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Scrapbook Your Memories

By Traci Smith and Associate Editor
Published on April 8, 2010
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A title should tell the
A title should tell the "story" of the layout.
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When journaling on a child's page, try to tell the story through the child's eyes.
When journaling on a child's page, try to tell the story through the child's eyes.

Scrapbooking doesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming. As with most things, when you have a plan, things tend to go much smoother – and a whole lot quicker.

So, I always try to have a plan when I know I’m going to be scrapbooking in the near future. That plan is to build a “kit” a few days in advance. In other words, I pick out my cardstock, patterned papers and embellishments. Then I go through my alphabet stickers and rub-ons to see what will work with the kit. This saves money, too, because instead of going out and buying a premade kit, I make my own from the supplies I already have.

Next, I take a few minutes to go through my photos and decide which ones to use with the kit I’ve created. Or, if I know I want to use certain photos, I’ll pick them out first, then build my kit.

With that done, when the day to scrapbook arrives, all I have to do is grab my kit and get started on the layout.

For this project …

Since it’s summer and the days are getting warmer, I decided to use materials with a summery theme, and I used photos of my best friend’s daughter that were taken at the park last summer.

Materials

Solid cardstock

Patterned paper

Ribbon

Fabric flowers and brads

Rub-ons

Thin-tipped brown marker

Design background page

Cut two 8-by-8-inch squares out of solid colored cardstock, then cut one 4¾-by-8-inch strip and one 3½-by-8-inch strip out of patterned paper. Glue the patterned paper to the cardstock as shown.

Mat your photos

After trimming your photos to the size you want them, cut out mats a little larger than the photos. I used white cardstock for the mats, but colored could also be used.

Design two-page layout

Cut two 8-inch-long pieces of ribbon and glue to pages as shown. Glue matted photos onto pages. Place flowers as seen below and put brads through centers to attach them. Use rub-ons for title, journaling and date (at top of right-hand page). Trace around title rub-ons with a marker for a “fun” effect.