I have been an avid paper crafter and scrapbooker for years and have albums filled with traditional 12×12 layouts. I took a hiatus from scrapping while we were in the process of adopting our daughter, but once I started crafting again I knew I needed to find a way to preserve our memories that was less time consuming, less fussy, and had a more streamlined approach because free time, what’s that when you have a small child? Since I am friends with so many paper crafters, I kept up on what was going on in the world of scrapbooking even though I had temporarily put my supplies away. I kept seeing pocket style scrapbook pages pop up in my social media feeds and was intrigued. If you aren’t familiar with pocket style scrapping, it is where the traditional 12×12 page is divided up into 3×4, 4×6, and other various size pockets in which journaling cards and photos can be inserted and is used to document your life weekly. Just like in traditional scrapbooking, albums and pages are also available in different sizes like 8.5 x 11 or 6 x 8.
Two years ago I started my first pocket page album and was instantly hooked! The first year I was able to document almost every week of the year, I missed a few weeks during the holidays but tried not to stress about it and kept moving on with the remaining weeks. This year I have successfully documented every week of the year so far. Going into January I looked at what took up too much time the first year and made some adjustments. I eliminated adding extra embellishments and decided I would try to sit down mid week and get a jump start on my page(s) for the week. I also looked at what products/tools I really needed to get the job done and narrowed it down to the following:
1. 12×12 album
2. Pocket page protectors
3. Journaling card kits (I purchased a couple of kits at a big box store and I subscribe to a monthly kit)
4. Adhesive
5. Corner rounder
6. Journaling pen
7. Date stamp & ink pad
For more on which tools you may find helpful when creating pocket pages, these paper crafters share their lists of pocket scrapping essentials.
Essentials #1
Essentials #2
Essential Tools
Top 5 Essentials
The process for completing your pages comes down to what works for you. Some paper crafters complete their pages weekly, others monthly. It may take some trial and error to find your groove so to help you get started I have gathered some of my favorite pocket page workflow blog posts. From product/tool organization to time-saving tutorials, these posts should have you creating your first pocket page in no time!
Thoughts on Process
Monthly Process
Gathering Supplies
Organizing Your Page Protectors
Pocket Tutorial
Photo Collage for Pocket Scrapping Tutorial
Have you tried pocket page scrapping?
Follow AllFreePaperCrafts’s board Project Life Journal Cards on Pinterest.
I started scrapping in 2006 and was quickly addicted!I was an avid scrapper until late summer of 2010 when we started our adoption journey, at that point I was overwhelmed with paperwork (and emotions!) and I had to put something on the back burner in my life but I knew I would eventually come back to it.
We welcomed our daughter home from China in December of 2011 and a few months later I found my groove again and pulled out all of those supplies that had been tucked away.
I started out scrapping again doing traditional layouts, but at the beginning of this year I jumped into Project Life and I love it!
When I’m not scrapping I am usually spending time with our daughters which means library time, going on walks, thrifting (they love it as much as I do!) or watching Kung Fu Panda for the millionth time.I also have an Etsy shop Panda Eight Designs where I sell scrapbooking flair that I design.
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