This week’s Scrapbook Sunday goes out to all the busy ladies, all the busy ladies, all the busy ladies (put your hands up!) who always have longer to-do lists than hours in a day. Yeah, yeah, Beyonce has 24 hours, too. I bet if the Queen Bey wanted to scrapbook, she’d make it happen.
Sometimes I want to document a special set of photos or even just an important afternoon from the previous week, but I only have one small window of opportunity to do it. Instead of putting a lot of pressure on myself to reinvent the wheel, I just keep it simple and utilize some of my favorite tools and techniques. This week I chose to skip the photo pockets and use card stock as my base. I stuck with photos from my Instagram feed that I just printed at home and gathered a few embellishments in similar colors to keep things from looking too slapped on.
My first page has a few photos from my 34th birthday last week, two colorful photos from a big project I’m working on, and some thoughts on my 34th year of life. I mimicked the grid look of some of my other photo pocket pages with the square photos, but then switched out two of the spots for a little more journaling space. I used one of Life Love Paper’s postcards as my background because it had a subtle enough pattern to both add color but also write on. Then I added a few stamps and a banner from previous Messy Box kits.
This page was pretty simple to crank out, but it did take some concentration. I used the alpha stamp set and an acrylic block from the A Beautiful Mess shop and repeated Smith’s name all over the page. I knew I was going to be highlighting one small photo, so this was a way to fill the page with a graphic look without distracting from the photo. I left a space blank for a journaling spot and then added some stickers to the photo. It’s from a fun afternoon we had at the school playground that I didn’t want to forget.
This page was more of a reminder of my creative process these days as I work through more projects than I ever have before. It’s been a way to remind myself to take things one at a time when I get overwhelmed, and a reminder that I’m pretty lucky to get to work on so many projects I love. I used card stock as my base and then cut up part of the packaging from one of the messy box kits as my second layer. Then I just went vertical with my photo, text, journaling spot and handwriting. It was the quickest page of the three. Sometimes lists are the best way to share information when you don’t want to get too wordy.
So, my three different pages were pretty simple, but I’m also happy with how they turned out. They highlight three different memories I wanted to get into my album, they kind of color-coordinate, and they still look finished. I think part of the success of this is having plenty of papers and embellishments that work well together but also tools that are versatile and can be used in a variety of ways. What are your go-to techniques for getting scrapbook pages filled quickly? –Rachel
Credits//Author and Photography: Rachel Denbow. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess actions.
14 Comments
I love fun backgrounds! I’m also all about using what’s in my scrapbooking stash! I think highlighting one photo is a simple way to make a quick page, but is also special because you have to pick out a good photo!
Thanks for the ideas, Rachel!
I am just starting to scrapbook, but more in decorating a planner. I love simple and fast. 🙂
xoxoBella | http://xoxobella.com
these scrapbook pages are absolutely adorable! I used to scrapbook all the time, but sadly don’t anymore :(. This is definitely something I want to get back into once I graduate college! x,kenz
http://sincerelykenz.com
I love the graphic look of the black and white stripes, and the big black letters on the white background 🙂 You are so good Rachel!
Very cute page http://www.hannamarielei.com
love those spreads Rachel!! the stamped background is a great idea <3
I love the stamping technique! That is so pretty and the possibilities are endless when it comes to the words used and the inks!
http://annescribblesanddoodles.blogspot.com/
Your posts are so inspiring, but if I tried with all my might there’s no way I could make my scrap book look this good!
http://www.ohjanuary.blogspot.co.uk
Great layouts Rachel!
The yarn on your birthday page! How gorgeous!! I am drooling.
Cute! I need to start scrapbooking more
whitewallsandwanderlust.wordpress.com
These are some seriously great ideas!
I love the little To Do list (“deep breath… quiet space…”) I’m stealing it to put on a Post-It above my desk. Thank you!!
Love these ideas! I have been working on my daughters scrap book of her first year and she is 2 1/2 now! Finding the time is so hard but I am definitely trying these out! The stamp background is a great way to fill space!