Create Scrapbook Leading Up to Wedding

There's a reason that the last time I scrapbooked was 13 years ago: scrapbooks takea lot of time.

But when Laura contacted me about creating a wedding scrapbook as a first anniversary gift for her daughter Justine and son-in-law Andrew, how could I refuse?  Justine happens to be one of my best friends.  She's the reason I not only survived high school, but actually loved it.  She was the Laverne to my Shirley.  The Ethel to my Lucy.  I've probably had more slumber parties with Justine than with any other human being on the planet.  We were bridesmaids in each other's weddings.

Lauren & Justine | 2008

For a friend like Justine, coming out of scrapbook retirement was really no question.

I did, however, have a lot of questions about how to go about it.

Thankfully, my MIL is quite the scrapbooker.  She has in process 6 different scrapbooks for her 6 different grandkids and looking through those pages is truly awe-inspiring.  So of course, I picked her brain for tips (thanks, Mom!) and got a really useful suggestion from my bloggy buddy Kelly.  Don't worry; I'll be sure to share those gems with you guys in this post.

In fact, I'm going to shareeverything I learned and give you a glimpse at this non-scrapbooker's process from start to finish.  (Brace yourselves, folks.  This is sort of an epically long post…but there are plenty of pictures to keep you entertained along the way.)  My hope is that other "non-scrapbookers" will feel empowered to take on a scrapbook project of their own next time the opportunity comes up.  If this non-scrapbooker can do it, so can you, my friend.  Let's get scrappy!

A Non-Scrapbooker's Guide…

Step 1.  Determine a design focus.Laura gave me a lot of creative freedom when it came to the scrapbook's design, which I appreciated.  So, I decided to take to Google to search for other wedding scrapbooks that might offer some inspiration.  However, my search proved somewhat fruitless as most layouts I found were really busy, jam-packed with embellishments, which didn't feel like my style…or more importantly, Justine's style.

Justine has a classy elegance to her; from a fashion standpoint, she is all about a few carefully chosen accessories…not a gagillion-and-one.  So, when it came to planning her wedding scrapbook, I wanted the design to reflect that same classy elegance.

To unify the pages, I decided on a set color scheme of yellows and grays, their wedding colors, and aimed for simplicity in my layout and embellishments.  I wanted the story of that day to take the spotlight…not flashy design elements.

Step 2.  Gather memorabilia.Laura wanted the scrapbook to feature the ceremony readings and reception speeches, as well as photos of the big day from start to finish.  Laura sent me the texts I needed and put me in contact with Justine's MIL, Jeane, who was a huge help in sharing photos.  She also mailed me a package of memorabilia from the day: invitations, programs, place-cards, a reception menu, and more.  And some of my fellow bridesmaids were helpful in passing along their photos from the day (thanks Kristen & Courtney!).

My MIL uses Shutterfly for her photo printing needs, so I placed a big photo order with them.  She also made anexcellentrecommendation to get a variety of photo sizes, not just 4 x 6s.  So, I had several 5 x 7s and 8 x 10s printed (only with the professional photos since they were highest quality).  I probably would have never thought to print 8 x 10s, but my MIL attested that it can look really great have a few pages where you feature a single large photo.  And boy, was she right!

Step 3.  Gather supplies.  Shopping trip!  I purchased nearly all of my supplies at Jo-Ann's and Hobby Lobby.  Below is an itemized list withmostof the supplies I used.

(Note that some of these are affiliate links, meaning if you make a purchase using one of them, I may earn a small commission.  Thanks for supporting this site!  Read all the fine print here.)

Letters correspond with the list below.

PAPER

(a)  12″ x 12″ specialty papers purchased by the sheet from Jo-Ann's & Hobby Lobby in silver, gray, yellow, white, and black.  (I ended up needing to make two extra trips to buy more paper, so I recommend getting more than you think you will need…especially if you're backing your photos with a matte like I did.)
(b) Pack of 12″ x 12″ white cardstock
(c) Pad of 8.5″ x 11″ pearl black cardstock
(d) 8.5″ x 11″ sheets of Vellum (for printing text)
(e) 8.5″ x 11″ specialty metallic papers purchased by the sheet from Jo-Ann's in silver, gold, and cream.

PUNCHES & EDGERS

My MIL was kind enough to let me borrow some of her punches and edgers.  I invested in a few myself!

(f) FISKARS SureCut Scrapbooking Paper Trimmer (While this did save me a TON of time and I would have been up a creek without it, I did not find the swing-out arm to be level on my trimmer, so I had to use the gridlines if I wanted to cut a straight a line.)
(g) Martha Stewart Crafts Corner Punch, Rounder (one of my favorites)
(h) Martha Stewart Crafts Edger Punchers: floral lace and scallop dot (another favorite).
(i) EK Success Paper Shapers Corner Adorner Slot Punch:wrought iron (orange) andVictorian lace (purple).
(j) Scalloped Wavy Edge Scissors

STORE-BOUGHT EMBELLISHMENTS

(k) Premium Ribbon (on sale at Target)
(l) Tim Holz Idea-ology Stripes Paper String
(m) American Crafts DIY Thickers Foam Letters (Rainboots, White)

SILHOUETTE EMBELLISHMENTS

Most of my "embellishments" were cut using my Silhouette Cameo.  Here are a list of shapes I either purchased from the Silhouette store or downloaded as a FREE shape of the week:

• 12 x 12 Background Shape
• Butterfly Flourish Cards
• Scallop Oval Nesting Label Shapes
• Love Arrows
• Lace Borders
• Try a Little Kindness Phrase (used flowers)
• Scrapbook Label Kit (used hearts)

The rest were gleaned from shapes that come pre-downloaded onto the Silhouette Studio software or ones I created.

Free Cut File

In fact, I've compiled all of the shapes I created into one studio file, whichy ou can download for free. You can sign up to download your free cut file using the nifty form below or by clicking HERE. {Fine print: this design is for personal use only and is not to be used for commercial purposes. Thanks!}

ADHESIVE

I used a variety of adhesives on this project:

(n) Scrapbook Adhesives E-Z Dispensers (I used 3.5 dispensers and preferred the E-Z Runner over the E-Z Squares; these were great for adhering photos or smooth paper to other smooth paper…they didn't work as well on the more heavily textured speciality paper.)
(o) ZIG 2-Way Glue Pen – Jumbo (The ZIG stick was useful for more heavy duty gluing…often when the E-Z Dispensers weren't strong enough.)
*Elmer's Craft Bond Fabric & Paper Glue (Not pictured; this was key in adhering the ribbon or paper string to paper/photos.)
*Elmer's Spray Adhesive (Pictured below; I used this for the really intricate embellishments and for adhering photos to heavily textured speciality paper.  Just beware that it is a beast to get off of your hands….)

SCRAPBOOK ALBUM

(p) Pioneer 12″ x 12″ 3-Ring Leatherette Inset Frame & Ribbon Closure Memory Book in Ivory (boy, is that a mouthful!).  I really liked this album for several reasons.  I liked that it had a frame on the cover for featuring a photo and that the pages would be protected inside the "box-like" memory book.

Step 4.  Layout your pages.I got a great tip from Kelly at Cobwebs, Cupcakes, and Crayons when dialoguing in the comments section of one of her scrapbook posts.  She wrote:

Did you catch that last part?  "I would layout all my pictures and keepsakes and decide on my pages before I started cutting and taping."  And this, my friends, was a most genius approach.  I made stacks on the floor for pre-ceremony, ceremony, reception.  Then, I actually started tucking the photos and keepsakes into the protected pages of the scrapbook just to work out how many photos would be included on each page.  It took a long time, but I think it ended up saving me time and headache in the end.  I was able to ulilize all 40 pages of the scrapbook and evenly spaced out the events of the day.  (Thanks, Kelly for thisawesometip!)

Step 5.  Dive in and don't look back!I hijacked our living room table for over a week (thank you, Mark!).  It pretty much looked like this most of the time:

"Controlled" chaos.

There wasn't much method to the madness from here on out.  I actually started in the middle of the scrapbook and jumped around (which was do-able since I had spaced out my photos ahead of time).  It was a free for all!

Scrapbook Tour

Okay, so by now, I know you're anxious to see the finished book!  Well, here it is in full.  All forty pages.  Enjoy a peek at Justine and Andrew's special day: 5/18/12, Battery Gardens, N.Y.C.

I used the last page as a dedication page, with a note from Justine's family.

And on the back inside cover, I left my mark…which also gives away my high school nickname.

{Professional wedding photos by Emily Johnston.}

So, how long did this take?

Since I was going to be compensated for my work, I kept track of my hours.  Any guesses?

From prep time to shipping it off, the entire project took a total of41 hours.  So, if you think about it, it's about an hour a page!  Seems like a long time, but when you've got movies playing in the background and when crafts feed your soul like they do mine (especially crafts that involve making a gift for a dear friend), the time flies.

Marilyn was my crafting buddy:

And in case you were curious what my recycle bin looked like when all was said and done, here's a snapshot of it.

To Conclude

I have great respect for those who scrapbook.  It takes a perseverance that I may not be able to find again for another 13 years, but it was a good run.  And I'm truly honored that I got to help Justine and Andrew celebrate their 1st anniversary with a keepsake that will hopefully one day graduate into the category of family heirloom.

For those of you who made it to the end, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!  And if there are any non-scrapbookers out there with a perplexed look on your face or any questions, don't hesitate to ask!  That's what I'm here for.

Create Scrapbook Leading Up to Wedding

Source: https://www.thinkingcloset.com/2013/06/22/a-non-scrapbookers-guide-to-creating-a-wedding-scrapbook/

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