If you’re like me, you have spent a good amount of 2020 reflecting on how much our lives have been transformed and how different things were last year. Occasionally, I will see a photo from last year that just stops me in my tracks and causes me to marvel at just how much has changed. One such photo is this selfie I snapped at a formal work event last October. I hadn’t scrapbooked this photo yet and had assumed that when I did, I would document the event and file the page away with layouts from 2019. Instead, I decided to create a layout with journaling told from my current perspective and title the layout “This Time Last Year.”
Supplies | October 2020 Kit, Jewel Journaling Tags, Neutral Die Cut Labels, Thankful Chipboard Label Stickers, Autumn Tiny Shapes and Dots Puffy Stickers, Jewel Polka Dot 6 x 8.5 Inch Paper Stack, Documented Stamp, Medium Jane Alphabet Stamp — Outline, Medium Jane Alphabet Stamp — Solid
I gathered red, gray, and black supplies from the October kit and extras and reached for the new Documented Stamp and planned to incorporate it into the layout as well, since the sentiments went perfectly with the story I wanted to tell.
I was so excited to play with the new Medium Jane Alphabet Stamps for my title, and since I stamped my title directly onto my layout, I did that stamping first (just in case I messed up!) and built the rest of the layout design around it. I stamped the whole title in black using the outline Medium Jane Alphabet Stamp, and then I went in and filled in the letters with red and light gray ink using the solid Medium Jane Alphabet Stamp.
I printed my long journaling out on clear sticker paper, which made it easy to place exactly where I wanted around the stamped title. I then grabbed the new Neutral Die Cut Labels, and I laid them out all over the page and around the title and journaling to create a gallery wall effect. It was so fun to fill the page like this without using patterned paper!
I matted my 4″ x 6″ photo using red and black paper from the Jewel Polka Dot Paper Stack and added it to the layout with a red Jewel Journaling Tag peeking out at the top. Once I added my photo to the page, I started playing with the Documented Stamp, using it to fill in some of the labels around the page. To create the repeated stamping inside some of the labels, I used washi tape to mask off the printed borders of the labels before stamping the words and phrases over and over. I also did the repeated stamping across a gray die cut heart from the October Kit.
To put some final touches and embellishment on the layout, I added some of the Thankful Chipboard Label Stickers, Autumn Tiny Shapes and Dots Puffy Stickers, gray ink splatters, and bits of bold, black stitching around the page.
What stories could you tell with the prompt, “this time last year?” I hope you’ll pause and reflect on some of those stories and take some time to document them in your albums!
How will you use the prompt, “this time last year?” Share your project with us in our Elle’s Studio Facebook Group or on Instagram using the hashtag #EllesStudio! We’d love to see your thoughtful project!