Little Pieces

I mentioned last time I was working on a layout originally planned as a 12x12. And also that I croppped the photos using my rectangle Nestabilities - here's that layout. I fooled around with it a bit more. Decided to use my corner rounder on the photos as well. I also took out my Quickutz Zoe font - i thought it worked nicely with the Making Memories patterned paper for some reason. Regardless I'm liking the whole 8.5x11 size these days. And who would think you could fit 10 pics on two 8.5x11 pages?

I still have a lot to do with the negatives - mostly because events around here are demanding my attention. And I have to begin the next phase of my Photo Freedom project. I'm still wondering whether or not I really need to purchase the storage binders. My photos are all organized and in boxes. Buying and using the binders just seems almost redundant for me. I think - not sure - I can use the boxes as she uses binders. We'll see. Gotta run!

Negatives and tools

I finished my time line of my printed photos (ones using 110 and 35 mm film). I tracked down some negative sleeves at a local Ritz photo store. Actually 50 pages of negative storage. Each holds 7 strips of 35 mm negatives. (I will definitely be needing hundreds more of these negative sheets before I'm finished.)
Now I'm on a hunt for what to do with the 110 negatives. If anyone has seen storage (preferably sheets that fit into a binder: 3 hole, 8.5 x 11) I'd appreciate the info.
Anyway I began filling up those 50 sheets last night as I watched a little TV. That's going to take a bit of time - but little by little it will get done. I know in Stacy Julian's book "Photo Freedom" she says just throw the negatives in a box - keep them safe and don't worry about organizing them. But I am just not up for doing that. Her reasoning was sound (if some disaster happens she won't mind looking through the negatives) but for me - well I just don't want to do it. I have so many years of photos and will no doubt want to get reprints. I know this because as I've gone through the packs of photos I have found not all the prints are there. They were given away or used on some pages or I just don't know why they aren't there. So having the negatives organized is important to me. But like I said I will be doing the organization in small bites. A little here, a little there.
And a quick note before I run - I was working on a layout this morning. More for my son's baby scrapbook. I was looking at all the photos and realized they all could fit on 2 pages (instead of the original 3 I planned) if I cropped them a bit better. Then I realized I could use my rectangle Nestabilities and get this cropping done in no time. And I did! All cut to the same rectangle size in a matter of minutes. I love it!

I've been busy

Reading .....
Photo Freedom by Stacy Julian and Family History Scrapbooking by Becky Higgins
Now you might be thinking - I thought you gave up on all these books and magazines. And yes I have. I stopped my magazine subscriptions entirely. But these 2 books have been nagging at me since they came out. The Becky Higgins book came out while I was still working at the store and I didn't even look at it I was so disenchanted with all the books at the time. The Photo Freedom book has only been out a few months but it talks about (in detail) Stacy's system that she's mentioned in both her previous books (which I have) and covers in her online class Library of Memories (which I'd love to take but it ain't cheap. I hoped for a "book" version and my prayers were answered LOL).
I picked up the Family History book at AC Moore with a 50% off coupon. It's really pretty great. I know it will help me down the line when I attack the stacks and stacks of old family (my childhood etc) photos I have. But what's on my mind is the pictures I've got from my college days onward - I was telling my friend June howI've been reading the book and began the timeline Stacy talks about in the beginnning. You timeline your photos so you have a reference point (who was what age when this happened for example). I created a little spreadsheet and am just about done with that and I've discovered I have 190 packages of photos in 9 boxes.
Frightening huh?
And that doesnt even count the 5 years of digital photos I've got.
So I needed to get this under control - and I'm thinking this book is going to help me out immensely. If nothing else, I've gotten a renewed enthusiasm and also realize there is more than one way to skin a cat (Frankie & Spencer - you didnt hear me type that!)
I'll be finishing my timeline probably today or tomorrow and then onto the scarey part - taking some of the photos out of chronological order (not all but some). I'll let you know how I do.