The "Preparing for LOAD" blog hop

Welcome to the "Preparing for LOAD" blog hop!

I'm so thrilled to see you here, whether you are a fellow LOADster or one of my regular blog friends. I've never participated in a blog hop before so I am very excited to see who drops by to stay hello! Please DO leave me a comment to let me know you were here.

If you have come directly to me, you might want to go back to Lain's blog (here) where the blog hop kicked off and if you have come from Snaps & Snippets, then welcome to the next installment! I hope you find what I have to offer helpful and when you are done, please go to Laura's blog (here) for the next batch of fun!

Today we are all talking about what we do to prepare for LOAD or any suggestions we can offer to help you get through the crazy idea of making a whole, real layout every day! Even if you are not participating in LOAD, I am sure you can find something that might help you speed up your process or even something to inspire you to join in next time. 

I did the very first LOAD Lain organised over at Big Picture back in January 2008 and then joined in the fun again last February, May and October. So this will be my 5th! And as I have a clean record of really making one every day, that's 121 layouts that are now in my albums (well, not IN my albums as they are mostly lying around waiting to be put away but you know what I mean ;-)  ) that might not have otherwise been made. Some of the first ones are a bit "make a layout for the sake of making a layout" but they helped me to develop my style and work through stash! Last year, I concentrated much more on layouts I really wanted to make and didn't shy away from even very time intensive styles or designs if that was what I wanted to make that day. LOAD is all about making it work for you. And though I might repeat this too often in this post, it's all about enjoying yourself. No, really! Making a layout every day for a month can be and really is huge fun!

Here are my three piles from LOAD last year. Yes, I got more and more dimensional through the year. The chunky pile closest to the camera is my October LOAD layouts.

And here is the consolidated pile! Does this pile of 90 layout from three months of work make me feel good? You bet!

Back at the beginning of February last year, when I decided that I was getting back on the LOAD bandwagon, I came up with a 10 point "strategy" for how I was going to get through the month. This has also developed into very much how I do my basic non-LOAD scrapping too. I have updated it a little based on the reality of the last three LOADs but most of it still stands and is still the basis of how I intend to be creative every day in February and most important of all, to have FUN!

1. Perfection is over-rated: I'm not the first to state this (think it might be a Lainism), but it's so true. When I am doing work for The Scrapbook Magazine, I spend a long time on each project. I check spelling, straighten things up, write and rewrite my journalling until it's just so. But the layouts for this month? Simple, quick and often containing a mistake or ten! Over inked? Not quite straight? Colours not perfectly matched? Glue showing? Embellies not optimally placed? No problem, move on!
2. Preparation: I don't mean that I have 28 page kits ready to go - this is absolutely not my way of working. But each day I think about what I might scrap. What picture I might use. What I have to say that day. If I have a bit of free time (I travel on public transport and so have a lot of time to kill!), I might even write my journalling out to a story that has come to mind. And I have a pile of photos - good, bad and a lot in between - on my table, and my storage binders to hand. Often, I just have a bit of a rummage, see what catches my eye and am off. The prompts Lain sends out are a great jumping off point and I used them a lot in May and October and this helped in my thinking process. But if the prompt doesn't resonate with me, I will either just store the idea for another day or ignore it and do my own thing.
3. Glue & Go: I learned this on my Heidi Swapp class in 2007. Yes, I move things around a bit before I decide on position, but I'm talking 2 or 3 minutes, not all evening. Then, it's Glue & Go. And live with the result. And love the result!
4. Handwritten journalling: I avoid the printed & hand-write almost all my journalling when time is short. No, I don't particularly like my handwriting. But it's mine and there's not a lot to be done. Hand-writing is quick, easy and I don't need 16 attempts at getting it just so. If the hand-writing goes a bit skew-whiff, I accept it. It's typical Lisa to have a few mistakes in there after all.
5. Sketches: I have Page Maps 1 & 2 and I love them. I use them all the time. I love dipping in and picking out one to use as is, or to adapt. In fact, I think I've used the same one several times so far and they all look different. I don't consider it cheating and uninspired. I make the sketch my own and think of it as a motivator.
6. Clear space: I tidy up my scrapping space after each project. Completely. And for those of you who know me, you'll appreciate this is difficult and unnatural for me. I'm so untidy by nature! But I put every scrap, pen, glue stick, ruler or ink-pad etc back where they belong - even if I take it back out again after 2 minutes. Clear space = clear mind. Now, if I could only apply that to the rest of my life...
7. Be part of the LOAD community: The community in our LOAD Flickr group is wonderful. I make sure I make the most of it. I spend (way too much) time in the gallery and so far have managed to look at every single layout that was posted during the 2010 LOADs. Maybe I won't manage that this month, but I will be trying! I comment on as many as I can because they are all beautiful. Every single page out there has been made by someone to tell a story or a memory that they have, and that is beautiful. Even if it's not my "style" I can always find something that I like or even love that I want to pass on via the comments. I know how thrilled I am when I get supportive positive feedback on my uploads and so I try to pass on the love. Even if you just look at the last 5 or 10 uploads before yours in the gallery, you will be amazed at the talent and creativity out there - I make sure that I "favourite" those that I really love and am inspired by so that I can go back to them again and again. Scraplifting is the highest form of flattery after all! And the message board is great too. I go in and read the latest and use it for tips and tricks or generally connecting with my fellow LOADsters. It's a great resource.  I have made some wonderful scrapping friends over the last year through LOAD and BPC and this is really special.
8. Use that stash: I see this as an opportunity to use up papers and products that have been lying around a long time but that I still love, as well as the piles of pizza boxes containing several kits that are in varying states of being used up. Several are completely untouched and they will definitely be a target. Often I just grab a background cardstock and my mixed paper organiser along with my box of scraps and fish around until I have 3 or 4 papers I like. This is not the time to be precious. I will not be buying any new stash at all for this month although I was recently at my LSS so I do have a few (!) new papers to play around with! Make sure you can see the products that are inspiring you at the moment or that you want to use up - if you have them in view, they are more likely to be used up. And think about the excuse you will have to go out and stock up again when you have finished as you will have used up SO much of your stock!
9. Quick techniques: I try to return techniques such as border punches, inking the edges or distressing which give good results with minimum effort and time. Although I might do a bit of stamping you won't find a lot of that on my pages - it's too hit and miss, and very time-consuming for me. Not to mention the fact that the ink ends up in places it really doesn't belong... several ruined tops later...
10. Have FUN: I remind myself that this is supposed to be FUN! No pressure. If I decide on the 15th that I'm not having fun, I'll simply stop. I can't imagine that happening, but this is a hobby and nothing to be taken too seriously. Life gets in the way sometimes and if that happens, then I will not stress about it, I will just do what I can. I make sure I'm enjoying the process. I might experiment. I mix it up. One day, it might be more complicated, the next a bit simpler. Layered and distressed one day, clear lines a la Zielske the next. I will use different products, different photos, different colours. More or less journalling. 4x6 photos one day and then chopped up or tiny photos the next. I play! But I'll be telling stories, using up product, preserving memories, remembering happy times. And that IS fun!

So, take a deep breath, clear off your scrap space, print off your photos, stock up on your adhesives, collect your supplies so that they are near to hand and enjoy the ride! I know I will be.

The next stop for you will be Laura at her blog here and the whole list of bloghop participants is...
Lain
Danielle H
Margie
S
Lisa
Laura
Rosann
Gayle
Jennifer
Heather
Tere
Niki
Janet
Lee
Danielle T
Junelle
Julie
Have fun (!) and thanks so much for dropping by.