The need for speed

I just read another blog entry somewhere about someone who wishes she could be a quicker scrapper and it inspired me to write about speed. As you know, I am one of those speedy scrappers and although I don’t have a specific technique I can offer a few helping points:

1. I work in order so the photo I choose is the one THAT COMES NEXT. No dithering, no wasting time choosing, just get the next one and go. I realize that this is very specific to me as I don’t do heritage and I have caught up with my photos, but it does help when it comes to putting a layout together quickly.

2. I don't spend ages worrying about what papers to use with it - I select a nice combination (or, even speedier, some color blocked paper) and live with my choice. I don’t think that every page needs to be a work of art and have perfectly matched papers – besides that can work out to be expensive. Spending ages trying to match up papers and cardstock and whatnot is time consuming and while I do actually like this part of the process, I save it for very special pages. So this means that some of my pages aren’t perfectly matched but hey! It still means I got another few photos done.

3. I have a small stash so I don't spend ages digging through it in search of the "perfect thing". Also, I know most of it by memory which helps AND it is all perfectly tidy so that is helpful too. We’ve discussed this point before so I won’t gloss over it again but this really helps speed up the process. When I buy new stash I also try to make sure that it works with what I already have OR with specific pages I have in mind. It’s like buying a perfectly matched wardrobe! It means that whatever I grab will work with little effort.

4. I handwrite almost all my journaling. This way I can forget about running to the PC, measuring the available space, typing out the journaling, printing it, cutting it out, finding it doesn't really work, going back to the PC... Besides the personal touch it adds, handwritten journaling is one of my keys for quick pages.

Although lately I have been slowing down and enjoying my pages more I still feel I am fast. I am still following my guidelines above BUT I am spending a bit longer thinking and planning a page. I just couldn’t live with not finishing a layout once I’ve started it so these helpful points keep me in track while still allowing room for my creativity.

These guidelines may or may not help you but I thought I'd share them with whoever is reading this... and sometimes I do wonder if anyone at all is reading! Thanks - whoever you are...

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