another scrapbooking game plan

I have written a lot on this blog about my plans for scrapbooking. I got really excited about digital scrapbooking for a while. And then I found templates that made it super easy. I thought this style of month-by-month scrapbooking was going to be my scrapbook solution, but each month still took about 2 hours to compile, and honestly I am still stuck back in September. Once Ivar was born, I realized that if I didn't figure out a game plan quick, I'd be overwhelmingly behind. My game plan this time around had to be super, super simple. The solution: print the pictures. Stick them in an album. I waited for a deal at Walgreens and printed 400 pictures. My plan is that these albums will be family albums...not just Ivar albums. This means that when kid #2 comes, their pictures will just be added in chronological order with the rest of the pictures. This is not Ivar's baby book. It also doesn't mean that I am done scrapbooking! My hope is that if I feel so inspired, I might choose to scrapbook a vacation's worth of pictures, or some other picture-happy event. But if it just doesn't happen, those pictures can go into this album guilt-free. What I love about scrapbooking is the combination of story and pictures and mementos. So this album is going to have it all, just without the cropping, matting, trimming and embellishments of an entirely crafted scrapbook. On the page above I have included our three parking stubs from going to the hospital three times before Ivar was born, our hospital wristbands and the sheet of paper we wrote my contractions on. A friend recently introduced me to Project Life and this is sort of the same idea, just without purchasing the kit.

I have places on most pages that at this point are left empty and will be filled with journaling cards next. I have been looking around for the perfect fit, and so far I haven't found many options. I do like Amy Butler's journaling cards, but I have a feeling I may end up making my own 4 x 6 cards to write on, which will probably be a welcome reason to get out my cutter and sticky adhesive :) The other option would be to go digital for the journaling cards and print them like pictures. I'll keep you posted on what I settle on...

So there it is. My latest picture documenting game plan. Give me another few months. It may change yet again. But for now, I'm just proud to be current with Ivar's life!

I got my album from Michaels when it was on sale for $17. It holds 400 pictures and I love that there are vertical and horizontal slots on each page. Michaels also has refill pages available for this album. I can't find what brand or company created this one...it's not labeled anywhere on the album. But they came in a rainbow of colors, with this sort of textured fabric cover. I bought three albums that day and filled the other two with childhood pictures and now plan to purchase a few more so they're ready for the next batch of prints (thankfully our picture taking is slowing down a bit...)