Creating the introductory pages in your 2021 album is an important step to putting a plan in place for how you will document the year, and today Patricia Roebuck is with us to share her gorgeous album beginnings, created using our new 2021 products. We can’t wait to see how this takes shape next year!
Hello end-of-the year Elle’s Studio friends! We are all ready for 2021, so today I will be walking you through how I have my new 6″ x 8″ pocket page album set up, as well as how I organize and gather my photos. I’ll be using many different products, but the new 2021 products, now available in the shop, are what I will focus on the most.
Supplies | November 2020 Kit, 2021 Calendars, Monthly Highlights 3 x 8 Inch Journaling Tags, Acetate Months, Acetate Stars, Monthly Cardstock Stickers, Jane Tile Alphabet Stickers — White, Small 2021 White Acrylic, Acrylic Christmas Trees, Fa La La 6 x 8.5 Inch Paper Stack, Bright Polka Dot 6 x 8.5 Inch Paper Stack, Daily Tabs Stamp, Collected Stamp, Notes from Today Stamp, Noted Vol. 2 Stamp, Pocket, Frame, and Flip Up Metal Die, Pocket, Frame, and Flip Up – Extra Frames Metal Die, Everyday Tabs Vol. 2 Metal Die, Everyday Tabs Metal Die
2020 has been a year of stretching me beyond what I thought I was capable of. First off, I wanted to start my album with a 6″ x 8″ opening page featuring my word of the year, “bold.” Using the Bright Polka Dot Paper Stack and a new metal star die, hitting the shop tomorrow with the December reveal, I created my background. I use the positive and the negative of my die cut stars and then backed the blue polka dotted paper with the yellow, trimming the blue paper a little smaller to add stitching at the bottom and a peek of the yellow as a border at the bottom. Next, I added the acrylic stars from the Acrylic Christmas Trees, Acetate Months, Small 2021 White Acrylic, and the white Jane Tile Alphabet Stickers. On the reverse side of this page, I will add a New Year’s Day photo!
I love the look of layers and with pocket pages, there’s so many page protectors that allow me to add more layers to my album. After my opening page, I used a new Monthly Highlights 3 x 8 Inch Journaling Tag, which I adhered to a page strip to insert by itself into my album. This year will be a busier and life-changing year for me, so this new product will really help me jot down the details so I don’t forget. I do use a monthly calendar that I mark up quite a bit, but after I go through all those entries on my calendar, I can take what I want to remember and highlight them here.
The next page protector I set up is a traveler’s notebook size of about 4×8, and I added the January 2021 Calendar tag. To add additional color and texture to this tag, I used the Acetate Stars and then the green, blue, and red ink to stamp “2021” from the Daily Tabs Stamp. My bottom pocket uses the brand new Pocket, Frame, and Flip Up and the Extra Frames Metal Die. I used the top of my pocket to adhere a 3″ x 4″ photo under my cut out frame, then used the Collected Stamp and Everyday Tabs Vol. 2 Metal Die to allow you to lift up. Under that, I used the Noted Vol. 2 Stamp for my journaling lines, then added my typed journaling.
My last pocket page, a 6″ x 8″ page with two 3″ x 4″ and one 4″ x 6″ pocket, features a November 2020 Kit tag at the top left which I added stamping to using the Notes from Today Stamp. In the top right pocket, I used the Pocket, Frame, and Flip Up, Extra Frames and Everyday Tabs Vol. 2 Metal Dies. I added the stamped and die cut “pull here” using the Collected Stamp and Everyday Tabs Vol. 2 Metal Dies stapled to the extra frame I cut from my first flip up pocket. I used a leftover die cut star and a Monthly Cardstock Sticker to finish.
My number one tip for keeping up with documenting is organizing your photos. I upload from my phone regularly and I add the year, month, day and a brief description. I compare to my calendar, and then go through the photos needed for the week, or a story I want to tell and print my most favorite photos. No matter how busy life gets, keeping this system up for the past 11 years has worked for me. Here’s a look at what my filing system looks like.
I hope these ideas to start documenting in 2021 set you up for success and make it do-able and enjoyable. For me, my photo organization is key, and then the Elle’s Studio 2021 products make it so easy to put together. Whether you use an app to collect your information or another system of your choice, keep doing it, then grab your Elle’s Studio products and enjoy documenting 2021!
Share how you are setting your 2021 memory keeping project up for success using our products! Share your album setup on Instagram using the hashtag #EllesStudio, or in our Elle’s Studio Facebook Group!