From the Archives: My Mini Album Process

Hi, everyone! I'm continuing to re-post older blog posts with useful information. I've chosen posts that answer some of my most frequently asked questions. This one is on how I store my scraps. This blog post was originally posted on June 12, 2009. This is the second in a three part series where I examine my creative process. This entry will focus on my process for creating mini albums. See the previous blog post for my process for creating layouts.

Like my layout creative process, my mini album process can be broken out into two distinct starting points as well:

1) Starting from a page kit. This is the process I use if I have a very specific idea in mind of what I want my mini album to be. I used this process in several of my videos, such as my Seaquarium mini album and my Christmas mini album.

OR

2) Anarchy. This is the process I use if I have a general idea for a mini album, but not a specific plan on how to carry it off. I used this "process" in the creation of my Engagement mini album.

Okay, so what does this actually mean for my creative process? Let me see if I can break it down a little bit more.

The first creating process is very similar to that of my layouts. Since I have a strong idea in my head of what the finished product should look like, I choose photos and page kit and mini album and just get started. I still make decisions as I go ~ I don't usually use sketches, for example ~ but since I know what I want it to look like when I am finished, the decisions are easy to make.

The second creating process is quite a bit different. Usually when I am doing a mini album with the CHAOS process ~ like the Engagement mini album ~ I start with a vague idea & try to use all scraps if possible.

With the Engagement mini album, my idea was that I wanted a small book that was soft and romantic. That was it!

I had one picture & it was sepia toned, so I pulled all my cream-colored scraps and put them on my desk. Then I wanted some more color, so I pulled my pink and blue scraps and put them on my desk. Then I put any stamps and inks that worked with the theme/feel on my desk. I grabbed some brads and other embellishments and added them to the pile as well. I just kept grabbing stuff I might use until I had a huge pile of things on my desk. If you watch the first video in the Engagement mini album series, you can see the pile of stuff on my desk.

By the time I'm done making my pile, I have, essentially, created a page kit. So I an now sit down at my desk and start pulling papers together and pushing elements around until I like how it looks enough to glue it down.

I am equally happy with the creations from both processes ~ I like the Seaquarium and Engagement mini albums equally well, for example ~ but it is much easier to clean up after if I am using page kits!

Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.