What's new

There's always room for improvement ...

mrs2a50

mrs2a50

Pretty much the best.ever.
Joined
Apr 12, 2007
Messages
15,178
Tell us something about your scrapping you'd like to improve. Is it your shadows? Is it a technique you want to learn? Photography? Or maybe you'd like to better define your scrap style?

For me, it's shadowing. I'm pretty much stuck in a rut with actions, and I'd like to get better at customizing them.
 
to be more confident in the artsy, AJ, scrap therapy and all about me type of pages. i love MOC and these challenges bc in order to finish we truly are challenged to try new things! :)
 
To make cleaner, simpler layouts and have the confidence of taking the last of the elements/paint/embellishment away :)
 
Last edited:
I'd like to improve my scrap organization. I have my kits organized, but it's my photos to scrap that I'd like to get organized into specific files. That way when I want to do a page, the pics are right there for me vs. my current system of looking through my iPhoto or Lightroom looking for a pic.
 
ummm.....everything you mentioned! :) photography...shadowing...and MOC is showing me there are still so many techniques to learn that i dont take full advantage of! so basically its learn learn learn for me :)
 
I would like to improve at making time to complete pages :) But seriously, on my pages, I really need to figure out the shadows. I tend to just use the same shadow for 90% of the elements and then make small changes for certain types of elements.
 
Jen said:
I'd like to improve my scrap organization. I have my kits organized, but it's my photos to scrap that I'd like to get organized into specific files. That way when I want to do a page, the pics are right there for me vs. my current system of looking through my iPhoto or Lightroom looking for a pic.
Click to expand...

This is so me and I'm also outgrowing my folder system of stashing kits. Now that I've been doing this a while I've accumulated a lot of product. I'd like to figure out how to organize everything in Lightroom as I know it can be done, but I'm having a hard time finding a really in depth look at it. I know Kayla Lamoreau had a class at some point, but it seems to have disappeared.

I got my first DSLR for Christmas, so I'm definitely interested in improving there, too. I've already put a lot of time into reading and watching some videos and feel like I am taking way better photos already. I'm trying to push myself to totally master the camera and lens I have before I start adding a lot of stuff on. Photography seems like a hobby that could get expensive fast!

I'm stuck in rut with shadowing, too. I have styles I use and I know some techniques for tweaking, but I don't really love shadowing. But then I see a wonderfully shadowed layout that looks just like paper and I drool. Maybe I need to work on my patience?
 
I haven't put the effort I'd like to into improving my shadow work either. I'm always in too big of a hurry to take the time to mess around with it! Then I end up telling myself the family doesn't notice the quality of my shadows anyway, right? Yeah, I'm pretty sure they just care about the memories!
 
Last edited:
Shadowing - While I like mine, I would like to take some to the next level. I don't want to have to plan on spending that much extra time on each layout, I would like to improve them, but fairly easily and quickly. I would like my pages and shadows to look more realistic.

Not really an actual scrapping improvement but... I would like to improve my "Scrap Confindence" - just to be more confident in my own pages and ability. I can't help but want others to like them too, but for me to be proud either way. I think it's the self conscious part of me coming out here, lol! I can't help comparing to other awesome scrappers.

I think I'm a mix a style. I like cleaner pages, but like some clustering. Too bare and I feel incomplete, too much extra and I feel over-dressed - well, on my pages at least.
 
NancyBeck said:
I haven't put the effort I'd like to into improving my shadow work either. I'm always in too big of a hurry to take the time to mess around with it! Then I end up telling myself the family doesn't notice the quality of my shadows anyway, right? Yeah, I'm pretty sure they just care about the memories!
Click to expand...

good point! i like your thinking.

i totally agree on the shadows. i go in fits and bursts with this one ... usually i just use some styles tweaked to my likes and saved as new styles. BUT ... almost always, as i am scrapping, i tell myself "Ok, that shadow needs some tweaking, but i don't feel like it right this second, let me just finish this page and i'll tweak at the end" ... only to find my page sharpened, saved and uploaded. the second it upload ... i'm like. DARN!!!! i meant to tweak that one shadow!!! grr. but i leave it and move on ...

will remember Nancy's words of wisdom here! :)
 
NancyBeck said:
I haven't put the effort I'd like to into improving my shadow work either. I'm always in too big of a hurry to take the time to mess around with it! Then I end up telling myself the family doesn't notice the quality of my shadows anyway, right? Yeah, I'm pretty sure they just care about the memories!
Click to expand...

I'm trying to make something along the lines of "they just care about the memories" my motto this year. Yes, it's a little different when I'm doing a CT page as that's also meant to showcase the product, but when I'm working on my personal PL or whatever, I keep trying to remind myself that it matter more to have a finished page/album/spread than to have a perfectly balanced or shadowed one or whatever I'm getting hung up on.
 
Sometimes I feel like I clutter my pages so I would like to try and work on keeping them "cleaner".
 
Last edited:
I would like to improve my design ability. I lean on templates and sketches significantly, and often end up with "boxy" looking layouts.
 
oh my...everything mentioned. Organization would be wonderful as my folder system is full to bursting these days. Improvement on shadowing, more picture taking for sure and improving on extracting....
 
Taking more candid shots this year. I really cut back on taking pictures in 2013/2014 and it shows in my scrapbooks. Great big blanks where there should have been something candid from daily life.
 
For me, scrapping is all about the photo. Yes it is winter, but every photo I take seems to require Levels adjustment for lighting.

I would like to take better photos right from the start. Maybe I need to reread my manual and start taking 365 to sharpen my skills.

On the scrapping side, I would like to take more inspiration for LOs from art and daily life. Thanks again for MOC. It shows me areas for improvement!
 
NancyBeck said:
Then I end up telling myself the family doesn't notice the quality of my shadows anyway, right? Yeah, I'm pretty sure they just care about the memories!
Click to expand...

i have told mySelf this many times too - and that spending time warping this that and the other and making sure the fonts don't float and that my digi perfect angles are imperfect so it looks more papery is wasting extra time, but i guess it's important to me, becuase when i look at the pages, it's what* i *see - especially looking back at my older albums and pages (the kids only tend to look at them when i do, the relatives don't seem interested at all and i don't want to shove yet another page of the kids doing something trivial or just smiling down their throats) -i don't want to be annoyed at myself in 20years or whenever and say 'gosh, i should reprint that after i go open the TIFF and reshadow/tilt everything just a few degrees - what was i thinking?"
 
Last edited:
Back
Top