Single or Double Page Layouts?

[Damkina]

Hiya, I've just recently bought a new We R Memory Keepers, Country Blue D-Ring album and have about 600 or more photos... (The pile doesn't seem to be going down)

Apart from the try at Project Life last year, which I struggled with, even though I love the D-Ring albums, I've always stuck with double page layouts. But, I was wondering if it's either easier to find layout templates, quicker, more enjoyable etc, or just something different by doing single page layouts.

I've never personally seen an album with just single pages and wondered, do you leave the left side blank, or have the backing page a similar or contrasting colour? Any suggestions or advice would be really appreciated.

Thank you
Damkina

[stitching lady]

I mostly just make single pages and I rarely worry about what two pages go side by side. I want my photos in albums with the stories written down. Usually the pages don't clash because they are in my style and so the album looks fine to me. Others may disagree; it really is down to personal preference.

[Cris]

I used to do nearly all DLOs but now I seem to do a lot more SLOs. I use D ring albums and still do DLOs even though they don't join in the middle but I don't usually have photos crossing the middle (cut in half) so I don't find it a big problem. I don't worry when I do SLOs if the left and right hand sides don't match or co-ordinate, I just put them in the albums.
I wouldn't leave blank pages because it would use too many page protectors only putting 1 LO in each.
Shimelle does a lot of single LOs and I think on her website there are some videos/photos of run throughs of some of her albums if you want to see how it might look

Cris

[CraftyPrincess]

Depends on the page I'm making and the photos/journaling I'm adding and if it needs a two page spread but all my albums are mixed up one and two pagers. Sometimes I do get a page where the two side by side layouts don't match up but that's the good thing about slip in page protectors when you find or make something that does match you can move them around.
If you're using the same paper or something like a kit or collection pack and making your pages photo to photo your pages, even though you're making them singularly will co-ordinate as you'd be using co-ordinated product so that could be a way for you to feel more confidant doing single pages?
What are your photos? Are they from a full year or more than a year? Maybe it'd be easier for you to split your photos up first into month/year and then work out your albums into seperate months or section off your album into months to make it easier?

Being stricter and culling your photos from your scrap pile is another thing to consider. You can always keep the photos you're not using together and make a minibook with them just backing them onto cardstock or paper and bookringing them together.
With projects with lots of photos I've also used pocket pages just filled with photos between full size scrapbook pages, the ones with split up 6x4 pockets so it's like a mix up between a photo album and a scrapbook.

[alison 2]

I used to do exclusively 2 page layouts, as I too have lots of photos. Now I do a mix, but I do still like to have my left and right side to 'go together' in some way
I like to have some feeling of continuity through my albums so will use a loose colour scheme for all LO's for one event, or I have been known to use the same alpha dies for all the page titles in an album, or a stamp / die that i will use on every page.
Saying that I do have a LOT of loose random layouts that need homes in albums. These are mainly single pages and I will have to choose carefully how I order them as I do prefer them to work together in some way
Sorry, I'm rambling, don't think I'm helping much !
good luck with your 600 photos, the D ring albums are great, much easier to rearrange pages in x

[CoventryAnn]

I also have a mix of single and double pages; mostly singles. DLOS if if have a lot of photos from one event and singles for the rest. I really don't worry at all if the single pages don't match, it's more about recording the memories than whether two pages match.

[lemonblossom]

Mostly single Lo's in my albums a part from my Christmas album they all have double Lo's

[arimum_123]

I used to do mainly DLO's due to the number of photos I had to scrap, but now I do more singles. I have started to use photo editing software to put two photos together so each is 2 x 3 and this means I get more on a page.
I mainly use white cardstock now so getting pages to match is less of an issue.

Like Alison2 I tend to use a colour/stamp/die to tie the two pages together, and occasionally just have the photo's slightly out of chronological order if it helps stop a clash of pages,

Louise x

[AnniB]

When I first started I used to do a lot of DLO. I rarely do one these days. These days I am more picky about what I scrap and I am happy about cropping pictures and using grids to allow me to put a lot of smaller pictures on a page. I don't worry unduly about how things are arranged in the album.

[Damkina]

Wow! Thank you all for your replies, suggestions and advice.
I've taken a look though Shimelles site and it's been really helpful to see an actual album without all of the pages matching.
Trying PL, I thought my attempt would clear the backlog of photos, but it took me just as long to do the pages as I like to mat and layer and pick colours and generally faff about too long. I gave up.
I also don't cut photos in half to go across the two pages as it just doesn't feel right to leave a gap in the middle. I've also noticed that sometimes I only have maybe one or two photos of an event, person/date which would look silly spread out over two pages.
I don't have a kit, per se, but have bought some paper/card pads that coordinate with the paper I already have, I could do singles and just have the same theme of paper throughout.
My photos are just a build up of what I haven't gotten around to yet. Some of them are from years ago. They are mostly sorted into years, but it's just the accumulation that is daunting. Because I don't scrap very fast... Taking too long choosing paper, embellishments and trawling through photos, I haven't gotten very far and is why I want to try including single layouts.

I guess I'm going to have to stop being squeamish because the facing pages aren't the same and get some scrapping done!
Again, your suggestions are very helpful.
Damkina

[Cherry Pie]

I do both double and single LO's in D Ring albums. The DLO'S I staple the page protectors together so there is no gap and use the other sides of them for the SLO's. Sometimes its a faff and they don't run together properly but I am not too precious about this and put them in where I can.