Do you have a set of pictures sitting out right now that you want to scrap, but you just can’t seem to find the time to create a layout with them? This happens to me quite often, but I have found that it doesn’t take long to create a meaningful layout with those photos.
I would like to challenge you to take 30 minutes out of your day to site down and complete the entire layout with these photos. Now, don’t get me wrong, sometimes I spend much more time on a layout and I really enjoy that creative process. But there are other times when it is totally appropriate to challenge yourself to do an entire layout in 30 minutes.
I would like to share some tips with you about how to create a layout in 30 minutes.
Set a timer for 30 minutes. For me, knowing that I have a limited amount of time to finish a page helps me to focus only on creating the page rather than getting distracted by other things.
Know what photos you want to use. Don’t spend your allotted 30 minutes of time searching through photos to decided what you want to use on a layout. I like to keep photos on my scrap table that I want to work on next. They are grouped according to theme and this makes it very easy to site down and have photos ready to go.
Use a predetermined set of materials. Don’t let yourself have free reign on everything in your scrap area because too much precious time will be spent looking though things rather than spending your time scrapbooking. I love to scrapbook using kits because everything has already been coordinated for me. For this “30-minute layout” I used the September Scrapbook Circle kit along with the alphabet that was included in the August kit.
Journal with your own handwriting. Using your own handwriting is a fast and easy way to add journaling to the page. You don’t have to worry about sending cardstock through the printer, sizing text boxes or cutting out journaling to fit on the layout. Plus, your own handwriting gives the layout a more personal touch.
Doodle with extra time. I had a couple of extra minutes when working on this layout and so I decided to doodle a little border around the page. This was an easy way to add a small detail to the page that didn’t take much time.
Give the 30-minute page layout challenge a try and let me know how it goes. I’d love to hear from you.