Update: Ideas about what's next

I mainly create 6x8 mini albums. I haven’t created a 12x12 layout in almost 10 years.

I tried junk journaling but lost steam for it fairly quickly.

I haven’t been excited about scrapbooking in a year or so but I’m sure it’s just a phase. I still buy occasionally when something spurs my mojo.

I love looking through old albums and projects so I know that I can never completely give up memory keeping.

I would suggest asking yourself what types of photos you would like to take, of what events, travels, ect. Then from there ask how many photos per event/vacation, etc would there be.

Then you can say okay is a 6x8 big enough? Would you like having smaller photos on a page if you want to include many? Or will it be single photo layouts?

I did a 6x6 for my mom of the grandkids. One photo per page. I found it personally hard to work with.

I used to do 12x12 but after doing DD too I enjoyed the fun and freedom of the pockets pages. So in 2020 I moved to 9x12 D ring albums where I use various pocket pages or single 9x12.

This gives me the freedom to mix and match based on photos and creativity.

I don't do Project Life, but I do a monthly page of all the random stories that aren't big enough for their own page, in a grid format.  Last year it was a 12 by 12 cardstock with nine-ish squares (a mix of pattern paper and photos) this year I used pockets.  It's not as fluff filled (trying to fill a spot on a boring day or when I forgot to take a photo...) but still captures the little things.  

Pshhh no need to be ashamed! I have several unused albums, those are called ‘stash’ in my world.
If you search on YT, Ali Edwards 6x8, you’ll see one where she flips through her 2024 album.
I always title my monthly page of mini stories ‘July Recap’, or ‘July Mini Stories’, something like that. I don’t love random stories together, but in my head, this ties them together.

If you like small, Paige Evans had a 4X4 October album that is adorable.

album

I bought this because I love it but I won't have time to do it this year. Next year!

I mostly scrapbook, my daily, everyday, random things in what is a planner, but I never actually do planning. I still make 12x12 pages, paper and digital when I feel like it for bigger events (family gatherings, holidays, etc)

I first tried the smaller scale in June 2020 (mostly bcz of the craziness of that time) and started with Heidi Swapp's Blur books, which are 7.5x9 and have a weekly horizontal format. I did that style thru October 2021, then used the monthly style, which has a limited number of weeks, which I did from Oct 2021 thru Nov 2022. I didn't scrap every week. I just did which ones I felt like doing and sometimes I incorporate Ali Edward's things into like, like Pieces of Home or Day in the Life.

I took a break from that kind of scrapping for 2023, but missed it so I went back to it in 2024 with a Happy Planner in the vertical format. I love how it came out, but since I was doing every week because it's a dated planner, I did less other scrapping/hobbies.

I find I love the everyday/daily stuff, but in the loosest format possible. I'd been following Linda's Hobinochi style (lasteve1) and at the very last minute found the day-free Hobinochi Techno A5 for 2025, which is just about 6x8.

I have pages that look like traditional layouts with photos, but mostly it's snippets of things. I try to do a summary page of each month, but if I'm too busy I may just do specific days/events. I will include reviews of tv shows, books, etc. Some of these are ongoing list sections that I go back and add to. It's generally chronological, but I don't worry if I want to put something on a page and it happened before the last, I just date things or add notes. I've been doing collages of receipts, tags, product packaging, etc. I really like how it captures things in a fresh way.

There are monthly spreads in the first part of the planner, so I use that to log things as a reference tool. And I also just decorate those pages as fun and carefree as possible. There are some pages in there that I will or may possibly make a regular 12x12 layout for also when I go to a crop, but I am still glad I have it documented in some way recent.

The day-free style allows way more flexibility to not have to do every week. I keep a post-it note on the inside of cover and jot down ideas for spreads or stories I want to document. I plan to continue a format like this, whether I use the same notebook or not, am not sure yet.

I understand the feeling of going thru phases with scrapping, and I think that's what keeps it interesting is changing things up. And also, I always say I will never not do it in some way. Yes, maybe take breaks, or skip certain styles or projects, but it's just part of how I process life and remember things. I will leave some pages to my nephew documenting his life, but sometimes I envision being an elderly lady having an epic bonfire to burn it all when I'm ready. My attachment is to the process, not the output.

Also the best advice I took, is just to start. I didn't know how I wanted this year's album to go, but I started, made notes, marked things with post-its and it's worked out just fine. Don't wait for a specific point or date or anything like that, just start!

I think finding your right size is really important, and your “texture” - I don’t know what else to call it but I don’t like the feel or look of plastic page protectors, some people love the layers and texture of mixed media (for me, I hate the texture of acrylic paint too!) Some people enjoy making cardstock pages on rings or in a binder, other people prefer a stapled or bound book. I like the smoothness of certain kinds of notebooks and there’s a sweet spot size that’s about a quarter to a half sheet of letter sized paper that feels good to me.

From there it might be fun to play with what size you like to print your photos and what kind of writing and embellishment you like. I wouldn’t commit to anything too hard - just play around and see what speaks to you right now.

You’re allowed to make up your own format. There’s a woman who used to share online about her scrapbooking - she didn’t have much access to supplies so she makes small pages with lots of layers and artsy stuff, but then she often pulls them apart later to use in her newer pages. She’s all about the process, and the thing that still kind of makes them archival is that she takes great photos of the finished pages. That might sound like a nightmare to you but I mention it to say, it’s only paper, play around and find your own way

I have definitely felt this too, but then I decided for me doing Dec Daily is kind of my own creative tradition that I ENJOY doing just for me each year.  Even if no one else looks at it, I really enjoy the creative process, it gets me in the Christmas spirit and I also enjoy looking at old albums ahead of making a new one.  Kind of like how I enjoy looking at Christmas wrapping paper each year and buying a few new rolls .


Finally, for me, the creative inspiration in the community - foundation pages and seeing how other people use products and then trying to scrap lift, is just a creative shot in the arm each year.  I genuinely love that endorphin feeling that comes from seeing people post using the same products I have bought and getting inspired to try a new technique or layout based on what someone else came up with.   I have found that the 6x8 size works well for me - not too big but big enough to create the stories I enjoy.  But I have also done some smaller ones too.  I just know anything bigger (with a few exceptions like PL), I get overwhelmed and don't finish.  I need a small enough size to be able to be productive in getting pages done and not in analysis paralysis.