One of my favorite companies is Little Yellow Bicycle and the collection I used, Baby Safari (2009) had a 6" x 6" pad of paper and specialty die cuts that suited the the smaller format to tee. The embellishments in the collection were oh so adorable too. I loved working with them!
Here are some pages from what I like to call a "coffee table" album (American Crafts - D-Ring 6"x6") that I made for my niece and her husband when their son was born. It contained 2 pages for each of the little guy's 1st twelve months. Using LYB, Bazzill cardstock and a few other things I had in my stash, made the book a true labor of love.
Here's the cover. Love the Doodlebug Designs - doodle-pops baby boy!
Next is the inside cover and 1st page - I was so happy to be able to start the book for them by using a couple of photos. Filling the rest of the album is something that they can do.
Each month contains a page with a journaling block for recording an event or special memory that his parents would like to remember, such as, "1st tooth" or "sat up without assistance."
Each month's numeral and journaling block was different so I had lots of choices to make along the way. The colors I got to use were beautiful!
Since I wasn't sure if my niece was into scrapbooking, I tried to simplify the photo selection process by providing paper templates where a standard 4" x 6" photo would not work.
I absolutely LOVED the die cut shapes and companion 6" x 6" sheets!
One of my greatest challenges was being non-repetitive with color combinations and placements. You don't get too many options with 6" x 6", that's for sure!
Where I was able to be a little more flexible with the design, I left the choice of photo size up to my niece. She can trim the photo to show some border or leave it to fill the space.
I really enjoyed using the fabric stickers on this book! They were such fun! Border punches, helped define photo space too.
Another nice aspect of doing a 6" x 6" album was that I could use some bits of ribbon I had left over from other projects/pages.
Don't you just love these colors!!!! The small graphics just steal my heart!
I found that doing the pages out of sequence was helpful in choosing color combinations. I tried very hard not to repeat the basic colors, one after the other.
I was a bit stumped on design when I was working with the 10 month page but was happy when I discovered that I could use the tree trunk pattern on a border strip! How easy was that!
Some pages were very simple.
Using Jolee's embellishment (so happy the cake had 1 candle!) was all that was needed for the 12th month, coupled with the 3-D goldfish sticker from LYB on the photo page!
In the past, whenever I made memory books as gifts, I failed to put something of myself into them. I didn't even sign the inside cover. Now I find that to have been an error in judgement, or at least a sad omission. Not everyone who views the memories that I've preserved, will know me or my relationship to the event. I strongly suggest that if you decide to preserve memories for someone other than yourself or your immediate family that you find a way to identify your efforts.
Even though I do NOT like my handwriting, I decided to make this album a little more personal and hand write my message to the new mommy and daddy. Most of the time I prefer computer journaling to hand-written because it is often easier to read and contains no flaws. Granted, it can be less personal too. When Grayson was born, I could not wait to "fill in the blanks" so to speak. I completed the introductory pages (they were waiting for the details) and my message and then went to meet our newest family member. I was so lucky to have met my grand-nephew the day after he was born and have my picture taken holding the little bundle of joy! Love him and my photo so . . . it was the perfect embellishment for the final page! Now all is complete. Life is good.
I hope this entry gives you some ideas for smaller albums, as well as, helpful hints for future endeavors. If you're not into making the books, I hope you enjoyed my journey into embellishing the lives of the people I love with a little left over for me.
I've always said that my scrapbooking, card-making and crafting are my therapy! Bring on the memories! I'm ready for therapy!
Have a sparkling day and watch for my next post. I will keep it a mystery until then!
