Today I wanted to write a little about the page kits I use in my scrapping. Many of the questions I get about my videos have to deal with either page kits or my scrap process, and the two are somewhat interrelated. I have prepared a little video of myself making a new kit which is available to view below or over on my YouTube channel.
At this point, I am scrapbooking almost exclusively from page kits I make myself. Now, I didn't wake up one morning and say to myself, "I think I'll make page kits!" Like everything else in this hobby, it has been a process for me. My evolution into scrapping from page kits started with my first purchase of a monthly kit. I liked how easy it was to create projects when all the papers and cardstock and embellishments were coordinated, but I didn't really want to keep buying kits since I liked my supplies. So I got the idea to create my own kits to incorporate my newer supplies with my older supplies.
I started by getting some Cropper Hopper Page Planners and keeping just new things in them. Over time I started adding stuff from my stash to the new products and eventually I got in the habit of creating page kits from a combination of new and old product every time I made a new purchase. When I find that I always skip a particular page kit and never reach for it anymore I take it apart ~ that means I'm sick of what's in there. Anything left in the kit gets returned to my stash and I now have an empty sleeve for a new kit. I keep all my kits in one of these Large Rhombus Strage Totes from the Container Store:
{2012 Update: I now keep them in storage cubes from IKEA designed to fit in the EXPEDIT where I store most of my scrap supplies}The cubes hold a ton of Cropper Hopper Page Planners & they stay upright so I can easily flip through them to find the one I want. This makes it easy to sit down and start creating.
Retreat and crop packing are both easier. I just grab some page kits and some photos and drop them into my tote. Then I add some stamps, some inks and a few other generic embellishments and I'm ready to go!
Since I started scrapping almost exclusively from these kits, my scrap process has changed quite a bit. In the next three posts, I'm going to go over my scrapbook process for layouts, mini albums and cards. In these posts I'll go over how I find inspiration, how I utilize the kits, and what I do when I'm finished with a project. I hope you find the information helpful! Or, at the very least, not boring!
~Kathryn :D
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
Thanks for sharing, great way to start a collection.
ReplyDeleteHugz, Z
thanks for the insite. It just may help me in my continuing quest to keep my scrap space organized... there is one thing, when you got to the part where you showed the Jolee's stickers, I had a vision of what you described as your first LO... floating stickers are dancing in my head now......
ReplyDelete:) Fran ( lin_fes )
I still use Jolee's stickers! I don't think there's anything wrong with the stickers themselves ~ just what I did with them! LOL!
Delete~Kathryn :D
I have done this for a while now, but I also add in the packet of photos. It's a wonderful way to scrap when you don't want to think too much, lol, grab a kit and go at it!
ReplyDeleteGreat minds work alike?? I began this same process out of necessity. Our LSS closed and since I live on an island FAR away from stores I was forced to use my supplies on hand. I quickly learned not to buy individual papers just because I thought they were cute. The paper with peanuts all over it and the paper filled with chocolate chips just do not coordinate with others.
ReplyDeleteI began buying just what I needed for a project or collecting matching product from what I already had on hand. Making my own kit!
It works so much better and it's less clutter and it's better on the budget!
I must have picked it up from you by osmosis.
Thanks for all your inspiration!
I'm so sorry your LSS closed! It's a bummer when there's no place local to go to get your scrap shopping fix. :(
DeleteI totally agree with you about buying individual sheets of papers just because they're cute. I used to do that and I gave A TON of papers like that to charity. Now if I don't like a line enough to buy the collection pack, I just pass it by.
Glad you're having fun making your kits & I hope you continue to enjoy exercising your creativity to make do with what you have. Sometimes that can be as much fun shopping in your supplies as in a store!
~Kathryn :D
Thanks for sharing this. I need a way to organize my scrapping. I have a granddaughter and grandson. I had the 12x12 hinged Iris boxes that I kept boy or girl paper in. I would throw in embellishments I thought matched. I would grap the Iris box for him or her, when I got photos, but there is always the hunt for solid cardstock that matched or lettering. Not very inspiring. LOL
ReplyDeleteI found that if I didn't hunt down things like cardstock, embellishments and alphabet letters when I got the new papers that I would forget I have them and not use them. Another thing I'll do is go through my stamp sets and see if there are any that seem made for that collection & I have a drawer next to my desk where I keep stamp sets that coordinate with my current kits.
DeleteHope that helps & it sounds like you are more than halfway there already!
~Kathryn :D
Fantastic! I don't usually scrapbook because I'm so picky that it takes me so much time. What an amazing time saver! I've been seeing these at the LSS where I teach and was wondering how they'd be utilized, but up to now have had no interest. They will now be my next purchase! Thanks so much for sharing this again. I don't usually have time to visit & comment, but today I thought I'd check in -- and I'm loving your flashbacks since I've not been a follower that long.
ReplyDelete