method | Make It from Your Heart

If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to scrapbook that stack of photos that you keep meaning to get to, then you’ve come to the right place! We are going to be making 10 6″ x 8″ two-page layouts using a super speedy scrapbooking technique known as the 3-2-1 Formula.

As the name implies, this is a formulaic project. That means that you will follow a simple formula to cut all of your patterned paper and then assemble your layouts. As you will see, you will continue to have a lot of creative freedom to add your own flair to each of your pages. No two albums will look the same, unless you make them that way intentionally.

Here’s what you’ll need:

5 sheets of patterned paper* (in a variety of coordinating patterns)
4 cardstock sheets* in coordinating colors (coordinate with your patterned paper)
10 White Daisy cardstock sheets*
Coordinating embellishments

*For those of you not familiar with Close To My Heart products, all of our cardstock and patterned papers come in a 12″ x 12″ format, and that is what we will be using to make this project.

Step 1: Creating Base Pages. The very first thing we cut are your base pages from the White Daisy cardstock. From 10 sheets, you should be able to get 20 6″ x 8″ pieces.

Step 2: Cutting Patterned Paper. Before measuring and cutting anything, trim all the zip strips from each of the patterned paper sheets. The zip strip is the extra ½” accent paper along the top of each Close To My Heart patterned paper sheet. Cut each of these in half and set them aside. Next, cut the remaining 12″ x 12″ paper in half, to 6″ x 12″. Here’s where the 3-2-1 comes into play. Cut these two half sheets of patterned paper into strips of 3″ x 6″, 2″ x 6″, and 1″ x 6″.

(Half of this example paper is showing what the pattern is on the back side of this sheet. Each one of our patterned papers has a double-sided coordinating design, for additional creative flexibility.)

Step 3: Creating Photo Mats from Cardstock. For a more polished look, we like to add photo mats behind most, if not all, of our photos. That is what we will be making with the 4 sheets of coordinating cardstock.

Cut each cardstock sheet into 6 6″ x 4″ rectangles. You should have a total of 24 when you are done. If you’d like to have a few 3″ x 4″ mats, simply cut these in half. Please note that the photos you will be mounting on these mats will have to be trimmed down a ¼” in both height and width to fit.

Step 4: Putting It All Together. You’re going to need a bit of space for this, so make sure to clear your table or a place on your living room rug or somewhere else you can keep your project safe. We are going to lay out all 20 White Daisy cardstock base pages. Next, let’s distribute the strips of patterned paper and cardstock mats. Each page should get one 4″ x 6″ photo mat, or two 3″ x 4″ mats, and one strip of each size, 3″, 2″, and 1″. If you’d like for the pages that will be facing each other in your album to match, keep that in mind as you distribute your papers. Lastly, decide how you want to attach these pieces to your pages and get to it! Move the components around until you are happy with your pages. Experiment with different arrangements and consider whether you want 3″ x 4″ or 4″ x 6″ photo mats on the layouts, or a combination of both.

Step 5: Embellish! Using coordinating embellishments add your finishing touches!

Here’s an album that we came up with using this method:

(Click on the individual images to enlarge.)

If you like our finished album and would like to recreate it using our same papers and embellishments, we’ve put together the Craft On Everyday Life™ Album Workshop Kit to help you do just that. If you don’t, that’s okay, too! The beauty of the 3-2-1 technique is that it can be applied using any coordinating papers you like!

Your pages and layouts can look very differently depending on how you choose to mix and match the various components on your pages. Have fun creating pages using the combinations that you love and that best suit your photos and memories!

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The important thing about memory keeping is preserving our stories.

With how easily accessible cameras are to us these days, we have been trained over the years to take photos of absolutely everything we experience. From an outing with friends last weekend to the coffee you picked up this morning, we are certain you have photos that you love but aren’t quite sure what to do with. You may have posted some of these on a social media channel and received a bazillion likes, but now that the moment is over you would like to preserve these memories somewhere more permanent. As one of our blog readers you know we’re going to suggest to you that scrapbooking is the answer. (And it is!) But, how do we scrapbook and journal about a cup of coffee?

Today we’re sharing a journaling style that allows us to talk about pretty much any topic under the sun that is based on The Important Book written by Margaret Wise Brown. In her book, the author dedicates a two-page spread to individual common, everyday things—like the sky, an apple, grass, and rain. On one page is an illustration of the subject and on the opposite page is a short passage describing it, starting and ending with what she considers is the most important attribute:

The important thing
about a spoon is
that you eat with it.
It’s like a little shovel,
You hold it in your hand,
You can put it in your mouth,
It isn’t flat,
It’s hollow,
And it spoons things up.
But the important thing
about a spoon is
that you eat with it.

Brown made talking about a spoon easy and interesting. If we apply the same principles used to describe this otherwise seemingly mundane subject in our journaling, the occasion will be rare, if at all, where we will be truly stuck with nothing to say.

So, how do we do it? We put together a handy worksheet to help us get started.

(Download The Important Things worksheet PDF.)

First, what is your topic? Write it down. Then, write down as many words and thoughts as you can think of that describe this topic. Your words, your thoughts—this is your story. Next, from all of these things you just wrote down, what stands out to you as the most important? This attribute is how you will start and finish your journaling passage. Use all the other information and details to fill in the middle.

When you are first starting to use this journaling method, stick to the formula on our worksheet to avoid any problems or confusion. As you get more familiar with this way of journaling, then start changing some of the words up (but not the order!).

Here’s a scrapbook layout about our cup of Joe:

The first and last lines in the journaling are the same thought, “The important thing about coffee is how it creates small moments of joy.” All of the in between stuff is insightful into how our friend in the layout feels about coffee, however, there is no question as to why it means all of those things to her. She let’s us know what the important thing about coffee is as she starts to write about it and then circles back to remind us as she closes her remarks.

To help highlight the unique things that are important to you, we paired this journaling model with a 6″ x 8″ album and designed The Important Things Everyday Life™ workshop. (Getting a copy of The Important Book itself, though recommended, is completely optional.)

Each of the eight layouts can feature something that is uniquely important to you, with a large open space on one page for your journaling and the facing page created to add photos illustrating whatever topic you choose to document.

Take a look at these other completed examples from The Important Things album and see how the important thing journaling style is applied to each subject.

The important thing about cookies:

The important thing about friends:

The important thing about my dog, Sophie:

The important thing about rain:

The generic theme of this album and the bright colors and patterns of the Perfectly Imperfect Picture My Life™ cards make this a versatile project to make for yourself, present as a gift, or both!

But, the important thing about memory keeping is preserving our stories.

Recipe:

The Important Things Everyday Life™ Album
E1039 My Acrylix^® Erin’s Hand Stamp Set, CC9900 The Important Things Bundle, Z2805 Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z6509 Candy Apple Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2895 Lagoon Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, X7236E Picture My Life Cards™—Perfectly Imperfect, Z4214 Hello Pumpkin Washi Tape, Z4191 Silver Glitter Gems, Z1979 Marvy^® Uchida^® LePen™ Journaling Pen, Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape

Make It from Your Heart

Tag Archives: method

Creating a Scrapbook Album in No Time Using the 3-2-1 Formula

A Journaling Model for When You’re Lost for Words

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