Boy, have times changed. When I started my business over twenty years ago, the biggest problem people had was how to get all of their photos out of those shoeboxes!
Back then, we took dozens of photos and then ordered DOUBLES, creating stacks of photos that quickly became overwhelming.
Those of us that lived in that generation have changed with the times and likely delved into taking better pictures with digital cameras and deleting the ones that we don’t like. Maybe, if you’re
like me, you have totally ditched the camera altogether and are shooting your family vacay on your cell
phone!
If you are a couple of decades younger than me, you may not even know what I’m talking about when I say
“boxes of photos” because it is very possible that you don’t have one box or even ONE printed photo of your
own!
One thing that hasn’t changed is the fact that PICTURES MATTER.
However, one thing that hasn’t changed is the fact that PICTURES MATTER. If they didn’t, we all wouldn’t be so obsessed with taking so many of them.
Some pictures are just for fun and, well, who cares if they disappear one day?
But others? They melt our hearts. There is one thing I know for sure; when THOSE pictures
disappear due to a crashed computer, a lost cell phone, or worse, a natural disaster, our hearts are
ripped out.
According to photo specialists, the PRINTED PHOTO is the SAFEST one!
Imagine for a moment that photo that you took of your new puppy in a ball fast asleep, or your toddler with that look of surprise when he took his first steps or your daughter in her prom dress…. how did she get so beautiful overnight? I’m talking about the photos that bring a tear to your eye, not because you are sad but because they fill you with joy and gratitude.
Our photos live on way longer than we do and they matter. They matter to you and they matter to those you love. Pictures tell a story, teach life lessons, build self-esteem, help us remember all the best times in our lives, and learn from some of the not so great times.
Photos matter.
If you intuitively know that you NEED to do something with your photos but, like so many, life just keeps
getting in the way, take a deep breath. I promise it’s not that hard.
Here are just a few tips to help you with creating your scrapbook albums:
1) You don’t need to include every single picture.
In fact, I only use a small percentage of all the photos I take. If only certain pictures give you that warm and joyful feeling, PRINT ONLY THOSE.
2) Remember, boxes of photos will one day be someone else’s curse.
Do you have boxes? “So what?” right? Boxes of photos, will one day, be someone else’s curse.
I love photos and I inherited STACKS and SUITCASES full of photos. It is hard to toss them, but in all
practicality, I don’t know who people are. If I don’t know, will my children?
Before YOUR photos end up being an agonizing decision for someone else, how about YOU decide which photos are really worth keeping.
With heritage pictures, be careful of tossing things out that have historical value. For instance, let’s say you have some family pictures from your trip to NYC with the twin towers in the background. You don’t have to keep all of them, but, wow! you have a keepsake!
3) Begin labeling your photos now.
For printed pictures, if you really aren’t going to do anything with them NOW, after weeding through them, use a soft lead pencil to jot a few details on the backs. My girls looked almost identical at birth! I didn’t look a whole lot different than my three brothers in our infant photos. It is so painful to KNOW your baby picture is there but not be sure which ONE is yours!
People really do care these days about where they came from, so knowing that this black-and-white photo is your great-great-grandmother named Grace Nicole may be super important to someone when picking baby names!
4) When you are ready to make an album, keep it simple.
For example, when I made graduation albums for each of my daughters, it wasn’t about doing an album of their entire life with every single memory. That could have taken months and wouldn’t have been as meaningful because instead of one volume that they both could take off to college with them, it would have been
volumes! Check out my plan for laying out an AWESOME graduation album!
5) Just start.
I don’t want you to think that going through all the boxes has to happen before you do an album. Start now! Start with the most recent pictures that you can’t stop looking at. How about the ones you just shot from that cruise over Christmas? Pick a style of album-making that works for you. It is so easy these days!
Your life matters. You Lived it. Let’s Capture & Celebrate it.
About Beckie Belote
Beckie Belote has worked in direct sales for more than 20 years helping other women live more creative, meaningful, and fun-filled lives through scrapbooking workshops and retreats. As a Creative Memories advisor, she also helps her teammates across the country to build successful businesses. Becke is a cheer coach and part-time teacher. She lives in Newport News, Virginia with her husband, has two amazing daughters, two rotten dogs, and one bird.
About Creative Memories
Creative Memories offers you ways to enjoy and share your photos with friends and family through do-it-yourself scrapbook albums as well as Fast2Fab quick and easy albums. Shop CreativeMemories.com to find bookcloth scrapbook albums, seasonal embellishments, unique border makers and more.
