Would like some suggestions, please...

[Nancy]

Hello fellow "scrappers". I am interested in some ideas on how/where to start my next project. Let me explain (if you don't mind a bit of a long post).
When I started scrapbooking several years ago, my daughters were already in High School. I made some albums for my parents and my in-laws. Then I made a few gift albums for my daughters and, more recently, the grandchildren we now have.
Recently I was able to start a Heritage album that I have always wanted to do and I am almost done with that.
One thing I have not yet done is a chronological album of "every-day" life and events (birthdays, holidays, etc.). That is something I have wanted to do and that I see others doing, but now that my children are grown and gone (and live far away), I don't have frequent, recent pictures to use.
So, to my question...do I go back to when they were babies and start from there? Or think of the most recent time we were together (about a year ago) and start with that and work backwards?
Or do I give up the idea of a chronological album and just do a few special events from the past u"mp-teen" years and start now with things like our home, pets, trips and events as they come up.
I have not even done things like weddings, the grandchildren's births, moves, etc.
Thank you for any thoughts and/or inspiration you can give.
Nancy

[fancyMelissa]

Nance - Next time I see you I'm going to give you a book to borrow by Stacey Julian from Simple Scrapbooks. It's called Photo Freedom. It might give you some ideas on where to start! In the meantime, I say just choose some pics from events that you loved and go from there. The beauty of the top loading album is that you can figure out where they fit in later.
Melis

[Kris]

Nancy, you sound like me. Six kids, no albums! What I have decided to do is, separate pictures and do an album for each of the kids. No particular order until I'm done. I'll end up with the kids as little ones and go right through until the present with their kids, etc.
The kids are grown and we have a couple ex's involved, and I said they are going in the albums, too. They are part of the history.
I did read somewhere that it is easier to start with the most recent stuff and work back.
Good luck!

[Nancy]

Thank you both. I look forward to seeing the book, Mels. I have some time to think about all this while I put the finishing touches on my heritage album.
Kris, I agree that a the ex's are part of the family history and will go in, too. Maybe with not as much "flair", but they'll be there! :-)

[Laura]

Hi Nancy! I don't know if this is helpful or not, but I do not scrap chronologically. I scrap the pictures that inspire me at that moment. I then put the pages in a page protector and they go in an album by year. I know that it will take me a long time to complete one full album, but I find that if I don't feel inspired, I'm not pleased with my pages once they are complete.
You may not be a person for whom this would work if you are use to completing an album once you've started it. My suggestion would be that if you don't want to scrap chronologically, why not scrap by events-- one album for weddings, one for vacations, one for grandchildren's births, one for school pictures, etc. I hope this helps give you some ideas. The good thing is that if you start scrapping one way and don't like it, you can put those pages aside and go back to the beginning and scrap chronologically! Good luck!

[Nancy]

Melissa,
Thank you so much for lending me the book! It is great. I don't often read a crafting book cover to cover, I pick out the parts that interest me. And I rarely finish a book in one sitting. But I did both of those things this evening with Photo Freedom by Stacy Julian.
She has some great ideas and practical ways to carry them out.
Thanks again.

[fancyMelissa]

Nance - I am so happy to hear that! I haven't even had a chance to read it all the way through, so you'll have to fill me in. can't wait to see what you work on next!
M

[Nancy]

One interesting thing is that at one point, I did have my pictures catagorized the way she suggests, I just wasn't sure how to proceed from that point. Now I do; once I get reorganized again--LOL

[Teri]

Go from babies. I do chrono. 1st then little ind. ones. I always start from the beginning year or month I have copies of. I have 2DD we have a yearly day to day life, as well as her own baby album, then same for the youngest. I cna see the transiton of the family coming together. I split up pictures for special albums like vacations, etc.