to come.

I can honestly say that prior to that evening I had NEVER spent less than a total of about 5 hours on any of my layouts. Now admittedly I still have some layouts which take ages and I linger over, but I also realise that sometimes it is ok to go for something more simple.

That night I sat and made this layout showing Isabelle enjoying the Fantillusion parade at Disneyland Paris - it took me under an hour and I still love the memories it captures.

This layout was done a lot later and shows Olivia eating rusks! The paper was perfect for the photo and it needed very little other than title, journaling and a little embellishment.

If you are one of those who has never struggled with scrapping quickly then I take my hat off to you, I am one of lifes ponderers and it has taken a huge load off my scrapping shoulders to let go of the need to faff about for hours and sometimes days over EVERY layout!