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Post by justcindy on Apr 18, 2017 20:17:47 GMT
I've made a bit of a mess in my craft room....
A bit of history: when the kids were little, I scrapped chronologically. When we went to Disney, that was it's own seperate album. Now my kids are 25, 21, and 17, and the daily stuff I used to take pictures of are MUCH fewer and far between, although I do take pictures of the every day stuff to remember these days, as they are flying by quicker than when they were in diapers. I had a rough few years personally, where I didn't scrap at all. To get myself back into it, I decided to do a vacation album, something with a beginning and end. Success! Which lead to the next vacation album, this time a cruise....which led me to the next vacation album, and the discovery that I now am stuck in a rut of making an entire album out of the same color scheme for continuity...it just worked for me. But now I don't know how to get out of it!! I am the master of making a big *ss kit from a single collection kit for inspiration and adding coordinating papers and embellishments from my "too big for my own britches" stash. Meaning, I don't know how to not make a big kit!
do you guys remember a while back, Nic Mackin did a video series about making kits from her stash? For some reason, that really resonated with me, and I started making just random kits, with generic themes, for example, all my cream based vintage papers together, and any embellishments that go with whatever's in there....then there's my white based vintage feel kit....and my white based summery kit, and my cream based summery kits....and my fall papers are all together, and all my boy lines that work together, all my girly lines that work together....etc. etc. etc....and my stuff is now mixed up and kitted and it's a freaking ordeal to do a single random page, because everything is now in a big *ss kit!! My thought is that I could work through the kit til it's finished or I"m sick of it, then throw the remaining elements back into my stash. But my ADD brain won't let me work on "cream based summery with navy not black" for that long, LOL!!
What have I done!? I have them in the 12x12 iris(?) plastic containers from Michaels. Most of them have whatever ephemera packs, enamel dots, etc that come with whatever collections I have in that kit.
I can't believe I'm even considering this....I swear I think the majority of the appeal of this hobby is the organizing....but I may pull a kit, then make a mini kit from it....like enough to do say 2-3 pages....so I won't be so overwhelmed.....then put the mini kits in the basket on the floor by my desk...yeah, this may be what I do. I have a few kits that there are some papers in there that I freaking LOVE and want to use, so I'll start there, so they won't be lost forever in a perfectly organized mega kit, waiting it's turn for me to get around to it. I already have a slim paper holder that I stick random papers in that I just love and want to use somewhere.
So sorry for all the rambling....short version is I have too much stuff. And I feel so smug when I discover a newer line that coordinates really well with a much older line or papers in my stash...so I make kits for the sake of making the (#*$ kits, and not as much for putting pictures in an album with said papers! UGH.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299 
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Post by Mystie on Apr 18, 2017 20:40:50 GMT
Now, I am not a kitmaker, so pardon my silly question  but can't you just pull out a kit and do one page/layout/card with it, and then put the kit away again? I'm not seeing how you can't do one random thing and then just move on to the next random thing, with a different kit if you wish. Or is it important to use the kit until it is used up? I like the idea of setting aside things you really like and want to use so they don't get lost. I could never really get into the idea of kits because it gives me hives to think of all my stuff organized at random. (I know it's not random, but it feels like it to me!) |
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Post by carolynhasacat on Apr 18, 2017 20:41:44 GMT
I think the mini kit idea is a really good one. Maybe even try a page kit (just enough for a single or double page) and see how that works. Good luck!
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Post by caspad on Apr 18, 2017 20:52:25 GMT
My thought is that I could work through the kit til it's finished or I"m sick of it, then throw the remaining elements back into my stash. But my ADD brain won't let me work on "cream based summery with navy not black" for that long, LOL!! You don't have to kill each kit before you move on to the next one. It sounds like that is where you are getting stuck. You've organizing your stash to fit the way you think so you are more productive. That's awesome. You like working with kits, you like making kits. You've even figured out how to mix old product with new. Now you can use it to your advantage. Make a page with "cream based summery with navy not black" and then put the kit back on the shelf for the next set of photos that call for that kind of look. Then go pull out a different big *ss kit to work on the next page. I bet you'll find you start making more pages that way. |
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Post by myboysnme on Apr 18, 2017 22:02:14 GMT
I've made a bit of a mess in my craft room.... A bit of history: when the kids were little, I scrapped chronologically. When we went to Disney, that was it's own seperate album. Now my kids are 25, 21, and 17, and the daily stuff I used to take pictures of are MUCH fewer and far between, although I do take pictures of the every day stuff to remember these days, as they are flying by quicker than when they were in diapers. ... To get myself back into it, I decided to do a vacation album, something with a beginning and end. Success! Which lead to the next vacation album, this time a cruise....which led me to the next vacation album... So sorry for all the rambling....short version is I have too much stuff. The top quoted stuff is me - the story of my scrap life. You have too much stuff - welcome to the club! Maybe you can check out the free stuff thread and offer up some stuff you just know you don't need or want. Organization is something many of us struggle with. I do not scrap anything though with all one theme or color. Now I do theme scrap almost obsessively, but not with all the same product or color or whatever. I think the most important thing for me is to have completed scrapbooks. The second most important thing is to use the supplies I bought as much as I can. The third most important thing is to enjoy the process of 1 and 2. I do not kit. I do organize (what little I do) into theme bins, and pull from those bins for a project or group of photos. So if I have birthday pics I go to my birthday bins and I pull out stuff I might want to use and use some of what I pulled and whatever is left goes back in the birthday bin. |
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Post by anniefb on Apr 19, 2017 0:27:20 GMT
I have purchased kits and also kits I've put together from my stash. I don't 'kill' each one before moving on to a new one. I make a layout, or 2 or 3 depending on what mood I'm in, then pick another one to work with. If I make too many things at once from one kit I get bored and tend to run out of inspiration.
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Chinagirl828
Drama Llama
Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 6,479
Jun 28, 2014 6:28:53 GMT
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Post by Chinagirl828 on Apr 19, 2017 10:00:08 GMT
I agree with the idea of pulling a kit that works with the photos you want to scrap, making one layout, then putting the kit away if it doesn't work with your next set of photos. If you prefer the sense of accomplishment that comes with killing a kit then I would definitely make a smaller kit from one of your existing ones with enough supplies to make 1-3 layouts.
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Post by mich0222 on Apr 19, 2017 10:55:50 GMT
Hi
The idea behind making yourself a kit is that it limits the amount of stuff you are working with at one time. Without a kit and a large stash, you have way too much to work with / consider, and that is overwhelming.
If you are like me, and you tend to grab what is on your scrap desk area while making a layout, then a kit or bowls of items right in front of you, will work for you.
Totally agree you don't have to Kill a kit. You can also just take a kit out and re-kit into smaller kits as suggested, if that makes you feel better.
I personally like the idea of kitting because it helps limit and focus me. If you look back at nicmackins videos you will notice she mixed it up to make the starting points different and so forth. That keeps it fresh and "exciting" when you open one of your premade to use it and see what is in there. That is also part of the draw for kitting. Making it seem fresh and new again.
I don't always kit - sometimes I use one line or random pulls from my stash. Either way, whatever I do, I do it to keep it fresh and interesting to me - like a surprise / newness.
If those things aren't your motivators, then don't kit, or find a way of choosing from your stash that motivates you personally. I think that is the key. It shouldn't overwhelm.
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Post by pelirroja on Apr 19, 2017 12:09:42 GMT
Since you seem to trend towards making ginormous kits, you'll need to let go of the need to kill a kit. If you've got a large quantity of stuff in a single kit, feel free to make a page or two (or however many) and then when you've finished the layout, file the kit back into your organized stash. You can always come back to it, if and when you need to.
I scrap based on the colors of the photos on each page. The layouts don't always match thru the album but altogether the pages have a cohesive feel because each layout is individual and speaks for itself. No one has noticed that my albums are a profusion of color on various pages: they're much more interested in the photos and journaling.
I say keep it kitted just the way you like it. Use what you need, refile, and venture back to it when you need it again. No guilt if you haven't used up all the bits and pieces: eventually you'll use it. I do agree that sometimes it seems like we scrappers organize more than we scrap!
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Post by grammadee on Apr 19, 2017 15:08:18 GMT
I am not a kitter. Tried it last month for crystalb's BYOK challenge, and to earn some Calvinball points. Will see how it works for packing up for a crop this weekend. But my usual organizational style is much like the kitting style you describe. I group by theme rather than by colour, but nonetheless I have iris containers--big and small--with collections of various themed pp, stickers, diecuts, and embellishments. I never think in terms of "finishing a kit". I use stuff from it, often throw the scraps back in, and move on. When I scrap that theme again, it is all still there--along with any new similarly themed product I have purchased in the meantime. I am also not an organizer, so I would be way more overwhelmed with taking kits apart and resorting their contents. But if that would help you to move from filing supplies to creating pages, then do it. I like your idea justcindy of setting a basket of scrappy supplies close to your desk where you can see and be inspired by them next time you go in there. |
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Post by mikklynn on Apr 19, 2017 15:17:17 GMT
I get bored doing more than a couple pages with the same theme or supplies. I agree with the others, just do a layout or two and move on. If you don't have much left in the kit by then, break it up.
I don't make my own kits, as a rule, but I do keep new collections all together until there isn't much left. Then I break it up and add to my regular stash.
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Post by LisaDV on Apr 21, 2017 16:29:00 GMT
I haven't read all of the responses so I apologize if there is overlap. I don't see anything wrong with big kits. Use those kits with various stories/photos. When I print my photos, I will print several months at a time, then individually place each photo story into the various kits. When I want to work on a page I'll flip through my kits and pull one. I may have one story in the kit I may have seven or eight stories in the kit. I only work on the story that I want to at that time and put the Kit away. This way I'm not stuck working with the collection until it's gone and can vary what I work on. Another benefit for me is that those collection papers are not going to be side-by-side in my albums, because although I don't scrapbook chronologically I keep my albums chronologically.
Hope that makes sense.
Also I love the look of whole coordinated albums. If you like that and have enough themes/photos to do that, just enjoy!
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
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Post by scrapnnana on Apr 22, 2017 17:21:03 GMT
I get bored doing more than a couple pages with the same theme or supplies. I agree with the others, just do a layout or two and move on. If you don't have much left in the kit by then, break it up. I don't make my own kits, as a rule, but I do keep new collections all together until there isn't much left. Then I break it up and add to my regular stash. I like the suggestion to separate the leftovers and put them into other kits. You can also use kit leftovers to make cards or other small projects such as small decorative gift bags or boxes. I agree with the others, though. You really don't need to kill a kit completely, unless it really bothers you. Give yourself permission to put a kit back without completely using it all up. You don't need to go through and reorganize it into smaller kits unless you really love the organizing process. I don't hate organizing, but it's not my idea of fun, either. I personally would just put the leftovers in a different container for card and gift bag making. I would also set aside another day for just making cards and little goodie bags to give to friends, to have a stash of them ready to go. It would make it easy to brighten someone's day on short notice and get rid of the leftovers from the kit(s). I love having cards on hand, or making little bags or boxes that I can tuck a few Lindor Truffles into. Then, when I need something in a hurry, I just grab a card and a little gift bag/box. They have come in handy on more than one occasion for me. |
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Post by 950nancy on Apr 22, 2017 18:00:57 GMT
Not sure if this will work for you, but I have tons of small odds and ends that are still great. They include enamel dots, doilies, twine, sequins, tags, 3-d stickers, etc. I bought 16 (I think) 5 x 7 Iris photo cases from Michaels and the large (maybe Iris) container that CAN hold them all. There aren't slots in the container like you can buy for the 4 x 6 photo holders, but it still works. I then color coordinated all of the extra embellishments (or by manufacturer if I had a lot- or by season/holiday) and then put them in labeled 5 x 7 containers. (I actually have two of these now so 32 containers). So now when I go to crops, I have my kit and I take the large container so I can add any color of embellishment without having to preselect them. Sometimes your page just needs an extra sparkly to make it complete.
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