words + photos : monday
Tags:Hello words + photos.
For me, this is really the heart of scrapbooking. When I look back through all my layouts the ones I love the most are the simple ones that really focus on just the photos + the words. As so many of us know, it is way too easy to get caught up in the latest & greatest product, the desire for more, and never feeling like you have "just the right thing" to complete your project.
This week I am going to consider the following:What if I used all my creative energy towards the words + the photos and forgot about the rest of the stuff for one week? Imagine if all that creative strength went into my story (or the way I take my photos) rather than worrying about matching patterned paper and choosing embellishments?
What if I just told the darn story?
Is it still scrapbooking if no "extra-stuff" is present? Of course it is.
Now there should be no doubt that I love to play with products. I love to be inspired by new (and old) stuff and enjoy the creative process of working with patterns and embellishments. By taking a week out to focus on the words + photos I am challenging myself to really pay closer attention to the way in which I tell my stories.
Want to play along?
To begin this week I want to introduce you to my favorite layout. What I love most about it is that it completely tells a story from point A to point B. There is a balance between the words + photos and the only other product on the page are some chipboard letters.
[ from my book Life Artist ]
I love this layout for the design and the concept. It is organized and graphic. There is nothing extra distracting from the subject at hand. The photos show a variety of different angles and distances. These photos are not perfect (especially the one of the three of us which was taken while holding my arm out and pointing down) but they capture our routine authentically and accurately. The colors, the chaos, the winding down, the emotion - it's all there in the photos with support coming from the words.
This is a layout I will look back on in ten years and treasure.
Another thing I love about the above layout is that it is a concept that can be repeated. If I was to complete another page on this same theme this week the story would be similar but different. The PJ's are different now (he has outgrown all the matching sets and now wears big boy pants + white t-shirts to bed), he is doing more things on his own, etc. This is an evolving story. A part of our story I want to tell.
Here's another favorite from a few years back:
[ from my book A Designer's Eye for Scrapbooking ]
Again, the focus is on the photos and the words. The photos are the "decoration" as well as the content. They could tell almost as much of the story even without the words. Choosing which photos to take and which to use (and/or enlarge) are a big part of the way in which I tell my stories.
The enlarged photo of the boots was printed on cardstock and the title was added in Photoshop.
And here's a new layout using 4x6 photos:
Each photo was printed using the "white border" option on my small portable Kodak printer. The words for this layout came directly from a blog post back in February 2007. As you may be able to see, I took photos of photos and photos of displays (as well as of the monuments + friends). So many things to capture in DC.
Again the emphasis here is on the photos + the words with just a bit of patterned paper and embellishments - those extras were added mainly because I had left too small of a space for any white bordered photos to fit where the "travel log" embellishment piece was placed.
I created variety with the photos by not lining them all up from one level to another. Also notice that there are no white borders around any of the edges of the layout - any photo that came in contact with the edge had the white border removed along that line.
Over the next couple of days I will go into more detail about the way I choose my photos and the way I choose my words. Come by tomorrow for my philosophy on taking photos and some fun ways to play with printing your photos (and a cool giveaway).
[ The full words + photos series can be found here: monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday. ]
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85 comments
We are a family of three, like you are. I envy your ability to take shots of the three of you. I have a SLR and I just cannot get it turned around to get a self-portrait of us like you do. I love the Night, Night page, too, by the way. It makes one feel as if one is a part of it or looking on.
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Thank you, I have felt disenchanted with scrapbooking lately and I think you've made me realize why. I love this concept!
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AWESOME! This is gonna be a great week!! thank SO MUCH Ali!! peace and blessings, Cindy
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Ali- I love this concept. I look forward to following your blog entries this week. How fun :o)
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I've been very into just the photos and story lately. And I've been making my favorite projects and pages in a long time! I think simple can still be very beautiful.
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Oh I love these LOs...so what I love to put in my own albums. Looking forward to what you have in store the rest of the week!
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Love it, love it, love it!! So inspiring, and so true. I really focus myself to not put so many embellishments and "extras" that you don't even see the picture {like I've seen SOO often lately in scrapbooking}. Thank you for being a "scrapbooking purist" :)
Love it!
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this is SO great. . . .it's the way I scrap. I feel like so many layouts in magazines have so much product you lose sight of the photo....the heart of scrapbooking. (Although I do like to play with a little product as well. :0>)
Thanks for doing this, Ali!
~mary
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Amazing layouts and photos. You give me great inspiration for getting to all of my loose photos!!
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I wish I had half the creativity that you have! Thanks for the all the creative ideas each day!
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I love this concept, Ali!! Thank you so much for sharing ~ I am looking forward to the great inspirations to come :)
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I'm pretty sure I love you. thank you for reminding me what it's all about. I actually like to tell length stories about the memory-but I never have enough room because of the STUFF! I had my own epiphany last week-it doesn't matter if the pictures are perfect, it doesn't matter if the layout is beautiful-what matters is if the memory moves me.
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THANK YOU, ALI!!! Your insight and generosity are very much appreciated!!
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Ooooo, something wonderful to look forward to on my favorite "creative" blog. I can't wait to see the next post. Thank you Ali!
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This is going to be a great jumpstart. Immediately I thought of the stack of pictures I have from my brother's wedding. I've wanted to scrap them for quite awhile but was overwhelmed. I need to just pick a few stories I want to tell about the weekend and construct the layouts based around those stories and the pictures. Forget about including every picture I have. thanks!
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I love this way of thinking and scrapbooking! I love the focus on the pictures and the journaling - telling the story. I so much agree that those are the layouts that become the most prescious, the ones that tell you that particular story! And me neither, I don't care that much to have the perfect pictures. In fact, I nearly never have perfect pictures because it is nearly impossible to get perfect pictures of an active 3 year old...hihi...
I love your philosophy and I admire your work! Thank you so much for all the inspiration :)
Have a lovely day!
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Ali -- This is great! I am looking forward to the whole week ... reading your thoughts reminded me about the first time I picked up one of your books (designer's eye for scrapbooking} and seeing that layout about simon's boots -- it clicked, it really is that simple, the words+photos philosophy has guided me ever since. And even so, there are times that I look at something I have created and think there must be some fancy stuff I should be putting here or here, etc. We really do need a reminder at times to keep form overwhelming ourselves :) thanks.
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Ali, thanks so much for sharing this concept. As I look back over the last two years of pages since my son's been born, for the most part, the story is missing. There's surface stuff, sure, but the real story is missing. I'm challenged (again!) to write our story. Focusing on words+photos will really help! Thanks again!
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Thanks for the inspiration, Ali!
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I love this!
I am a mostly beginner scrapbooker who is one of those "overwhelmed by all the options" people. I end up making pages with just words and pictures and feeling like they are really boring. Feeling like my pages won't make the impact I want them to because I cannot afford to keep up with trends and embellishments...
Thanks for teaching about what really matters -- it puts things back into perspective for us all!!!
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