FAQ's

I have years' of photos. How do I know where to begin? I think it's best to work on more than one project at a time. For instance, pick something current ~ like a recent holiday, a child's last birthday party, or your latest vacation ~ because completing these will make you feel like it's actually possible to get caught up! But then you'll also want to go back, and start making progress on those older events that you swore you'd "get to someday" but simply never have.

How do I get my pictures to you? That's easy! You can send them 1) in the mail on a disk or flash drive, 2) upload them to a photo sharing website, or, my favorite, 3) just email them to me. I'd prefer a separate email for each set of photos. For instance, you'll want to send all of your parents' 50th wedding anniversary pictures in a separate email from your daughter's first tap recital. That way you can give me the basic who/what/when/where plus any journaling you want included on the page.

How many photos can fit on a page? That's a great question. You'll find a lot of designers who average 1-4 pictures on a page. Well, if you take pictures at the rate I do, you'll know that that's just not going to cut it. Check out my gallery and see how amazing a page filled with 10-16 pictures can look. I'm not saying I do this all the time. In fact, I normally use about 3-7 pictures on a page. But just know that you don't have to be limited to a certain number. I can use grids and film strips and collages to get a lot of use out of a little space!

Scrapbooking terms confuse me. Please explain "page," layout," 2-page spread," "album," and "book." It's always good to know what we're talking about, so let me clarify a few things. I love making simple, one-sided things like Christmas cards, birthday invites, and birth announcements, but most of my projects are more detailed. Everything starts with a "page." This is just one (1) 12 x 12 or 8 x 8 or 8.5 x 11 picture that will then be dropped into a top-loading photo album. You can quickly fill an entire album with single pages. When you put two pages side by side, they become a "2-page layout." This is what I most commonly work with. By making the layout span two pages, you create continuity of color and theme, which looks great in an album, but also tells a story perhaps a little bit better than single pages. If all of your pages in an album revolve around the same theme ~ say, your honeymoon ~ then you might want a book. A book is just what it sounds like. They have a hard or soft cover, they are thinner than albums, they are bound, and they are usually put out on display, like a coffee table book. These have been gaining in popularity for the past few years.

If you are doing my pages/book, how will it be personal? Afterall, you don't know me. You're right, but that's okay! When you email me your initial set of photos, you will give me some insight into the occasion. You will tell me names and dates and places and people involved. I can just include those basic facts, or I can write EXACTLY what journaling you want on your pages. Just email me your words, as you'd put them on the page if you were doing it, and I'll make them fit into the design. I have, literally, HUNDREDS of fonts and I'll make it look perfect.

What if I'm not happy with the final product? Trust me when I say I'm not happy until you're happy! I will be emailing you 'progress proofs' as I work on your project. You will be able to give me your feedback before it's complete, and before you pay. I want you to be completely satisfied with whatever I make for you. Check out my Customer Comments section. I think you'll see that everyone is pleased with what I design for them.

What sort of turnaround time can I expect? Well, that depends on a few things. Time of year has a little something to do with my schedule. Obviously, holidays like Christmas and Mother's Day, plus, big milestone events like graduations and summer vacations, can make my workload frantic. Regardless, if we stay in communication, and I have everything I need from you (like pictures, details, approval, etc), then you could expect a 2-page layout within a few days. Several 2-page spreads would take a week or so. A 20-page album would take about 3-4 weeks. Remember, on books I'm also having to wait for production time at a lab. That increases your wait time and is out of my control. NOTE: If you have some sort of deadline for your project, please contact me first to see if I can accommodate your needs.