How do you find the time?

Janine - posted on 07/06/2010

I hear ya girl. It's hard but people keep telling me it will get better and once they become a little more independent and play on their own more you will have more time???? My baby is just about 4 months and other than a few cards here and there I haven't done any scrapbooking either. You could also once a week or how ever often schedule a "break" time and have your significant other or family watch the baby so you can have some YOU time. Just some thoughts that have worked for me. Hope it helps Good Luck!

June - posted on 07/04/2010

When my daughter was that small, I got away from the big books and just went with matting photos and keeping them in a brag book. After a few months, I would add stickers and a journaling box to the sleeve. When my daughter got a little older, I was able to take them out and make full pages. It was super easy to put them together since I really had done all the work bit by bit and the stories were written when they were fresh in my head too. Now that she is 9, I still throw together bit pages when time is crunched.

Christine - posted on 06/25/2010

I think first of all you have to throw out the idea of catching up. No one is every caught up and once your are - what would you scrap?

Then pick a project (just one) that you would like to get done. Order your pictures that you want for this project. Then Power Layout -
1. Gather your pictures or memorabilia you want for your album.
2. Crop all your pictures. You can do this while watching tv, a few minutes here or there.
3. Then "layout" your pages on a table. (This step does take a table and a little time). Put your papers, embellishments, titles, ect, ect together......coordinating kits will speed up your process too as everything will already go together taking out the guess work. TIP- if you want to add an embellishment, title stickers or clear stickers that you can not "layout" at this step; write it on a sticky and put it on the layout guide. With my memory this really helps me to remember what I was originally thinking.
4. Adhere
5. Journal and final touches


I will admit that when I first heard about this method it seemed like there were just too many steps to make it any faster; but I was wrong. I am telling you the true beauty is that you are only going through your stack of photos, papers, embellishments, pulling out your tools, ect, ect ONCE. You really do this same method - only one page at a time. Think about it.

You will need something to story your in progress project in when not working on it. You can use a box or Creative Memories has a Power Layout Box with guides for you to layout everything on.

Ashley - posted on 06/22/2010

yeah i know what u mean...i love it too--but have a 7 month old & haven't even started hers yet:( im going to start to try to do it for an hour a couple nights a week after she goes to bed--we will see how this works--lol

Rosalinda - posted on 06/15/2010

Theme. Definitely the first thing. Then try to organize ur pics and try to decide which ones will make the scrapbook and which one won't. The pages u can put together in down time. I work full time and take care of home too so I understand where ur coming from on the time thing. Usually try to sit down and do at least one page on Sunday afternoon, but u know just whatever wks for u. good luck!

Liz - posted on 06/14/2010

Me either! I have been accumulating pictures/ my children work so forth in a scrapbook boxes my name. With intention to start a scrapbook each. I have got 6 kids. Yep! couldnt find the time. However, I manage to start on the holidays we went as a family. So all of us as a family contributed on the scrapbook to Bali, to Sydney...... Nothing fancy, but it was a 1 week of fun. We have a table at our porch area. The area is sheltered & has a blind to hide from public view. We gather all the things need for the scrapbook and what is decide to be in it. Put them in categories & flow of events. Everybody contributes to the pasting & captions. There is no wrong or right to it. The most important thing is we all had fun. Maybe for family with small kids still, it takes a longer time. Doesn't matter....just start. Allocate a space for it. My coming scrapbook will be my eldest son's. Now that my youngest is more independent & all of them are helpful in the house chores, I have time to start on the scrapbook.
Not much of a help in the timing just start I guess...... good luck

Rachel - posted on 06/12/2010

I know the feeling. I usually try and doing in the evenings when my son is asleep or try and plan a scrapbooking night with a friend and get my husband to watch our son. It is hard, but just like everthing else you have to make time for it. Having mommy alone time is important.

Belinda - posted on 06/11/2010

You have to take a little time out for yourself. Have grandma watch the baby for a couple hours a week. It'll give you a little time to scrapbook. When my son was young, I'd go to a crop on Friday nights to get away to scrapbook. It helped me get mine done. I now hold a crop at our church once a month.

BelindaLea - posted on 06/11/2010

I have 4 kids (includes a set of triplets) and have reached the conclusion that I will never "catch-up", just keep doing what I can. I do think it's important to realize that the time you use to go to a crop or whatever, isn't really "me time". Because you are working on something your kids will treasure for a lifetime, and leaving a legacy for their kids as well. So tell your story, their stories, for future generations - this isn't something you're doing for yourself alone!

Kerri - posted on 06/09/2010

My youngest is now 7 months and I started getting back into it when she about 4 months...I started really simply...just spending a couple of minutes organizing the photos, thinking/sketching layouts, having some idea where to start made starting so much easier!!! Make use of dad (or grandma) to find even an hour of uninterrupted scrapbook time!!!

Sara - posted on 06/09/2010

I was at a recent Creative Memories meeting and another consultant shared her trick - she scraps in the car! She brings all the paper and photos and trimmer etc in a big bag at her feet, sets the album on her lap, and works in layers. Paper, then photos, maybe a few embellishments. The journaling and other stickers etc can be added when she's not in the car, but this way the major work is done. I think I'm going to try it on our next trip. :-)

Lisa - posted on 06/09/2010

Wow I don't have any suggestions I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who DID have suggestions b/c I was wondering the exact same thing as Christina! My daughter is 4 months old and I've barely had time to scrap a thing, I will definitely use some of your suggestions!!

Latresha - posted on 06/09/2010

I know the feeling. I have a daughter almost 2 and a son who is 10 months. After I had my daughter I fell so far behind but like the other moms have mentioned you just have to make the time. A little here and there does help. I'll crop pictures when the kids are asleep. I also go to crops. This way I am out of the house and the kids are not in my stuff. My husband watches them while I go off and scrap for 8-10 hours. I am trying to make this a once a month event. As you know with working, maintaining a home and most importantly, raising children it's hard to find the time but I am trying to become more consistent with scrapping. Good luck. You'll make it work.

Lupe - posted on 06/07/2010

Wow tons of great advice i think i might have even learned something. I love scrapbooking but have to fallen so far behind, i have 6 girls and have done 4 of the girls albums. I try not to think about all the pictures i have but rather now i just simply put them in categories and just go from one girl to the next. This makes it less overwhelming for me. I also go to weekly crops and have done 2 of my girls in a month so that was very exciting. I guess Christina the thing to remember is that you can only do what you can in the time you have with a little one. When my girls were little i scrapped when they napped and once they were down for the night. Don't get discouraged if you can't get to right away because you will love the end result when you see the finished product. My girls love looking at there albums and love that i put so much time and thought into every single one of there albums. I hope this helps and congrats on your little bundle.

Gina - posted on 06/07/2010

I commit to one night a month with my friends at a local scrapbook store. SO I know I will scrap at least 6 hours a month. Otherwise, I scrap after my kids go to bed. Always have. But, Im not much of a tv watcher...that is my evening enjoyment.

Sheila - posted on 06/06/2010

For you moms who have time, the next time a freind is pg do a 52 week book or 12 months book for her. I did the 52 week one for a frined, a page for the birth and the next 52 weeks and the last was a place for the special birthday picture. I had all the pages preety much the same with a spot to write the week, for a photo, and a small journal spot for mom to just make a note from someting that week. The journal could be, you rolled tummy to back this week, or We finally slept all night. Mom just has to take a picture every week on the day baby was born, so every monday etc. At a year you can either take it back to pretty it all up more or let mom do that herself.

Pam - posted on 06/06/2010

Lots of great suggestions so far. Let me take it a step further. Once a month I host a crop. My crop room is full of young mothers whose husbands are at home with the children. It is the husband's gift to his wife. Each one of them has a system, but the plan is to crop till you drop and get as much done as possible. I help them where I can. But the secret is the time set aside once a month. Don't be discouraged. I know while they are young, the whole children thing can be pretty overwhelming, but as a mother of 3 adult children, I have proof that they do grow up and you do catch up!

Jennifer - posted on 06/04/2010

Congratulations on your baby! I have found with each kid born, there is less and less time to scrapbook. So I've devised a system where I take the pictures, school artwork, memorabilia, stickers, papers etc for each "topic" or theme and put it in a large envelope. That way, when I do have time to scrap, I just pull out the envelope and work on that one topic/theme-- not a whole months or years worth of stuff to sort through. For example, my 8-year old has an envelope of baseball photos from this season that I have bundled with paper, stickers and embelishments that I'll be using on those pages. When I get a free moment, I'll only pull out that envelope and concentrate on it until I get the pages done (may take a few days or even a week if I'm really busy with other "mom" things).

I definitely agree with the other comments- you've got to make time for yourself- it will make you a better mommy if you're taking care of your needs as well as your childs!

Sheila - posted on 06/03/2010

I agree, find time for yourself is very hard after having a baby and your just wanting life to return to normal, this is the new norm! : )
My youngest is almost 2 1/2 and I'm just now gearing up to start scrapping again. I've made cards since she was born but not many full pages. That didn't stop me from shopping though! I have layouts done in my head so once I get time they will got together pretty fast.
Personally I start with pictures, I get a few I want for my layout. I only do 2 12x12 pages. I never do single pages unless it's the first and last page of the album or I have something that really needs in my album but I only have 1 picture but this is very rare! I plane the first 1st and last to be very much like the start adn end of a story. (In contrast, my mother in law does her books numbered from one to the next so she has them in order that way. I do 1 book for a year or 2.)
Next I play with papers. Sometimes that takes me a few hours just finding the right ones from my stash or mabe they call for a special trip to the store. ( Outings are so much fun and sometimes what you need to get the juices flowing ). Sometimes I have my embelishments picked out before hand but most times not. I get my mats made and where I want them first.

I hope that helps. Some times I do just print off a bunch of pictures and get them into groups for pages and I do 4 or more sets of layouts at a time. ( I have the space to have that many going at once.)

Ilove mini albums, Paper lunch bags are my FAV! So if doing a big layout seems too much try doing some little 6x6 or 8x8.

Also, you can do a 12 months book. 1 page for the day your little one was born, 1 per month with what baby has done that month, and the last being the 1st birthday. With a page or 2 for the month the hard part is picking out so few pictures but makes the pressure of doing it less. You can always do another album later with more details or add in special holidays, vacations and such in the order they took place that first year.

Best of luck and Congrats on your new little one.

Julie - posted on 06/03/2010

I buy kits that are "pre-made". I find them fast and convenient. There are a couple of sites that I enjoy. One is from the states, but they are great kits. www.outonalimb.ca and www.somethingtoscrapabout.ca. The second one is from Canada. Hope that helps.

Christina - posted on 06/02/2010

Thank you so much for your advice. As you said having a little can make you feel overwhelmed or that you'll never get back to the things you like to do. While he is napping I will just start to organize pictures with the books I want to make and then focus on one book at a time. In small steps that is LOL

Michelle - posted on 06/02/2010

Have you found time to take a shower? If you have you are on the right track. It is hard to find time for yourself with a three month old. I remember feeling overwhelmed and wanting to be able to do the things I love to do.
Learn to do scrapbooking in small steps so you can do half while baby is napping. and finish after you put the baby down for the night.Maybe one layout will take two or three days to complete and that's OK. Go to crops so you are away for a few hours and can enjoy scrapping and get some layouts done, Maybe Daddy can watch baby for a couple hours one night a week so you can scrap uninterrupted.
Just start by picking a piece of a project instead the whole thing. Don't think I have my whole wedding to do just think I want to scrap our vows or walking down the aisle. It will be easier to go forward when you don't see a huge project. I have four children and have been scrapping for several years. I used to feel such urgency to be "caught up" now I am comfortable going forward and doing what I feel is important to me today. Going to retreats and crops once or twice a year and getting a project completed helps keep me comfortable with my scrapping goals.