Scrapbook Evolution

27 January 201625 January 2016

What has become of traditional scrapbooking? Discussing facets of scrapbook evolution

Remember when I used to scrap traditional 12×12 scrapbook layouts?

As I was organizing and looking through my blog archives one day, I started reminiscing about all the traditional scrapbooking layouts I used to make before Project Life came into the picture and I sorta “gave up” on traditional scrapbooking. Back in 2012, I even had a whole project going where I made one project a week!

But I daresay it’s been a whole three years since I last made a traditional 12×12 scrapbook page. And truth be told, I actually don’t really miss traditional scrapbook layouts very much at all. I love watching scrapbookers and their creative processes for creating bigger 12×12 pages – it’s still inspiring!

I’ve since discovered that the fun of scrapbooking for me is being able to document my memories whilst being creative. Since I felt as if I would never get “caught up” with documenting through traditional layouts, pocket scrapbooking has been the perfect solution for me.

Once in awhile, I miss making bigger pages. But for the most part, I’m thoroughly embracing pocket page scrapbooking and how it is working for my life right now. And when I need a “large-scale” project, mini albums give me the right fix when I feel I need to work on something bigger.

Through the years, scrapbooking has evolved, but it’s taken on so much more than just scrapbooking in the traditional sense – which has been incredible to watch. Some trends have come and gone, and others have become a permanent part of the industry. Recently, the planner worlds and scrapbook worlds have overlapped and I love seeing the expansion of creativity since these two industries collided, and options are no longer limited to a 12×12 sheet of paper.

So while I no longer scrap 12×12 pages for this season, they will always hold a special place in my heart. I will forever appreciate how they started me on memory keeping and playing with paper, gave me a love for creativity and experimenting with techniques, and combined my love for documenting with paper.

Here’s to many more years of documenting and memory keeping, no matter what shape or form.

How has scrapbooking evolved for you?

All the Memories | 10 embellishments for pocket scrapbooking

2 March 2015

A couple of weeks ago, I shared my favorite tools for memory keeping.

So today, I’m sharing my favorite embellishments that I use in my Project Life albums.

There is a huge variety of embellishments that you can include in your albums, but these are my favorites – the things that I find myself gravitating toward and using constantly week after week. The thing about embellishments is that you don’t need them for memory keeping, but they’re nice additional touches that make the pages extra special.

Although things have been a little slow on the Project Life front recently, I’m excited to see whether my tastes and style will change in the coming months as I continue to work on my album. (Yes, I’m planning to actually get it done.)

So in no particular order, here we go!

10 embellishments for pocket scrapbooking:

1. Washi tape

This is a long-time favorite embellishment. I even made some DIYs with it (see this and this). It’s cute and functional in attaching memorabilia or other papers.

2. Enamel dots

These add the perfect pop of color and dimension to any spreads.

3. Wood veneer

I love using these raw, so many different shapes, so much variety.

4. Paper clips

These are perfect for attaching memorabilia without damaging them, or creating flaps for additional information.

5. Stamps

Roller stamps, rubber stamps, date stamps, clear stamps – I love the variety and versatility of stamps and use at least one form of them in every spread.

(Some may consider stamps as tools instead, but since they aren’t actually essential to completing a Project Life album and you’re pretty spoilt for choice, I would consider them as embellishments.)

6. Inks

Again, there are many different types and so many colors to choose from to pair with the stamps.

7. Chipboard shapes

Like enamel dots, chipboard shapes are pretty flat but still have enough dimension to keep things interesting. And lots of options too!

8. Die cut pieces

Whether I die cut my own shapes or purchase them, I love customizing die cut pieces for my spreads.

9. Stickers

I especially love alpha stickers, but the American Crafts Remarks sticker books are a lot of fun too.

10. Sequins

When I need the perfect touch of bling, sequins are my go-to.

What are your favorite scrapbooking embellishments? Tell me in the comments!

Missed the other posts in this series? You can catch up on them here:

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All the Memories is a blog series talking about all things memory keeping – from memory keeping ideas to answering your questions. This is the year to get those memories documented!

Project Life 2014 | week 12

26 August 2014

Week of: 17 to 23 March 2014

What happened this week: In contrast with the week before, this week was pretty routine. It seems like there’s a trend with one week being pretty exciting(ish), and the week after being a little quieter. But I’m totally fine with that.

That said, some highlights this week included new scrapbook supplies (yay!) and a lovely letter from Vanessa.

Left-hand side

For some reason, I kinda love those gold stars in the corner of the bottom left photo.

Techniques: On the left-hand side, I used embroidery thread and hand-stitched a border along the heart-shaped card in the middle row. I also stapled a Roundabout days tag to the middle of the top right photo.

Right-hand side

I included the “Thankful” sticker from MAMBI because I thought it made a good combination with Vanessa’s beautiful handwriting of Robert Downey Jr’.’s quote, “There is unpanned gold in every soul you run into.” (She also has a free printable of it here.)

I stapled a wood veneer star onto a 3×4 card from Amy Tangerine’s Cut and Paste collection.

And more gold stickers on photos.

Thoughts: No photos of people this week but I still love how this spread came together. I think kraft and gold make a pretty good combination.

So glad that week 12 is in the books!

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Project Life is a memory-keeping system created by Becky Higgins. I’m embarking on this year-long project to document all my memories in 2014. You can see my other Project Life posts here.

Project Life 2014 | catch-up progress

19 August 2014

Last week, I shared in this post about catching up on twenty weeks of Project Life in two weeks. Sounds pretty crazy, I know. Daunting as it sounds, part of the inspiration and motivation has come from scrolling through the #letscatchuponprojectlife hashtag on Instagram and seeing so many of you do this together.

This past weekend, I turned the plan into action and I spent about six hours pushing paper. I would’ve spent more time if I had more to spare. But alas, the weekend went by so quickly.

During the week prior to the weekend, I spent my free evenings planning my spreads, sorting through photos, editing, and compiling my week in reviews. On Friday, I sent the photos off to print at my local printer and got them back the same day.

So all I had to do this weekend was trim the photos, add them to the respective spreads, and choose paper to match. I don’t know if six hours is a long time to be just choosing paper for nine layouts. It probably is, considering all I had to do was just slot things in and the fact that all the spreads aren’t even actually complete.

But boy, I had so much fun pushing paper, you wouldn’t believe it. I’m totally in love with scrapbooking and this project. I was so absorbed in it all that I didn’t even have time to photograph the mess.

With the exception of week 14, I currently have the papers and photos for week 13 to 22 complete. That said, I am by no means ready to call these spreads done, but the skeleton is there with the photos and papers picked out. Now I just need to go back and add my weekly title cards, journaling and embellishments.

I don’t know how well I’ll do with the catch-up plan this week, since I’m starting a new term and have a full workload at school this fall. But I hope the inspiration I received this weekend is sufficient motivation for me to press on to completion.

How are you doing with your Project Life catch-up? We’re in this together so let’s keep pressing on!

P.S. If you need more inspiration and motivation for catching up on Project Life, Caylee, Olya, and Lauren all have some great tips to help you out!

Project Life 2014 | week 8

29 May 2014

Week of: 17 February to 23 February 2014

What happened this week: Nothing too out of the ordinary – had some friends over for dinner, worked on a school project, went on a long run and ate dinner out.

Techniques: Not many techniques this week, if any at all. I actually kept this week super simple and stuck with the basics – stamps, wood veneers, and mini kit cards.

Left-hand side

Right-hand side

Thoughts: I actually surprised myself with the minimal supplies that I used this week. This was one week where I actually didn’t have many photos at all. So I got to use plenty of Project Life cards from the Amy Tangerine Plus One mini kit – I LOVE the watercolor and script on those cards. It also made things super simple to put together, despite the lack of photos.

With more than ten weeks to catch up on, I’m going with simple all the way. Totally my thing.

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Supplies used: Amy Tangerine Plus One Project Life mini kit, Studio Calico wood veneers, American Craft thickers, Studio Calico Atlantic 6×6 paper pad, Kelly Purkey Bon Appetit clear stamps

Tools: Becky Higgins Project Life Design A page protectors, American Crafts white cardstock, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, Tsukineko Brilliance ink in black

Project Life is a memory-keeping system created by Becky Higgins. I’m embarking on this year-long project to document all my memories in 2014. You can see my other Project Life posts here.

Project Life 2014 // week 7

15 May 2014

Week of: 10 February to 16 February 2014

What happened this week: Went on a girls’ date, IKEA, and the Air Show.

Techniques: As you might be able to tell, my new-found love for stamping on photos did not stop at week 6 and totally spilled over into week 7. That, and Kelly Purkey’s alpha stickers on my photos. Perfect combination. Plus, I just had to find a way to include my new Kelly Purkey stamps into the spread.

Other familiar things this week included Instax photos and a trimmed Project Life Design C page protector insert.

I also included a die-cut of the free printable that my friend Vanessa made of her amazing script writing. Love it.

Here’s the full spread with the front of the insert:

And the back of the insert. Nothing too fancy here.

I made a flap for the top photo of the insert because I had too many photos and wanted to include them all!

Thoughts: You know how there are some weeks where you just adore the color scheme? Yeah. That was this week for me. The colors of the Dear Lizzy Daydreamer kit + Maggie Holmes Flea Market kit worked nicely for an (unintentional) mint and pink color scheme so I just rolled with it. I liked how it fit the Valentine’s Day feel too.

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Supplies used: Project Life Dear Lizzy Daydreamer mini kit, Maggie Holmes Flea Market mini kit, Studio Calico Atlantic 6×6 paper pad, Project Life Midnight edition, printable from Vanessa, Kelly Purkey alphabet stickers, Kelly Purkey Documented clear stamps, Kelly Purkey Bon Appetit clear stamps, Basic Grey enamel dots, Dear Lizzy Daydreamer wood buttons, Studio G clear stamps, Amy Tangerine Remarks stickers

Tools: Becky Higgins Project Life Design A page protectors, Becky Higgins Project Life Design C page protectors, American Crafts white cardstock, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, Becky Higgins die set, Sizzix Big Shot, Tsukineko Brilliance ink in black

Project Life is a memory-keeping system created by Becky Higgins. I’m embarking on this year-long project to document all my memories in 2014. You can see my other Project Life posts here.