Three Things.

While the creativity flows in our layouts, I must say that I love the unified look of seeing a row of matching binders like your photo!

three of my favorite things too. the adhesive is a little harder to find sometimes, so when i see it, i stock up.

Hi Ali,
I love the American Crafts "customizable" albums with the blank 'faces' and the fabric-covered spines, but really like the window ones you are using. When I clicked to AC's link from your blog I saw the 12x12 albums are $13.99! Great deal! (I hope that doesn't mean they are planning to discontinue them?) I hope to get my hands on a couple of these.
:) Paula

Ali, I am very impressed by the quickness of you putting it all back in the albums. WOW! What a joy it must be for you (and yours) to be able to grab a book and enjoy what you have put together on the pages.

So we have :
"three things tuesday"
"mosaic monday"
"weekend creative"...
Maybe there could be a
"peek into ali's scrapbook pages thursday"
or something...
I know I'm not the only one that can't get enough of your brilliant ideas!!

Hi Ali... I have a question for you. (Not sure if you'll have the time to answer it, I'm sure you're busy!). I know you take a lot of photos, consisting of a lot of "everyday" things you want to remember. I'm a photographer and I take photos of my son almost daily. Sometimes I set up actual "shoots" and other days its just snapshots. I print the "best" images, or the best that describe or capture that memory. Each month, I easily print 200+ 4x6's... pictures that I want printed and not just on disc or backed up on the computer. I also scrapbook, but only the significant photos or photos that tell a story or document something.
Anyhow... my question is this... what do you do with all your pictures? How do you store them? Currently, I have about 12-15 albums from my son's first year, and I'm sure another 10+ of his second year (he just turned 2). We're having another baby in May and I'm scared to think of how many albums I'll accumulate in the future years.
Also, each year I do 1-2 scrapbooks for the year as well. So... if you do the math, In 20 years I'll easily have 200+ photo albums and 20-50 scrapbook albums. WHERE will I keep all that? There has got to be an easier method that won't require me to build an additional room for just photo albums.
Do you have any suggestions? Any method you use or have heard of others using? I'd really appreciate it!

Totally agree with all three things!! Oh yeah!

how wide are these albums?
i do 8.5x11 & these are cute.
hard to find 8.5x11 3 ring CUTE binders.
just wondering how many pages each will hold.
i'll probably have to have a whole truck load of them delivered!
thanks
sam
samcousins72@charter.net

do they sell that adhesive anywhere locally?? Loving that stuff, but have only found it in portland so far!

Can't wait to try the dot roller! I need a new one... mine is a wreck!

thanks for these great tips, Ali (loving the new "features" each week!) - I am always seeking "the best" pens - I seem to be so hard on them (one art store owner told me I am pressing too hard when I write.) I like the Pitt artists pens right now--but they don't seem to last long enough....
and I LOVE the albums all lined up so straight and tall! ohhh how nice to have them within reach when you want to meander down memory lane....awesome : )

how do you label/categorize your american crafts albums where you store your layouts?

well thank you for leading me to my first scrapbook purchase, my dear.;) I just ordered a big ole'pile of those albums - they're beautiful, just the right size, and the perfect price.

If you have a Hobby Lobby store in your area, this store has nice 3 ring binders and sells them for half off regularly. I'd gotten so upset with my post albums going wonky that I invested in some of these great strong 12 x 12 three ring binders. It makes changes so much easier than the old post system that is so frustrating. And, yes, wonky is a technical term!

I have always used creative memories' albums, but I'm fixing to have a little girl and I'm not interested in the album colors they offer for her. Plus, I'm tired of having to cut my pages down to 11.5 in order to fit the album. So, I'm looking for a new album and am considering the ones you are using. Can you tell me how many pages each album holds? Do they lie flat when full? Thanks

Oh, I just LOVE the Dot n Roller! It is, by far, the best adhesive I've ever used. During a recent visit to my LSS, a sales associate tried hard to sell me on another brand. I told him absolutely not! When he asked why, I said "because I like the clicking noise mine makes." He thought it was the funniest thing ever.
By the way, thanks for all of the inspiration you share with us every day. :-)