Scrapbooking Event Albums

Sometimes I dread documenting my “event” photos (birthday, Christmas, vacation, etc.) because I get bored of the same event over and over. However, I’ve found a solution that’s currently working for me and I’ve been organizing these photos into a themed mini album, and then printing in a 20-ish page hardbound book.  

Since starting a themed album can be a bit overwhelming, I thought I’d share a few tips on streamlining the process.

1. Organize your event photos into mini themes. In my Seattle Girls’ Getaway album, for example, I have a two page spread for each activity we did. . .

The Space Needle:

Pike Place Fish Market:

But breaking photos into mini  themes isn’t always easy. When I’ve worked on reunion albums I’ve sorted through hundreds of photos taken from several different perspectives. Since many of the photos are just random snapshots during the reunion and not particular events, it’s been easiest for me to group several photos around a theme and then create a layout around that idea.

“Good Eats” features random photos centered around preparing or eating food. On the opposite page I documented our family reunion menu.

“Rest and Relaxation” is a collection of photos of people sleeping, cuddling babies, watching TV, etc.

I grouped all the kiddie pool photos in this “Pool Party” spread.

2. Scrap with a kit. I’m not always a kit scrapbooker but when creating a themed album I like my pages to coordinate and it’s easiest to start with a kit. Sometimes I choose a kit that coordinates with the theme of my album, other times I just choose a kit that I love with lots of non-themed papers and elements.

In my recent Girls’ Getaway album I chose a kit and additional elements to carry the theme of the vintage shops we visited.

3. Place multiple photos on a page. When creating themed layouts I prefer multi-photo layouts to help tell the whole story. A bonus to a multi-photo layout is that you can get away with imperfect photography because no one photo stands out. Templates are a huge time saver when creating these multi-photo layouts. Some of my favorite “go-to” multi-photo templates are by Yin Designs. Her blog is full of awesome {FREE} templates and multi-photo layout inspiration.

4. Use a neutral background and keep the accent papers and elements simple. Since it’s a themed album there will likely be lots of photos with lots of different colors. The album will be more cohesive if you let the focus stay on the photos and story rather than the pretty embellishments.

5. Alternate with non-people photos or bits of patterned paper. When I look at scrapbook pages I’m usually drawn to the faces of people, but a multi-photo layout can feel busy and overwhelming so I prefer to include a few stand-out face photos, and then intertwine non-photos or scraps of patterned paper. It helps tell the story of the event, breaks up page a bit, and helps bring the focus to the people. Didn’t take any non-people photos? Look at the photos you do have and consider cropping in on portions of the photo. (See example above of the flower garden spread.)

6. Don’t forget the journaling. Pictures may tell a thousand words, but there are lots of details you’ll forget later on. In my themed albums I’ve done journaling in different ways.

Sometimes I add bits of journaling on each page:

Other times I dedicate an album page to telling the story:

When I’ve created themed albums for others, I like to include a couple of blank pages in the back for them to add their own notes.

One page at a time. My last tip is about as good as that old joke, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” Creating an album with hundreds of photos can definitely be an overwhelming project, but with a bit of organization and persistance, your your album will come together. Sometimes I push myself to finish an album when I find a great printing deal, other times I give myself a goal to complete two pages a day, or even challenge myself to see how many pages I can accomplish during the weekly digi show podcast.  But in the end, my albums come together, one page at a time, and having the printed book as a keepsake is worth all the work.