What Progress Feels Like

We all know that feeling. That feeling you get when you look at a huge stack of photos that you have either just printed, or are way behind on, or have just been sitting in a box way to long. Those photos that have been sitting there, staring back at you, waiting for you to do something with them.

Sometimes that feeling is excitement. Excitement to start a new project, to work on something you've always wanted to do, or to finally tackle that album that you've always hoped to make. Excitement to get new supplies and a new album, knowing that you will create something amazing out of it all, but not yet knowing exactly what it will be.

But often that feeling can be dread. When will you get it done, how will you do it, when will you find the time? What if it doesn't turn out good? What if you don't finish?

Scrapbooking has taken me from days where I literally couldn't wait to work on a page, to months of not working on anything at all. But when you finally do get down to work, and find the right photos with the right supplies at the right time in your life, something amazing can happen. Happiness. Joy. Accomplishment.

I've recently completed a fairly large-scale project, and am close to finishing a second. We took a vacation last August to Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park, and since we drove out we stopped at 3 other national monuments and parks along the way. I took over 2,600 photos, of which I ended up printing 1,303 photos: 565 from Glacier, 559 from Yellowstone, and 179 from the rest of the road trip. 

I knew scrapbooking this trip would take not only a lot of time, but a lot of supplies and a lot of creativity. I wanted these books to be different that what I've done in the past, and unique in their own way. I also wanted to use just one product line for each album - to have a more cohesive look and feel to the albums, but to each have their own unique look. I searched for a few months, even before our trip, for the right supplies. It was really difficult to find something that worked with the content of the photos and also the color scheme. I wanted it to be outdoorsy, but not woodsy, with an out-west vibe but not western themed.

I ended up choosing two product lines: We R Memory Keepers Indian Summer, and DCWV Weekend Neutrals. Indian Summer went with the Glacier pictures, and Weekend Neutrals went with the Yellowstone. I ordered supplies, bought albums, printed the photos, and could begin. That was 4 months ago.

I've finished the Glacier books and the Yellowstone books are about half way done. What began as 1 album per park quickly grew to 2 albums per park, but I didn't mind the extra layouts, since I was so happy with how the pages were coming out, and I had so many photos that I wanted to include. I've let the finished albums sit on the shelf now for a few weeks, then pulled them back out today to take a final look through, to see if I wanted to add or change anything. I added a couple of small embellishments here and there, but in the end I was happy with everything in the books. They are officially done!

The 2 12x12 3-ring albums hold 73 2-page layouts, including cover and back cover pages on both, for a total of 146 pages. The pages are packed with photos and mementos from our trip. It's an exciting feeling to be done, and to feel like I've created something that I know we will cherish and look through for years to come. 

The 2 Glacier albums can be viewed here:
Glacier Album 1 - Many Glacier
Glacier Album 2 - Going-to-the-Sun Road

Please check them out - I hope you find will ideas to use in your next album!

What project are you most proud of? What projects do you still have to work on?