When I am able to spend some consistent time working with my own photos, I find a rhythm – a routine, a flow to the way I work.  I would love to share a bit of my process with you all.  There is not one correct way to do any of this but I find it helpful to hear how others organize their process and get their projects done and hope you will find this helpful too.

I am finding the best progress when I spend my time focusing on my favorite photos first and working one month at a time.  I have been using the 15 Minutes a Day approach I share about in The Power in 15 Minutes for months now to have my photos organized into a Favorites album in Forever.

I use Forever’s Artisan software for most of my photo projects these days since most of my photos are digital already.  It is a HUGE timesaver when I get to photos I have already worked through and picked my favorites.  I have recently wrapped up my 2017 Page Prints and started my 2018 Page prints so I will walk you through my flow on 2018 since that will be most easily able to be adapted to a complete book project or page print project. I personally love page prints for my annual albums because they give me the most flexibility in my albums and allow me to still use my Creative Memories style albums and insert traditional pages if I wish or if I happen to have printed photos or memorabilia that I want to include, I can do that easily too.

I start a NEW project for each year in Artisan and work through my pages in chronological order.  I always choose a 12×12 Hardbound Book project (even though I typically am going to print as page prints).  This allows me to have the features for viewing a 2 page spread which is my favorite way to work.  I like to choose a Pre-designed template to get me started.  I love Forever Design Maps as a good base to work with.  By choosing a Pre-designed kit rather than blank, I have at least some pages ready to pop my photos in and finish off quickly.  I can always switch around the pages or even pick other pre-designed pages I have from other kits or p2p Blueprints I have received with my membership each month.

I use the View Tab at the top of Artisan to choose the option to View 2 Separate Trimmed Pages (Yellow Highlighted area will give you this option) and I turn off the Print Guides to have the best working space.  My screen look like this when I am getting started.

A bonus tip if your page doesn’t look like this on the Elements Panel (left side), hover over the area between the Elements panel and the Welcome tab about where the magenta arrow is and there will be a small area.  Use your mouse and left click and drag this Elements Panel wider to see more detail like I have shown.  Play with this and find the way you like it best.

Once I have my project set up, I add just one month or one event photos at a time.  I find it is easier to work with 10-25 photos at a time rather than hundreds. I will my photos from my Forever Account > my 2018 Favorites Album.  I add the photos first and fill in the photo spots first, add more or remove any that aren’t needed and then I go and add paper and embellishments if the template needs any.  Remember to SAVE often so you don’t loose any work along the way.

Before I go to the next page, I add a title and journal at least a short caption or quick story that relates to the photos on the 2 pages. My final step is to go through and add shadows to photos and embellishments and text.  I typically add a Heavy Shadow to all photo boxes, titles and main elements of paper or embellishments and a light shadow to journalling and other lesser significant embellishments or top layers of paper.

Once I have 5-10 pages complete, I upload those completed pages to Forever Print to order with the next special and I save the JPGs so I can share the completed page either on social media or through my Forever account.

A few other tips that may be helpful as you are working through this process:

• I like having lots of templates and blueprints available to pick from so when I use all of the templates in the base kit I have picked I have plenty to choose from.
• You can change the template by going to the Home Ribbon and choosing Template (to change) or Add Page (to insert a new page).  You do have to switch back to the single page view to Add a new page but if you are changing you can do that from the 2 page view.
• Whether you are changing a template or adding new page, you will be asked if you want to choose your template from an Art Kit or from your Computer.  Your Art Kit options are those kits that have been purchased through the Forever store.  Your p2p Blueprints will be found by using the Templates on your Computer.
• One trick I often use is to go ahead and put photos in the template I have in front of me even if I don’t like it.  When I go to pick another template the preview will show me the new template with my photos already in it.  My photos may not be in the exact right spot but it gives me a good idea if it would be a good fit.  I can shuffle the photos as needed.

Do you want to see more?  I am happy to set up a time to do a 30 minute screen sharing conference call and show you how this looks when I do it and let you ask questions as I do.  Message me or comment below if you would like to join me for the next screen sharing conference call or if you would like to see this demo at my monthly workshop, July 13th.  Be sure you sign up if you are interested in joining us for the July workshop to hold your spot: July Workshop Sign up