I Gotta Start Somewhere

[BamaJenn]

Ok so I've had this awesome Disney scrapbook and TONS of gadgets and goodies and stickers to start working on my scrabooking for months now... and haven't done a thing. I'm not usually the creative type and I tend to use what other people do for inspiration so I've been checking out the challenges just to get some ideas. I think my problem is I keep thinking of this like a photo album... chronologically. Like I should take all the photos from one trip and fill a scrapbook with them. I think now that I've seen some challenges I'm going to try to focus on making it a true scrap book and do pages or two page layouts that are themed and use whatever pictures I can find from my Disney trips.

So... here's what I need... I need some inspiration... an place to start. The very first page of the scrapbook. Someone help me out here. A theme. A quote a SOMETHING. Inspire me!! LOL!!

[ChipNDale]

What about starting with a Quote from Walt Disney and some photos of the start of a park. Like photos walking towards the castle. Here are some quotes..

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." Walt Disney

For the Animal Kingdom what about "I don't like formal gardens. I like wild nature. It's just the wilderness instinct in me, I guess. " W. Disney

Or this famous quote "I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse. " W. Disney

[BamaJenn]

Y'know... did you even realize the first one you listed is in my signature? LOL!! Maybe that is a good enough reason for it to be my inspiration. It's been there since I joined the forums all those months ago. Good idea! I started to think about maybe doing a "Tomorrowland" page etc. to theme it up after the initial "first page page" but got lost somewhere in the fact that I don't have anything that feels very "spacey" sticker wise. LOL!

[ChipNDale]

I had no clue that the quote was in your signature! I love how I can help others with ideas for the scrapbooking pages but when it comes to mine I draw a blank! LOL I am hoping to get some major scrapbooking done this weekend. I have to do my wedding and my Disney Honeymoon! I am going to try and take some of the challenges home with me and do some of them as inspiration. But I love how you wanted to start with a Disney Quote. I might do that as well! Good Luck!

[Stitch]

The challenges are a great place to start!! I would love to see more people participating! Makes me feel that the time I put into them is useful to people!

Jenn, I'm writing a reply to you with tips on how to get started, but it's getting kind of long so it may be later on tonight before I finish it (I'm also at work, so I keep getting interrupted with you know, work stuff ) It's getting so long I might just make it its own thread. Just didn't want you to think I was ignoring you!

[BamaJenn]

The challenges are a great place to start!! I would love to see more people participating! Makes me feel that the time I put into them is useful to people!

Jenn, I'm writing a reply to you with tips on how to get started, but it's getting kind of long so it may be later on tonight before I finish it (I'm also at work, so I keep getting interrupted with you know, work stuff ) It's getting so long I might just make it its own thread. Just didn't want you to think I was ignoring you!

LOL you rock girl! I shall wait. Besides, finding time to do it going to be hard anyway. You'd think the fact that I'm about to be home for 2 weeks from work would be a great opportunity but, I'll be radioactive and unless I want my scrapbook to be, I shouldn't try to get it done then. LOL!!

[cjborne2]

For my first page, I took a big black circle and put a family picture in it of us in front of the entrance hidden Mickey. Then I took two smaller circles and put them above the black circle to make a Mickey head. I then have the "Waltograph" font that I'm going to write our first Disney World Vacation August 2005. I hope to have the book finished before our next trip this June. I thought it was a fun way to start the book off.

I then broke up pages into the different lands in the Magic Kingdom.

Hope these are helpful suggestions to get you started.

I have some challenges as "works in progress". One of these days I'll finish them and post.

[Stitch]

I have some challenges as "works in progress". One of these days I'll finish them and post.

I have a lot of "in progress" challenges too...all I am missing is the journaling, which is my least favorite part to do!

[littleeep]

Do not get discouraged. I have (almost) completed THREE Disney scrapbooks. The thing is...you have to do it when you have the "Disney feeling". I have it really bad right now because I'm going through withdrawal (We haven't been there since Nov 2005!!!). For me, it tends to come in two week spurts. And, in between, I work on other things (ie I'm still on year two of my 10 year old's album). It is a great idea to scraplift. I think about 95% of my pages are. But, I don't just scrap Disney pages by viewing other Disney pages. I might pick a color scheme from one lo and photo/journaling locations from another. Do nto give up! My Disney scrapbooks are my best and I believe that it is because it is so easy to make fun pages of a fun place.

[BamaJenn]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys!! I really like the Mickey head idea for the front page. I may take that and run with it and change it up a bit using the castle/mainstreet pics like ChipNDale suggested. I'm hoping to maybe find time to work on it this weekend. We shall see.

[disneydreamer98]

Horray Jenn! I'm so glad your getting yourself started and can't wait to see you joining in on the challenges!!! I find a lot of times I get inspiration from just looking at my photos. And yes...looking at other peoples work is always a great help!

A great way to get started would be for you to pick some of your favorite places, things, rides, characters.... It helps with inspiration when you already have a special feeling towards something!

HAPPY SCRAPPING! Can't wait to see your work!

[iwannabeminnie]

Okay, how is this for inspiration?

If you don't finish two layouts by the end of the week, Melissa is going to punch you in the mouth.

Hey, whatever gets you motivated!

[lilo88]

I felt like it was a photo album when I first started scrapping to but now that Im doing it more, it really feels natural and its really fun! I can't wait to see some of your pages! Good luck!

[BamaJenn]

Okay, how is this for inspiration?

If you don't finish two layouts by the end of the week, Melissa is going to punch you in the mouth.

Hey, whatever gets you motivated!

Well it aint happenin' by the end of the week. I'm working all week and then have my little guy to entertain when I get home (which I'm looking forward to after 2 weeks at home with him - I miss him today big time). But, I'm thinking maybe this weekend I can pick out which shots I want to use and get them printed (I don't have a color printer so gotta send them to like Walgreens or whatever) and then maybe Monday and Tuesday I can work on the first page at least (I'll be home because I have to get Thyrogen injections before the radiation Wednesday). Then it'll be a few days because well, if I touch my book it'll become radioactive, so uh no... but then once I'm clear I'll start work again! I promise to get at least the first page done by the end of March, how's that? LOL!!

[Smack81]

Oh my gosh Jenn! I have no idea what a Thyrogen injection is, but it doesn't sound like a picnic. I hope everything goes ok with that!

I'm a total scrapbooking geek, and my WDW scrapbooks are among my favorites. I look at scrapbooks as stories told primarily through pictures, so whenever I'm starting a scrapbook, I always try to decide what overall story I'd like to tell. Then, as I put each pair of pages together, I start by figuring out how they relate to the story. Do I remember from one of your previous avatars that you have a little boy? Maybe your scrapbook could tell the story of your son as he's "grown up Disney".

Two of my favorite scrapbook themes ever were "Disneyfied" (I borrowed that from an article I read on allearsnet.com") and IllumiNOTIONS: Reflections of Sarah. (That's an original, and Sarah is my name.) On each page, or on every other page, I included a reference to being "Disneyfied" (IE, "You're Disneyfied if you know that Animal Kingdom was originally slated to have a land called Beastly Kingdom.") or an IllumiNOTION (IE, "Remember how magical our DME driver was?")

In terms of layout, my scrapbooks tend to be a bit repetitive: how I planned my trip, what I anticipated, hotel pics, transportation pics, pics from each park, pics from character meetings/meals, etc... That makes sense, though, 'cause that's what the Disney experience is all about.

I print all my pictures at home in 2.1 x 2.8 (Adobe Photoshop - the free version) size so I can fit a lot of pictures into my scrapbook. Sometimes you have to squint to see the details, but it's worth it to get that many memories into 40 pages.

I have fun gadgets to, but I've found that I have a serious tendency to overuse them. I think I like pages better when there's less "fun-ness" (as my sister calls it) on them. Sometimes, the "fun stuff" overwhelms the pictures/story, you know?

I've found that Disney scrapbooking paper is really expensive ($.99/sheet), but sometimes I can find it for $.59/sheet at Michael's. (Do you have a Michael's by you?) Otherwise, I try to color coordinate my theme to the story I'm telling.

Gosh, I could write a book on this, but I'll just add two more thoughts. First off, I've found that if I'm not happy with the way a page looks, I should either (a) leave it be and go back to it in a couple of days or (b) scrap it and start over. That way, I'm happier with the results.

Secondly, do you have Windows Movie Maker on your PC? I use it to make what I call escrapbooks. It's really neat, 'cause that's a great way to use video you take in WDW and to synchronize your memories to your favorite Disney songs/sounds.

Hope this helps, and sorry if I just wrote a dissertation!

Smack81