Today I want to share a template for creating a whole scrapbook in one night. What I love most about this design is that the photos really stand out. I wanted something timeless and simple for these wedding albums I made for our moms for Christmas. I actually made two albums in one day. I used 8×8 inch albums. Here are the layouts that the albums incuded…
I ordered photos in the following sizes (some had to be cropped down) and repeated these three layouts throughout the entire book. I love that most of the pages in the books were completely covered with photos! The only hard part about making these books was narrowing down which photos to use…
I used a few letter stickers on some photos to add words and labels, like the date on this page. You can add as much detail as you like. I kept it super simple.
Here's an example of Layout Style 1. I ordered 8×10 photos and cropped them to 8×8. Full page photos are my favorite, so I ordered a lot of these.
Here's an example of Layout Style 2 and 3. I used fabric on the background of a lot of the pages with 5×7 photos. I think textured elements are really pretty.
Thanks for taking a peek at these albums. I loved giving them to our moms this year! I hope this easy method makes scrapbooking seem more do-able to some of you too. Happy Monday, elsie
Note: My wedding photos are by Arrow & Apple Photography.
98 Comments
Nice post! It’s easy to get caught up in wanting to go overboard on scrapbook design. I think something like this is awesome. Especially for showcasing a particular event or using for a table top book. 🙂
I like simple and clean so this is a great idea for me. 🙂
this is such a lovely idea!
Gorgeous! I love the layout.
This is so lovely, I bet they were very pleased when they were given these gifts x
Awesome idea- I just might get my wedding photos into an album this way! Who was the photo processor?
Very cute! These would make great gifts!
http://www.thoreausdaughter.com/
Love this! Easy and looks really amazing! <3
elsie, this is such a fun idea & really simple. thanks for sharing! your creativity and desire to succeed is so enspiring. xo
This seems to be a very fun project!!! 🙂
xoxo
Ida
Looks great and you make it sound so simple! Inspiring!
http://amysreallife.wordpress.com
Que lindas fotos!!! tu hermana estaba lindisima asi con el pelo.. vaya, no sabria decir si me gusta mas o menos con el pelo rubio..
Por cierto, Elsie, podrias decirnos que camara de fotos usas??
Saludos desde Galicia
Txiqui
Such a thrill!!! Thanks so much for sharing Elsie… I have been trying to build my wedding book on Blurb since like… forever… and I got married back in 2006… shame on me… You gave me a pretty good incentive to get on with it 🙂 and make some scrapbooks for our family
YEY
Love it! And I second the where did you get these printed? The pics are amazing!
Elsie, was this handmade or digital? It looks so clean and neat which is why I’m asking =) Beautiful!
Elsie,
Thank you so much for my album!! It was a VERY special Christmas present. Those memories will always be so very special and this album will serve as a reminder.
I love you with all my heart!!! Mom
The pages turned out super-pretty Elsie!
I really love how this turned out.
I love this post! I miss seeing your scrapbooking!
This is such a sweet and meaningful gift. The photos are beautiful!
Fang Ting
http://ftashion.blogspot.com/
This is such a sweet and lovely gift idea!
This is so amazing. I have been wanting to put our wedding photos together and I am so in love with this scrapbook. Thanks so much
would also just like to state how absolutely stunning you look and the wedding day looked so special and unique. Congratulations
This is such a great idea! It makes it professional with a homemade touch!! It would make a good mothers day gift!
Mary
http://theloveliestlittlethings.wordpress.com/
This is a great album, but bad news for scrapbook supply purveyors like me. We’ll show it in our blog this Friday, nonetheless.
Oh, and if you’re curious:
http://www.scrapbookingsuppliesrus.com/blog/article/recent
This is absolutely amazing! It is simple to do, yet the templates are definitely a breeze. Thanks for posting this! You’re always so creative!
I have never been big into scrapbooking. but this is so cute and seems simple enough for me to handle! I might have to try it.
Lovely scrapbook! I’m not usually so creative with our photos, but you can’t really get much easier than this can you?
Love this! We created those photo books and ordered through Apple, but this is a great alternative if you want to really make it handmade!
I LOVE the idea of using full page photos- never really thought to do that!! I’m getting ideas to make our wedding scrapbook (we got married in November!) and I want to include lots of actual things from our wedding- dried flowers, invitations and RSVP cards, save the dates, pieces of the buntings I made, etc. Thanks for this idea!
Thanks for the kind words! I print all my photos at Sam’s Club. The people at our local Sam’s are SUPER nice and easy to work with.
The book is %100 handmade. There are no digital layouts in there!
Hope that helps! Elsie
I love the clean and simple scrapbooking for these photos, it really celebrates and best show cases the beauty in them. Thanks for sharing!
Cheers!
Kate
thanks for this simple idea–I always get stressed out trying to make scrapbooks creative and interesting. I like the idea of the letting the photos do the work instead of worrying about all the other fluff I feel like I’m “supposed” to put on the page!
This was a very nice and simple way of making scrapbooking! I’m so behind when it comes to printing and organizing my photos but this gives me inspiration! 😀 Thank you for your wonderful blog full of inspiration!
I love this so much!!! I have an 8.5 x 8.5 scrapbook that is just begging to be done like this. Now I just have to figure out what pictures to use. Maybe I will do my wedding too.
Warmly,
Elizabeth
Simple gets my vote every time!
Emma xx
Love love it!!!!!!!!
adorable!
http://www.mykitschworld.blogspot.com
Thank you so much for the wonderful post! This really inspired me! On Friday I was at Micheal’s trying to find stuff to make a really simple one for our family. I got totally overwhelmed when I actually started looking at things. It went from very simple in my mind to wanting to “scrapbook, scrapbook” in a matter of seconds. I like how you added little dates and things here and there. That is exactly what I want!
So sweet x
this is cute and it’s such a unique gift idea for your friends and loved ones.. 🙂 i wanna have this too!
Looks easy peasy 🙂 Thanks for sharing such a great idea!
xo Jac
thesunshinedistrict.blogspot.com
Nice idea! It’s cooler than a puppy playing with a bunny.
GeorgeGable.Com
Very nice, you are so talented! I like to scrapbook once in awhile.
A jewelry blog.
http://www.houseofavandan.blogspot.com
Lovely pics. I feel too ADD to scrapbook, but this might be do-able. : )
very cute—-now I have a starting point for the books I want to do for my girls of them and their schoolmates!
thank you!
I love your blog, I have you in my flickrs a few years …. and I was very happy that you have married!
I wish a successful year for you.
kisses from Brazil
The photos from your wedding are just beautiful, you all looked amazing!
.ashley.
loveee this!
Nice!
I love scrapbooks, they’re the cutest gift and a great way to document things going on in your life!Thanks for sharing 🙂
x
It’s the first wedding i saw(not live, that’s a pity 😉 ) that doesn’t seem super-glamorous(yikes), or too fake! Such great taste, even in this! Congrats elsie! =)
(Pls check my new blog guys: http://inwhirlofinspiration.blogspot.com )
What a beautiful scrapbook. I love the layout.
love this blog!!
Thanks so much for sharing! Great idea for my wedding photos! 🙂
OK – random question here. Elsie and Mr. Larson… When are you going to have a baby??
Love you!
Fabulous! I need to get making a book of our wedding photos!
This is simple and yet so amazing! Love how the pages are pretty much completely covered by the pictures. It looks fantastic – great job Elsie!!!
Hooked On Floral
That is really pretty! I think keeping it to a few designs throughout looks great and keeps it together in a lovely way. Anf your wedding photos are stunning and so glam! X
Your scrapbook is so pretty and cute! very nice 🙂
where is the actual album from?
(love it)
The scarf is so sweet…..!
This is so awesome! Thank you for posting this. Last year my husband and I went to Japan and I’ve been wanting to make a scrapbook with the pictures, but I’ve been a little intimidated by the whole idea. I mean the scrapbook section at my local craft store is seriously huge and overwhelming. But your idea is something I can get down with. Lady, you’re amazing! =)
<3Bailey
http://sweetblackmagic.blogspot.com/
Love it! Love your blog! 🙂
I think I will have to do something similar for when I finally scrapbook my Vegas trip with my boyfriend.
it feels like ions since i’ve seen you do a scrapbook page, as if you got burnt out on it. but there you are again, like a phoenix rising. anyway, it’s when i was 1st introduced to your style, through that magazine, many years ago. still evolving, & inspiring us daily dear elsie. rock on darling!
This post reminds me of when I first started reading your blog! Good memories:)
Love,
Stephanie May*
http://www.maydae.com
those photos are adorable. 😀
http://soffisinglesstyle.blogspot.com/
What a great idea!
much love, vivi
Love this post! I’ve always wished I were the type of person to put together scrapbooks, but I often get too bogged down with the time-consuming, detailed aspect involved. This really simplifies it into to something so easy yet still beautiful! Plus, it highlights what’s really important…the photos!
Thanks for sharing!
XO, Em
scrapbooking is really fun and this is a brilliant way to document an event. 🙂
So happy you made this scrapbook tutorial as I’m a scrap-addict since years. I wish you do more, I miss a lot when you use to scrap ^-^
XOXO from Lilou
Hey Elsie, I originally found your blog through scrapbooking and although I love A Beautiful Mess heaps more as it is today it’s nice to have a blast from the past. Will we see any new paintings this year too?
You know what? Imma’ link to this.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE when we take things that are often overcomplicated, (like scrap booking) and make them simple again, like they were supposed to be! I think that’s part of the beauty of so many of the projects on this blog! Good job, Elsie! Love it!
Love the 8×8 albums. Thanks for the ideas on layouts. It is a goal for me to finish my kids (now adults ages 23 & 25) albums and give them smaller albums of special trips the have taken and special events the have been a part of. I am inspired ! ! !
Thanks for the tutorial!
What a great idea! I usually think of huge, busy scrapbooks when I hear that word, but this is so simple and beautiful. 🙂
-Megan RoseSomewhat Stylish
such lovely designs, thanks for sharing!
Super cute, and a great great gift!
how did you do the cover? or was it made by someone else, I mean by a professionalist?
They look fantastic! I’d want one for myself as well though. The added lettering is really effective.
AMAZING IDEA ! NICE BLOG BY THE WAY : ))
GREETINGS FROM POLAND <3
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I love the simple designs of this. I think I’ll end up doing this!
love this idea, was just wondering how to put our wedding photos together. I was wondering where you got the albums themselves from?!
Thanks so much
Lana
This is a fantastic well written article. Gave me an insight into what Framework to use.
Thank you very much for this post!
Hi! I like the script lettering stickers you used, can you tell me where you got them?
Thank you! I love your blog and your DIY dress up e-course!
I’ve been trying to think of a way to display my 365 photo series I’m working on. This is perfect!
Thanks Elsie! I am finally going to do my wedding album! We have been married for almost 5 years 😀 7/7/07! Loved this simple layout! Your photographs are beautiful! 😀
I love your wedding scrapbook! It has inspired me to do this similar idea with our wedding photos. Our wedding was May 15th as well but in 2010:) What a great date!
Love it. Simple and perfect
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where did you find your wedding dress ? my sister is marrying this summer and she felle in love with your dress 😉
sorry for my Enflish, I’m French …
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What a great idea and so personal. I just stumbled on your blog via pinterest and I LOVE it. New obsession: looking at your posts! Thanks!
Come check out my blog sometime. I’m just getting started 🙂
http://www.misstweedle.blogspot.com
hm. i was just photo scanning your awesome blog and clicked on your wedding links. May 15: technically it was yesterday but happy anniversary!
I needed to read through this page twice because it ended up being helpful.
What a great resource!
Excellent read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing a little research on that. And he actually bought me lunch because I found it for him smile So let me rephrase that: Thanks for lunch!
That is such a brilliant idea. We do sometimes get too carried away with trying to fill all the spaces. I’m still busy scrapping my wedding album, (the other one broke). One of the pages took me 3 weeks to complete. There was sewing involved though. One of those pages that evolved.
But with your simple design you capture the moment and the photographs are centrestage.