Scrapbooking family stories

I've been a bit of a blog slacker. And not for any good reason. I've had things to blog about, I just haven't gotten around to it. I've got a lot planned for December, though!

Tomorrow is December 1st, which means the new Write.Click.Scrapbook. gallery goes up. Make sure you check it out! November's gallery theme was family stories. I did a layout and started mini-album. If somehow you missed it, make sure you take a look. There are some great ideas for capturing your family stories.

It Always Comes Up...
These are the stories that seem to come up whenever I’m with my mom and sister. At least, the ones pertaining to me. There are also quite a few about my sister (losing her car at Blossom) and mom (eating a Whopper) so I’m going to do a page like this for each of us in the mini-album I've started. I like that I have these stories down, but didn’t have to devote a whole page to each one. While not every single detail of these is here, it’s enough to tell the story, and also prompt me (or my mom or sister) to fill in the blanks if I ever forget.

(Basic Grey papers; AC Thickers; 7 Gypsies sticker)

The Stories That Always Come Up (title page)
After I did the above layout, I realized it was the basis for a fun mini-album. Each individual page will be titled based on whom or what the stories are about. This will be a great way to get down all the stories that you don’t necessarily need an entire layout to tell, ones that you do not have pictures for or those where you might be a bit fuzzy on the details. I’m planning on pages devoted to vacations, childhood, Sweeney family (stories that always come up when I’m with my in-laws), my parents, sister, school-related, stories about my ancestors and more. This can easily be added to as more stories are remembered. I’m keeping the album simple, and the design is based on my “It always comes up” layout. All the pages will consist of strips of patterned paper, a border punch and sometimes ribbon. A great way to use scraps! The uniform design will keep the focus on the stories and will make it easy to add to later.


Ray and Althea (filler page)
All the filler pages will have the names of whom the stories are about on the left, place on the patterned paper. I haven’t filled up this page yet, as you can see. But since I always have kraft paper on hand, I can easily go back and add more stories. I just need to print the story, cut it out and attach it with pop dots. No one would think it wasn’t originally meant to be like that, plus pop dots are always fun.

I really like the idea of mini-albums that are on-going. They evolve. They can be added to. I've actually got a few going right now and a couple more planned. I'll be sharing them over the next couple months. If you're interested in the concept or have any questions, let me know in the comments. :)