A Memory a Month

Do you have some creative goals for 2019?  Maybe learning a new craft, finishing an on-going project, or re-organizing your crafty workspace?  My creative roots are in memory-keeping, and I am anxious to reconnect to those in 2019.  A big thing that happened for me in 2018 was diving back into scrapbooking, or at least a new-to-me version of it.  I discovered the traveler’s notebook format – a smaller, simpler way to record pictures and memories.  I had a wonderful time dabbling in some traveler’s notebook layouts toward to the end of 2018, and I am 100% sure that I want to continue to work with this format in 2019!

My memory-keeping goal for this year revolves around my kids. (I’m a mom…of course it revolves around my kids!)  The goal is to spend time each month recording special memories of each kiddo individually, instead of just including all of them in my regular traveler’s notebooks.  I’m calling it, “A Memory a Month”, and it’s something I think I can really accomplish!  To start this project off, I created a unique traveler’s notebook for each of my kids.

I’ve seen several tutorials online about how to make your own traveler’s notebooks and always thought, it can’t really be as simple as that, right?  I’m here to tell you, it is as simple as it looks, and I’m not sure I’ll ever go back!  I chose some beautiful patterned paper from Felicity Jane for the covers and good quality, bright white printer paper for the inside.  For the inside pages, I trimmed them to 8.5″ by 8.5″ squares.  Knowing that my TNs tend to be a bit bulky, I cut the cover paper slightly wider at 8.75″.  Each book is made of the cover and eight inside pages, each folded in half.  Once the pieces are all cut, the only thing left to do is fold, assemble, and staple.  There are many crafters who prefer to sew along the binding instead of staple, but I decided to keep it simple the first time out.  Another tip I quickly discovered is that once the books were assembled, the inside pages did not line up neatly on the edges because of the bulk.  So, I used my paper trimmer again to tidy up the edges of the assembled TNs.

All the pages of the TNs are 8.5″ tall.

The width of the inner pages is 8.5″. For the cover, I made it slightly larger at 8.75″.

Gorgeous paper from Felicity Jane!

This is the brand of printer paper I’ve been using, and it is fabulous. I chose to do 8 pages the inside of each book.

Papers trimmed and ready to fold!

Papers folded, assemble, and read to be stapled.

I love me some rounded corners, so this corner punch came in very handy.

Ta-da!  I’m in love with them!  My mind is going a mile-a-minute thinking of the possibilities that have opened up by creating my own notebooks, but that will have to be another craft for another day…

I decided that I wanted the covers and the opening pages to all be similar.  That way, when I display them in the future, they will have a cohesive look.  I chose large glitter cardboard letters from my stash to identify each book by the first initial of each of my kids’ names.  I could not find an “A” for Austin, so performed a little alpha-surgery using a “V” and an “I”.  For the 2019, I used stamps from Tim Holtz, clear embossing ink, and gold embossing glitter.  The simple, bold look is eye-catching, but still lets the gorgeous Felicity Jane paper shine through.

Back on Black Friday, Felicity Jane had a FABULOUS sale on many of their past papers, ephemera, stickers, etc., and I took FULL advantage.  I dug into my Felicity Jane drawer, pulled out a whole mess of supplies and used those to work on the first pages of each of the notebooks.  While it is certainly possible to mix and match different brands and styles, I find that there is a certain ease to limiting yourself to one brand for a layout, or even for a whole book.  The styling of Felicity Jane is specific and unique, so all of their elements have a tendency to fit together really nicely, taking a lot of the guesswork out of putting elements together.

Started with some simple layering using scraps from the cover page and some beautiful rose gold washi strips.

Look at that sweet smile!

I embossed the words “Kind” and “Creative” onto a tag, backed up by a coral orange flower, because it is my daughter’s favorite color.

Crystal Nuvo drops cascading across the page add some movement and interest.

In a traveler’s notebook, it becomes really easy to overwhelm a page with #allthethings.  In all honesty, my normal style is to just go for it, going over the top with all the colors and all the embellishments.  I’m sure some of the pages in these books will end up that way, and I’m okay with that!  Don’t shy away from the crafty styles you love simply because they are not “on-trend”.  While modern, simplistic layouts are lovely in their own way, crafting in that way feels forced for me.  And why would I “force” myself to craft?  This is my escape, my happy place.  So, I’m going to do exactly what feels right, even if that means adding every last sticker in my stash!  However, for these first pages, my primary goal was to add some simple layers and stamping.

I grabbed the “Jane” stamps from Felicity Jane, pleased to find phrases that fit all three of my kiddos.  The common elements on each intro page are names, the year, and school picture, but other than that I just had fun playing with elements, mixing up some colors, and spending time reflecting on my kids.  The goal for each of these books is to create one layout a month for each child, sharing a special memory of (or for) that kiddo.  By the end of the year, having three books filled with specific memories and photos of my individual kiddos will be a tremendous accomplishment.  And, perhaps a special keepsake and point of reflection for them in the future.  It’s going to be a great year!

What are your crafty goals for this year?  Let me know in the comments below!

Keep it creative,

-The Scrappy Wife

Supplies:

• Felicity Jane papers & embellishments
• Georgia Pacific Ink Jet Paper
• Fiskars Paper Cutter
• Tombow roller adhesive