Make it even simpler with pocket pages!

“I don’t want to cut, paste, trim or glue…I just want to put my pictures in an album!”

Gotcha’ covered! And you are not alone! Pocket page scrapbooking is very popular and ranges from simple (see left below, put in the pages, add a few labels) to very elaborate (right below)! For even more ideas, search Pinterest for “pocket pages scrapbooking layout” and you will get hundreds of ideas!

Image credits – squarespace.com, Left image, right image

What do I need to make a pocket page album?

You can purchase albums that already have pocket pages in them. The plus side is there is no assembly needed. The downside is you may have too few or too many pages and you may not be able to add or delete pages. More commonly, you will purchase some type of album cover and pocket pages to put into the album.

Beware the binding!

Do all pocket pages work in all albums? No! Each scrapbooking company wants you to use their pages and products with their albums, of course. So you have to check to make sure the page says it will work with the album you use. The most common album types are post-bound, 3-ring binder, strap hinge, and book bound. For a nice overview of these types, see the excellent post at The Spruce Crafts.

How do I pick pocket pages for my album?

The most important factor is to get pages that are “archival quality,” acid-free, and PVC-free. Why? You are putting time into scrapbooking to save memories and pictures for you, your family/friends, and even for future generations. By using pages that will not stick to or damage your photos and memorabilia, you are helping to preserve them. I also recommend getting pages that are a little heavier weight. You don’t want that page to tear apart after you invested time in putting it together!

Pages are available in many different configurations and sizes. For example, you can get 12 x 12-inch pages to insert:

six standard 4×6 pictures in vertical or horizontal position
five standard 4 x 6 pictures – 3 horizontal position and two vertical
twelve 4 x 4 pictures

You can also get a variety of pocket pages for 8.5 x 11 scrapbooks.

Here are some companies/sources for pocket pages. Note: I have not been compensated for including these links in my blog. I just want you to know there are many sources for scrapbooking materials so you can pick what fits your preferences and budget!

Please note that many of these products are available from other sellers (e.g., Amazon, Michaels, Scrapbooking.com, etc.). Be sure to compare prices and shipping before ordering. And, as always, if you want Creative Memories products, please feel free to use me as your advisor when you place an order. Just click here to place a CM order.

How do I use pocket pages?

I like to mix it up! I have done whole albums with pockets. The picture below is of an album I use to preserve all of those great pictures I received in Christmas cards. I sorted them by date and added them in order for each family. It was so fun to see everyone’s kids “grow up” on the page!

I also use pocket pages to allow me to easily add more pictures to Creative Memories (CM) albums. I find this especially helpful for “vacation” albums where we have a TON of great pictures from a momentous trip. I don’t want to make two albums from one trip and I don’t want an overstuffed album with too many scrapbook pages. A CM pocket page lets me add EIGHT pictures (pages are double sided) and TWO journaling cards to my vacation album.

In the above example, I made a regular page (left) serve as the title page for a section of underwater snorkeling pictures in pocket pages. Where is the journaling? On the flip side of the pocket page.

Here are some additional examples:

Example 1: Note the background! On this pocket page, note that you can see the title page printed paper (the fish paper) behind this pocket page. You have to consider what the “background” will be for pocket pages that do not fill the entire space with pictures. Also note that I used patterned paper to back the journal box (a printed form) and the cropped pic of the open oven. This keeps cropped pics from looking like they are floating in space and anchors them on the page.

Example 2: Use memorabilia as journaling box. On this pocket page, I used the ticket stub as journaling. Note that it is adhered to the picture and sticks out over the gap between the pockets. Again, you can see the background of the title page through the edges so watch your colors.

Example 3: Random photos! This page includes all those great “selfie” and random shots that you want to include, but didn’t fit elsewhere! Hawaii Happy, indeed!! Note that the journal box is just a piece of patterned paper (from scraps), two stickers and a quick title.

More hints

As shown in the examples above, because they are clear plastic, the page BEHIND some pocket pages may show through the edges and center. If this is the case, try to avoid clashes between the colors on the page behind and the colors on your pocket page.
Remember that you need to journal on these pages, too! See examples above. Journaling can be as simple as a title, a card from the restaurant or a picture of its sign, or a ticket stub. Of course, a more personal note (“Jackie gave it two thumbs up!”) is even better.
Looking for a way to show family pictures to your toddler? Consider getting double prints of some great shots, use pocket pages, and put that second set of prints in a book that your toddler can enjoy! Add pages to an appropriate binder (even yarn ties will work). Sticky fingers and smeary smooches are OK because you can wipe the pocket pages clean. Remember that pockets are NOT sealed and pocket pages are not an approved teething ring so you need to decide the level of supervision needed for your child.

Need more ideas? Here are a few more ideas on using multi-pocket pages
a. Christmas: http://bit.ly/2DZ96G5
b. Family time: http://bit.ly/2GNHdT6
c. Lots of pockets: http://bit.ly/2GLHjuE

To sum it up…

You can make a great scrapbook using pocket pages. How simple or elaborate you want those pages to be is up to you! But remember to JOURNAL so you don’t lose the story behind the pictures!

Anyone else use pocket pages? Please share your ideas!

Happy Scrapping!

Marsha

Look what you can do with just scissors and a ruler!

I promised to share how you can make simple but pretty (IMHO!) scrapbook pages with few tools and without spending a lot of money. Sorry for the delay…February was WAY busier than I expected! But, as promised, here is a recipe for five+ pages using everyday tools…4 photos + 3 paper strips + 4 paper triangles = FIVE scrapbooking pages!

What you need

4 photos
2 sheets of 8.5 x 11 colored paper (acid free preferred)
Scissors
Pencil
Ruler
Marker (acid free preferred)
12 x 12 scrapbook page or sheet of paper

Prepare your paper strips and triangles

You will end up with:

One 11-inch x 1-inch strip of each piece of colored paper (mine are blue and orange)
One 6-inch x 1.5-inch strip of orange paper
Two 2.5-inch triangles of blue and orange paper (four triangles total)

If you don’t have a paper cutter, no problem! Lay your ruler along the shorter side of the orange paper and make a mark with your pencil 1 inch from the edge.

Do the same thing on the other edge. Use the ruler and your pencil to mark a light line connecting the two marks. Cut along the line with your scissors and you should have an 11-inch x 1-inch strip of orange paper. Repeat with the blue paper so you have one 11-inch x 1-inch strip of each color.

Repeat the process with the orange paper, this time cutting a 1.5 inch wide strip. Then measure and cut it down from 11 inches to 6 inches. You will use this strip for your page title.

Now to make triangles! I like to use triangles on my pages…sometimes lined up straight, sometimes tilted, sometimes as pointers. We are going to make an isosceles right triangle with two equal sides, but you don’t HAVE to make them even…feel free to mix it up! And if you want to impress the carpool, tell them you cut some isosceles and scalene triangles for your scrapbook page today.

Cut a 2.5-inch strip of orange paper across the shorter edge. Then measure 2.5 inches along the strip (remember to measure and mark both sides so you get a straight cut), mark a line and cut on the line. You should have a 2.5- inch SQUARE of orange paper. Now draw a light line from one corner of the square to the opposite corner. Cut on that line and you should have TWO triangles of orange paper. Repeat with the blue paper. Voila! You are DONE cutting paper for your layout!!

Prepare your pictures

Now it’s time to trim your pictures. I like to use two full sized pictures (mine are 4-inches by 6-inches) and two trimmed pictures (mine are 4-inches square). Learning to trim (“crop”) pictures becomes much easier the more you do it. And cropping pictures helps you learn to TAKE better pictures, too!

To crop a picture, use the same process as cutting paper strips. Measure, small marks, light line, and sharp scissors.

Look at the starfish picture. The main focus of the picture is the starfish.

Similarly, the main focus of the underwater snorkeler picture is the person facing the camera, not the legs of the snorkeler to the left. By lining them up, one of the other, you can see that both pictures could be cropped to four inches easily.

Time to do some layouts!!

I’m going to show you how you can do FIVE different layouts with these simple components. Note that we didn’t use a paper cutter, or any other special scrapbooking tool to prepare these materials. Just a ruler and scissors! For your layout, you need only three “special” scrapbooking items: a 12 x 12 scrapbook page or sheet of acid-free paper, an adhesive to attach the pictures and paper to the page, and an acid-free marking pen for writing the title and journaling.

Note that I did not glue down any of the items in the layouts below…so they might look a little crooked. But you get the idea! I also made little journaling strips, but you can write directly on the scrapbook page, on the strips of paper, etc.

Layout 1: Strips and Corners

You can use this over and over. Rotate it so the long strips are on the right, bottom or top of the page. Add a few small stickers along the long strip or on the corner triangles. Four different layouts just by changing this basic one!

Layout 2: Double Pointers

I like how the triangles really point your eyes toward the pictures. Again, this is a flexible layout. I had the long strips border the top and left side, but you can rotate that to any side. If you are doing a double layout (a facing page on the right), just mirror the layout so the long strips frame the two side-by-side pages on the outside and the center triangles point out toward your pictures on each page. Note that the title overlaps one picture and one journal strip is vertical. Feel free to break photo boundaries!

Layout 3: Center Title

Here I used the title as the focal point of the page but used the triangles to draw your eye to the pictures.

Layout 4: Three 4-inch Pictures

For this one, I trimmed the other tall picture (man in the sunglasses) to be 4-inch square. I played with the triangles to make a compass-like shape in the bottom left corner. The title overlaps the blue strip at the top. I tilted the starfish for a little more interest in the stack of 3 pictures and to leave a little space for journaling beside the starfish.

Layout 5: Tilting Title

Finally, I played a little more with the title, tilting it and using the triangles to frame it.

All five layouts took less than an hour!

A Hint on People in Pictures

Note that in each of the layouts, the man blowing the shell is always facing the middle of the page. The same is true for the man snorkeling. The man steering the boat is looking straight at you so his picture can in be in any spot on the page. It usually looks best when people are NOT looking “off the page.”

I hope that, if you new to scrapbooking that you will be encouraged (and excited!) to try a few layouts. Share your pics on the Scrappin’ Circle Facebook page!

Question? Comments? Welcome to add those below. No spammers or advertisers please!

Next time…Cropping and matting pictures!
Scrap on!
Marsha

Virtual Crop THIS weekend!

2019 CM Virtual Crop

Feb. 8 starting at 3pm CT | Feb. 9 starting at 9am CT

Creative Memories is holding their first 2019 Virtual Crop THIS weekend (just announced to the CM Advisors!). Here is the scoop:

What is a Virtual Crop?

A Virtual Crop is an online scrapbooking event where CM gives participants “challenges” to complete, and when you complete them and share them with CM on the Facebook Event Page, you will be eligible to win prizes! For directions on how to prep for a virtual crop, how to interpret a template, and how to share your pages, see the Virtual Crop 411 blog post.

Translation:

You don’t have to pack up ANYTHING! You can scrap in your jeans, your jammies, or your favorite sweats. You can enjoy your coffee, wine, smoothie, green tea, etc….at your leisure. You can do your laundry at the same time (that is what I did last year!).

What does it cost?

NOTHING! There is no fee but you have to RSVP to the event on Facebook. The event page on Facebook is where CM will be posting the challenges and where you will be posting your completed layouts. It’s going to be a blast — don’t miss out!

What kinds of prizes will they award?

Prizes are Creative Memories products such as punches, paper packs, embellishments, cardstock, album covers and more. Prizes are awarded RANDOMLY but your entry has to meet the challenge requirements (e.g., that the sketch was followed and that it uses recent CM products). And a little bird told me that they will be giving away some of the brand new Jan/Feb release products that just came out today! Please note: I didn’t use all CM products last year, but it didn’t matter because…

What is the REAL prize?

For me, the REAL prize from the last Virtual Crop was getting dozens of great ideas from other scrappers. You can download pictures from the Facebook page and keep the pages AND the templates for future reference or just access the Facebook event later. If you are not on FB, they also post the challenges and a summary grouping of the entries on the CM blog at their website. Also, these are VERY practical pages since they have to be completed in a short amount of time. I also got great feedback on the pages I submitted…lots of compliments and “I want to do that!” Those felt SO good coming from experienced scrappers!

Do you have to do every challenge?

Nope. I only did 2 of the four challenges last time (Laundry day was Saturday!). These are the two that I submitted…

Please join me for Friday night, Saturday, or both!

If you send your digital entries to me by Saturday night, I’ll do a drawing on Sunday for a prize as well (whether or not you use CM products).

Questions? Use the contact page to send me a message!

What am I going to do with all these pictures!?

I am excited to start this blog to share some ideas with those who scrapbook, those who wish they had time to scrapbook, or those who simply wonder, “What in the world am I going to do with all these pictures I have??”

Photo from Pack Peddler

When my friend, Deb, invited me to go to a fall “crop” many years ago, I had no idea what she was talking about. She knew I had a son in elementary school and asked me what I was doing with all the pictures we were taking. “Well, we print them…and look at them. Oh, and I get double prints so I can send some to the grandparents! And I keep the pictures and negatives in photo boxes.” Remember…this was before digital pics and cameras on your phone, so you never knew what your pictures looked like until you paid a fortune to develop and print them (after paying a fortune for the film itself, of course). Deb encouraged me to bring a box of pictures, a pair of scissors, and a ruler and come and see how easy it was to make a scrapbook that would last for generations. I thought, “I’m not artistic! I got a “D” in art in junior high and barely passed an elective drawing course in college! And I wouldn’t know where to start…I have YEARS of pictures and that is just since my son was born!”

But then I thought, “Hey, a day to myself with a friend…THAT sounds good. And coffee without kids…that sounds good. And…if I don’t do something soon, I’m going to have a closet full of pictures and no idea of what to do with them. I’ll do it!”

Hey Mikey! She likes it!

So I went and had FUN! I figured out that, for some people, this is a major artistic endeavor. The lady to my right spent the WHOLE DAY on one page of her kids at the zoo…it was pretty but not my style. The person on my left was putting pages together faster than lightning, sticking on picture after picture, but she wasn’t writing down who was in the picture and where or when it was taken. That wasn’t quite my style either…I wanted a scrapbook to help me remember my history! Pick some great pics from an event or time, put them in the scrapbook with some matting, stickers, etc. And WRITE down what you remember about that person, event, or time. Yes, the pictures above are from my first album.

Your family, your history…preserved!

grandfather and child Imagine if you had several albums from your grandmothers or great grandmothers with pictures and notes so you know who the people are, what they were doing, and what your grandmother thought and felt about that event or person. Can you see her handwriting, feel her sharing memories with you? Now imagine YOUR great, great grandchildren looking at pages that YOU created, sharing your memories…sharing your family history. What a precious treasure! This is what I imagine when I look at my growing shelf of albums.

What’s stopping you? What are the barriers?

I’m not artistic.
- Neither am I! If you can use a pair of scissors to cut a straight line and can match colors to pick your clothes in the morning, you have PLENTY of artistic talent to make a great scrapbook!
I don’t know where to start.
- Pick an event (Christmas, school play, etc.) or a year (2018!) and just get started. You don’t have to have a master plan. Scrapbook pages can be reorganized!
I have thousands of pictures on my phone/computer. Do I have to print all of those?
- Absolutely not! The great part about digital pictures is that you can print only the ones you want to use. But one benefit of scrapbooking is that you sort and organize your digital pictures regularly, so you don’t end up with 25 years of pictures to sort!
I don’t have time to do this.
- You don’t have to scrapbook a whole day at a time. I sort pictures on my phone and send them to print while waiting for appointments, car repair, etc. I do “power layouts” (more on that later) so when I have 30 min, I can drink my coffee and put a couple of pages together.
I don’t like to cut, paste, and glue!
- NO problem! You can do scrapbook pages using great acid-free page pockets…slide in your photos, use one of the pockets for a “journal” card to tell something about the pictures on that page and DONE. I like to mix up my albums with classic pages and pocket pages. Still too “hands on”? You can easily do digital pages and either print them or share them online. NO cutting and pasting, AND you can get amazing graphics and background “paper” if you want to spice up your pages.
It’s too expensive. I’d have to buy a lot of equipment.
- There are some really amazing scrapbooking tools out there. But my friend Deb was right…to start you need:
  - A stack of pictures
  - A sharp pair of scissors
  - A ruler
  - A pencil
  - Some adhesive (CM* or other) to stick pictures on the page
  - A scrapbook (e.g., CM* or other) or scrapbook pages
  - Some scrapbook paper (CM* or other) to liven up your page
  - An acid-free marker (CM* or other) – I usually recommend black or dark blue to start.
- After you get started, the next tool I recommend is a 12” paper cutter. I use the Fiskars Sure Cut (less than $20 at most stores) but the CM 12-in Straight Trimmer is great as well. I still use my CM Personal Trimmer to crop (cut) all my pictures.

So let’s get started. Gather 10-15 pictures and next time…scrap time!

* If you do not have a Creative Memories Advisor and want to order CM materials, I would be thrilled to be your CM Advisor! Browse the products at https://www.creativememories.com/ and, if you want to order, visit my page: https://www.creativememories.com/user/MarshaSC.

The memories we make with our family is everything.
-Candace Cameron Bure

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