Saturday, March 31, 2012

How Much Have You Accomplished While Cropping?

You will notice I have changed my Crop Counts around. What's my Crop Counts? It's where I keep track of how many layouts and photos I scrap at crops. It's located on the left side on the bottom.

It's interesting to see how much I accomplish. I can definitely tell which crops I seriously prepared for. Lately, I haven't been cropping my photos before the crop and that is a HUGE mistake. It's a total time killer at a crop! I spent about an hour a day cropping photos. That's way too much time. This is something I do occasionally while watching tv at night. I need to do that more often.

I've also noticed that instead of matching up my cardstock to my papers before I leave my house I am getting a lot less accomplished. Yes, it takes me about two hours at home, but I pack for about 60-70 layouts this way. I also don't have to drag around the rolling tote full of cardstock and another one full of paper. I felt like He-Man the last to crops. I needed some serious muscle power to left those totes up.

Where am I going with this? I was kind of bummed over my counts until I realized the numbers were dropping like a rock because I was being a slacker. Then while cropping in North Carolina I decided I needed to stop thinking about how many layouts I made.

I have been using anywhere from three to eight photos on a two page spread so why was I so hung up on getting fewer layouts done? When I was scrapping Cape Hatteras, it was all two 4"x6" photos on each page. In my world, it was B-O-R-I-N-G! Now, that works for many people and that's great! We're all different and unique. I would love to figure out how I can crop my ocean and beach photos without them looking like a three year old got a hold of the scissors. If you have any tips, PLEASE share them!

 So I started thinking about how many photos I was actually scrapping. And my numbers have really gone up! I may not come home with as many layouts needing to be embellished, but I am working through that mountain of photos that need to be scrapped. That is more important to me.

Here's my challenge to you.....stop thinking about layouts! Instead focus on how many photos are now scrapped, preserved forever, and no longer living in your computer. Watch your photo pile shrink over a weekend. It's very liberating.

Go to a crop with a plan. Figure out ahead of time what you want to scrap and only bring those items with you. Count up your photos when you pack for your crop. Write it down and put it with your photos. Just before you pack up to go home, count up the photos you have left and the photos you scrapped. Remember, every photo doesn't need to be scrapped. It's ok to throw away a printed photo. I do all the time....blurry ones, kid's picking their noses (ummmm I don't need to treasure that moment in time), etc. I also don't need five photos of the exact same thing at the exact same angle so those get pitched as well. Don't panic! You still have the digital copy or the negatives if you're using film.

Whatever you do, do NOT EVER delete the digital image!!!! Save a backup somewhere just in case! I say this because I know someone whose house burned down and she didn't keep backups. She printed and scrapped everything. She was up to date and current with her albums. Man, I wish I knew her secret! But she lost everything when she lost her home. She felt she didn't need to have a backed file of her digital images since everything was scrapped. I am not sure which she felt worse about - losing her house or all of her photos. She beat herself up pretty bad about the photos.

So for this reason alone - if you can't find any other - please keep a copy of your photos on dvds, an external hard drive, a cd, on a cloud (a digital cloud like Me from Apple), etc and keep a copy in a safe deposit box or at a relatives house. That way you will always have your photos no matter what happens in life. Yes, it's more work, but it's work you can walk away from. You can let your photos copy while making dinner, doing dishes or laundry, walking the dog, tucking the kids in bed, taking a shower or a bath, watching American Idol or The Bachelor or whatever fancies you, getting the mail, washing your car (please come was mine when your'e done! :D), dusting (wait, do people really do that?), playing with the kids outside, etc. You don't need to babysit your computer while it does the copying.

Until next time *

Pack light! Your back will thank you!

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