Creating my first album & need some help please....

[sarahw2275]

OK, I apologize upfront for all the questions I'm gonna throw out here but I really need some advice. I'm creating my first album, a 2009 album of my 3 great nieces and I don't know where to begin!
Do you guys stick to one color throughout the album or mix it up some? I want the double page layouts to match, but don't know whether to mix it up with different papers etc each time I start a new layout.
Do you stick to one style throught the album to make it cohesive or do you mix styles?
I have 3 great nieces, but don't have photos of them taken each month so can't lay the album out by month, how would you lay it out, GN1, GN2, GN3, then repeat or one section on GN1, then GN2 finishing with a section on GN3? Any other sugguestions?
One final question, how do you recolor papers from various kits so that they match, I've been doing edit>adust>hue/saturation and moving the sliders but can't seem to make the colors match, what am I doing wrong?
So sorry for the extra long post & all the questions, I'm just overwhelmed!! I really want to make a start & am excited to get an album finished & printed but don't know where on earth to begin!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[dugarner]

Sarah,

You'll get lots of good advice . . . the thing is, you'll have to filter it out based on your preferences.

If you are doing a first album, I would suggest using a kit. It makes it easy and fast to coordinate papers and elements. You can other stuff when you want to, but for a foundation, kits work great for books that might not have any other cohesive theme.

I always do double-page layouts. I did a Shutterfly book for my daughter using only Mindy Terasawa's "Love Bandits" paper and stickers. Because the pages weren't chronological, I looked for groups of pictures that had similar colors or styles, or were from similar events. It helped with my layouts.

Cassie has a great tutorial on recoloring.

How’d They Do That? No. 04: Selective ReColoring - Digital Scrapbooking

I would mix the pictures together if you have groups that "match." There's no special way to do it. Look for what's pleasing to the eye, and stick those pictures together.

I'm sure lots of ladies might have advice on getting started!

HTH.

[Cassie Jones (1gr8muggle)]

I would also recommend using a set of templates designed specifically for albums. They make books a snap.

I created this book using a set of Anna's templates, but there are lots of options in the store.

The tutorial mentioned above will help you recolor your papers with more control, and I have another tutorial on recoloring called

Have fun with your album!

[kaleidoscope]

I haven't been doing digital very long but my thought on making a color match would be to desaturate then take a color sample from the paper you're trying to match and fill it in with that.

This is how I scrap: I prefer to scrap chronological. I'm a timeline kind of gal, not a grouper or a themer. LOL Unless I'm doing a special album like a wedding album, I don't worry about having my pages coordinate. I prefer to have the pages reflect the mood/theme of the photos.

[echogirl]

Hi Sarah,
You have great questions. The best thing I found when I did my first book is to check out some of the shutterfly books that are posted in the thread above called ': A Place to Share Your DesignerDigitals Shutterfly Albums ' You'll get some great idea there. I would also second Cassie's suggestions to use a template. It makes book making a snap. Warning...you will become addicted!
Have fun.

[dover14]

Sarah - In addition to all of the info provided so far, Pattie Knox has a self-paced class at Getting It Scrapped that is specifically for Shutterfly Albums that was immensely helpful to me. I did my first album just before Christmas and would never have gotten it uploaded without Pattie's directions - Plus it comes with great Designer Digital goodies. Good luck.

[deanie]

Sarah,
I am working on my ninth shutterfly book right now, and could not have done them without templates! They make life so, so much easier! If I am doing a book about a vacation, Christmas etc. I usually choose a color scheme for my book and try to stick with it. Cassie's tutorials on recoloring are the best information I've found to date. Have a good time-I would recommend Pattie's class as well. It sure helps to have someone's hand to hold the first time you upload your pages to Shutterfly!

[sarahw2275]

Thank you all of the advice, it's much appreciated! Off to look for templates