Request for Memory Keeping Q & A
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It's been awhile since I did a big round of memory keeping Q & A here - August 2008 to be exact (you can check out that series here) - and I'd like to take some time over the next week to do that again.
Feel free to ask anything related to scrapbooking, supplies, creative process, words + photos, organization, techniques, minibooks, paper, digital, classes, etc.
I'll leave the comment section open until Friday at noon Pacific with the first-round of answers posted Tuesday or Wednesday next week.
PLEASE NOTE | Some basic FAQ questions (such as what equipment I use) are covered on my FAQ page.
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177 comments
I have all of my digital elements in my iPhoto program and it works pretty well but I'm sure I can make it better. I was wondering how you store your elements - by date? by kit? by element? by artist? How do you store them in order to find them again? I've only just started digi and I'm already overwhelmed with the options!
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Oh, I really need help with this. Great question.
Tags are my bestest friend.
I've pulled my digi stash into PSE. I'm tagging away - color, season, hearts/stars/etc. Any way that pops to mind is becoming a tag. Then I can choose to see only the bits with blue and heart tags, for example.
Doing this was really really difficult when I started with my photos. I wanted to name folders for events, to change every file name.... Tags. Love my tags. I can actually tolerate leaving my image files with the image number file name in folders by date!
With PSE I can create a folder/file type structure with tags - so at the highest level I have people, places, events, house and more. Within people, one 'folder' is immediate family, and within that are tags for each of the five of us.
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Once I read you had a list of layouts to do in the future. Is it a mental list or a actual list on paper? And how do you handle this list? How often do you go through it and add topics?
Thanks!
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Hi Ali:
I love when you use your typewriter for layouts and am interested in getting one. Does yours work well, does it ever need repairs, and do you have to replace your ribbon often?
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Yes, I've been meaning to ask about the typwriter too. My mom has a suitcase style 1960s typewriter that she has kept for sentimental reasons and is just sitting in her basement. You've inspired me to see if I can store/use it but am wondering where you get ribbon these days. Do you have a source you'd recommend?
I have a typewriter I was bought as a child and I was wondering the same thing about ribbons. I'd love to use it for journalling and let my daughter play with it too but need a ribbon to do that.
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Hi Again:
I have another burning question! How do you store page protectors before you use them? I just bought a bunch, and they are so big and floppy. I don't have a good place to keep them.
Thanks!
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I open mine from the package and store them in a binder. Then when I need one, I can just flip through it and find the size I'm looking for.
Hi - I do the exact same thing... currently I store all of my different layout configured 12x12 page protectors (like the ones used for project life) in a we r memory keepers album. Having them easily accessible is great because I can easily flip through and see the different page configurations and decide quickly and easily which one will work best with the photos I intend to print. This system also eliminates printing too many photos that wont get used.
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Will you be sharing any layouts from your Yesterday + Today class on your blog? Love the snippets you've already shared...would love to see more. Also, any plans for another book? Hope so! Thanks for the daily inspiration!
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Hi Ali,
How do you know "what you have"? I guess this would be an organization question. I purge every now & then and find "something new" when it has been in a certain container or basket for a while and I've completely forgotten about it. I keep all of my supplies, embellies, etc in open type baskets and on open shelves so I can see them but I still find myself forgetting about certain products.
Thanks Ali!!
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I just want to say Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! for all of the great scrapbooking inspiration lately. My oldest is graduating from high school this year and I have to admit that I have scraplifted several of your layouts for her graduation album. Thank you so much for all of the inspiration!
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Have you started gathering your thoughts for this years Week in the Life format? Can you share any previews or information about your digital elements for this year and what types of products we can look forward too?
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Hi,
great idea for questions. When making mini albums with rings - where do you put the rings - top side. Always concerned that I will get a critical part of a picture. Plus, need a lessons on hole punching. Thanks...
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If you had to choose one small way to keep the most important memories in the simplest, quickest way - what would you recommend?
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Oh, Teal. Love this question. I personally keep a spiral bound index card book, then use file folder tabs with my family member's name on them. So, example, I have a tab for me, my husband, and my son.
Teal, great question...Kim, I love that idea!
This is a great question! I'm looking forward to Ali's reply. For me, I am finding that Project Life is the simplest way for me to memory keep. PL really motivates me because it's so simple to do. It allows me to keep up. Photo box storage and CD-Rom storage is also quite simple and gets the photos off of the hard drive.
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I would love to know about your process on dealing with different projects/layouts at the same time.
When do you decide to start a new project? Do keep layouts/projects open until you feel inspired to finish them? How many layouts/projects do you currently work on at the same time? How do you store unfinished layouts/projects? How do you make sure that you finish them eventually?
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I hope there's a magic answer!
I have two 3" x 12 x 12 boxes; one holds all things Disney World, the other all things Hawaii. I'm talking photos, papers, embellies, journal notes.... We went to Disney World in 2000 and Hawaii in 2003.
I have several bags or small boxes or folders, each with similar items for short trips.
And they all sit patiently waiting for me to pay attention!
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i know you wanted the whole family to be involved in project life. any other plans for getting simon and anna involved in memory keeping? and a big thank you for being one of my favorite bloggers for so long!
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I've always been a traditional scrapbooker and have been thinking about getting into digital scrapbooking - how do you recommend I get started?
Thanks so much Ali!
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Me too! I just don't know how and where to start. Debbie C.
I took her Yesterday & Today class and each week had a very detailed (but simple) tutorial on a lot of basic/beginner's digi and digi/traditional combo layouts. It was a fantastic intro for me to start dipping into digi.
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Are you writing more books? If so, what will your next book be about? (Can you turn your Storyology class into a book? The class helped me SO much; It would make a great book). You are so collected, creative and poised; do you ever feel pressured about always coming with the next great idea? Also, I've always wondered if you went back and scrapbooked your wedding photo's? I don't remember seeing any pages, but I'm very curious how you would scrap your wedding album if you did today. Thanks for the chance to ask questions & for the continued inspiration you provide in my life and art. You are awesome.
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Great question. Would love some wedding answers. I have yet to scrap mine.
I think I am scared of my wedding photos. LOL!
I havent' done anything with my wedding photos either! It's been 18.5 years and I'm scared of them too! Great question!!
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Ali, Thanks for all the daily inspiration you provide on your blog. Do you have a list of all the stories you want to tell? I seem to have lists all over the place but am interested in hearing how you organize all the projects you want to do along with all your stories.
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Hi Ali
Thanks so much for your inspiring site. I have only recently got into scrapbooking and thankfully found your site - I love the advice you give, the 'keeping it simple' ideas. So much of it speaks to exactly where I am at.
I have decided to do digital scrapbooking having made an 'ordinary' photo album online. Although I would love to be more hands on, I thought that long term this would work better for me with limited space/storage etc. However the one frustration I have with this is that I have to wait for an album to be complete before I/my family get to enjoy any finished pages. (Any ideas/suggestions - or just work faster :)
Also, I would like to make albums for my children - perhaps starting with the early years 0-5 or even a first year. We have just had our fourth and I thought that if I followed along her first year and also did one for the boys at the same time I would be more likely to complete them. However we only got a digital camera when my eldest was over a year and I would like to scan some of the photos from his first year to use in his album. Do you know of a good scanner/s that will scan the photos at a good quality for reproduction. And/or do you know what resolution/size/dpi (I don't know/understand all this) I would need to look for in a scanner assuming this affects the quality of the scanned photo. Also do the photos need to be a certain size (kb/mb) to have enough detail in them for printing. I once had a printing shop scan some wedding photos for me and they came back at 300-400kb and the online album site suggested they were too low a resolution to be reproduced any bigger than a 5x7 which was disappointing as I wanted to make some of the photos fill an 8x11 inch page in the album.
Have heaps more questions but will leave it at that. Thanks again!
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resolution is similar to dpi
dpi is dots per inch. If something has 300 dpi, it has three times the dots as another thing with 100 dpi.
In order to stuff more dots, each dot is smaller. The smaller the dots, the more variations in color are possible.
Think of creating a 10" high E, with thin stripes, using solid color paper.
1) use 0.5" diameter circles, several colors
2) use 0.125" {1/8 inch} circles, several colors
Which will give you smaller stripes?
Typically, 300 dpi is considered the lowest resolution for clear images. The higher the dpi, the higher the resolution.
hope that helps a bit.
Just a suggestion, but don't get tricked into thinking digital scrapbooking is just for those who have books printed with their layouts. Try printing individual layouts and keeping them in a traditional album. You can print just a few at a time and enjoy them without the wait. My friends and I stockpile layouts and notify each other when one of our favorite printing companies is running a special and upload several pages to save a little $$. I was also a strict chronological scrapper when I was strickly paper but for some reason digital is so freeing that I scrap what I want, when I want! LOVE IT!
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I was wondering if you are still liking your fuji cameras and which one you find yourself using more....the vertical or horizontal one...I am leaning towards getting the one that takes the vertical pics but I am still not sure
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I'm not good with words or journal-ling i need help in that area.can you make some suggestions Just want to say thank you being an inspiration to me i have learnt heaps and love to read your stories it starting point for me .
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Hi Ali A technique question - I use photoshop elements and have recently been given a basic tablet YAY! I like the way you put thin borders around your photos with a word encased in the border. Using the above tools is it possible for me to create borders like you. I like the rounded corners you make and would like to do similar things on my photos but sometimes with my own writing to make it more personal for my kids (though I do love yours!!!).
Thanks
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would love to know how to do this too.
I like this question too, would love to know that answer. Good question!
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How do you decide whether a photo is good or not for a specific layout?
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Does this photo tell or add to the story I want to tell? Is it the best of any/all similar photos? Two yeses - I use it. Which means I use blurry or otherwise less than stellar - way less than stellar - photos quite often.
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