Welcome to my blog and the Pre-LOAD {Layout A Day} Blog Hop! LOAD is a challenge hosted by Lain Ehmann for scrapbookers. It is just like it sounds. A bunch of us scrapbookers commit to producing a LAYOUT A DAY for one whole month. We post our layouts every day (by midnight PST) in our Flickr group gallery, cheer each other on and offer encouragement. Lain sends us daily emails with prompts, and this month she's got 29 videos to inspire our creativity! There are even prizes.
This blog hop is meant to offer ideas and encouragement for newbies and alumni alike on how to prepare for the month ahead. Some of us are seasoned alums with lots of wisdom to share, others of us are brand new and sharing our goals and plans and some possible fears for the month ahead.
Before I tell you about my LOAD experience, I have to begin by telling you about the layout at the top of this blog post. I made that layout in 2002. Guess how long it took me to make it?
GUESS?
It sat on my dining room table for ONE WHOLE MONTH before I finally finished it. I wanted so badly to design a layout like the ones I saw in the magazines. I had Becky Higgins' 
See the border of blue rectangles at the bottom of the page? I had originally made an entire background using those rectangles, but it didn't look right to me, so after a MONTH of arranging and rearranging the parts and pieces, I finally came up with that finished layout.
Now it is a nice layout and in all honesty, it doesn't look too dated. It is a pretty classic design and tells a nice story and does a good job of highlighting the photos. BUT IT TOOK ME A MONTH! That is just way too long.
I would hear about people with shelves bursting with albums filled to overflowing with scrapbook pages and all I had was a handful of painstakingly made layouts. At this rate, by the time I died, each of my 3 kids would be lucky to have two layouts each! I needed a different strategy.
Fast forward a few years...
Along came LOAD.
I signed up for the very first one. It was January of 2007, lead by Lain. January wasn't a good month for me (too close to the holidays with a birthday towards the end). I only finished one page that first time!
The following year it was going to happen in February. I was so excited because I was committed and raring to go. I loved the idea of a challenge and I knew if I had the right mindset, I could do it. And guess what? Much to my amazement, I did it! I completed one page every single day in February of 2008. It was so much fun!
We did it again in May and October. And I am proud to say I completed 31 days in May and again in October.
Now it is 2012, and I have participated in two or three LOADS every year and have completed countless layouts. I now have shelves bursting with albums overflowing with pages. I've been published, I'm a BPC Library of Memories coach and I was asked to join the Ella Publishing Take Twelve Design team. I even have some wonderful new "internet friends" since joining LOAD back 2007.
I credit my regular participation in LOAD (among a few other habits, like following Stacy Julian's Library of Memories system) to be a large reason I was able to make all of these scrapbooking goals come true.
You could say I am a seasoned LOAD veteran.
So how can you be successful at LOAD?
*Besides having some basic supplies at your disposal (i.e., for paper & hybrid scrappers: lots of your favorite adhesive, plenty of cardstock & patterned paper, printed photos, etc), most of the preparation for me is the mindset of being comitted to a layout a day.
*Plan the page into your day. Decide the night before or first thing in the morning the photos you will work on, the story you want to tell. Think about it throughout the day so you have a basic idea of what you want to do when you sit down to work.
*Refer to your favorite inspiration: sketches, magazines, your photos
*Mine your blog for stories. I have a category on mine for Future Scrapbook Pages - couldn't be easier to find something to scrap about.
*Finish up any online classes that aren't complete - LOAD is the prefect time to do it.
*Finish up any incomplete albums (vacation albums, mini albums, Xmas gifts undelivered).
*Catch up with Project Life - this year or even last year! I always do a few spreads each time.
*Make quick decisions while making a page. Trust your gut. Glue it down and move on.
*Get the story told.
*Leave perfectionism behind. LOAD helped me get over that and learn to trust my gut.
DONE IS BETTER THAN PERFECT!!!
In Layout A Day DONE is the most important thing.
If you messed up one day, you can do better tomorrow.
KEEP CALM and SCRAPBOOK ON!
LOAD starts on February 1st. If you are not already signed up, it's not too late to join us! It's the nicest group of scrapbookers on the internet!
Now on to the other inspiring blogs... But before you go... Leave me a comment - SEASONED VETRANS: your best word of LOAD advice; NEWBIES: your biggest LOAD fear.
Then on with the blog hop to KELLI. (Please return here if you get lost along the way, to make sure you visit all of the blogs on the hop today.)
To see everything LOAD on my blog, including all my posted layouts and the last blog hop, click here. To see everything scrapbook related on my blog, go here.
Pre-LOAD Blog Hop Partcipants.
Margie http://xnomads.typepad.com <--- You are HERE.
I thinkyou are totally right. On the tough days I just tell myself to glue a picture on a page and write something at the very least just to keep up with the commitment. We need to get Nike as a sponsor. Ha!
Posted by: Nihao, Cupcake! by Margie | January 27, 2012 at 20:17
Thanks, Kristie, I looked for an image online that says that (since that is such a huge trend these days), if I cant find one, I might make one for myself. It will be my personal motto for LOAD 212! :)
Posted by: Nihao, Cupcake! by Margie | January 27, 2012 at 20:18
Ill be rooting for you, Connie. You might try to challenge yourself to complete a layout in one hour (or even 30 minutes) no matter what. Tell yourself it is a dire emergency and it has to be complete. This will force you to make quick decisions and not worry about being perfect. Also, be OK with hating your pages at first, eventually they will get better (and more often than not you wont hate it, but it will help you get faster). Then as you get into that groove, you can take more time on the days that you have more time but it will build your confidence and your muscles on being able to get it done faster and like what you create. And like you said, whatever you do accomplish will be awesome - even a page every other day. :)
Posted by: Nihao, Cupcake! by Margie | January 27, 2012 at 20:24
Great tips. I think I will sit down today and make a list of stories just for LOAD or at least to get my creative juices going. Brainstorming is always a good thing. Cant wait to see your pages!!
Posted by: Nihao, Cupcake! by Margie | January 27, 2012 at 20:26
Thanks, Janet. Can't wait to see your pages. It's going to be fun!
Posted by: Nihao, Cupcake! by Margie | January 27, 2012 at 20:48
That stack is satisfying whether it was a layout a day or not! It all counts. I'm in TWELVE as well - YIKES! But I am using LOAD to catch up with my 12 January layouts. I was starting to stress about it but then realized I could make them up in Feb during LOAD. It is not about stress, it is about telling stories, right?! Trying to be productive this year AND have fun. Wish me luck!
Posted by: Nihao, Cupcake! by Margie | January 27, 2012 at 20:51
Thanks, Jennifer! Can't wait to see your pages and be inspired! :)
Posted by: Nihao, Cupcake! by Margie | January 27, 2012 at 20:52
Too bad we can't figure out how to multi-task and scrap while either exercising or dancing or both! Ha! I haven't finished all LOADs myself. I did that first year but with subsequent years, I figure I got more documented than I would have had I not started off with a bang, right? Fingers crossed I keep it up next month and finish.
Posted by: Nihao, Cupcake! by Margie | January 27, 2012 at 20:54
Too bad we cant figure out how to multi-task and scrap while either exercising or dancing or both! Ha! I havent finished all LOADs myself. I did that first year but with subsequent years, I figure I got more documented than I would have had I not started off with a bang, right? Fingers crossed I keep it up next month and finish.
Posted by: Nihao, Cupcake! by Margie | January 27, 2012 at 21:02
Great way to illustrate how you were as a slow scrapbooker agonizing over every detail and how you evolved into a confident memory keeper! I am a seasoned LOADster with 6 LOADS under my belt (if you count the informal one in Oct.) and my best piece of advice would be to not throw in the towel if you happen to miss a day. Just pick up the pieces of cardstock and jump back in! Thanks for organizing this blog hop!
Posted by: Lynnette | January 28, 2012 at 04:15
Hi Margie, I think I have the hang of it now. This morning not so good but have visited every blog hop and had a wonderful time, (sometimes I wish I was a better speller to be able to put the words I really want to use.
It was emotional, overwhelming in the bestest way, I have learnt so much and shared getting to know so many of you.
Thank you Margie for organising the blog hop it is incredible. Your blog is insightful and I now know what I need to do to get ready for the 1st.
See you all later.
Posted by: Deborah Pearce | January 28, 2012 at 04:47
Thats awesome, Deborah! I think you will really enjoy LOAD. I cant wait to see your pages. Thanks for stopping by!
Posted by: Nihao, Cupcake! by Margie | January 28, 2012 at 05:02
Margie - I swear I commented on your post yesterday, but don't see it on here. Oh well. I basically said that your thoughts going into your first LOAD are very similar to mine. Perfectionism is the bump in the road on my way to completed layouts, I'm looking forward to LOAD to keep me on a time restraint so that I have little time to over think the process. Thanks for organizing this blog hop and giving me the opportunity to participate. I can't wait for LOAD to get started.
Posted by: Gina | January 28, 2012 at 06:46
Great post and inspiration. I love LOAD, yet I don't feel the pressure to complete tons of pages; I like to enjoy each page I make. This is the tension I feel between the inspiration and discipline that I love from LOAD and the urgency to finish MANY pages. I also struggle with 2 page layouts. Not everything I want to scrapbook is one page, and I feel that LOAD works better for one pagers.
I highly encourage EVERYONE to try LOAD. They habit for scrapping every day is truly life changing. Thanks!
Posted by: Briel | January 28, 2012 at 08:40
Thanks for this post! I appreciate your candor, I used to have pages unfinished for over a month...
My best LOAD advice would be look at each prompt and if possible find a way to use it. The ones that seem the most unlike us are maybe the ones we need the most.
Posted by: Katrina F (kskreations) | January 28, 2012 at 14:24
Okay, so your's is the first blog I've visited - and I'm already seriously feeling like I need to sign up and get some memories onto pages! Thanks for mentioning that you got only 1 LO done the first time - I can see that being me!!
Posted by: Crystal | January 28, 2012 at 14:36
Love your story! LOAD has helped me to scrap faster and learn more about the design process. My best advice? Start with an organized craft space (I'm in the process of doing this right now) and keep a routine going for the month. After the girls go to school, I complete my layout in the morning and try to have it up on Flickr before the end of the school day.
Posted by: Danielle | January 28, 2012 at 16:26
I love the way you describe that Briel. There is definitely a tension. I too have started creating more one pagers since joining LOAD. Before that I was pretty much exclusively a two-page scrapbooker. I also scrapbook one photo layouts which I rarely used to do. Cant wait to see your pages. The countdown begins!
Posted by: Nihao, Cupcake! by Margie | January 28, 2012 at 21:35
Great tip! I am set to get organized and clean up my desk over the next two days. Thanks for the reminder!
Posted by: Nihao, Cupcake! by Margie | January 29, 2012 at 03:08
LOAD typically happens three times a year, so if you aren't mentally prepared for Feb, give it some thought for May. It is TONS of fun! Or dive in & join us on Wed!! We'd love to have you.
Posted by: Nihao, Cupcake! by Margie | January 29, 2012 at 03:14
I don't typically do the prompts, but I am excited to try a few each week in Feb. It's a good theme this time.
Posted by: Nihao, Cupcake! by Margie | January 29, 2012 at 03:14
You did! I read it and remember it well. Thanks for coming back by and leaving another one for good measure. That was very sweet of you. :)
Posted by: Nihao, Cupcake! by Margie | January 29, 2012 at 03:16
I love that! Because that is so me. I have done that - missed a day and then given up completely. I've learned not to do that, but I still find myself tempted, so thanks for the encouragement. I think for me, I can't miss more than one day or its hard for me to get back in to the right mindset.
Posted by: Nihao, Cupcake! by Margie | January 29, 2012 at 03:17
Love your attitude about LOAD!!! Thank you for the inspiration!
Posted by: Danielle Taylor | January 29, 2012 at 06:34
Thanks for sharing your tips. I am newbie and am just starting the blog hop, so I'm sure this will be fun. I think my biggest fear is making sure I have enough time to photograph my LO and upload it to flickr. I work and have two small kids. So I know I will have to work fast and smart on the layouts, which is fine. But I've never shared my work online (read not a blogger). So just need to work out the timing, mechanics and flow of photographing my work and uploading on a daily basis. Laura
Posted by: Laura | January 29, 2012 at 11:32