This is the story of how I died. Or how I scrapped 11 layouts in four days.
I’ve written here about completing Disney Albums multiple times. In fact, last year before my annual trip to WDW I rounded up all of my Disney posts to share with you. When I got back home, I wrote up a post about where I was headed in terms of my album from there. Fast forward almost 9 months, and as of a week ago, I had not started that album. However, last Monday, something motivated me to start.
I had already sorted my pictures into themes, and I knew that I wanted to do a whole section on our day in the World Showcase at Epcot. Project Mouse had released the Around the World bundle, and I knew that would be perfect for scrapping these photos. Given that I already knew the theme and what products I wanted to use, I figured scrapping our day in World Showcase would be the place to start….and I ended up scrapping 11 layouts in four days! You can see all of the layouts in detail in my gallery HERE.
Here are the things I learned about completing an album like this that helped me get so much accomplished.
- Having a plan is key – I will fully admit, this task of 11 layouts was easier because I already knew the theme, how the photos would be arranged, and what products I was going to use. For the rest of the album, I will make sure to plan before I even open Photoshop.
- Sticking with specific products makes it easier – Not only did I use Project Mouse Around the World exclusively, but I also used Krista’s Clean Lined Pocket Templates No. 1 as the only templates in this section (and probably for the whole album, unless she makes me some more). I was able to vary the look of the four templates by flipping and rotating them, and moving around photo spots when I needed to.
- Embrace a “formula” for the pages – After the first few pages, I started to see a pattern emerging. I was using the large title card, one veneer embellishment, a piece of tape, a large photo, etc. Once I realized the pattern, I decided to stick with it for the rest of the pages. It made it a lot easier to go into the embellishments and know what I was looking to use. It also helps to create unity among the pages.
- Don’t overthink it – I am famous for this. I will sit and tinker with a layout for hours before I decide it might be done. With this project, I tried to do the layout, save it, and move on. Sometimes, I feel it’s ok to just be focused on getting the memories down. This was one of those times.
The trick now is to extend these ideas to the rest of the album. After having such success with this section, I am pretty committed to getting the entire 2016 Disney album done before my 2017 trip. Wish me luck!
* Bonus points if you caught the Flynn Rider/Tangled reference at the top of the post.
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