Blog Spotlight: Design Team Member Staci Linson!

I have discovered that I am a bit of an anomaly in the scrapbooking world... an 'odd bird' if you will... I am (voice lowered to a whisper) 'caught up' on my scrapbooking! As I sit here in mid-October, I have finished most of my September layouts, and have them tucked away in albums. I know there are others of you like me out there, but we can't really speak (or crow!) too loudly about it... we are among the "Fast Scrappers Anonymous". No one likes to hear about how we've already scrapbooked the trip to the pumpkin patch that our family took last week!

Now before you dismiss me as someone who has "too much time on their hands" (yes, I've heard that before!)... please note that I do have three active children (ages 7, 5 & 3), a husband, piles of laundry, a house to clean, and something that my hubby likes to call my "little volunteering problem".

But amongst all the craziness of my daily routine, my scrapbook table is my quiet spot to regroup, create.... and bust through a few scrapbook pages while the memories are still fresh in my mind! And I have a few tricks to share to help you become a faster, more "caught up" scrapbooker, too.

1. Scrapbook in small increments.
Seriously, who doesn't love a weekend scrapbook retreat?!! But, if you're like me, those are too few and too far between... so you have to scrapbook when you can. Have 30 minutes when your kids are napping? Pick out pictures and papers for your next layout. Leave those out on your scrapbook table, and when you can get back to it, start the next step. If you can do it in smaller bits, you won't feel so overwhelmed when you finally have a chance to sit down for a longer period.

2. Pass off the scrapbooking to someone else.
Even my little ones love to make pages for their scrapbooks. I give them acid free cardstock, and my markers, and have them draw a picture of whatever holiday we want to document for their albums (Halloween, Easter, etc.) Put one picture of them on the page, and voila! And guess which ones my kids want to show off to Grandma? The ones I make with the newest paper products and loads of cute embellishments? Guess again! :-)

3. Use what you have.
No, I'm not saying you have to cut back on your trips to Scrapbook Fever! Just challenge yourself to try to finish a page with the items that you already have. Don't get caught in the trap of... "if I just had a different color of brad (you know, polished nickel, instead of silver), it would be perfect!" There is nothing worse than a scrapbook table full of half-finished layouts that are lacking that one 'crucial element'.

4. Don't put off journaling.
Okay, I changed my mind...there is something worse than half-finished layouts... beautifully completed layouts with no journaling because you're going to 'come back to it later'. There's something so satisfying about being able to put a layout in my album, knowing that it is finished (journaling and all!)

5. Finally, just let it go....
That's right. Sometimes you just have to move on to the next layout, even if you're not 100% satisfied with a page. I honestly have never gone back and re-done a page for my scrapbooks. This is the way I look at it: Halloween will be back around in another 364 days, and I have the chance to try for a 'perfect' page then.

I mean seriously, with the kids, the husband, the carpool, and the homeroom mom meetings, who has time for 'perfect'?!! Sometimes its better just to be perfectly.... done.