Building a Summer Scrapbook – One of my Best Ideas

It’s been three years since I chatted about this on the blog (click here for that post), but this is a tradition that I’ve been fairly committed to since then. I use it to “stretch time” and remind myself that I did a lot this summer, when the grey days of autumn hit hard.

There are probably smarter ways to do this, and thankfully I have never set my process in stone. But those days and weeks go by very fast, and I usually find myself finishing this memory book during my holiday break…in December. Y’all, that’s okay for me because this is the season of my life right now! Busy, over committed, thriving.

Your life might look different – I hope so – and with that in mind I have some tips on setting yourself up for success with your summer scrapbook.

TIP ONE: OVER PREPARE

This will look different for everyone, depending on what you are using as your scrapbook base, but the tips are general enough to be relevant.

Build your book base in advance. Regardless if you want a chipboard book of your own creation, or you are re-purposing a small binder, ensure that it is ready to go on the first day of summer.
Assemble all of the goodies you would like to use. This is especially helpful if you have summer-themed stickers or embellishments. Or have a colour theme that you want to stick to. Put them all together so you spend more time creating and less time searching. You will not use everything, but it’s better to have those special stickers on hand and use it, then forget about it and be sad later.
Put it all in one obvious spot so you’re ready to scrapbook whenever the mood strikes.

TIP TWO: CREATE AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY

You don’t have to have a set time or place to work on this book. In fact, the more you are flexible with how you work on it, the faster it will be finished!

Keep all of your essential supplies in a box or bag so you can scrapbook anywhere.
In fact, take the book with you on your summer adventures. There’s nothing more authentic than a little bit of sand from your beach day in the cracks of your book! Ha!

TIP THREE: DON’T BE AFRAID TO CHANGE IT UP

The first month of my summer scrapbook is usually so perfect, and matching, and lovely. While the last month involves an assembly-line of glue, photos, and scissors. It’s perfectly reasonable to change up your process, supplies, or time as your summer (year) progresses. Even if you’re creating at every opportunity, you might not have as much opportunity one month. That’s called life, and it’s annoying, but it’s true.

Your time is precious; prioritize doing summer and not doing your summer scrapbook.
K.I.S.S: “Keep it simple sweetheart” and “done is better than perfect” are my favourite mottos.

TIP FOUR: IT’S DONE WHEN IT’S DONE

I think this tip is just another way of writing tip three. You do not want your summer scrapbook to become a never ending project. Trust me. That will sour you on it.

Decide ahead of time what “done” looks like and stick to it. For me the priority is that I have photos with dates in there, and at least a sentence about what is happening in that photo.
What’s more important to you? Creating a perfect scrapbook? Or sharing an imperfect scrapbook with your family and keeping it on your shelf as a reminder of how awesome your summer was?

TIP FIVE: YOUR SUMMER IS PERFECT

This is your friendly reminder that whatever Karen is doing with her summer and showing it off on Instagram, your summer is actually perfect. I am BFF with envy by now, there’s no amount of worksheets or meditation that have cured me of it. Sometimes I am smart enough to remember that envy gives me really good ideas to add to my “to do” list.

Get off social media and get doing something on your list
If you feel envious of something that your pals are posting on social media, add it to your list
If you feel envious of something that some influencer is doing, add it to your list within reason
If you forget that your summer is perfect, look back at the last few layouts you’ve completed, or scroll through the photos in your phone to remind yourself of all the awesome stuff you have already done

YOU’VE GOT THIS!

I am excited every year to start my summer scrapbook, and the time is almost here again this year! I hope that this post gives you a starting point, or at least a few tips to think about if you are seasoned pro. The time is always right to start a summer scrapbook or memory keeping tradition. I can’t wait to see what you create!