LeNae’s Top 5 Time-Savers

Designer LeNae Gerig is a busy scrapper—between work, family (including a young daughter), and community activities, she’s always looking for time-saving tips for paper crafting. Here are her top five ways to save on time!

Tip #1: Proper storage. Finding the correct tool storage can be a real time saver. I have a scrapbooking area set up in our spare bedroom, but I get lonely in there so I like to scrap in the family room—with my family. Running back and forth between my supplies and my work area in the family room was frustrating. The Plastic Card Case is a perfect solution for me. I keep my inkpads, cutting tools, adhesives, brads, chalks…the dividers are plastic, so it keeps everything from sliding around. Everything I need is now very portable. I keep it on the floor next to my chair so that I look down into it. I can see the contents of the divided sections easily and I have more table space.

Tip #2: Perfect paper trimmers. A good paper trimmer and a supply of replacement blades is time saver. Cutting strips of paper, photo mats or cropping photos with a cutter is a staple for me. I always make sure to have plenty of replacement blades handy because a dull blade will fray your paper and you’ll spend extra time cutting off the fuzzy edge with straight scissors.

Tip #3: Pare down your photos. Save time when constructing your pages by editing your photos. I take lots of photos, but I only use, at most, three on a page. It can be difficult, but I’ve trained myself to only use the best photo(s) on my pages. I select the photos that sum up the event or theme the best. Matting all those additional photos and finding room on your pages can take too much time. You can still display your additional photos, along with your pages, by using divided sheet protectors.

Tip #4: Ink your edges. My number one time-saver is edging paper with an inkpad. An inked edge will add quick definition to the edge of a card, photo mat, monogram or tag. This is such a quick fix and it can really make the difference between a page or card looking finished or unfinished. Just hold the paper in one hand and skim the inkpad along one edge, as shown here.

Tip #5: Take advantage of time-saving products. Using kits that are all-inclusive is a huge time saver for me. Finished In A Flash™ kits have all of the brads, ribbon and embellishments that match the papers perfectly so I don’t have to hunt around and find the perfect colors. I also found the Click N’ Stick adhesive tape runners are a wonderful time saver. Just a little bit at each corner of a photo back and I’m done.