Using a 12″ x 12″ Photo in Your Scrapbook

Using 12

We’re so glad you’re stopping by, today, because we’re putting a spin on the classic scrapbook page and you don’t want to miss it!

The idea is simple, yet ingenious! Rather than using paper as a base for all of your album pages, try mixing it up every once in a while, and use a photo! That’s right—a large, 12″ x 12″ photo!

Using 12

Getting one of these pages done could be is as easy as attaching a few complements and some journaling strips. Choose a photo that can be cropped to a square, if it isn’t already, and that has some open space for a few additions. The key is to use embellishments to support the story behind your photo, not to cover it up. Enhance your photo pages with Complements, titles, and accessories in colors and motifs already in your photos.

Using 12

For this, “On The Slopes,” page, we used our Cricut® machine to create the color coordinating title and several unique snowflakes. We even heat embossed a few additional snowflakes right on the photo! (To avoid damaging your photo if you’re heat embossing, remember to apply heat intermittently as you’re setting the image.) And if heat embossing is possible, then you can be certain that stamping with our Exclusive Inks™ on a photo is, too! “Just Chillin’” was stamped with our non-smearing and fast-drying Intense Black ink, just above the journaling. Whether you’re planning on heat embossing or stamping on your photos, a photo with a matte finish is your safest bet to get the best results. Even though a glossy photo could also work, the matte finish allows the ink to set easier, without possible sliding or pooling before it dries.

The last idea we want to talk about is journaling. Every good scrapbook page includes at least some journaling—from small details of who, what, where, and when, to a full and lengthy narrative of the events surrounding the image(s) on the page, and everything in between. These 12″ x 12″ photo-based scrapbook pages are no exception!

Using 12

You’ll notice that on our “Happy Day” page we used strips of paper for the journaling. You can do this typed, like in our example, or in your own handwriting. If you are hand writing your journaling, we suggest writing everything out first, then cutting it up into strips, and adhering your strips to the photo page last. (We all have to practice, sometimes! 🙂 )

Using 12

In our second example we have the words typed on the photo. There are several ways to accomplish this look. The easiest way is to add the type right in the photo with a photo editing program, like Photoshop®, before you print it. If you do not have a photo editing program but do have access to a printer with the capacity to print 12″ x 12″, you could create a file on a word processor program, like Microsoft® Word, and then print your journaling right onto your photo. Another option, if you don’t have a large-format printer, is to ask whomever prints your photos to add the type for you.

For those of you not sure where to print a photo this size, our friends at Persnickety Prints can help! Not only will they provide you with a high-quality photo, they are ready to do so at a discount, now and through the end of the month! Use the code CTMH2 when checking out and get 20% off your 12″ x 12″ prints (matte or gloss). (Visit Persnickety Prints, here.)

If you haven’t done so already, give this type of scrapbook page a try! And if you have, we’d love to hear what you’ve done! Please share what has and hasn’t worked for you with all of us in the comments, below.


Recipes:

12″ x 12″ Happy Day Page
X7240B Something Fierce Paper Packet, X7242B I Heart Us Paper Packet, X5990 Carolina Cardstock, X6021 Sapphire Cardstock, X6027 White Daisy Cardstock, X7242E Picture My Life™ Cards—I Heart Us, X7240C Something Fierce Complements, X7242C I Heart Us Complements, X7241C So Much Happy Complements, Z4270 I Heart Us Sequins, Z4305 Thin Cuts—Fancy Tags, Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape, Z3326 Tombow® Permanent Adhesive, Z3502 Cricut® Flower Market Digital Collection

Cricut Shape:
Flower Market
1¾” shift + title <Daffodil> (p. 44, #MD72936)

12″ x 12″ On The Slopes Page
C1764 My Acrylix® Got Snow? Stamp Set, X5993 Sage Cardstock, X6027 White Daisy Cardstock, Z4189 Intense Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z891 VersaMark™ Ink Pad, Z4304 Loose Sequins—Silver, Z3274 Clear Sparkles, Z1799 Silver Shimmer Trim, Z4248 Ranger™ Silver Tinsel Embossing Powder, Z4220 Anti-static Pouch, Z4252 Heat Tool, Z341 Glue Dots® Mini Dots, Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape, Z3326 Tombow® Permanent Adhesive, Z3502 Cricut® You Are Here Digital Collection

Cricut Shapes:
You Are Here
¾”, 1¼” shift + Icon-5 <V> (p. 34, #M27F834A)
1½”, 2″, 2¼” Icon-5 <v> (p. 34, #M27F834A)
2½” Title <v> (p. 34, #M27F810E)
2½” shift + title <V> (p. 34, #M27F810E)

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7 thoughts on “Using a 12″ x 12″ Photo in Your Scrapbook

  1. Lovely pages! I’ve done this style once with a 12×12. I trimmed it to be 12×11 and added some coordinating paper behind the photo and wrote the journaling around the edges. I do like the idea of placing the journaling directly on the photo like in these examples, too!

  2. I just ordered 2 12×12 prints to give this a try. I had a good photo of my 3 Grandsons and one of my hubby and I, so one each 12×12. Can’t wait to get them!!! Thanks again CTMH for this offer.

    • How fun! If you really like the way they turn out and want to display them before putting them in an album, the Magnolia Frame is a perfect fit.

  3. Pingback: Scrapbooking on a 12” x 12” Photo | Scrapbook Title/Intro Page Process Video - Playing with Paper

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