What A Difference A Year Makes!

The following 4 layouts were among the first ones I did, about a year after I started scrapbooking.  I took a photo of each of my children every month on their month-iversay, at birth, 1 month, 2 months, etc. After 12 months, I did a layout with all of their photos to show how much they grew and changed during their first year.  (Click on a photo to get a closer look.)

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Thinking “Inside the Box”

Usually we are encouraged to be creative and think outside the box.  However, I worked “inside the box” for these layouts!  (Click on a photo for a closer look.)

This fall page has several photos cut to fit inside fall-shaped dies.

The collage of photos is inside the barn on this field trip page.

Photos are cut to fit inside the ornaments and packages on this Christmas layout.

Look inside the mittens and snowmen on this winter page.

The insides of the water splashes contain the photos on this summer layout.

On this school page, the large schoolhouse die contains the individual and class portraits.

There are photos in the tent die on this camping page.

This Halloween spread has photos in the haunted house.

Here’s another Halloween layout with the photos trimmed to fit in the word “boo” and another photo is in the ghost.

Photos make up the parts of the Mayflower on this Thanksgiving page.

Party pictures are in the hand-made castle layout.

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(Cartoons and clip art on this page are from google images from various sources and are not my artwork.)

My plan for this scrapbook section is to post random layouts, in no particular order.

As you will see, my pages are pretty clean and flat. I use mostly paper to decorate my layouts, and I usually try to get as many photos on a page as possible. I often see gorgeous layouts/works of art posted online that contain such beautiful embellishments and decorative papers. These layouts often contain 1 or 2 photos. I admire them from afar, but that style doesn’t really work for what I am trying to do; I need my books to close flat, I have way too many photos to put one on a page, and I am trying to keep the focus on the photos and journaling without too much distraction. Presenting my photos and memories in a way that’s pleasing to look at is my goal. As with any craft, one gets better over time, or at least one’s style evolves.

I laugh when I look at some of my earlier layouts and compare them to the later ones!

I started scrapbooking in the summer of 1999. My friend was a Creative Memories consultant and asked if I’d like to host a workshop at my house. She taught us what scrapbooking was, why it was important to use the right products, and how to get started.   I was immediately hooked! (We still try to meet monthly to scrap and catch up!)

I decided to make a scrapbook in place of a baby book for each of my children. My mother had kept a baby book for me, and I still enjoy looking at it. It covers my first 7 years and contains a few photos, my mother’s thoughts, my milestones and firsts. I wanted to have something like that for each of my children as well, but I thought a scrapbook would be a better idea because it could contain everything a baby book has and more. Since I was starting with blank pages, I could customize it to include whatever I wanted.

Well, one book for each turned into several, and the first 7 years will now be the first 18. I take soooo many photos and I want to include , among other things, every holiday, major event, vacation, and sometimes cute photos of nothing in particular! As a result, I am hopelessly behind because I just keep snapping away!

 Eventually, I’ll finish! And if not, they will have the first 5 years at least since that’s where I am at the moment!!

I am so glad I started this project for them.  I really enjoy scrapping, and they really enjoy looking at their books at what I’ve done so far. And it will be something they will have, from me, for years to come!

Thanks for checking out my scrapbook posts!